After leaving our family in Vancouver we got to visit Whistler and this time in the summer! Whistler is awesome-sauce! I mean if you love any type of extreme outdoor sports or just nature at it's best, this is the place for you any season. Alex and I actually got engaged in Whistler near Shannon falls (a picturesque waterfall on the route to whistler from Van City) 13 years ago in the springtime and had loved our time there. We also got to visit in the middle of winter with Shyla and Lennon when we lived in Vancouver and got to enjoy snow tubing which is beyond awesome. I have a video of us snowtubing down a MOUNTAIN (not hill!) and I giggled so hard from nerves and sheer fun I might have peed a wee bit! lol Besides the obvious skiing, snowboarding and other winter sports it's known for, this time, in summer we got to see it's busiest season and I see why. Picture this, beautiful mountains surround you, some are still snow capped, you're in a summer dress because it's 30 degrees out and sunny and yet kids, teens, adults from all over the world (yes its a busy tourist spot for a reason) are getting off the gondola rides from the peaks after enjoying an afternoon of skiing or snowboarding in their t-shirts!! Then at the bottom of the hill is the village filled with shops, restaurants galore and people enjoying the weather, beauty and atmosphere which is Whistler. I mean you don't have to spend a dime and just people and nature watch and I guarantee an amazing time. The vibe is so chill and friendly, people are just loving being there and I totally loved our 5 day stay camping in the area and our day in the village itself. I got to eat scrumptious chocolate from the Rocky Mountain Chocolatier (hello!!), bought myself some summer clothes from Aritzia (yeeessss shopping was a must after months of wearing same hiking gear), the kids played at a real cedar playpark/house, we enjoyed an amazing nacho platter with extra olives and guacamole while sitting at the bottom of the BMX hill (Lennon's eyes were glued and his heart broken as he had to be 8 to try it) and of course we did the Peak-to-Peak gandala ride (amazing views from extremely high heights, but not good on my nerves) between Whistler and Blackcomb mountain peaks. It really was a perfect day in the village for us 5freespirits and we even met another travelling family who love whistler so much they spend 6 months every year there so their kids can snowboard in the winter, spring and early summer! As for our campsite in the area we stayed at Whistler RV Park & Campground and let me tell you it had INCREDIBLE views you cannot beat. We literally were backing on to the mountain edge and saw over all of Whistler and the surrounding mountains. The fellow campers were in the greatest mood and I realized it's because it was the end of school and start of summer holidays now. I do recommend staying at this RV park as it's close to everything you need and the views are absolutely worth it!
We spent a day at Rainbow Park on Alta Lake. This beautiful lake was friggin COLD, so cold that when i went all the way in to swim to the floating dock my lungs started quivering and you know what, Lennon was swimming next to me with blue lips but he insisted! lol You know you're Canadian when.......lol. We literally loved this day so much we spent sunrise to sunset (which is freaking 11pm in the summer on the west coast!) enjoying it. We took epic Canadian beer commercial-worthy pics of Alex and I jumping off the dock into the ice cold fresh water and the kids played in the sand and water while making new friends. Another traveling family spent the day with us too which made for awesome adult convo on how this full-time RV life is amazing, how to keep it up, exchanging tips on everything and anything and of course a bit of political talk (I mean with Trump in power it's just always coming up). All I have to say is if you haven't gone to Whistler yet, please do add it to your bucket list as I promise it's well worth it. Oh I should also mention the remnants from the 2010 Winter Olympics that Vancouver hosted are still present in the village where the athletes competed. To be able to stand on the podiums and see our beautiful flag fly with the mountains in the background and a black bear moseying along the peak was just icing on the cake. Love Whistler, love my country and get your butt to see this wonderful outdoor haven! Vancouver City Visit Have you ever been to Vancouver and area before? Well if not, I cannot tell you enough how fantastic this city is! I mean how can you go wrong with it's great seafood/sushi restaurants, the natural beauty of being a coastal city surrounded by the rocky mountains and all the amazing parks and sites to visit! We had the pleasure of living there for 6 months in 2013/14 where we did a ton of exploration of Canada's 3rd largest city. The Vancouver Aquarium in my opinion is still my favourite out of all aquariums we have been to so far and thats a lot! Stanley Park is an incredible place to visit for a day trip, but you can't see it all in that amount of time as it has amazing bike/walking trails throughout, scenic overlooks of the harbour and city, fantastic gardens, splash pads, playgrounds, totem poles, restaurants, ride-on miniature train (highlight for any kid and big kid at heart, plus its decorated for christmas and halloween) and much more! Depending on the time you're visiting you should also check out the whale watching options. We decided to jump on a whale tour from Steveston Harbour (Seabreeze Adventures) and for several hours we were out watching some amazing wildlife. It was so fantastic to see a family of 5 or 6 orcas gracefully swimming in the ocean. We also managed to see so many bald eagles and also some sea lions. We were told that at other times of the year you can see humpbacks and grey whales...but this time of year its the orcas. The Telus Science World is a MUST do for any family visiting and I spent countless days there when Shyla and Lennon were little, it was a godsend on those damp and dark winter days that Vancity can bring. Of course there is the infamous Granville Island which is a hot spot for local eats, the market is always full of foods, crafts, music, and everything else to be expected at a large indoor/outdoor market. It also has great restaurants and street performers as well as a kids indoor/outdoor play area complete with kids clothing, toy and hair cut stores! There are great shopping and restaurants districts as expected in any major city and it never feels overwhelming in my opinion like Toronto or larger cities do. It's a short drive to the border for US shopping as well as to many mountains for skiing and all outdoor activities and Whistler is only an hour drive away too. Yes, Vancouver is almost perfect really except for the winter. After our time living there from October to April 2013/14 I was so glad this time around to be visiting in the summer. Winter in Vancouver rains and it rains and it bloody hell rains A LOT! Plus if its not raining it's dark and I have learned the hard way I need sunshine or this lady gets down. So I implore you to visit this great Canadian city which has a special place in my heart always, but try to go during summer :) Family Time!
