Travel Log Day 17, 18, & 19 - 12/1/2011 thru 12/3/2011

"The boys sing too loud"

Wow, here I am 18 days after I finished my vacation and finally putting the finishing touches on my travel log...

Initially my thoughts for this post were talking about driving well a lot in two days.  While Cristina and I did breakdown and essentially use the DVD parent for the boys for a better part of two days it did go well enough and we survived getting home.

I was so tired in Tempe that I ditched my Triple D stop and opted instead for the local mexican place at the hotel, which note here Embassy Suites rocks with free happy hour drinks.  The theme of this last leg instead of driving and eating (yeah we did that too), was actually wind.  As we were driving into our lunch stop in Fort Stockton, wow that was a small "town" we started getting our news via the social network scene about a wind storm back home.  At first it was a post or two, then ten or so, and then basically everyone talking in Southern California how bad the wind was.

It turns out it was way worse than even we imagined.  We lost 2 very large trees, and my In-Laws next door lost two beautiful oak trees.  As if that wasn't enough power and phones were out.  My first thoughts were relief that everyone was okay and our house was fine, it wouldn't have been if the pine tree fell the other way.  Once I started the long continued drive into El Paso I started thinking about the stocked freezers we had, the logistical nightmare of coming home to no power, anything and everything that is effected by lack of power.  Things kept coming, the pool, stuff in the pool, burning out the filter, it was as if every few minutes a new problem presented it's self.

When we stopped in El Paso the relief of being somewhere WITH power and WITH a laundry facility showed me how nice it was that we were gone.  My wife with that sweet mommy juju I talked about earlier had the foresight to know she should finish laundry so we had all clean clothes at home.

The drive into Tempe the next day was nothing special, or difficult and in all honesty we pulled in fairly early and were able to play in the pool and watch a little of the new Lego Ninjago show on Cartoon Network.  Dinner drinks and the like were great but this stop was merely for sleep.

We were off early in the morning knowing we needed to get home and deal with the mess.  We dealt with some closed businesses trying to leave early but on the whole we were on the road by 6 local time which was 5 home time.  Three hours into the drive, or about half way home we found out power was back, YES!  Things were looking up for us, until we got home.

As if the shock of what we saw wasn't enough, the power went off 30 minutes before we got home.  Things could have gone horribly wrong here, and the homecoming could have become a nightmare, but it didn't.  While we were home some local residents were clearing a path through our streets, we had light, and the kids were ECSTATIC to be home.  There was playing and running and good times visiting Nana and Papi.  While our house was freezing, the cold weather had preserved our freezer and things were still frozen.  Some friends gave us a bunch of dry ice and we were able to give the kids baths at around 3 and fun was being had everywhere.  

Dinner by flashlight was rough, but it worked and we put Eva to bed without incident.  Now for the boys.  I knew somethings needed to be done and wanted desperately to do them, but some advice from my wife sunk in she gave a while back.  Essentially she said that I should take advantage of the night time ritual to allow our kids sweet moments to come out and it can make up for even the roughest day.  So I sat on the couch with the fire going an candles providing a soft glow.  I got out "A Charlie Brown Christmas" which I had never seen and cuddled under the blankets with my wife and boys.

There was something magnificent about being huddled around a small little 8" screen in a cold dark house with my boys and wife watching a charming show.  I was so glad I wasn't worrying about the other things that needed to be done, that even now as I write I can't remember what I thought I had to do.  But that moment in the dark which was scaring my boys I think instead of a memory of being afraid of the dark and dreading what was happening, they instead have a warm family memory, we repurposed this disaster to be a family building moment, and I'm glad I was part of it.

The trip

We drove over 3500 miles with 3 kids under 5, made numerous stops, and created countless memories. I discovered so much about myself as a parent and even learned how to call a great audible at the end of the trip.

I don't know when or if I will ever drive to my Dad's again.  I loved doing it, but was even harder than I thought it would be.  I now have a new view of California and it has been opened up to me and my family.  There is no where in this state I won't drive to now and I can't wait to start the adventure on my next long vacation.  This trip was everything I hoped for;  a challenge, a family builder, fun, a chance for memories and a great opportunity to see family and friends.  On top of all of that I actually blogged about the entire trip which was a challenge I am proud to have met, even if it took me an extra 18 days after the trip was over to complete.  I hoped you all enjoyed reading about my trip as much as I loved being on it and writing about it.

Travel Log Day 15 & 16 - 11/29/11 thru 11/30/11

Just like that we were on the road again leaving Lake Charles and on our way home.  While it would be a bummer to leave my Dad's house, I think the kids were ready to get home, and I know my severe sleep loss was catching up with me and I needed to get home.  I know the kids had a great time, but both Cristina and I were tired and knew there was a lot of driving in front of us.

