Olive turns 7 and learns to change brake pads....

 June 19th

Today was a special day!  Today was Olive's birthday and we were excited to spend it with her in Malibu.  We aren't exactly Malibu kind of people, but it sounded cool anyway.  First, we stopped at Winchell's Donuts for a birthday breakfast.  As we were driving the hills towards Malibu State Park, we realized very quickly that something was very wrong with the brakes.  The squeaky grinding noise we were hearing was disconcerting, to say the least.   Bad News Bears.   We stopped at AutoZone for some parts and then Tom pulled over into a park that provided both a playground and a shady spot to fix the truck.  Olive agreed that we could celebrate her birthday tomorrow if necessary, and then we started the timer.  It took 95 minutes to fix the brakes.  But Tom thinks he could have done it a little quicker if he hadn't been apprenticing.  Plenty of time to celebrate Olive's birthday today!

We finally arrived at a campground and there was actually a space for us!  Unfortunately, it was a very expensive space!!!  Up to this point we had only spent $30 to sleep in total.  The Malibu campground was $45!  We sucked it up, shelled it out, and proceeded with Olive's birthday.  At the campground we met a funny little family that travels with their pet Scarlet Macaw.  The kids spent most of the time chatting them (and the bird) up. 

And finally, it was time to celebrate.  We ate one of Olive's favorite dinners...Ramen Noodles.  She helped me with her favorite chore...washing dishes.  Then it was time to  head to the grocery store for birthday shopping.  Olive and I went in one direction to secretly choose the cake.  Tom, Ivy and Dizzy went the other direction to find a present.  At the campsite, I wrapped her presents in aluminum foil (how convienent!!!)  and Olive surprised the family with her choice of birthday cake. What did she score?  Some sticky hands (the kind you throw at the wall), some little jelly beads that expand in water, and a pack of orange Tic Tacs.  Best birthday ever.

 

 

Mom..."Olive...what was your favorite part about your birthday?"
Olive..."Presents and cake.  So basically everything."



Our Trip Summed Up: 

Days Remaining:  23

Miles Driven:  3113

Currently in:  Malibu, CA

Total Spending so far:    Gas:       $900 out $1,500 goal

                                            Sleep:  $75 out of a $500 goal

                                             Eat:      $350 out of a $600 goal

                                             Other:  $ 93out of a $400 goal

                                                Grand Total:  $1,418 out of a $3,000 goal

First Hike, First Sand

 

 

 

 

June 18th

I personally like rolling into a campground late at night.  It is a funny feeling to peek outside and get to see where you slept.  We opened our eyes to a beautiful mountainside and decided to take our first hike before we headed out to the beach.  It was a beautiful hike and the kids did so well.  We knew we had to start breaking them in before marching them through Yosemite!  Lizard chasing ensued.  Frequent stops in the shade.  It was a nice start to our day.

The first beach we came across was Dana Point Beach in Southern California.  A pretty ritzy little place with a perfectly nice beach.  Immediately, upon pulling into the parking lot, a surfer pulled up next to us and gave us a thumbs up for our "Rad Ride".  We have been in Tennessee long enough that I actually thought the term "rad" had expired.  But oh no....we were professed as "Rad" more than once, which made us realize we were going to fit in just fine.  The kids bounded down the cliffside stairs and wasted no time testing out the waters.  Tom finally got to surf a few waves. 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed back to our "rad ride" for lunch and then it was time to keep moving.  There was a lot more for us to see.

After driving for a considerable amount of time, it became clear to us that California is NOT very friendly to gypsies that just want to sleep on the side of the road.  Apparently it is illegal...in the entire state of California.  Even campgrounds require a two day window before you can reserve one.   Your only hope is to pull into one and ask for availability (there wasn't).  Walmarts don't like overnighters in California either.  Eventually we pulled into Jim's Burgers in Altadena for a bite to eat and Tom actually considered sleeping in the parking lot...real sneaky like.   Thankfully, my cousin Carl came to the rescue and offered to let us crash at his place in Pomona. It was the perfect opportunity to catch up with him.  Besides, based on Jim's surly response to a customer's request for fresh fries, I doubt that he would have been real keen on us sleeping in his lot.  But whatever.  My fries were good for the record! 

 

 

 

Our Trip Summed Up: 

Days Remaining:  24

Miles Driven:  2,927

Currently in:  Pomona, CA

Total Spending so far:    Gas:       $855 out $1,500 goal

                                            Sleep:  $30 out of a $500 goal

                                             Eat:      $353 out of a $600 goal

                                             Other:  $40 out of a $400 goal

                                            Grand Total:  $1,278 out of a $3,000 goal

Riverside

June 16th-17th

Today we took a long road through the desert to visit all the "new cousins" in Riverside, CA.   The ride was long and hot...but surprisingly pretty.  I loved watching all the trains make their way through the tumbleweed landscape.  The bright orange engines pushing through dust devils.  We left the house on the river a good 30 minutes before Nicole and Danny, and they managed to honk their horn and wave at us a mere 30 minutes into our drive!  I think we arrived in Riverside two hours later than they did!  Just the Hill family, poking along in our Snail camper.  We stopped at a few little places along the way, trying to imagine thriving towns where only black birds perched now.

The kids have a whole set of cousins in Riverside that they have never met, so it was pretty fun to introduce them to new friends every few hours!  Our first stop was Gordie and Lucy's house in Mira Loma.  Gordie is an eclectic collector of things, so their property was a wonderland for all the kids. 
The highlight of the day was the kittens strewn around the property.  Olive immediately started a search and rescue party to collect as many kittens as she could find. 