Even though we had been to Vancouver already we still decided to re-visit the big sites previously mentioned so the kids and us could relive the memories there and to introduce it to Madden. The highlight of this part of our journey was spending quality time with Alex's cousins in Pitt Meadows, a suburb of Vancouver. It was great to catch up and live in a house for the 9 days we had together. To have unlimited hot water, other adults to speak to (sorry Alex) and just to see our family and be with them was so much fun and relaxing. I cherish them so much and the kids had an absolute blast hanging out with their cuzs' and playing with their dogs daily. We had our trailer in the local RV shop to repair a roof tear that happened in the Redwood forest so timing was perfect! Thanks again Eddie, Anne, Nicole and David, baby Maya and Aaron for having us and hope to see you guys sooner than later xo What an entrance we had arriving into the state of Oregon from California. First off, the weather dramatically changed to overcast and damp. It was beautiful in an eerie vampire type of way. It was one of most memorable drives that we can now laugh about, but at the time it was no joke. The windy turns and dips in the road along the 101 were quite a feat for our 31 foot trailer and we were pretty stressed out wondering every few minutes if our trailer hitch and front end of the trailer itself would hit the road. Once we pulled in to a gas station where we discovered you cannot pump your own gas anywhere in Oregon (its actually against state law), we did in fact bottom out 3 times trying desperately to get out of the gas station! The entrance and exits were sloped pavement inclines unnoticed by cars or anyone not towing. Man did we look ridiculous pulling two 10 point turns with a trailer and yelling at each other trying to find the least grade to get out of that bloody gas station. It was definitely not meant for trucks or trailers. Then as we mosied along getting over the recent scratch of our hitch along the gas stations concrete, we hear Lennon tell us he HAS to go #2 NOW!. At this point we are on a barely 2 lane winding mountain road with no shoulders to pull over and no gas stations or towns for the next 30 minutes! So desperate times call for a thick plastic bag and a man-made latreen in the backseat of the truck all the while Alex is concentrating on not driving off the cliffs edge or bottoming out on the not so trailer friendly road! lol After all that road trip drama we arrive in Sunset Bay campsite only to discover there is zero wifi and zero cell signal anywhere. In fact most of Oregon campsites are complete dead zones. Hence the very late Oregon blog as we got quite behind on our blog and way behind on netflix shows! lol However, Oregon was a beauty! Despite the few hiccups that we now chuckle about (Lennon proudly tells everyone he pooped in a bag in the truck) we really loved the outdoor wonder Oregon had to offer! From tide pools, lush greenery, dune buggies, mountains and tons of water falls! Check it out! The tide pools were definitely the highlight of our Oregon stay. The kids LOVED poking anemones to see how sticky they feel, catching tiny crabs and sea snails, to splashing in the tiny pools of water the tide left behind. The star fish spottings, the waves crashing, the seals on all the coast lines and the dramatic misty, low cloud cover falling over the densely lush forests that lined the coast. It was amazing! The weather turned around for us too during our stay as we got a few hot sunny days as well as the dark misty ones you come to expect from Oregon.
We rented dune buggies in Honeyman State Park and of course that was a TON of fun! That state park was a great campsite with an awesome kids park and close to the small picturesque fishing town of Florence. We walked around Florence and enjoyed talking to the local crab fisherman and sampled local produce as well as window shopped of course. I really loved the fresh local produce and it was interesting to see the medicinal marijuana shops everywhere we drove. The laid back outdoorsy feel we got from our time there was really nice. Though at times frustrating to have no connection to our devices, to me it was nice and quiet evenings, Alex on the other hand started to twitch after a week. lol Oregon is beautiful for sure and really has a ton of outdoor beauty to explore for free. My favourite spot was Cape Cove where we spent the entire day exploring the tide pools, the beach itself and the caves along the shore that were tucked underneath the old and scenic Heceta lighthouse (built 1888) that watches over the cove. Cape Cove also had a great little hike out to the tide pools and two great spots; Devils Hole and Thor's Well. Both these places look amazing with the powerful waves crashing in and around them. I even managed to get way too close to the Devils Hole and got absolutely drenched when a HUGE wave came crashing in! Lesson learned...we all had a great laugh and Alex of course captured the entire event on his iPhone LOL. Shortly after Cape Cove, we ventured inland to Silver Falls State Park near Salem. This was a wonderful park with some really spectiacular hikes. They are famous for their 11 waterfall hike which takes some crazy amount of miles to do...so we opted to visit the first three which took us about 3 miles and it was absolutely stunning! All in all, Oregon was a wonderful place!! After spending over 4 months traveling throughout the US, we can't help but miss our beloved Canada and all the amazing things it has to offer. We often take for granted our country and this trip has more than anything made us love our country even more if that's possible! To celebrate Canada's 150th birthday, Wendy and I decided to make a list of all the things that we love about our beautiful country. I'm sure you all can relate to some of these yourselves. 10. Friendly Folk Yes its true. We say 'sorry' a lot. We're all very polite and that's a good thing! Nuff said. 9. Hockey No Canadian list is complete without hockey on it. Seriously, there's nothing more exciting than the Stanley Cup Playoffs or watching Team Canada. And now that the Leafs finally have some promise again I think its time for a parade down Yonge Street in the near future LOL. 8. Sparsely Populated For some, they may prefer densely populated places. For us, however, we absolutely love the fact that Canada is the second largest country by area on the planet and it has almost 10 times less people than the US. It means that we're never too far from the wilderness and open spaces. The wilderness here truly is 'wild' and we absolutely love it! 7. Affordability (relative to the rest of the globe) Ok ok. I know we will get some of our friends saying that we're wrong on this one, but seriously, for anyone that has traveled extensively I think you'll agree that Canada still has a very high quality of life and affordability when compared to other western nations. When you look at places like London, Paris, Tokyo, Los Angeles, San Fran or NYC I think you'll see that Toronto, Montreal and Calgary are all way cheaper! Vancouver may be the one exception, but when you factor in food and other living expenses its probably still way cheaper than most other major global cities. 6. Delicious Seafood! From the West Coast's incredible sushi, scallops, crabs and clams to our East Coasts amazing lobster you just can't go wrong. How lucky are we that the rest of the country gets to benefit from all this amazing seafood and all the great fresh fish in between. Wendy has had some dietary restrictions recently that has prevented her from eating seafood and I know she's dying to get back to tasting our amazing seafood! 5. Its Natural Beauty This goes hand in hand with being so sparsely populated. There is still so many places in Canada that feel 'untouched' and when you combine this with all the natural elements that have carved this land over the last million years and you get one incredible landscape coast-to-coast! 4. Free Healthcare Ok. So I'll be the first person to say I wish our healthcare was faster and more efficient, but can any of you imagine life in a world where healthcare wasn't a public right for all of us? A world where unless you have a good paying corporate job you don't receive the healthcare you deserve? Me neither. Sure there are ways to improve our healthcare (a dual system or similar), but when I got sick in the US during our travels I can't tell you how lucky I was to have insurance. The first thing I was met with at the emergency room in Texas was 'how will you be paying for this?'. After filling out an abundance of forms they finally decided to treat me. When we get ill in Canada I can't tell you how important it is to NOT have to think about money and insurance in a time of need. So this one goes on our list for sure! 3. The Amazing Wildlife Whales, moose and bears oh my! Ok so its not the Serengheti, but wow, how lucky are we that we have such incredible wildlife in our backyard? From humpback whales and orcas to wolverines, bobcats and the mighty Grizzly...we are so unbelievably lucky to have such a diverse wildlife. 2. Overall Safety Yes I think this is something we absolutely take for granted as Canadians. Even our largest cities have for the most part very very safe streets. There is some truth to Michael Moore's documentary, that there are places in Canada still where residents don't even lock their doors! I'm not saying crime doesn't exist (because it certainly does), but relatively speaking we live in a very very safe country thanks to the 'friendly folk' here in Canada among other things. 1. Freedom to speak you mind I know this may sound cliche, but its absolutely true and its never been more important than right now. We should consider ourselves very lucky to be living in a country where having a differing opinion is simply that! With the rise of nationalism and polarizing politics around the world, I thank my blessings that we live in a place where differences in thought or opinion aren't met with violence and intolerance. Regardless of which political party is in power here in Canada these rights and freedoms are the same across each of them and our political platforms are never so polarizing that violence easily erupts. We love you Canada! Happy 150th Canada!!!
