Day 190 - The long slow drive home

Eel River

We started our trek up to WA today.  We plan to take 3 days and work our way up the Ca and OR coasts since we rarely travel this route.  The idea for this part of the trip came from our brief fly by trip through the CA coast back in April when the weather was too rough to drive back via I-5 (DAY 92 and 93) We met John's friend Mike in Phillipsville and he gave us a personal tour through Avenue of the Giants (giant redwood trees that it).  He found a great place on the river for us to swim.  The highlight of the day for the girls was Mike's brand new chocolate lab, Joy, that came along. I took a picture of the girls in their swisuits next to a huge tree because it was such an oddity A) that it was hot enough to hike in a swimsuit and B) that we were in the midst of such big trees on a random trail.  At another spot we did some river fording which no one minded because it was so hot. Haley and I were the only ones smart enough to be wearing Keens fo rthat activity.  John and Mike went in with running shoes.  We saw two water snakes in that area, but no one was too freaked out, even the girls.  We stayed at Mike's place in Fortuna for the night and the girls were in heavenly bliss pretending to be dog owners for a night.  "Joy joy" was a constant phrase out of their mouths.  It was fun to see their nuturing side. They are nuturing kids, but it

is rare to see them with someone/something younger and more helpless than they are. The kids have been asking for a dog ever since and as I'm writing this it is 2 weeks later.  They don't ask if we're getting a dog, they ask what kind we are going to get!

Day 189 - Hello California, where is your hot weather?

We started the day (our anniversary) my favorite way - a walk in the hills up my favorite route.  My Dad, John and I went.  Dad left us at the top.  He had to get down fast to go to a Dr appt and we decided to walk along the ride a boit before heading back.  The fog was intense so there was no view, but it felt great on the climb up and kept us from overheating.  It was hard to find a trail down to the valley.  If we had gone much farther, we would have ended up in marinwood and would have had a very long walk back through the vally.

We were so bummed that our last day here was basically Seattle weather.  We came down here for some sun, which we did get, but come on, it wasn't even warm enough for swimming.  Does that mean we didn't go swimming today?  Well, not exactly. We have to take advantage of the free swimming just down the street when we are visiting Grandma and Papa, so down to the pool we went.  Fortunately, the pool actually was heated and warm enough that even I could get in it.  It wasn't near the end of our swim session that I figured out that I could periodically swim a lap and warm up and get in a little workout at the same time.  Since I had done some swimming in Fresno, I felt a little less self conscious. 

John and I skipped the fancy dinner my parents were urging us to go on for our anniversary and opted for IN-N-OUT (which we can't get in WA) and a long slow drive around Tiburon.

Day 188 - A walk back in time

It was a great marin day and John's birthday.  The only problem with the day was the cool weather.  I always hope for super warm weather when we visit.  Our first stop was to Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes Station.  We didn't even taste the cheese, I already know it's good and it was too chaotic in the little store with the girls.  I did, however, buy a t-shirt.  This is my kind of souvenir collecting.  My latest trend seems to be collecting t-shirts from artisan food purveyors.  We had promised the girls some ice cream as we were walking into the store since we saw people walking out with large scoops, afterall, it was a creamery, right, they had to have ice cream.  We had to renig on our offer after we learned that there was only one flavor of ice cream (peach) and it was terrible expensive.

Next stop - Bear Valley Visitors Center.  Did I know this was the name of the place? No.  If you had told me we were going to Bear Valley VC, would I have known where you were talking about? No.  I know it as the place where you see the Earthquake trail and the Miwok Village.  I have been here many times, probably when I was Hannah's ago and definitely on field trips and with out of town visitors like my Aunt Anita and her family.  The girls, John, and I did the earthquake trail.  Fortunately, they had kid versions of the info signs.  The best part is the place where you can see that a fence was separated and displaced 16 feet during the 1906 earthquake.  I kept telling the girls about the cow that fell in the crack in the earth.  I think this place used to be on the trail or maybe the story was.  We never found it, I guess that's not part of the trail anymore.

