Highs and Lows
I'll start with our lows.
Gas is expensive!! We knew this.
We have had a few arguments...maybe meltdowns due to being couped up in an RV. Telling ourselves it is normal doesn't stop them from coming. This is an adjustment that will take time and with four very unique and opinionated people to please the adjustment might take a bit longer than originally anticipated. The kids want to just stay put and play for a few days( This wouldn't be so bad if it didn't happen everytime we stop) and Erica and I want to adventure and see as much as we can. We have been winning the battle thus far but are running out of ammunition. We just wanted to get through the long state of California as soon as possible. Almost complete. We really need to find a spot to stay a few days and just let the kids be able to explore freely.
We have also experienced two dead batteries in our CRV and are working through this frustration. We have reluctantly chosen to pull a fuse out which is rather difficult to do but is going to have to be the solution now. We should have had a switch installed prior to leaving that would make it easier to disconnect the electronic components that are draining the battery while it is in tow. We have been blessed by folks who were so kind and willing to jump us. That is not something that I want to keep having to do though. We will win this battle and will purchase a spare battery soon as a backup.
I am also learning how to be quiet when the road is narrow and scary because I do nothing but frustrate Erica as she drives...honestly very well! There are a ton of these narrow mountain roads in Northern California though that freak me out. We have split time driving and I am working on giving up my need for control of the road.
The highs have been worth every low thus far. Seeing the kids easily make new friends at the one RV park we stopped at was heartwarming. The Russian River flowed a bike ride away from our RV and we spent a full day relaxing on it's shore. Boyd ruled the tetherball pole and Blythe floated the river so bravely with me. The kids were free to come and go and we kept tabs on them with their Gizmo Gadgits we purchased for them a few weeks before we left San Diego. The Gizmo's are wonderful and allow us to call them and text them all the while tracking their GPS locations. They can also call us when they are to check in and their friend Hajar back in San Diego when they get homesick. Two nights here and we left longing for more time.
After heading up the 101, through the Avenue Of The Giants (Erica is very cautious amongst the trees and we all wear boots so not to have another ER trip like last summer). Next we spent a night at the Florence Keller County Park in Crescent City, CA. This park is full of Redwoods and is located inside the Redwood National Park area just South of the Oregon Border....beautiful little place!
The kids were fascinated with all the banana slugs and were able to collect 29 slugs as their pet for the night. I think they still have the sticky slime on their hands today. They woke to find only one on the picnic table trying to figure out his escape route. These are the types of memories that they will hold onto and we are hoping to give them more opportunity to touch and feel nature.
We got up the next morning and headed into the Redwood National Park where the kids earned their Junior Ranger Badges. We then spent the day hiking and swimming in the Eel River at the Jedidiah Smith Campground. We didn't expect to swim so the kids and I jumped in with our clothes on and then dried out on the rocky shore. We caught frogs and watched inmates from the local correctional center and Cal Fire build a footbridge across the water. My threat to the kids backfired when I asked them if they wanted hard labor and they responded with " but they (the inmates) get to be out here all day in this beautiful river". Erica quickly replied that they must be on their best behavior...lol.
Almost out of California. On to a state that we all have never been to...Oregon!
Peace and Love!