Our journey through the California Redwoods saw us stay at three different campgrounds; Hendy Woods State Park and two wonderful RV Parks found deep within the famous Avenue of the Giants area in Humboldt County California. We were definitely "humboldt" when we saw all these amazing groves of magnificent redwoods! Hendy Woods State ParkIt's no wonder why the majestic redwood forest is on so many peoples bucket list. These giant trees and ancient forests are literally older then Jesus in some cases! I mean who the heck can say they hugged a 2000 year old tree??? Imagine what these trees have witnessed over the course of history? Just the thought alone of a tiny seedling growing into the giant trees we 5 FreeSpirits got to climb on and walk amongst thousands of years later was incredible! To me, my mind was blown and I felt humbled, honoured, ecstatic and amazed (these are the best words that come to my mind) from our hikes and time camping within the redwood forests of California. Hands down a must do if you have any appreciation for nature at all. I believe the kids were even in awe with the height and width of these ancient trees. They absolutely LOVED our hikes through the redwoods because they got to climb, crawl across, play inside and walk on the trees still standing and fallen ones too. What a playground! Seriously some of our hikes were an entire day long and we would stop to have two or even three picnics (sitting on or inside a hallow tree of course made the picnics more fun) so we could keep exploring and we were all just having that much of a good time. It's such a special place for your spirit and senses in my opinion. It smelled of fresh pine and the air was so unbelievably clean and fresh I almost felt my lungs thanking me lol! But the trees! Oh trees so tall you have to bend your head all the way back and even still cannot see the tops! At times we (me) made the kids stop be still and silent (early meditation practice) to let their bodies and senses feel and take in their surroundings (something I've always loved doing in nature). Shyla said, " Mommy I hear God!" LOL (ummmm yup our 7 year old who is not brought up in an overly religious home just said she hears GOD!!) and Lennon remarked, "I hear trees, water and the wind blowing". Madden of course is not capable yet of doing this exercise, but he was sure cute trying to close his eyes as he jumped off a rather large fallen tree and rolled along the forrest vegetation :). We even got to witness a totally grass roots couple with dreadlocks and purple hair getting married inside one of these ancient trees in one of the many beautiful groves. It was so neat to see that. I felt like woodland fairies were hiding...this place is that magical. The weather got quite warm a for a few days and we managed to find the best little swimming hole for the kids to play. Eel river, which meanders through this whole area had several spots where you could just jump in and swim amongst all the redwood groves. We found one in particular where an old redwood had fallen to make a natural bridge which led to famous the 'Giant Tree' which was 300+ feet tall and had a circumference of over 50 feet! The water was crystal clear and was refreshing for all of us. We even met another traveling family from Colorado who we hung out with and discussed travel stories while the kids played together. Hands down one of my favourite places on earth to be, but then again I keep feeling that way with more of what we get to see on this incredible journey. It just makes me want more. The Avenue of The GiantsWe love San Fran!! By far a fun and intriguing city! Wendy and I have never visited there before and so we were looking forward to spending the better part of a week there including Mother's Day. Crazy drives up almost vertical streets (think Inception movie with Leonardo DiCaprio), colourful Victorian homes, parks, Alcatraz, ocean views, Golden Gate Bridge, granola eating liberals and so much more! I mean no wonder it's one of the biggest tourist spots in North America. Over the course of the 7 days we spent in the San Fran area we managed to see A LOT in my opinion which we've captured below in no particular order. AlcatrazI mean nothing screams Mother's Day like take your wife to prison right? lol We weren't sure exactly if the kids would enjoy this attraction as we thought it may either scare them OR be a bit too dark and depressing for them. Nonetheless, it was on Wendy's list so we opted to take our chances with our kids enjoying it and jump on the ferry over to Alcatraz Island and boy were we surprised. Not only did the kids love the tour, but they enjoyed listening intently to the audio tour (should we be worried?) while we ventured throughout the entire jail. There was cool stories about prison breaks and the tour walked us in and out of certain cells so we could get a feel of what it was like. Honestly, this is a great day to spend while in San Fran and it was money well spent for us. The views from the ferry and the island back to the city were beautiful and Shyla and Wendy spotted a freaking SHARK in the waters. How fitting is that? Golden Gate BridgeProbably the main attraction in San Fran and it was also well worth the hype. All in all, I think we drove over the bridge and back again around 3 times and each time it felt pretty nostalgic to be actually driving over this amazing landmark. We managed to get some amazing pictures of it from both the south side in one of the parks and also on the north side up the cliffs in Sausalito area. The kids forced me to play the theme song from Full House while driving over the bridge and I'm sure we're not the first family to have done that! The Crooked Street & San Fran's Steep RoadsWe only heard of The Crooked Street through a friend and when we looked it up we were pretty intrigued! I mean who builds a crazy steep and windy street in the middle of a city like that? If you've never seen this road you MUST go here. Even better if you can actually drive down it as we did. It was hilarious how tight the turns were and the fact that people have their homes and garages on this road also. The homes on this part of the street are beautiful and its hard to imagine that people actually live here! Apparently this street used to be one of the steepest in San Fran before there were cars. Once cars were invented, they simply could not go on this road due to excessive grade. Someone had the brilliant idea of making the street a huge windy, curvy switchback road so cars could actually go down it. From there the 'Crooked Street' was born! In addition to Lombard Street we also managed to take our Dodge Ram truck on some of the steepest streets in all of San Fran. This was hilarious to do! We drove up and down Filbert Street which was a 30% grade...I thought my truck was going to bottom out LOL! Seriously though, try parking on these streets...it feels like your car is going to roll over.