We tried a page out of our old playbook, leaving around 5 in the morning, but of course this didn't work out for us, the kids stayed awake the entire time (this is a constant theme).  Considering that, it came as a huge surprise how well we were able to drive essentially non-stop (potty break at a rest stop) to San Antonio.  The Triple D trip was far from complete San Antonio was chalk full of locations for us to visit, but I just had to have Texas BBQ in Texas so I found a place just outside of San Antonio, and on our way in to town.

Since we left so early, and never stopped, we were driving into town at 10:45 in the morning.  While I had been up for nearly 7 hours, and ready for lunch, our location was not (they open at 11).  Texas Pride BBQ was my ideal restaurant, off the beaten path, a local AND out of towner destination and dripping with character.  The place was an old service station that had been converted into a restaurant.  Heck there was even a playground for us all to play on while we waited for it to open.

So cool, a tire swing horse

I liked'em too

Good things they missed my kids fighting, I can't afford the fine

When in Texas you have to partake in the local specialty, and when it comes to BBQ and Texas I think of low and slow brisket.  This place served up brisket by the pound that is cooked for 18 hours in a smoker and was as tender as can be.  Their home made sausages were smoked as well and phenomenal.  Without out a doubt the surprise of the stop was the tasty cheesy potatoes.  The food was awesome, the personality was dripping, and the location was perfect, but easily the neatest part was the plates you were served on.

Yup Butcher's Paper

We left this last of our Triple D stops satisfied, full and ready to start our diet.  We stayed with friends in San Antonio which was nice.  They lived near a local park which we ran around till the kids could barely run anymore, or maybe it was until I could barely run anymore.

Dinner was homemade spaghetti and meat sauce, and it was fantastic.  While the sleep troubles continued for the trip the stop was so nice.

My wife lovingly decided to let me sleep in, I had begun to run a fever and was not feeling too hot.  Once we had started our day we took things slow aiming to get out around 12:30 and hit the down town area.

Downtown San Antonio is great, the river is right through the center of town and adds so much pizazz to the city it is really a neat place to be.  Our first sop was a Children's Museum.  This place was a blast, very similar to our last Children's Museum, but definitely worth the stop.  We loved it and spent a couple hours running around and playing; playing in an airplane, with a ball factory, heck, they had it all.

We stayed for a long while, and then proceeded to walk to the Alamo.  Visiting such a wonderful historical site is right  up my alley.  While my kids enjoyed it, and I am glad they saw the Alamo; I do wish they were a bit older here so I could have really gotten into the nuts and bolts of the history and spent a good amount of time there.

Our last stop of the day was the river walk.  Let me start by saying this, if you have never been to the Riverwalk, or heard of the Riverwalk, you do owe it to yourself to visit this incredible place.  This is a must for anyone in San Antonio.  I knew instantly why this location made it in the book 1000 Places to See Before You Die.   I am going to put a picture or two up here, but it doesn't do it justice.  The river tour we took was great, and full of information.  This was a great location to visit and next time I am here I will likely get a hotel room on the river to just sit and enjoy the ambiance.

Tomorrow we would be driving home, but for our last stop on the trip before the big drive I was thrilled it went so well.  Even walking around with a raging fever and runny nose I loved this city.  I couldn't have asked for a better last real "stop" on our great adventure.  Now if I could only get our kids to sleep.

Travel Log Day 14 - 11/28/11

Happy 62nd Dad

In the original thought process of this trip we would have been leaving today to drive home.  But November 28th is my Dad's birthday, so we adjusted the trip by one day.  I took my dad to breakfast at his friends Cafe, Stellar Beans Coffee.  It is a small cafe and my dad and I had a nice father and son moment.  We reflected on the fact that this would be our year when my dad is exactly twice as old as me, him being 62, and I turn 31 in a few weeks.  I am the youngest in the family and my dad had me at the same age I have a near 2 year old.  While my dad got married younger and had kids younger than me Cristina and I managed to have a busy family in a very short amount of time.

It is rare that as an adult you get much time with your parents alone.  Usually the kids/grandchildren are around, and being able to just have a moment is rare, given the challenge to get such moments it does make them rather sweet and I really had a nice time for our leisurely breakfast.

We returned home, packing and washing was big on our agenda, as well as a quick stop at Target.  My dad took Sean to the hardware store and spent an hour with just him on a "project."  A few days previous he had built a fun toy with Drew, and Sean was very much wanting to have the same fun and wasn't letting Grandpa off the hook till he built his project too.

The project

That night Mary Jo made chicken and Dumplings as well as a great apple cake my dad fell in love with in Germany, I can't remember the name.  The dumplings were cut up tortillas, an idea Mary Jo read about in a food magazine and they turned out awesome.  Dinner was so much fun with the kids amp'd about the birthday and just like that our last night in Lake Charles was here.