 

 

The next day we met up with my cousins Allan and Ronnie to eat some actual Mexican food (sorry Tennessee....but you just don't have it!).  After Tom ate a whole Chimichanga, he was foolish enough to challenge Allan's daughter Skyler to a game of SKATE at the local park.  She beat him.  We are down another dollar.

The next day, Tom took a few minutes to remove the thermostat in the truck.  He suspected that might be the reason for the overheating.  From there, we headed out of Riverside to Lake Elsinore to visit my cousin Adam and his kids.  Adam whipped up some burgers and roasted some buttery squash from his garden.  The kids ran outside on a lizard hunt with their expert guide, cousin Lucas.  As the night wore down, Lucas tried to talk us into staying the night. Lily attempted to stow away in our camper. 

We had big hugs and it was time to go, because we had a date with our long time family friend, Janet Hughes, to eat ice cream on the way out of town.  She gave us some directions to our next campsite at the Blue Jay campground.  It was a beautiful drive over the mountain, and directly on the way to our first big goal...the Pacific.

 

 

It was so great to visit the friends and family over the past few days.  We missed a few, which is the big downside to driving without plans.   But we had a great time and we hope to come back soon to catch everyone again.  Our next stop is the ocean.


Our Trip Summed Up: 

Days Remaining:  25

Miles Driven:  2,762

Currently in:  Lake Elsinore, CA

Total Spending so far:    Gas:       $796 out $1,500 goal

                                            Sleep:  $30 out of a $500 goal

                                             Eat:      $208.08 out of a $600 goal

                                             Other:  $40 out of a $400 goal

                                                Grand Total:  $979.08 out of a $3,000 goal

Surprising Arizona

June 13 - 15th

Dad's horses love carrots!

I know it has been a long time since we have updated everyone!  It has been a busy week for us!  We spent several days visiting friends and family while meandering through the Arizona desert, so here are a few pictures to let everyone know where we have been!

We made it to Dad's house at the worst possible time.  He was essentially on his way to work when we got there, but he let us stay in his gigantic camper.  That was our first night outside of our little camper!  It felt good to stretch our legs for a day!   When we woke up, the kids walked around the house collecting eggs and petting goats.  The girls had a great time trying to hold onto a carrot while the horses tried to wrestle it from their hands!  It would have been nice to stay for a few days, but with temperatures going up to 100 degrees by 9am and two other Arizona visits to make...we decided it was time to move it along!

Our next adventure was to surprise my grandmother in Phoenix, Nanny Dean, with a visit!  It was so much fun to pop in to see her!  It was her first time meeting all of our kids!   On the way to Phoenix, we had our first hint of car trouble.  The thermostat wasn't working properly, causing the temperature of the truck to rise to totally unacceptable levels!  We drove through 105 temperatures with no air conditioning...and the HEAT blaring!!!  That was some kind of experience!  Tom came up with the genius idea to give the girls a squirt bottle full of icy water and some washcloths.  It was hilarious to look back and see Ivy laying there with a rag draped over her entire face!  She was taking the opportunity for drama and running with it!



Nanny Dean is just as beautiful as I remember her!

The next surprise was for the kids.  Our friend Ruthann had moved from Knoxville to Phoenix only a few weeks ago.  The funny story is that we met Ruthann at a campsite a few years ago and decided to stay in touch.  Her family is so sweet and we were sorry to see them move away.  My girls had been asking about them ever since they left.     It turns out that she moved only 10 miles from my grandmother's house!  We called her the night before and asked if we could stop by...and she was incredulous that we were really going to be able to!  What were the chances of getting to see her again?!  When we knocked on her door, the kids only knew that we were going to visit my friend.  They were shocked to see Ruthann's daughter, sweet little Annabelle, open the door.  We totally MADE the night of three little girls!  Ruthann and her husband barbecued some burgers for us and let us crash in their house for the night.  The sweetest hosts and such great friends.  We will miss them in Tennessee.  But I am grateful for the strange set of circumstances that permitted us to catch up with them. 

And we just thought the surprises were over!!!  We had planned on driving to Riverside California the next morning to catch up with some family there.  But at the last second, my cousin Nicole and her husband Danny invited us to meet them at their house on the Colorado River in Mohave Valley, Arizona.  They treated us with two straight days on their boat.  I think we met every person in Mohave Valley along the way.  The kids met their first California cousin, Dani Lynn.  Bonds and memories were made.    It was an awesome time! On our last day we stopped the boat at this amazing riverfront bar called Topock 66.  It sits right on Route 66 and had a swimming pool for patrons.  The fried pickles were great.  The kids loved the water.  And most amazingly...an airplane would periodically zoom down and land in the water right beside us to drop off passengers.  Surreal!   All that sun and water completely WORE US OUT!

Random Hot Air Balloon sighting on the road to Mohave Valley

That was just the beginning of the visiting.  The next day we would meet back up at cousin Nicole's house in Riverside to hug necks all over again.  But more on that later!  For now....here is our trip summed up through June 15th (one week in!)


Our Trip Summed Up: 

Days Remaining:  27

Miles Driven:  2,528

Currently in:  Mohave Valley, AZ

Total Spending so far:    Gas:       $721 out $1,500 goal

                                            Sleep:  $10 out of a $500 goal

                                             Eat:      $208.08 out of a $600 goal

                                             Other:  $40 out of a $400 goal

                                                Grand Total:  $979.08 out of a $3,000 goal