Grandma and Papa walked with us up to the Miwok Village.  There were some great reconstructed structures in the village, just like I remembered.  G&P even tricked us at one point, seeming to disappear, then jumping out of a hut to scare us.  We totally fell for it! 

One the way home, we went to Lococos in San Anselmo.  After 30+ years in Marin, this was the first time any of us had tried this Lococos.  I was great and Dad swears it might even be better than the original.  The evening ended with a night walk up in the open space hills to the horse stables.  I couldn't believe we went all the way over there considering how close to dark it was when we left, but we were with my Dad, so I shouldn't be too surprised.  The highlight were the owls we spotted and the horse that bent down to have Haley pet it.  The girls later identified the owls with Papa in a bird book, now I can't remember what kind they were.  Barn owls?  They were white and loud screechers. 

Day 186 and 187 Fresno and San Fran

Day 186 - We were fortunate to have time to drive down to Fresno and visit our friends, the Moates, who moved down to Fresno last year.  The kids were so excited to get to see Dane and Brooke again.  We got some extra driving time through the farm "backroads" since we failed to follow the instructions of our GPS.  It was a nice change of scenery and a fun detour and only ended up adding a mile or two to the trip.  There were thousands and thousands of trees, olive and/or almond was my best guess.  Fresno brough us the high heat we were looking for.  The kids pretty much lived in the pool and the adults pretty much lived on the shaded porch complete with a mister.  It was so comfortable with the mister, but we didn't realize how great it was until we occassionally stepped into the sunshine and realized how flaming hot it was outside.  We had a relaxing time to just sit around and talk, it was so so fun.  Eventually everyone took a dip in the pool, even the adults.  I did some laps to get in a little workout.  I practiced some freestyle strokes, something I am sure I looked like a gomer doing.  I wanted to test the waters so to speak and see if I could swim this way in case I do actually try a triathalon some day.  This was a great place to "practice". It seems so intimidating showing up at a public pool and jump in there with those people who have been swimming laps for years.  Later in the evening, the kids got treated to a pinata and a bicyle ride around the neighborhood.  They decided to all sleep in Dane's room, which didn't last too long.  It was cute to see them gathered around a book to read for themselves before bedtime.

Day 187 - The kids got in more swim time in the morning and I did some laps to tire myself out. Eventually, we had to get back on the road and the kids were so sad.  We drove to San Francisco and visited Uncle Bob on the way home.  He wasn't in his room when we got there.  Fortunately, we found a park just a block away where we were able to burn some time.  There was a really cool sculpture in the park (below).  Most of the anatomical parts of the body were featured on the sculpture and all with some metal part that represented the body part perfectly, even muscles, rubs, strands of hair, etc.  Uncle Bob had just moved into a new place the day before, so we checked out his new digs and took him out to dinner.

Day 185 - Independance Day

Today was a jam packed day.  Church in the morning, complete with my old youth pastor giving the sermon.  The bouncy houses were back up during church.  Haley brought her swimsuit, so she got to play on them.  Hannah decided before we left not to bring her swimsuit, but I think she regretted that decision once we got there.  On to a picnic at a park for the Reunion. The girls were too hot, so they did little actual playing.  They had a great time just sitting around with their friend Avery whom they had just met the day before.

Since we had promised the girls some swim time, we rushed home and they got one 45 min session in the pool before we had to rush (again) to the county fair.  We wanted to be sure the girls had enough time at the Marin County Fair to make the trip (and admission) worth while.  We would have come earlier had we known there were going to be lines . . . for EVERYTHING.  Even the trip to the bathroom was a 25 min wait!  I had been hyping up the fair to the girls for days, so it was fun to finally get there. This is the fair I went to throughout my childhood.  My fondest memories are from the days when I was old enough for my mom to drop me and my friends off by ourselves to spend the entire day there.  I didn't find out until after the fact, but one of the friends I used to hang out with there was also at the fair that night and watching the fireworks in the same spot where we were.  I also ran into a friend from high school who doesn't live here anymore either as well as some frineds we knew would be at the fair that day.  I love that it's such a small community that you can run into people you know even if you haven't lived there for 20 years.