Golden Gate ParkWe spent one entire afternoon at the Golden Gate Park located just south of the Golden Gate Bridge as there was plenty to see and do there. Our time limited us to what we could do here, so we only managed to take the kids to the awesome kids park and the huge indoor carousel. The park was so green and lush that we could've easily spent another day there as we heard there were also animals, lakes and other cool things to see and do. The Painted Ladies Hippie VW Bus TourWhen you don't have a lot of time in a big city like San Fran, doing a guided city tour may be a good idea. We found a highly rated one called "The Painted Ladies Tour" which is a small personally guided tour (6 - 8 people max) where they pick you up in a 1970's Volkswagon Hippie Van and drive you to numerous sites around town. Again, we weren't sure how the kids would do on an organized tour, but we didn't have a lot of time and we wanted to see and hear about as many sites as we could. Lucky for us, the kids were toast from the day prior and they managed to pass out in the VW bus for most of the tour which left Wendy and I to enjoy the tour sans kiddies which was great! Some of the cool stops we went to included Twin Peaks, The Woman's Building, Pacific Heights, Golden Gate Bridge, The Painted Ladies, Mrs. Doubtfire's house and the Palace of Fine Arts. Overall the tour was pretty good and the tour guide himself was excellent. It still amazed me how he could drive a 6 speed manual transmission in this city as some of the inclines he took us on were crazy! Tanner House & Painted Ladies (from Full House)No trip to San Fran can be complete without seeing the famous Victorian and Edwardian houses called "The Painted Ladies". These beautiful homes are also famous for being in the intro scene from the 90's sitcom Full House. For some reason, Shyla's favourite show is Full House and the new version Fuller House so we absolutely had to see this while we here. Around the corner from the Painted Ladies was the actual house that the Tanner family used in the show and we surprised Shyla and took her by here to see it. Unfortunately they were renovating part of the outside while we passed by but the nice Northern Irish carpenter that was there agreed to take a picture of us sitting on their steps! Nice. The ExploratoriumPrior to heading to San Fran we didn't have plans to visit the Exploratorium, but after several recommendations from others we decided to check it out. Similar to the Ontario Science Center (back from where we're from) and ScienceWorld in Vancouver, this place was a hit with the kiddo's! I might even say we found it slightly better than the other two science places we've been. There was tons for the kids to see, play and interact with and even the little one Madden was fully entertained. If you're coming to San Fran with small kids, I would highly recommend taking them here and spending a few hours trying out all the science gadgets here. Even Wendy and I had a huge laugh playing with some of the sights.
MontereySo-Cal is a treat with its warmer climate busy cities and the awesome beaches, but honestly this stretch of Monterey to Half Moon Bay stole my heart! First off, most of the coastal drive and actually most of our entire trip has some beautiful scenery to write about, but the landscape we drove through in this region took my breath away and surely must be painters' heaven! I'm not a botanist, but boy could I appreciate the beauty of the wild flowers, rose bushes and green rolling hills that lined the east side of the 101 along our drive and stay in this region. Vineyards for miles with sheep grazing or napping under the vines was like straight out of an english novel depiction. Jane Austen would have ate this beauty up! The air smelt of sea and roses and the weather was mild and pleasant for our entire stay. The west side of highway 101 gave us the roaring waves of the Pacific which no matter where we camped we were blessed to hear this gentle and soothing sound to lull us to sleep every night! I remember giving birth to Shyla and playing the sounds of waves the entire 8 hour labour! lol This was a free meditation CD right for our own very ears during our week and half stay in this gorgeous area. Our campsite in Monterey was Moss Landing Harbour KOA which is nothing in itself to write home about, but when I actually stopped complaining in my head about the KOA and let my senses take in what was behind the concrete wall that was behind our site I smelled salt water, I heard waves crashing in, seagulls calling and wait a minute what is that I hear.....seals barking! Yes our KOA campsite was not our favourite camping spot, but the location was incredible! A few minute walk out of the RV compound and we were in the Moss Landing harbour filled with fishing boats and seals galore! A quick hop and step over the harbour was a ton of sea lions and sea otters chilling on the beach in the harbour! What a treat! It was windy as heck that day. seriously sandstorm in my face constant and the kids and i had hoods covering our ears and sun glasses to protect our eyes, but we couldn't' believe that the cutest animals (in our opinion sea otters of course!) were just hanging out steps away from us in the harbour. Have you ever seen a sea otter get out of the water and walk up a beach? We didn't until then and they look like a giant rodent actually lol their back legs are awkward out of the water; you can tell they are meant to be on their backs in the sea and not on land. We took in the giant waves that were on the other side of the harbour and looked out to try to find humpback wales that had been spotted. So after my taking in the otters, seals, ocean and market produce stands my kids where like "hey mom we are bored!" Honestly, kids right?! So we heard that the town of Monterey had an aquarium that we HAD to go see and of course the kids were all about it! After going to many renowned aquariums in the past few years I can say it is a very good one, however it was BUSY! Stupid us made a mistake of going on a Saturday, but when you are on retirement time you kinda forget which day or month it is! lol Besides the heaping crowds and elbows flying I would rate this a great aquarium for littles, but do not go on weekends! My favourite part of this area was outside the aquarium. there are streets filled with tourist shops and ice cream parlours, but it's the beach that is behind the busy streets that was our favourite part of the day! We threw rocks in the ocean, looked and touched the sticky anemones, collected shells for our fam and friends back home, Shyla wrote a few letters on the beach for back home too, Alex got the kids ice cream and a seagull literally swooped down and stole his milk shake! We climbed rocks and ran as the waves crashed in to see who could come the closest to not getting wet! It was the most pleasant afternoon ever and I find when travelling it is the unplanned parts of the day that are the most treasured. We were truly living in the moment and I felt incredibly lucky and blessed sitting on the beach playing with my kids and surrounded by the ocean and all its wonder. Shyla learned how powerful the waves truly are and the effects of the tide coming in when she climbed onto a rock straight out of the little mermaid and all of a sudden the water level rose around her, she