In the beginning...

When Frank and Heather visited us in June, we had such a fantastic time that Heather and I immediately started planning our next get-together. It just so happened that Sean and Dylan would be away most of July and part of August and Don was pining for some time where he could focus on working many hours each day without feeling guilty about leaving me with the lion's share of the child-minding. So a plan was born: I would drive to California with the Littles to visit the Smiths and both sets of grandparents.

My absolutely wonderful mother offered to fly to Seattle and help me drive down. Being retired with flight benefits is a wonderful thing! She offered to do the same thing on the return trip, but when my dad heard about my plans, he offered to drive home with me and then spend some time visiting in the Pacific North West with Val's family and mine.

Of course I had trepidations about such a long drive, but I flew caution to the wind and went for it...I'm so glad I did!

Here we are getting ready to head out.

How can you resist a road trip with these cuties? Notice Nick in the background.

Of course Grandma had a strategy for kids who were hot/bored/tired of driving: suckers! She brought 33 of them and we even had leftovers : )

We drove from Canada to Roseburg, Oregon on the first day, stopping frequently at rest stops to use the washroom and at playgrounds to stretch our legs and play. We ate picnic food the entire time, going through the McDonald's drive thru only once, and that was to get ice cream!

In Roseburg, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express and made great use of their pool, hot tub, and complimentary hot breakfast. On Tuesday after breakfast we let the kids swim for awhile before loading them back into the car for the final leg of the journey.

Next stop: Moss Beach, California, where the girls finally got to see where Grandma and Papa live! We arrived around 7:30 p.m. and the kids (and the adults) were so ready to be out of the car. After unpacking our many belongings, Lee took the girls for a walk to the beach and Mom and I got everything ready for the kids' bedtime.

On Wednesday we were happy to spend a day not driving at all. We took the kids to the Moss Beach park, which they loved, and then to their beach, the Fritzgerald Marine Reserve.

The Moss Beach Park.

The Fritzgerald Marine Reserve... home of wonderful tide pools that Patience spent hours exploring with her very patient Papa.

On Wednesday we said a temporary goodbye to Grandma and Papa and got back in the car for a two-hour ride to the Smith's home.