We learned that Haley is a little daredevil.  She begged  to go on the jumbo ferris wheel, but she was too short.  She was a good sport about it, despite the fact that her sister got to go on it anyway.  After that Haley had her eye on the upsidedown roller coaster and the zipper.  Who is this kid?  I would ride those things when I was younger, but her Dad doens't even like the rides at Disneyland.  We're in for some trouble in a few years when she is actually tall enough to ride these things.

Day 184 - Youth Group Reunion

We had come down to CA to attend the Reunion for the youth group I was in in Jr Hi and High School at Marin Covenant.  There was a bouncy house and water slide set up for the kids, so you know where mine were.  It was bizarre to be standing outside watching the kids with friends of mine from youth group.  I have known some of them so long that we were the ages of our kids when we were the ones running around and playing.  The girls came home from that and went straight down to the community pool.  Do you see a pattern evolving?  Earlier that morning, John, my Dad and I got to go on a hike in the hills.  My Dad took pleasure in his constant reminders that we weren't making it up the hill as fast as he usually does.  This hike was in the same general area where my Brandon and Jen and I had gone back in April.  It was a lot hotter and the hills were a lot browner this time (see Day 87)

Day 182 and 183 - Road Trip to CA

Day 182 - the girls had their last day of VBS which included lots of bouncy house play.  That afternoon, we started off on our trek down to CA.  It took us 4 hours to go 80 miles!  Needless to say, that was a little too much together time for such a short stretch of road.  We were a tired and cranky bunch by the time we stopped for dinner.  We had to drive late into the evening to get to Eugene, OR and didn't get as far was we had hoped. 

Day 183 - lots more driving, but at least we weren't stuck in traffic.  As soon as we got to Grandma and Papa's (literally), we headed down to the community swimming pool. The girls had been talking about the pool for the last several hours of the trip.  It was so nice to be in weather warm enough that I actually wanted to jump into a pool.  The evening John and I took the girls on a "turkey-deer hunt".  This is what we typically call it when my Dad takes the girls up into the hills to look for deer and turkeys.  They almost never see anything when they are with Papa, but he didn't come along and sure enough we found some deer.  The girls were so excited about it and wanted to bring Papa back out sometime to show him the spot. I love love love these hills and couldn't wait to get up in them.  It was near sunset when we went up there - just beautiful!

Day 92 and 93 Back to Seattle by way of the CA Coast

Day 92

We started our journey back up to Seattle.  Due to bad weather conditions on Siskiyou pass, we had to re-route up the CA coast on highway 101.  Torrential rain, hailstorms, and windy roads kept us company all day.   We ended our day in Crescent City CA, right on the water.  A highlight of the day were the big trees and big surf. The girls would probably also tell you about their trip to the icy hotel pool, color fading hot tub and their in-room microwave dinner.  As for the hot tub, I had noticed the sign on the wall that read the hotel was not responsible for faded swimsuits or haircolor.  I saw that a lady's tank top was bleached instantly as she sank down into the hot tub.  What I did not notice until we got back in our room was that my swim top was completely bleached out too.  Haley, who was not in the hot tub as long, also had her suit significantly faded.  Hannah spent most of her time in the 60 pool that had unexplained sand leaching into the pool (yes, we were warned on check-in).  