was surrounded by water rushing in and another wave rolling in behind her! It was a scary moment and as I ran to her I saw her face terrified. I yelled for her to stay because I knew she'd be OK, but she was too scared and jumped into the water fully dressed and managed to jump, swim and run out of the waves and onto the beach with a very large crowd watching! She was shaken and soaked, but after a big hug and talk, I wrapped her in my dry warm sweater and we decided to pack it in as Alex's stress level was high (seagull snatching episode, Madden crapping his pants and eating beach sand, and now Shyla almost caught in the tide pull!) All in all, Monterey area is a fantastic place to visit and I would highly recommend it! I definitely want to go back and check out more of the area on another trip :). You know we try to teach our kids about the ocean and tides, the power of currents, the difference between lakes and oceans and the importance of listening when we tell them to stop when running into an ocean without us! But until you actually experience the powers of the waves and tide you cannot grasp its almighty power so even though it was scary for Shyla now she can truly understand the gravity of the oceans strength and she will def stop next time when we tell her to before running into the ocean! lol #lifeskills Half Moon BayHalf Moon Bay campsite is amongst our favourite campsites for a very good reason. The natural beauty again is breathtaking. Where's Julie Andrews running down the rolling green hills singing? lol Seriously! My eyeballs were constantly delighted in the views of the ocean side campsite we had with a gorgeous tree for the kids to climb, the beach had beautiful fuchsia (Shyla and my fav colour) coloured flowers crawling along the sand cliffs and the humpback whales that would treat us to a visit along the beach was just amazing in fact it almost felt like a divine experience really. I was in awe the entire stay!! Half Moon Bay also had tons of fresh produce stands lining the highways and streets that had local fresh produce for cheap! I tell ya I was in produce paradise! I literally skipped and giggled up and down the market stands as I picked bags of fresh cherries, artichokes grown next door, strawberries from the field across the street, blueberries from a few miles down the road, chives and cilantro and eggs from the farm 2 miles away! My kids looked at me like a lunatic and so did the women who worked there, but I did not care. Having worked so hard to fight my autoimmune dysfunctions, histamine intolerance and learning about health and importance of fresh food this was a huge and kind of an emotional moment for me! I felt like Martha Stewart in her kitchen in her hay day! lol We had some great meals that week I tell ya. My fresh produce stands were literally a bike ride away and speaking of bikes, we had the best bike trail ride along the sea and picnic on the beach while we practised our cartwheels, skipping stones, chased waves crashing in again (our fav beachside game for Lennon he calls this game "don't get wet!) and just took in the beautiful beach side homes and hidden coves along this route. Sometimes we would be completely alone in one of the beach coves we'd find along our way and it felt like God, the Power, Mother Nature whatever you call the incredible energy that formed this planet and all life was with us! I could seriously see myself living in Half Moon Bay area for realz!
Why 11? Well because we tend not to follow the norm if you haven't noticed AND because we just couldn't narrow it down to 10. We are just over half way through our journey and we decided to reflect on the best camping spots we've been blessed to find thus far. There's been some real beauties and also some disappointments, but below are the ones we've loved the most for various reasons. Hendy Woods State ParkBy far our favourite site yet is the secluded Hendy Woods State Park found 40 minutes east of Mendocino California. All the sites are totally dry with no electricity or running water and the journey in and outta here takes you through some challenging levels mountain passes, but it was well worth it! Our site (like most) was set among giant Redwood trees with tons of room for the kids to explore and play. All the hiking trails were kid friendly and we even managed to find a beautiful river to splash around in when the weather got warm. Catalina State ParkCatalina State Park near Tucson Arizona makes our list due to its amazing hiking trails through a living desert at the base of the Catalina Mountains. The campsites also sit at the base of the mountains giving you a spectacular view every day. On top of that the campground is crawling with little gofers popping their heads up all around you and the weather was near perfect when we visited in March. We were also quite lucky to have plenty of good grocery shopping and other amenities within a 5 minute drive. Guadalupe River State ParkGuadalupe River State Park nestled between Austin and San Antonio Texas offers amazing secluded and very spacious campgrounds with plenty of things for the kids to keep themselves busy with. On top of that the river meanders beautifully for several miles and you can put a river tube in the water and float down several miles taking in all the scenery. Since the river loops around you can get off your tube and walk a short distance back up to the top and do it all over again! Giant Redwoods RV REsortFound in a little town called Myers Flat in Northern California is this beautiful little RV resort. While we tend not to enjoy RV resorts as much as state parks, this one is a bit different. All sites are nicely set among Redwood trees and the location even has its own river access for swimming and just enjoying the beautiful scenery. The smell of pine from the trees is everywhere and the kids thoroughly enjoyed the park as well. On top of that it's located right in the heart of the famous Avenue of the Giants and close to amazing trails, hikes and massive Redwood trees. Half Moon Bay State BeachLocated 30 minutes south of San Francisco right on the Pacific Ocean, Half Moon Bay beach is a real scenic wonder! Our campground and site sat about 100 yards from the beach and it's biking trails were fantastic! It's proximity to San Francisco makes it a great spot to stay as the drives into San Fran are as scenic as ever along the famous pacific coast highway 1. Silver Strand State BeachSilver Strands Beach and campground is a gem of a spot found about 5 minutes from downtown Coronado in San Diego California. Although the sites themselves aren't very private, if you plan ahead you can get one of the spots directly on the beach and enjoy stepping out your RV right on to the sandy beach and the Pacific Ocean. It's location to Coronado and all the amazing attractions of San Diego also made this place a huge hit with us. Oliver Lee State ParkSet in the beautiful desert landscape at the base of Dog Canyon is Oliver Lee Memorial State Park in Alamogordo New Mexico. The view of the mountains each morning and evening was breathtaking. Add to that the fact that the famous White Sands of New Mexico are a short drive from the campsite and this place is an awesome place to stay while camping in New Mexico! We also enjoyed the trails in the park and it was especially nice to find a slow moving