Monday, June 04, 2007
The roadtrip
Ah the great traditional road trip. Who doesn't love one? Trish and I certainly do. So, as soon as my sister Pia told us they would be visiting us over May and June we jumped up and planned the all-American road trip.
My report from day 4: An interesting and strange journey its been. We started by heading off from home on Wednesday a little later than I would have liked because we just did not account for our three screamers (Eve, Aanu & Shay).
After our 11am departure, we stopped a couple of times and got to Paradise Cove at Lake Isabella at about 7pm. Immediately we set about setting up a tent we had never used. Yup, we were the three men in a boat. After we had our lives in order, we put the babies to bed and we had a sad-ass dinner of bread and butter. Oh wait, I had my gruel while Trish and Pia ate about 8 crab legs.
A very stylish road trip indeed. We went to bed after realizing that we barely had enough camping equipment for one person. The tent was on a slight incline and as you might imagine we had scooted to the bottom end quite rapidly. Not being used to it, Pia and Vicky woke up with a bit of a backache.
That morning I decided to take everyone to the "Trail of 100 giants", the Sequoia tree walk. The directions we had were just horrible so we ended up at Bakersville for lunch and did a spot of shopping to make sure we picked up all the things we needed. We got back to the campsite and made a healthy chicken burger sandwich for dinner, had some decent wine. Hey we bought the wine at the one liquor shop at the town of Lake Isabella. So, leave us alone, ok? Went to bed after a moonlit walk at the lake.
This morning we tried to rush but it was just taking us a long time to get packed, finish breakkie and get ready to go. We left at about 10:30 to start the 5+ hour to Furnace Creek, Death Valley. En route we had to take an unexpected stop because the Elantra was overheating. We then stopped again at Smokepipe for gas, ice, water and beer and then we continued to furnace creek.
Now when this area was named Death Valley there was a reason. There are miles you can drive without seeing any greenery. We drove into the campground called Furnace Creek. Hmmm guess why they called it that. It was about 100 in the shade. Completely nutty. Vicky and I drove to the resort a few miles down the road to check availability. We managed to get the last room available. So we drive back to the campsite and tell Pia that there were no rooms available and that we would have to spend the night at the campsite. Pia reacted much better than I expected... but along came Trish and we told her the same tale. She was very upset, no heat for my little Alaskan. I sensed a oncoming meltdown and told her. Ah the joy in those eyes and the relief. We drover over, cranked up the aircon, took showers and drank some beer. Pia, Vicky and the kids headed over to the pool to cool off.
It's day 5 on our roadtrip, 26th May 2007. Today we will meet up with Trish's mom Dorothy in Vegas. We managed to head off on time and hit the road for the 4 hour drive. After getting to Vegas at about 10am, we had lunch and decided to check in and head off to check out the strip. It got a little late so, on the way back we took the train back to our hotel from the MGM Grand. The kids were getting very tired. We put them down and Trish's mom very nicely baby sat for us while the 4 of us headed into town.
We walked the strip, went to all the major hotels, gambled for a bit and bought tickets to a show. And decided we wanted to head back to the hotel. Yeah boring people that we are, we were done at about 1am. So headed over to the MGM to pick up the car and head back to out hotel. Against my better judgment, I decide to drive down the strip to our hotel. It was fun for about 15 minutes. We were stuck in traffic for over 2 hours. We were less than 3 miles from our hotel. Completely nuts.
We head to bed after 3am. The next morning we take our own sweet time getting ready because you DO NOT walk around in Vegas, in the blazing sun. We had breakfast at the hotel and gambled a little bit and then had a massive Vegas style buffet. Crabs, ribs, lots of desserts... We then headed off to the outlet mall because Vicky really enjoys shopping. We walked around for a couple of hours while Pia and Vicky did some shopping and headed back to the hotel to give the kids dinner and put them down.
This night we caught a show and then walked the strip again, heading to Paris, the Venetian and some of the other popular landmarks from Vegas. We gambled a little bit, won nothing and walked a little more. Finally we took the train and headed back to our hotel. All of us were quite exhausted.
Tricia's mom headed off quite early the next morning and we packed up too. We were heading off to Hoover Dam and then crossing over to Arizona to head to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was an ambitiously long drive, but we were determined to do as much as we could so we could have fun at the main part of the road trip.
We were stuck in traffic and I was getting quite annoyed, but we finally made it there at about 11am. Just in time for lunch. Pia was starting to get a migraine, so they decided to head to the cafeteria while Trish, Eve and I walked the dam. It is quite impressive. I have seen some pretty large ones in India, but this one was quite impressive. Trish even showed me a neato trick. She sprayed some water over the side of the dam, but the updraft caught all of it, about 4-6 feet down and picked it up and dumped it on us. Pretty neat. We had the usual junk food lunch and headed back on the road. The navigation in my car had us go the wrong way for about 5 miles and we wasted about an hour stuck in traffic, but once we were over the dam, we made pretty good time to Williams, AZ. This little town is about 40 miles from the South Rim entrance but it was getting late and the kids were tired. We ate at a little truck stop in the middle of nowhere. I kid you not, this place looked like the set for a chainsaw murdering. The food was well, unremarkable and unmemorable.