Day 93
I have never been so glad to be on I-5 as I was today.  We were about 15 miles into an 80 mile trek on a winding road from Crescent City to Grants Pass, OR, when out of no where a car was spinning out into our lane.  Any words I write here are not sufficient to describe the enormity of what we went through and how blessed we were with how it turned out.  Somehow I mananged to swerve on the shoulder and go around the car.  It all happened very fast and we came within feet of hitting it.  I wasn't even sure while it was happening that we would be able to avoid it.  I can still remember the awful screeching sound coming from the other car's brakes.  The other car managed to right it self and drive on so I continued on.  It was a small red SUV and I soon saw a similar car in my rear view mirror.  Was this the same car?  I pulled over to gather my thoughts and to see if that car would stop and explain what happened.  It just kept going, so I'm not sure if it was the same car.  We're still not sure which direction it was originally coming from.  There was no rain or ice at the time, so we think the car was just going too fast.  We are so fortunate, there was not another car close behind it or us or things could have ben much worse.  This is a road that had very little shoulder.  Where the spin-out occured I think there was a tree barrier just off the shoulder, but much of that road was unstable rock cliff on one side and no shoulder drop-off of 50-100 feet down to a raging river.  What a powerful object lesson this was for the girls.  This was our topic of conversation for most of the rest of that 80 miles.  I was driving cautiously the rest of the way and the girls took it upon themselves to point out when they saw curving road ahead or falling rock signs.  I'm sure they will forget this experience - it was a "together" experience of the not so great kind.

Day 91

For the girls this was more of a "together" day.  The girls helped Grandma make waffles then we took them to the farmers market in the morning which always includes some bouncy house time.  In the afternoon, we visited their Great-uncle Bob in San Francisco. Grandma and I sqeezed in a late night trip to the mall for the girls to go on their first ever shopping spree with Grandma.  Note to self - squeezing in a shopping trip too cloe to bed time, does not a good shopping trip make.  Hannah was fixated on a "fancy" dress that was fit for a Las Vegas show girl.  When informed that she would not be getting this dress under any circumstances, chaos and tantrums ensued. 

I never get enough time up in the hills when I'm in CA.  I was optimistic that I'd get back out in the hills the next day before we left, but I also knew it probably wouldn't happen . . . and it didn't, so I was so happy that I took my run on this day up into the hills.  I went up a path very familiar to me.  My dad has even painted a portrait of me as a young girl on this path with my dog, Frisky.  I went all the way up to the top of the ridge and ran as much of it as I could, which was pretty much only when the path was fairly level.  I was hoping I could get to the top, but it was close to dark and I wasn't sure how fast I could make it up there.  It was exhilarating to be up there by myself.  I was definitely aware of my surroundings with it being close to sundown and especially since I had seen a coyote run down out of the hills a few days previous. It was windier than usual and that only added to my heightened senses because it was hard to hear anything else like other animals.

Day 90 - is it possible to spend 4 hours at McDonald's?

The answer is a resounding YES!  McDonalds playlands have been a frequent spot for us this year.  I'm still not sure how the math works out between calories consumed and calories burned for the girls, but on this day, I'm pretty sure the calories burned won out.  We met up with some friends who have recently moved to Fresno.  Turns out the halfway point between the Bay Area and Fresno is Modesto and a playland seemed to be a safe bet for a place to meet up where the kids could run around and the moms could talk.  We never dreamed the kids would stay occupied for 4 hours!  About 2 hours in, they were all ready to stop, but then we got them a snack and they headed back out to play.  It was only after we were getting up to leave that we noticed the sign posted on the wall that said something about a 60 min limit, no loitering - oops!  My friend Dawn is as passionate about getting outside with her kids and exercising as I am and we will be running a half marathon together in June, so it was great to catch up with her.

Today was also easter egg painting day which the girls had been anxiously awaiting since they arrived in CA. The dominant egg colors were browns and flesh tones - that's what you get when preschoolers are coloring your eggs. They were so proud of their eggs that they refused to let anybody eat them and insisted we bring each and every one back to Seattle.

Day 89 - Hiking in the rain

What began as a leisurely evening stroll became an adventure hike in the rain.  The whole gang, Grandma and Papa (G&P), Brandon, New Jen, the girls and I started up into the hills near G&P's house.  Storms had been rolling through all day (very unusual for this time of year and this part of CA, but typical of how it had been this winter).  There was a sprinkle or two when we started, which was not unexpected, the pouring rain about 10 minutes later was not expected!  It was too late to turn back, so my Dad sugested that we make our way to the large tree by the rope swing hoping it would provide some shelter until the shower passed.  It was quickly becoming a "Terrell hike" and if you've hiked with my Dad before, then you know what kind of hike I'm talking about.  Just getting to the tree was quite an adventure with streams to cross and steep ups and downs along the way, but it was definitely memorable.  The rope swing was such as hit that a certain oldest child of mine threw a temper tantrum when we had to leave.  It was completely dark by the time we got down out of the hills and back home.  Aunt Jen is was busy keeping a grouchy Haley occupied on the way home- bunny hop anyone?