river set among the desert landscape. Topsail Hill State ParkTopsail Hill was the very first campground we stayed at while embarking on this journey. We really lucked out because we were met with beautifully maintained sites, a full hookup, decent privacy and within a short 1 mile walk we could enjoy a secluded part of the white sandy beaches that Destin Florida had to offer. This park was close to all the amenities of Destin and other amazing beaches along the Gulf of Mexico. Morro Bay State BeachA few hours north of Los Angeles and just south of The famous Big Sur sits Morro Bay State Beach. We were fortunate to find a site that was about 100 yards from the ocean and with a full hookup! Although the water here makes for difficult swimming (serious waves and cold temps) there is plenty to see from this location. Just a short drive north and we were observing wild elephant seals, sea lions and amazing pelicans. Even the famous Hearst Castle was a short drive and well worth the visit. The Lost Dutchman State ParkThe Lost Dutchman State Park sits at the base of Flatiron Mountain just east of Phoenix Arizona. Lots of gold rush and Wild West history here, but the greatest part of this campground was its hiking trails and picturesque setting. We managed to find a site where I had to maneuver our 31 foot trailer between two massive saguaro cactuses (cacti?) which made for a nice photo op albeit a stressful parking job for me! Lake Havasu State ParkWhats better than finding a huge fresh water lake in the middle of the desert? Nothing! Lake Havasu State Park was a blessing to find in the desert. We landed here in March and the temperature was already a stifling 36C but with our trailer parked literally 20 yards from the beach and lake we weren't complaining much! Lots to see and do here if you enjoy water sports, boating, jet skiing, paddle boarding etc. At the same time, I suspect this place gets VERY busy in the summer months so plan accordingly.
Month number three of our epic RV journey across the US and Canada brings us to sunny Southern California! While we had so many incredible experiences during our time there, we decided to summarize our journey through SoCal into these top 10 must-see spots! We didn't have time to see absolutely everything so we know we've missed some great places...but these 10 in particular hold a special place in our hearts now. Have a look and let us know if you agree or disagree... #10 Beverly Hills & HollywoodFor many folks, this may be the highlight of Los Angeles, but for us this came in at #10. It was quite nostalgic to see the Hollywood sign on the mountain, walk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame to see all the great artists and stand outside the famous Chinese Theater. Apart from those must see attractions, Hollywood was definitely a bit 'rough' and slammed with tourists so we were happy to get out of there after we saw the main sites. Beverly Hills was certainly more pleasing for us to walk around with the kids and just soak in all the richness and wealth that shows up everywhere you look! Bentley's, Lambourghini's and Rolls Royce's were commonplace here which was pretty cool to see. Rodeo Drive was a must see for Wendy so we ventured down to do some "window" shopping and eat some ice cream in hopes of catching a celebrity sighting. #9 Elephant Seal LookoutThis might seem out of place, but for nature lovers like us, this place was just an amazing find! Located about 30 minutes north of Morro Bay almost near Central California, there is a large beach lookout which is home to a hundred or so elephant seals. We've never seen an elephant seal in their own habitat before and it was just amazing watching these huge creatures crawl around in the sand and push each other around in the rocky water. Best of all, this place is totally free to the public and provides amazing views over the ocean. #8 Hearst CastleAlmost by accident, we found Hearst Castle, previous home of William Randolph Hearst the newspaper mogul. Not too far from Elephant Seal Lookout in a town called San Simeon we found this HUGE mansion and complex built atop a mountain overlooking green rolling hills and the the ocean. What's amazing is Hearst built this mansion over the course of 15 years and with many European design influences and architecture. Hearst Castle is now a state park, but once you get to the information center, visitors are bused up a windy mountain road to where the mansion is located. The mansion, its grounds and the views were absolutely stunning!! #7 Desert Sculptures of Borrego SpringsSurreal is the best word to describe these incredible and odd steel statues that exist in the middle of the Anzo Borrego Desert. While driving to our campsite in Anza Borrego park, we passed ten or twenty enormous steel sculptures that are set inside the desert. None were more impressive than the magnificent serpent that meanders in and out of the ground and across the road. Just an amazing site and the kids absolutely loved checking out all the various sculptures and taking pictures with them. #6 USS Midway Aircraft CarrierI think TripAdvisor lists this as the #1 thing to do while in San Diego. While we didn't have this as #1 on our list, it certainly was impressive and a great way to spend the day with the kids. This aircraft carrier which holds 20 or more jets and helicopters from various wars is a fully hand-on exhibit that us and the kids were able to walk through and touch everything in our path! Many exhibits we've been to in the past don't allow you to touch anything, which sucks for the kiddo's), but it was a pleasant surprise to find that literally everything on the ship was fair game to play with. The kids loved sitting in all the jets and helicopters and also visiting all the areas of the ship...and pressing all the buttons! #5 Morro Strand State BeachLocated about 3 hours north of LA is Morro Bay and Morro Strand State Beach. The state beach was a great place for us to stay as our trailer was parked literally 50 yards from this huge amazing beach! Although the weather was cooler when we were here, the views of the famous Morro Rock and the huge rolling hills that sit directly behind the campground were incredible. The kids loved playing on the endless beach, picking up hundreds of sand dollars that washed up and dipping into the ocean to attempt some wake boarding. This is such an amazing and picturesque part of California! #4 San Diego ZooNot surprisingly, this sight had to make our list! The San Diego Zoo is an incredible zoo with tons of animals that we really couldn't even see all in one day. Such a huge place that they even have shuttle buses inside the zoo to bring tourists from one place to another. Many exhibits are so well laid out that you get fantastic unobstructed views of the animals despite the busy crowds. Wendy was super excited to finally see pandas up close since the Toronto Zoo seems to always have a 2 hour wait to see their pandas and she always misses them. From Grizzly Bears, Polar Bears and Koala Bears to Lions, Tigers, Giraffes and Elephants this place had it all. #3 Santa Monica Pier & Pacific ParkWe had originally planned to drive around LA and not visit the city at all since the idea of pulling a 31 foot trailer anywhere close to LA traffic didn't seem appealing to us at all. We came to our senses and