The next morning, we drove the few miles to the South Rim and snagged a good spot at the campsite. It was well shaded and quite flat. I set up the mammoth tent and got everything setup. The kids played while Pia and Tricia gave them some food. After a while they took a quick nap and the adults just kind of hung out. In the evening we talked the rim and took in the grandeur. We tried to take some family pictures but the kids weren't in the best of moods. We headed back to the campsite and I pulled out the meat we had been marinating for a couple of days. Got the fire started and grilled some meat. Vicky and I had made a trip to the little grocery store and pciked up bread and beer... you know... the essentials. Had a nice dinner and then got ready to crash.
I asked everyone if they wanted to join me for a walk to watch the sunrise the next morning. I suggested 5am, which had them looking at me like I've lost my mind. Well, I have just one marble in a tin can, but that's more than a lot of people I know, so watch it buster.
The walk down the rim was very cool, really, the temperature was just perfect. I also got some really good pictures just walking up and down. I took a few minutes of video too, but the pictures are just so serene. It was nice to walk quietly and not have to worry about my kid teetering at the edge of the canyon, while I have run towards her screaming.
I got back to the campsite and people were still sleeping. I read a magazine for a few minutes before I heard the kids rouse. Yup that was my cue to rile them up and thereby annoy the parents. Tricia is very very easy to annoy and I'd do it in a heartbeat. We had breakfast of ham and eggs and then headed off to do a hike. This is an easy hike, but factor in 3 kids and the challenge level is raised from 2 to 4. All the kids had intermittent meltdowns. But the views were quite spectacular. I even managed to get a few glimpses of the mighty Colorado river.
We spent the next day just walking and taking in the sights. Tricia and I did some shopping and bought some water bottles for the kids and some tees. Today was another big meal day and we did another grilling. Yeah, always happy to grill. Took the long awaited showers and I managed to forget to bring Eve's clothes. She did her naked tramp back to the campsite.
The next morning, 31st of May 2007 we headed off towards Mojave desert. It was going to be another long drive. I was getting the feeling that everybody was getting a little done with the heat and sleeping in the tent, but a road trip in May could not be any different. Well, it could be, if I had chosen different destinations. Ah well, we managed to take it in our strides.
That evening we were supposed to stay at "Hole-in-the-wall" campsite, but it was still light and we decided to press on further. Now, this is when a GPS is great. All I have to do is...
--- to be completed soon ---
My report from day 4: An interesting and strange journey its been. We started by heading off from home on Wednesday a little later than I would have liked because we just did not account for our three screamers (Eve, Aanu & Shay).
After our 11am departure, we stopped a couple of times and got to Paradise Cove at Lake Isabella at about 7pm. Immediately we set about setting up a tent we had never used. Yup, we were the three men in a boat. After we had our lives in order, we put the babies to bed and we had a sad-ass dinner of bread and butter. Oh wait, I had my gruel while Trish and Pia ate about 8 crab legs.
A very stylish road trip indeed. We went to bed after realizing that we barely had enough camping equipment for one person. The tent was on a slight incline and as you might imagine we had scooted to the bottom end quite rapidly. Not being used to it, Pia and Vicky woke up with a bit of a backache.
That morning I decided to take everyone to the "Trail of 100 giants", the Sequoia tree walk. The directions we had were just horrible so we ended up at Bakersville for lunch and did a spot of shopping to make sure we picked up all the things we needed. We got back to the campsite and made a healthy chicken burger sandwich for dinner, had some decent wine. Hey we bought the wine at the one liquor shop at the town of Lake Isabella. So, leave us alone, ok? Went to bed after a moonlit walk at the lake.
This morning we tried to rush but it was just taking us a long time to get packed, finish breakkie and get ready to go. We left at about 10:30 to start the 5+ hour to Furnace Creek, Death Valley. En route we had to take an unexpected stop because the Elantra was overheating. We then stopped again at Smokepipe for gas, ice, water and beer and then we continued to furnace creek.
Now when this area was named Death Valley there was a reason. There are miles you can drive without seeing any greenery. We drove into the campground called Furnace Creek. Hmmm guess why they called it that. It was about 100 in the shade. Completely nutty. Vicky and I drove to the resort a few miles down the road to check availability. We managed to get the last room available. So we drive back to the campsite and tell Pia that there were no rooms available and that we would have to spend the night at the campsite. Pia reacted much better than I expected... but along came Trish and we told her the same tale. She was very upset, no heat for my little Alaskan. I sensed a oncoming meltdown and told her. Ah the joy in those eyes and the relief. We drover over, cranked up the aircon, took showers and drank some beer. Pia, Vicky and the kids headed over to the pool to cool off.
