Spring Trip 2006
Posted by Max Dunn Mon, 17 Apr 2006 19:01:00 GMT
For our spring vacation in 2006, we didn’t really know what we wanted to do, so we decided to just pack the car up and start driving. Here are the pictures of the trip and comments from our family members:
We got a late start yesterday, and didn’t leave until about 4. We had to go to Salinas to drop off some furniture for Joyce’s store (Suzanne’s mom). We then went out to dinner about 6 and the service was slow, so by the time it was done it was getting close to 8 and Claire was fading fast. So the bottom line was that yesterday, we only made it 75 miles to Salinas.
We went to Pawpaw’s, we played ping pong, that is all.
Okay,this is my very first blog. I’m doing it because I thought it would be fun to do for this trip because it’s a spontaneous, go where we feel like going trip, but mainly because Max really doesn’t think I’ll pull through and write something. (I know, I’m competitive.) To me, a blog is just a guy’s “dear diary,” but anyway, here it is…Max is right, we did get a late start yesterday and once we dropped off my mom’s furniture, we were ready to have dinner and take off again. Our plan was to get to San Luis Obispo or Santa Barbara. Even though it was late, I would have kept driving with the kids asleep in the car but was overruled (it would have been a much more pleasant drive.) But once I reminded myself that this is a spontaneous trip, I was okay with not getting to either of our destinations. In the long run, we probably would have gotten more sleep had we kept driving—it poured in the middle of the night and we slept in my sisters’ old room with a very loud rain gutter outside (just think of a leaky faucet, amplified x 100) that seemed to last all night long.
We sent to Rubys for lunch and then went to the beach today. I think throwing sand at my sister is fun, especially when I hit her butt, and she gets all dirty. I ended up all sandy. I also went boogeyboarding but the water was really cold.
Yesterday, I liked sitting in the car and listening to my iPod while we drove. I also liked when we stopped at a lot of candy and toy stores. We bought some sour rolls and bang balls. I liked the 4 wheel surrey we rented in Santa Barbara because I got to drive it and go crazy. It had a little basket up front. We raced some people and beat them!
We had a long trip over to Newport Beach yesterday. We went to Solvang and I got some toys and candy. Then in Santa Barbara we got to ride on a cycle. I had to sit in front.
In Newport we went to the beach and I got a sand rash (it stings a lot). I got to eat pop-tart in the morning.
Yesterday was tiring. We left Salinas at 10am and arrived in Newport at 10pm. We stopped in San Luis, Solvang and Santa Barbara. So I was either driving or entertaining the kids the whole day.
In San Luis, Maxie and I hung out for awhile in front of Starbucks waiting for Suzanne and Claire. It was kinda cool because we were like two guys just hanging out at a college campus.
In Solvang, we went to lots of toy and candy shops. We did get to do some wine tasting at Lewis and Lewellan, but didn’t really like the wine, and anyways, I was spitting too because I had to drive.
In Santa Barbara, renting the surrey was kinda fun, even though it is such a touristy thing to do. We also watched the kids in the skateboard park and many of them were really good.
Today, we went out to lunch at Rubys on the Balboa pier. We ran into some friends our ours, Katie and Scott Chapman and their kids Kelsie and Johnny. I enjoyed catching up with them and talking to Scott about his new company. We then spent a couple hours on the beach. It was warm enough to sit on the beach, but not warm enough to go in the water. So the kids played and actually had some fun with each other (although I doubt they would admit it).
Twelve hours in and out of the car yesterday was a journey. Maxie was determined to get to Newport Beach and I wanted to stop at places we don’t get to very often since we usually take the 5 (since I’m in SoCal I had to add “the”) at blast down. So our first stop? SLO, of course. Whenever we drive through SLO, I always have to drive through Cal Poly (the first university) and show the kids were I lived, ate, had all my classes and ooo and ahhh over all of the new buildings. The second thing I like to do is drive through town, get a coffee or smoothie, and oooo and ahhh over how different the town looks compared to 24 years ago. This is the first time that I can say that downtown has dramatically changed - and it was nice. Okay, this stop was for me…Our next stop was Denmark. Or, I’d like to think we were in Denmark but it was just Solvang. Solvang is one of those places that you would have on your Top Ten Touristy Things that you would never want to admit you did but did it anyway. Well, we did it because I wanted the kids to see it and Max actually said he’d be willing to go. Maybe this was another spot for me again - and going back to my childhood when my Dad would want to stop by on the way to SoCal to buy those butter cookies in the big blue tin. Even if it may have been for me, we went to 3 toy stores, 1 candy store and one wine tasting room. Who do you think won? Santa Barbara was our next stop and since we got there early (too early to eat dinner), we rented a Surrey bike for 4 and rode along East and West Beach. It was very refreshing, a lot of work and another “thing” on our Touristy list. By the time we left Santa Barbara, it was 8p, the perfect time to leave and avoid any LA traffic down to Newport. We got there at 10p, had a margarita and went to bed.