decided to park our trailer just outside of LA so we could stop in for a few days and boy are we glad we did. We spent the better part of an afternoon and evening enjoying Santa Monica area, the pier and of course all the rides at Pacific Park. Santa Monica had such a great vibe to it...a laid back beachfront and boardwalk, fun little shops, greasy food and fun performers. On top of that the weather, sunset and view over the beach was just amazing. We could've easily spent the entire day here, but unfortunately we just didn't have enough time. All I know is...we will be back!! #2 Hiking Slot Canyon in Anza BorregoWhile we were staying in Anza Borrego State Park, we managed to stumble upon this amazing trail. The trail is located about 20 minutes from our campsite and directly past the steel Desert Sculptures, but only accessible by 4-wheel drive vehicles (thank you Dodge Ram). The kids had an absolute blast off-roading through the desert just to get to the trail head. I had to be careful not to bottom out my truck a few times as its not a true off-road vehicle, but we managed to get to the trail with my entire truck still intact! Once on the trail it was an amazing meandering trail that led you through tight spaces inside the canyon. The walls were eroded by the water and wind so they had such beautiful swirls and patterns. The kids loved crawling in and out of the tight canyon spaces and the views from inside the canyon were truly amazing. The canyon walls even shelter you from the intense desert sun and heat which is an added bonus for the desert! Highly recommend visiting Anza Borrego and doing this trail in particular. #1 Silver Strand Beach & CoronadoIf you ever plan to visit San Diego, Coronado area and the Silver Strand State Beach is a must see. For us, as RV'ers, we were able to secure a spot directly on the beach (yes that's right) where we could step out of our trailer and directly on to the ocean beach. White sand and beautiful waves welcomed us and each night it was amazing to go to sleep with the sound of the waves crashing the beach. The kids played endlessly in the sand and we especially loved trying our luck wake boarding on top of the medium sized waves. If you're a beach lover this should be on your list! As an added bonus, Silver Strand beach is located about 5 minutes down the road from downtown Coronado which is probably one of the nicest areas in San Diego. Arizona is awesome! So awesome we were having so much fun exploring many of it's incredible parks, epic hiking trails, seeing one of the 7 wonders of the world, the good old Grand Canyon, celebrating our first Birthday on the road, Madden's first hair cut, (it looks horrible and I regret it but at the same time I chuckle at his likeliness to Lloyd from dumb and dumber) our first holiday (well two if you count St.Patty's Day) and so much more that we did not blog for over a month! However, we did cover quite a bit in the 5 weeks we had in Arizona and more importantly made memories with our kids that I will cherish for my life and fingers crossed they will remember most of them too!! Ok here we go..... Arizona! LOVE that there are no bugs! Seriously not one fly, mosquito or any other annoying pest that usually plagues us in our summer vacays back home once good weather hits. How amazing is that? NO humidity just dry heat and sunshine all the time! Feels so good to not sweat and feel sticky in the heat, but if you do not find shade (which is immediate relief as its so cool because no humidity again) or drink plenty of water the desert heat will kick your butt (ask Alex on his dehydration fun from west Texas). Arizona has the Sonoran desert which is the largest living desert in the world and it is incredible! We learned so much about the Sonoran desert and it is impressive. I didn't know that its the largest living desert in the world, has the most rattlesnakes species in the world and how amazing the plant life and animals that live there are. We learned that the Saguaro cactus lives to be over 200 years old and will only start to grow their 'arms' once they are at least 50 years old. They are hard and spikey and super tall. We just couldn't get enough of them and it's pretty neat they only grow in the Sonoran desert and no where else in the world! Alex had to navigate parking the trailer between two huge Saguaro cactuses and thank God he didn't hit one as damaging one of those is a 'class four felony' here in Arizona. We had to look that up and a class four felony is right up there with kidnapping and negligent homicide...wowzers! Tucson Our first stop in Arizona was Tucson which at the time we did not realize is more of a 'rough' city then we thought and the KOA we stayed in was apparently in the bad part of the city (South Tucson). Yes there were gun shots at night and one night we even saw an explosion (still not sure what that was maybe a car fire?) over our gated and razor wire safe KOA, but none of this surprisingly bothered us at all! lol Tucson was HOT like 34 degrees and sun all week we were there . For our roadschooling duties we took the kids to the Living Desert Museum which was such an amazing experience for us all to learn about the harsh desert life and how all the plants, insects, reptiles and mammals survive together. The history of cowboys and Native Americans during the gold rush era was cool too and the kids loved watching the hilarious cowboy show at Old Tucson while Shyla enjoyed the Can-Can dancers. The kiddos even enjoyd their first horse back ride including Madden who of course has to do everything his big siblings do (my stomach was in knots, but the cowgirl assured me two year olds on horse is a normal and 'safe-ish' thang in the desert). I particularly found it cool to learn that the natives used the yucca plants to weave baskets, shoes, matts and would even eat the root of it. This is crazy because I just saw this plant as sharp and pokey and tried to avoid running into it as much as possible. Most of the vegetation in the desert is trying to survive so they're armed with needles, thistles and jumping cactus barbs (a jumping cactus literally stuck to me like static when I walked past it and it hurt like hell to pull out of my shoulder). We even squeezed in a quick trip to the Tucson mall for some much needed clothes shopping for Alex and me since he's lost weight from no stress, more exercise and eating paleo:) After our week long stay in the Tucson KOA we happily moved along to the stunning Catalina State Park where I wish we could've stayed longer! Unfortunately upon arrival all 3 of our kids picked up a stomach bug (probably from the KOA since it was kid infested from spring break) and they puked for the first 24hrs there :( Thank goodness this desert state park had an immaculate looking mall literally across the street which is so not the usual when camping in the wilderness and we bought Lennon all new spiderman bedding! Once our crew was fit and ready to go this mama bear got us all hiking through Catalina State Park's seriously awesome trails! I was in hikers heaven and the kids loved it too although to be honest they start most hikes complaining that their legs are 'broken' or tired, but after I motivated them (threaten them) along we went all smiles! Notable mention, this park was literally covered with gofers and prarie dogs everywhere! So awesome!
