DAY ONE
We departed Covington at 1:00pm on Wednesday and dove towards a hotel/motel in Medford, OR. Jack was great in the backseat using all manner of items to entertain himself. He colored, he played transformers, he narrated scenery and we listed to the sacred family road trip item: adventures in odyssey. Come Roseburg, we got out of the car, ate dinner and "ran" the child. We arrived at our hotel/motel and Jack was beside himself excited. Having never stayed in a hotel he was beside himself. "It is so cool, everyone has little houses in one building". Thanks to a day of driving Jack (and Buzz Lightyear were asleep in no time)
DAY TWO
We awoke early and hit the road. We knew we had another six or so hours ahead of us so we stopped in my favorite CA town, Yreka for a small town, obscenely huge breakfast at the Black Bear Diner.
Jack did a great job on day two in the car. We had lots of fun looking at all the fun scenery. He took a great nap following lunch and perfectly timed his waking up to 20 minutes before we arrived at our friends home. Our friends The Kurtz have been longtime family friends. As a kid, I visited their home a few times and we went camping with them at Yosemite when I was in Jr. high. There home is always so comfortable to be at...and for Jack it lacked no source of entertainment. We pulled into the driveway at 3:15 and here is mom and Jack at 3:20
We wasted no time hopping in the pool....and according to Jack that is why we went to California. "To swim, every time we think we want to swim" "California is great".That evening we enjoyed dinner at a great restaurant in downtown Danville. Day two was a great success.
DAY THREE
Come 9am, well rested and ready for California life Jack could be found in the pool. He swam, swam, swam. He played loudly (surprising? no) He played quietly, He jumped from the steps and eventually from the side. He loves the water.
When Jack was not in the pool he was hanging with any number or creatures that reside at the Kurtz home. Thanks to Brynn (a freshman at UCLA in the fall) there is a friendly chicken and an adorable corgie named Chester. Jack and Chester spent a lot of time together. Thanks to dad, Fred, there is a great little tortoise named Matilida who Jack loved watching walk around the pool. I admit she was my favorite too.
Thanks to all the fun in the day Jack was in bed and asleep at 6:30. He was one tuckered kiddo. That left the evening for me to enjoy great dinner and good conversation with our hosts.
DAY FOUR
The camera never made it out of my bag on day four but fun was had none the less.We again ventured downtown for the farmers market and a walk along a trail. Jack not so much of a walking fan in California heat, but the trip ended on an up note because we visited the local train museum and had some amazing kettle corn from the market. We then went home and jack and I played in the pool. We had such a great time together. Then Jack and Brynn spent some time coloring in his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle coloring book. * Thanks Brynn for playing along. Jack thinks you are the coolest.
Later in the evening we put on our "handsome clothes" for the wedding which propelled this trip. As per family tradition we took one crazy picture and then one nice picture. The wedding was held at a beautiful vineyard. Jack loved the appetizers, drinking water out of a water goblet- "they think I am a grown up" and busting out his moves on the dance floor. The kid was a maniac. I wish I had had my camera. I was laughing so hard.
DAY FIVE
We woke up early Sunday morning, rolled Jack out of bed and into the car, gave hugs and were on our way. We had a mission: make it home in one day.
Thanks to Jack being the most amazing traveler (there must have been divine intervention because my kiddo is good, even great...but on this day he was out of this world)we drove, drove, drove, ate lunch, drove, drove, drove, ate dinner, drove, drove and drove some more. After 16 hours we pulled into the driveway at 11:00pm and climbed into our beds. It really was the most amazing, almost easy drive ever. What a great sport and what a great adventure. We had so much fun together. What a great memory.