Day 88 - Biodynamic wine, slow food, charcuterie plate, truffle oil, and prickly pears

Lots of memorable outings this week and lots of pictures to share, so much I want to say, but in order to get the blog updates (I'm several weeks behind) I'm going to be brief, Jen-brief that is, and that's not too terribly brief!

Day 88

The girls enjoyed the swings at Benzinger Winery while their aunt and uncle were wine tasting and learning about biodynamic wines.  Later they got some playtime at the playground in the middle of the Sonoma town square with Grandma and Papa while the rest of us did some window shopping and prickly pear harvesting. The girls could not be convinced to try the prickly pear.  We had a foodie’s dream lunch at the El Dorado Kitchen that can't go unmentioned.  We stumbled upon it in a convoluted way, too crazy to explain here and it was even connected to the winery we had just visited, though we didn't know that until after we had our meal.  The restaurant is a participant in the slow food movement (slowfood.com- good, clean, fair) and Bran had been hoping to find a slow food restaurant for lunch. It was probably one of the best lunches out I have ever had.  Bran, Jen and I shared charcuterie plate, roasted cauliflower and cheddar pizza, and roasted beet salad.  To top it all off, the manager sent out an order of truffle fries on the house.  As much of a foodie as I am, I have never tasted truffle oil and did not know what a charcuterie plate was.  A bonus for me today was a 3 mile run by myself through my old neighborhood.

Day 87 - Surprise, surprise the hills are alive with Jen and Brandon

Driving, driving, driving, almost too much together time! Are we there yet? With the help of my brother and sister-in-law, we surprised Grandma and Papa by traveling all the way down to CA.  They had no idea we were coming.  We arrived at Lococos, our all time favorite pizza place while they were just finishing dinner.   The look on their faces was priceless.  After dinner, Bran, Jen, and I sent the girls back to the house with Grandma and Papa and we got ice cream at Three Twins Organic Ice Cream shop http://threetwinsicecream.com/ .  Creme Fraiche ice cream - yum! We wasted no time getting up into the hills, we started up into the hills while we were still eating our ice cream.  The plan was for us to walk home over the hills. I couldn't wait to get up into the hills I love. There has been so much rain in CA this winter that everything was nice and green. New Jen (my sister-in-law) kept commenting how much it felt like we were in the Sound of Music movie. We climbed to the top of the hill and were rewarded with some amazing views.  We changed plans opting to walk back down the same way we came up. Grandma and Papa and the girls, expecting us to come down the other side, drove around and hiked to meet us. They of course never found us in the hills. Here is my Facebook post from today:

Successfully surprising the grandparents with a visit from their granddaughters, dinner at Lococos, creme fraiche ice cream and a walk in the hills of Marin - can't think of a better way to spend a sunday evening.

Day 85 and 86 - From the Jungle to California

Day 85

Birthday party at Jungle Playland in Mount Vernon.  What a fun place and a great church ministry!  You literally walk out of the sanctuary of the church it is housed in and you are in a cross between Chuck E Cheese and McDonald's Playland and much cleaner than either.  The equipment was big enough for adults to play on too and the slide was almost too fast for me.  What a great setting for our active and together time. 

Day 86
Birthday party week continues.  Today was a birthday party complete with an indoor bouncy house. We left from the party to start our drive to CA to surprise Grandma and Papa. We stopped at our usual McDonald's Playland in Oregon for dinner, so the girls got in some more play time.  This was a trip just for the girls, so the next week will be lots of together time for us.  Daddy will be painting all the doors in the house while we are gone, so I'm guessing that will be his exercise for the week.