Picachu Mountains Next stop was Picachu State Park which wasn't our favourite, but a short and sweet visit nonetheless and we went to the next door Ostrich Farm for a hilarious and educational day spent with Ostrich's of course, lots of other animals in their petting zoo and a monster truck ride through their farm with the back drop of the Picachu mountains. Pretty neat! We learned a ton about the Ostrich and the kids had a hoot feeding the animals except for when a donkey bite madden's wee finger (poor kid), but the rest of the day was a blast! Fun facts about an Ostrich: They live to be 70 years old and weigh over 200lbs! Their eggs are so strong you cannot break it by standing 300lbs on it Their three toe foot can kill a lion with one good kick They can run 40mph for over 30 minutes! Mesa & Apache Junction (Lost Dutchman) Lost Dutchmen State Park followed and it was rated super high on trip advisor so we were super stoked to hit up this park. Gotta say it was pretty good, but Catalina had already stole my heart! lol The superstition mountains are in lost Dutchmen and we did do two amazing hikes around the base of them, once on our own and the next day with a lovely nomadic family who had 6 amazing children to join our crew for a 3 mile hike half way up the base of the mountain and back down. It was a great day and I was very proud of my kids making friends, hiking the rocky, dusty, prickly (damn cactus everywhere) yet awesome terrain of the desert. While at the Lost Dutchmen State Park we visited the Ghost mining town for some American goldrush and western culture/history. The kids did not like the mine tour as the tour operator thought it was fun to turn off the lights while we were all under the earth in a dark, rat infested (yup saw them crawling the rafters myself) mine to show us the true affect! However, they did enjoy learning about brothels (no they did not fully get that history or sex education lesson, but they think it was a cool old house that lady's use to live in and men would only visit! lol They got a kick out of the bath tubs and couldn't believe it took 5 hours to fill with hot water and that 10 people would take turns sharing that one bath before they replaced the water! YUCK! I learned that the shot glass is called as such because its the size of your bullet! Instead of money they could pay the bar keeper with bullets and how big the bullet was is how much alcohol you got in your shot! Magical Sedona Next stop was Dead Horse Ranch State Park! lol Pleasant name right? No dead horses, but it was not like the desert we had been driving though for weeks, it was green had forests and a river! This great park was a perfect campsite for us to visit the Sedona area as it was only about a 15 minute drive. Sedona is our favourite place in Arizona by far since it offers a wide variety of incredible hikes, mountains to climb, vortexes to explore and just the awe inspiring beauty of its red rocks and warmth from the hippie like people got me thinking this is truly an amazing place that no wonder everyone raves about it! The hikes we did were epic in every way. I will never forget my kids literally rock climbing up Cathedral Rock by themselves and me carrying my 35lb 2 year old on my back most of the way up and all the way down! The views up top were breathtaking, although my legs were shaking from the work out and the height! lol I loved the 1 mile hike to Airport Mesa we did and Shyla and Lennon climbed up wth me to meditate and try the whole vortex thang out for ourselves. These energy vortexes are believed to be uplifting energy that can bring about healing, inspiration, energy and so forth and even the natives noted these special spots within Sedona. The Red Rock Crossing hike is just a piece of heaven on earth in my opinion. These famous red rocks in sedona are so grounding and beautiful to look at. The kids crossed a river with a pretty strong current all barefoot and brave to make it to the trail head and we spent the entire day exploring and playing in this natural gem. Check out some of our videos and pics from this gorgeous park. The kids loved it as the rocks are super smooth and warm, but not hot to touch and they make great fun jumping across crevice to crevice as well as finding hiding spots along the boulders and splashing in the cool river where we stopped to picnic on the way there and then again on our way back to the car lol!
CLICK ON THUMBNAILS TO ENLARGE The Grand Freaking Canyon!! For Alex's birthday we headed up to Williams, Arizona to stay just outside the Grand Canyon at the Williams KOA. Just a 30min drive and we were at the southern rim of the Grand Canyon. We couldn't get over just how cold it was. Phoenix area was a beautiful 32C while up in Williams due to the elevation it was around 10C during the day and it dropped to minus through the nights. We lucked out though as it didn't snow...thank God! Numerous people told us about the dicey cliff edges are all around the Grand Canyon and that we should definitely watch the kids since there is no barriers anywhere and you can just 'fall off' into the canyon!! We took their advice and decided to book a jeep tour that would take us to all the cool places and we could spend extra care watching Madden our crazy guy from getting too close. They weren't joking...many there were so many places where it was a straight drop! Wow. Despite the dangers, the Grand Canyon didn't disappoint. Such an amazing awe-inspring view and it really takes some time to digest just what your eyes are seeing. The kids didn't really get it and after a few beautiful lookouts I think they thought they were all the same. For us though, these views were absolutely spectacular. Photos and videos simply don't do any justice for this place. Truly an amazing experience and another bucket list checked off! CLICK ON THUMBNAILS TO ENLARGE Lake Havasu City After we finished our Grand Canyon tour we were again off to the desert area of Arizona to a place called Lake Havasu City. What a gem this little city was! Every day in Lake Havasu was over 35C when we were there and we managed to get our trailer right on their state beach on the beautiful Lake Havasu. This place is a motorboat/jetski enthusiasts paradise! All the big toys came were out an about on Lake Havasu. The cool thing about this place was that it had the original "London Bridge" from England. I had to google it to believe it, but its true. Back when London was looking to replace the bridge due it falling down (no pun intended), some guy bought it and brought it to Lake Havasu City, Arizona intended to bring tourism to their new town. They spent a few million to bring over the bridge brick-by-brick and they built the bridge here in Lake Havasu to bring people to their island from the mainland. Kinda quirky but cool. Regardless, the weather here was absolutely amazing and the kids got to try out jet skiing for the first time too. We needed a beach break after all the hot desert weather and also the cold Grand Canyon :). CLICK ON THUMBNAILS Ehrenberg Last stop in Arizona was fitting called Arizona Oasis RV resort and helped break up the drive from our last spot to California (as we mentioned before long drives of more than 2.5 hours really takes it toll on us and the kids). This fun RV park gave us a great spot on the Colorado River where the kids met other children to play with and we got to play in the cool waters and play in the sand. it was here where we celebrated Easter our first holiday in the trailer. The kids were stoked when the bunny himself came out to visit the kids in the park! lol Arizona has so much outdoor beauty and fun to offer and we definitely loved every minute of this great state. We will definitely need and want to return as there are a few things we want to see that couldn't happen this trip, such as Antelope Canyon in Page and slide rock canyon in Sedona to name a few.
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