Rumble, rumble, roar, roar….with my eyes closed and still somewhat asleep, I know it’s 7am and I’m in Newport Beach. I never need to set my alarm when I’m here because I have the planes from the John Wayne Airport to wake me up every morning.
Our first day in NB was relaxing. We took our time in the morning and eventually made our way to Ruby’s on the Balboa pier for lunch. One thing we missed (which we always do when we go to the peninsula) is to take the ferry over. Oh well. We had lunch with the Chapman’s, whom we ran into and haven’t seen in a while and it was a lot of fun. Went to the beach that afternoon and then cooked dinner for my sister’s family that night.
And our highlight of the day? Got to stop by Hi-Time Cellars to get wine for dinner. We made it in and out of there in 6 minutes. This is a record time for us since Hi-Time is usually a destination and we can spend hours there. (just kidding about it being the highlight of the day, but it will be once we stop back before we head home)
Oh, and by the way, the wine was great! A big, bold, jammy zin from Paso Robles – Norman Vineyards 2003 Zinfandel “The Monster.”
Nice blog format! I like the different perspectives on the same trip. Sounds like everyone’s having fun.
Yesterday (Wed) we went to Knotts Berry Long Wait Farm. And guess what – the lines were really long! The record was 1 hour and 15 minutes to go on the Rapids ride. At least the 5 minute ride was fun. We also waited almost an hour for the Jaguar roller coaster, which wasn’t all that fast or interesting. The best fun/wait ratio was their oldest ride, Montezuma’s Revenge. The wait was about 3 minutes and the ride was fun because it slingshot us to 60MPH in about 3 seconds. Maxie and I hung out and went on the rides, and I did enjoy spending time with him. However, I was thinking that we would have some good conversations during the long waits, but it didn’t happen. The problem is that waiting like that just turns off our brains so we just gel rather than talking.
Today, I went surfing with Scott Chapman at the Newport Pier. It was really fun! Even though the waves were small, like 1 to 2 and maybe sometimes a 3 footer, there were lots of waves and they broke at different sections of the beach so we could catch just about as much as we wanted. Scott was on a short board, about 6 feet, and the waves weren’t quite big to let him turn, but he was able to catch them well and go straight. I was on one of Andy’s boards, about 9 feet, and was able to catch waves pretty easily but was perling a lot. However, I figured out that if I took off at an angle on the wave, I wouldn’t perl, so it was cool to learn how to do this. Right now Suzanne wants to go shopping at Jack’s Surf Shop so I better sign off!
Vacations are never perfect, especially with kids. You can never please everybody at the same time and something unexpected always happens. We had another slow start yesterday before heading off to Knott’s Berry Farm. Claire capped it off by saying, “We had a bad start,” after Maxie’s Gatorade missed his mouth when Max excelerated out of the Subway driveway. Claire and I had a nice time at KBF. After spending a total of about 5 minutes with the boys once we got into the park, we went our separate ways (Claire isn’t into rollercoasters & I’m somewhat retired from them). So I just did what Claire wanted to do – shop, walk, eat, walk, shop, catch a show, eat, get her face painted. Oh, and we rode one ride and it was a long wait in line and really boring. After experiencing the long lines at KBF, whether it be to buy tickets, food or for a ride, it made us appreciate Disneyland’s efficiency. And our hightlight of the day? Dropping off the kids at my sister’s and going to Hi-Time once again before dinner, this time for 35 minutes! We got the last 2 bottles of the Norman Zin and found another great one called “The Quarterback.” It’s an Aussie blend and very nice. Will have to go back and buy more before we leave.
Thursday morning was kind of a dream day…slept in (even after the planes started taking off), got up, took a shower, read the news, had breakfast and went shopping! We finally made it to Jack’s, oh and might I add by way of the Balboa ferry! Claire & I had so much fun at Jack’s. Our tiny dressing room was filled with clothes that we were trying on. The highlight at Jack’s? When Maxie said he wanted to try some clothes too! We all ended up buying something. Claire and I could have spent more time there but we had to go because Max was going to Dromo One to go karting with Andy and Eric. We met them up there (just past Angel Stadium and the Pond) to watch them battle it out – boy was the testosterone flowing.
Today (Thursday) I slept in a really long time. And then we went to Jack’s and I tried on some clothes and played on my Dad’s Treo. Then we went home for a tiny bit, then went to Subway to get Daddy, Eric and Uncle Andy their lunch. The line was really long. When we got to the go-kart place I played air hockey with my sister. Then we went home and gelled.
Today (Thursday) my cousin Paigee was supposed to wake me up in the morning but she didn’t. Then we went to Jack’s and I tried on lots of cool clothes but I could only get the ones that were Medium. I wanted a shirt that was the size 4T but my mom wouldn’t let me because I only fit mediums. Then we went to Subway to get lunch. And then we went to Dromo One and I played air hockey with my brother. We hit the puck 197 times. Then we went home and my auntie and I went to pick up Paigee and once we got home, my dad and uncle cut down trees. That’s all!
