20hrs and 1500km

We're keeners.  It's 9am and we're sitting on the sidewalk in front of the Monterey Bay Aquarium waiting for it to open.  We're first in line... and proud of it.

Day 1 of our road trip had us driving from Vancouver all the way to Mount Shasta (another excellent Keple recommendation).  12hrs and 1100.5km.  N DJ'd the whole way.  Washington went by in a flash.  Oregon was gorgeous.... well except for the stretch between Portland and Eugene...... B_O_R_I_N_G.  I kept wondering where the forest were that AS worked in. 

On the other side of the spectrum, Mount Shasta is simply breathtaking.  I'd like to come back and hike/climb it one day.  Are you up for 14,000' Keps?! 

Americans may be obnoxious when they're outside their country but are they ever good at hospitality in their own country.  The rest stops and parks facilities in particular put the Canadian version to shame.   

N got to experience her first Trader Joe's (in Portland) and walked around the store with the requisite grin.  We stocked up on fruit, vegies, pitas, hummus (which I've eaten for several meals so far) and some truck snacks.  I've been quite proud of our ability to not eat out for the most part, although we did weaken last night at Fisherman's Wharf.

One of the best things about driving long distances is the time it gives you to think.  I was pondering for awhile whether how we're doing this trip is irresponsible parenting somehow.  I mean, sleeping in the back of the truck, maybe at a campsite, maybe in a WalMart parking lot... is that responsible parenting?  There are times when I think that I should be more..... more like an Eddie Bauer parent.  Booking hotels ahead of time, going to resorts, camping in proper campgrounds.  But that just doesn't feel like me.

I will say however that I miss the safety aspect of my van.  Being able to lock yourself in while sleeping beats feeling a little like an animal in a den with one exit.  We would be trapped should someone come after us while we're sleeping. I deal with that by choosing places to camp where I feel the risk of something like that happening is low.  Staying in areas where there's other people, choosing a campspot that's further afield from a group that looks like they may get drunk and rowdy.  Low risk, high consequence.  The name of the game is risk management.

Yesterday we hit one of those "moments" when you must_get_out_of_truck.    The I-5 through the Sacramento Valley, although efficient, is soul suckingly boring.  We were starting to snip at each other after almost 7 hours in the truck.  So I took the next exit west and headed into Watsonville to find the ocean.  I find it so odd that many of the coastal towns aren't actually on the ocean.  There's hundreds of metres of agricultural land so you can't actually access the shoreline.  After a few tense moments when I stressed out just a little upon finding ourselves in a rundown residential and industrial area, we headed back onto the highway south.  

Repeat after me, N is a really good navigator

I should listen to her directions more closely....

Finally found a state park where my grom could get her first taste of California beach and ocean.  Ten minutes there convinced me that this trip is already worth it.  N ran around on the sand and in the shorebreak like a puppy that's been confined too long.  Our smiles returned and feeling refreshed, we headed down the road another hour or so into Monterey to play tourist.  

Don't make eye contact with the obviously lonely
restaurant owner.  We listened to him lament on how
he had been fired from being a husband to a couple
celebrating their anniversary.

Being a tourist in someone else's town (instead of being irritated at tourists in my town) was fun: we ambled along Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey, looked in all of the tacky souvenir shops, quietly mocked the "oh my honey, look at the sealions" comments, then ate mediocre fish & chips and fish tacos at an overpriced, slightly tacky restaurant on the boardwalk.  

So I'm ending this post as we're sitting in the cafeteria sipping tea using the free WiFi and jacking a recharge for the camera and iPhone batteries.  I love that N is content to lay on the floor in front of the big tank with the tuna and sharks, or in the jellies exhibit for a half hour at a time.  Feels like all those times doing the same in front of the Vancouver Aquarium's beluga tank were training for this moment.  

PS - This one's for you AS....