It's day 5 on our roadtrip, 26th May 2007. Today we will meet up with Trish's mom Dorothy in Vegas. We managed to head off on time and hit the road for the 4 hour drive. After getting to Vegas at about 10am, we had lunch and decided to check in and head off to check out the strip. It got a little late so, on the way back we took the train back to our hotel from the MGM Grand. The kids were getting very tired. We put them down and Trish's mom very nicely baby sat for us while the 4 of us headed into town.
We walked the strip, went to all the major hotels, gambled for a bit and bought tickets to a show. And decided we wanted to head back to the hotel. Yeah boring people that we are, we were done at about 1am. So headed over to the MGM to pick up the car and head back to out hotel. Against my better judgment, I decide to drive down the strip to our hotel. It was fun for about 15 minutes. We were stuck in traffic for over 2 hours. We were less than 3 miles from our hotel. Completely nuts.
We head to bed after 3am. The next morning we take our own sweet time getting ready because you DO NOT walk around in Vegas, in the blazing sun. We had breakfast at the hotel and gambled a little bit and then had a massive Vegas style buffet. Crabs, ribs, lots of desserts... We then headed off to the outlet mall because Vicky really enjoys shopping. We walked around for a couple of hours while Pia and Vicky did some shopping and headed back to the hotel to give the kids dinner and put them down.
This night we caught a show and then walked the strip again, heading to Paris, the Venetian and some of the other popular landmarks from Vegas. We gambled a little bit, won nothing and walked a little more. Finally we took the train and headed back to our hotel. All of us were quite exhausted.
Tricia's mom headed off quite early the next morning and we packed up too. We were heading off to Hoover Dam and then crossing over to Arizona to head to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was an ambitiously long drive, but we were determined to do as much as we could so we could have fun at the main part of the road trip.
We were stuck in traffic and I was getting quite annoyed, but we finally made it there at about 11am. Just in time for lunch. Pia was starting to get a migraine, so they decided to head to the cafeteria while Trish, Eve and I walked the dam. It is quite impressive. I have seen some pretty large ones in India, but this one was quite impressive. Trish even showed me a neato trick. She sprayed some water over the side of the dam, but the updraft caught all of it, about 4-6 feet down and picked it up and dumped it on us. Pretty neat. We had the usual junk food lunch and headed back on the road. The navigation in my car had us go the wrong way for about 5 miles and we wasted about an hour stuck in traffic, but once we were over the dam, we made pretty good time to Williams, AZ. This little town is about 40 miles from the South Rim entrance but it was getting late and the kids were tired. We ate at a little truck stop in the middle of nowhere. I kid you not, this place looked like the set for a chainsaw murdering. The food was well, unremarkable and unmemorable.
The next morning, we drove the few miles to the South Rim and snagged a good spot at the campsite. It was well shaded and quite flat. I set up the mammoth tent and got everything setup. The kids played while Pia and Tricia gave them some food. After a while they took a quick nap and the adults just kind of hung out. In the evening we talked the rim and took in the grandeur. We tried to take some family pictures but the kids weren't in the best of moods. We headed back to the campsite and I pulled out the meat we had been marinating for a couple of days. Got the fire started and grilled some meat. Vicky and I had made a trip to the little grocery store and pciked up bread and beer... you know... the essentials. Had a nice dinner and then got ready to crash.
I asked everyone if they wanted to join me for a walk to watch the sunrise the next morning. I suggested 5am, which had them looking at me like I've lost my mind. Well, I have just one marble in a tin can, but that's more than a lot of people I know, so watch it buster.
The walk down the rim was very cool, really, the temperature was just perfect. I also got some really good pictures just walking up and down. I took a few minutes of video too, but the pictures are just so serene. It was nice to walk quietly and not have to worry about my kid teetering at the edge of the canyon, while I have run towards her screaming.
I got back to the campsite and people were still sleeping. I read a magazine for a few minutes before I heard the kids rouse. Yup that was my cue to rile them up and thereby annoy the parents. Tricia is very very easy to annoy and I'd do it in a heartbeat. We had breakfast of ham and eggs and then headed off to do a hike. This is an easy hike, but factor in 3 kids and the challenge level is raised from 2 to 4. All the kids had intermittent meltdowns. But the views were quite spectacular. I even managed to get a few glimpses of the mighty Colorado river.
We spent the next day just walking and taking in the sights. Tricia and I did some shopping and bought some water bottles for the kids and some tees. Today was another big meal day and we did another grilling. Yeah, always happy to grill. Took the long awaited showers and I managed to forget to bring Eve's clothes. She did her naked tramp back to the campsite.
The next morning, 31st of May 2007 we headed off towards Mojave desert. It was going to be another long drive. I was getting the feeling that everybody was getting a little done with the heat and sleeping in the tent, but a road trip in May could not be any different. Well, it could be, if I had chosen different destinations. Ah well, we managed to take it in our strides.
That evening we were supposed to stay at "Hole-in-the-wall" campsite, but it was still light and we decided to press on further. Now, this is when a GPS is great. All I have to do is...
--- to be completed soon ---