If there’s ever a place to go to get great seafood, go to the Crab Cooker. It has long been an establishment on the Balboa Peninsula (close to Jack’s Surf Shop). I have always wanted to go there since we pass by it every time we come down to Newport and it looks like such a dive (but has a lot of character). We all enjoyed it very much – from the cheesy decor, to the waitress and the food. The sea bass melted in my mouth – I savored every bit of it. And a tidbit from my sister…everything is served on paper or plastic, along with paper utensils because they have no dishwasher. We didn’t believe her at first, but when everything came she was right! And if you’re hungry for dessert, you get a piece of salt water taffy on the way out.
Last night we went to the Crab Cooker. I didn’t like it because I don’t like seafood. It smelled bad in that place. And my favorite part was getting taffy at the end. I got the rasberry taffy.
This morning when I woke up I saw Paigee and she was getting ready for school. My auntie let us see on the Internet Spirit’s (their greyhound) sister. We have no idea what we are going to do today.
Last night, we went to dinner at the Crab Cooker. I spilled a bottle of Tabasco sauce and broke it. I got a lot of shrimp for dinner. When we left I picked rasberry taffy from a jar.
Today (Fri), I am really sore. Besides surfing yesterday morning, we did two gocarting sessions at Dromo 1. Dromo 1 was different from the other gocarting tracks I have gone too. The track was very slippier so that even on the long curves, the carts would still slip a little. They also had a common dressing area and no instructional video. But it was still fun. Later, I helped Andy cut down four trees and I think that was what really made me sore; holding up the chainsaw and moving around big logs and branches. The Crab Cooker was fun; even though I lived in Newport for a long time I never went.
Ahhh…another lazy morning. Didn’t get out of the house till around lunch time. We had no idea where to go so Max started heading towards 17th Street. There’s no way we were going to hit Subway again, and Claire said she’d just “go with the flow,” so we ended up at Mother’s Market & Kitchen on 17th Street where we had a wholesome breakfast/lunch. Then it was off to the Discovery Science Museum in Santa Ana where the kids had fun with all of the interactive exhibits. It was The Tech on a small scale but the exhibits were easier to understand for the younger set (even me). Snuck off to Hi-Time once again to get some more of “The Quarterback” red blend and find more treasures. Talked to the queen of tequila and picked up a couple bottles of 100% Anejo so we could have a taste test when we got home. It’s amazing how different tequilas can be. Still not sure about drinking tequila straight up – it’s still better in a marguerita.
(Saturday)
In the morning I got up and went surfing with my dad and his friend. I caught a lot of waves. There was a lot of junk in the water.
The drive home took about 6 hours. Me and my sister watched a total of 3 movies. I went to a Mexican place in Gilroy, it was okay but I like Chipotle better. We finally got home and I didn’t unpack anything. I watched TV with my sister and then got ready for bed.
I really liked this trip. My favorite part about this trip was going to Knotts Berry Farm and going on a lot of rollercoasters and getting a drink and a pretzel. I also liked going to the beach.
Once we go to Newport again I would like to go to more amusement parks like Legoland and Disneyland and go to the beach more. And eat out more.
Saturday was the only day that I got up before 8a. Probably because I was in my “time to go home” mode and felt like I needed to start packing (which I didn’t). My plan was to get up with the boys and we could all go down to the beach and watch them surf, but everything was dependent on Claire. If she got up early, we’d go. If she didn’t, we’d stay. We ended up staying until Andy said he was going to do a surf check and see how the boys were doing so I tagged along with him and left Claire with Boh Boh. It was COLD down there so we didn’t stay long. I managed to get a few pictures.
Once we got home it was time to pack and load up the car and head off to Balboa Candy on the island before blasting back up north.
This was a fun trip. I like being spontaneous – part of the thrill is not knowing where you’re going next, not having to deal with time. My favorite part? I probably have a lot of favorites but one thing that sticks in my mind is that I loved feeling the warmth of the sun, which we haven’t had for months back home. If there’s one thing that’s good about SoCal it’s the weather. And I have to add that they also know how to do carpool lanes right (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you’ll just have to go down there and experience them yourself).
Next time it would be fun to stay at a few locations (as opposed to having a home base), like staying a few days in the desert and then Vegas, Death Valley, who knows?
Here are 6 things I enjoyed about this trip:
6. Days of being with my family
5. Day of Newport Sunshine
4. Games of chess with Maxie (he beat me twice!)
3. Visits to Hi-Time to look at wines
2. Surfing sessions
1. Go-carting session
What a lovely account of your trip. I didn’t realize you’d never been to the Crab Cooker. Sounds like a good time for all. Lots of memories there!!!