We relaxed and got ready for our early morning the next day.  While the plan in Lake Charles was a little out of my norm, I usually like to plan a lot of day trips and adventures, this week had been a special one for my family and we enjoyed it tremendously.  While I wish my kids liked the dogs more, and travel fatigue/sleep fatigue wasn't plaguing us, I have to admit when I first "thought" of this trip, this is very much what I had in mind.

Dads bday stellar beans chicken dumplings kids projects

Travel Log Day 13 - 11/27/11

I really love church in a new place.  I don't know anyone, everything is "new" and there are always little surprises.

The boys were able to start their day with children's liturgy of the word which they loved doing.  Eva meanwhile kept Cristina super busy for the rest of mass, but luckily this left me to be able to really listen to the homily.  We were lucky to get the bishop, mass was at the cathedral, and once he started his homily it was a neat moment.  "God wants a close relationship with you, even more than you want one with him."  

So here I was thinking about my faith, my family and just life in general and here is this great statement to chew on, I really enjoyed all I had to think about.  It is almost like I want a great life for my family, but my parents likely want that even more than I can imagine.  I know Drew wants to do well in school and succeed in where ever his life leads, and as he gets older he probably won't believe how much I am pulling for him.  This simple sentence gave me a lot of hope, I know that my creator wants me to succeed and be close with him even more than I can imagine, and in a lot of ways that made me feel great.  I could write more, but I think the beauty of the statement is how much I personal reflection it caused for me, not a defined "this is what I learned."

The boys came back for the eucharistic prayer and then the most pleasant thing occurred during the passing of the peace.  If you are reading at this point you will realize I am Catholic if you didn't already know.  Eva walked down the pew to a woman in her late 50s or early 60s and reached up to be picked up.  The woman looked to us as if to say "can I?" and we nodded yes.  For the next 5 or so minutes till just before going up for communion she held Eva, and Eva loved it, resting her head on her shoulder, little did I know how much the woman loved it.  Apparently when Cristina picked her up for communion the woman was crying a bit.  It turns out that after mass she shared with Cristina how she has 9 grandchildren and none are local and one who visited just left after Thanksgiving.  This is exactly what she needed, and Eva in her own way knew that.  It was a really special moment to witness.

After church we realized the struggle of finding anything open in the South on Sunday, but alas after finding a praise and worship group in the coffee shop we tried, we walked around the corner to The Fat Cat Cafe.  I had a mortadella egg sandwich that was phenomenal and we had a great breakfast as a family.  This place was really in the spirit of our Triple D theme and I would recommend it to anyone in Lake Charles.

Finally we got home and relaxed for the day, I was able to make a really great dinner.  I brined a pork loin stuffed with garlic and rosemary, a salad and mashed potatoes with pan rosemary sauce.  This was the first time I had brined anything and it turned out awesome, I will be brining again for sure.  Dinner was just nice with the family and we all ate our fill.

If I could program every Sunday from her till I die, this Sunday would be the example I would base almost all my Sundays after, I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.

Travel Log Day 11 & 12 - 11/25/11 thru 11/26/11

Contrary to our early mornings this entire vacation, we did not get up early and go hit the Black Friday sales.  Though I won't lie, I did scour  the ads trying to find a reason to get out, but nothing seemed better than my amazon buys.

We had a lower key morning and planned our great adventure for the day, The Muppets.  Our boys were unsure of this movie but Cristina and I talked it up and tried really hard to get them amped for it, and it worked.  By the time the movie was ready to go the kids were amp'd.  Of course the movie didn't disappoint.  By the time we were home we already bought the soundtrack on Amazon and were listening to it.  Both boys laughed, had a great time, and I think they almost had as much fun as Cristina and I.

We walked the mall a bit after, but for the most part it was a quiet night.   That night we had quite possibly the finest idea and execution ever for Thanksgiving leftovers, Turkey Pot Pie.  Mary Jo used the turkey, left over green bean casserole, veggies, gravy and we had a package of leftover crescent rolls I didn't use from the jewelry party for the top.  It was one of the tastiest ideas ever, and seemed like the most logical idea, I couldn't believe I had never done this or had this the day after Thanksgiving.  We made a salad with some left over dressing from Cristina's birthday dinner and voila dinner was served, and was nearly demolished, with only a tiny bit of pie left over from a rather large tray.

While we vegged out on the couch, eating a bit of pie and watching some TV it was a nice time with my Dad and Mary Jo.

In the morning I threw together some scones as best I could from a new cook book, and they turned out nicely.  We drank some coffee and planned for our first real day out with the kids and my dad.  We decided on going to the Children's Museum in town.

Man, this was a great children's museum.  Right when we walked in there was the most epic water table ever.

 A great water table

Eva, if we let her, would have spent the entire day there getting soaked.  The museum was 3 stories tall, had a fire fighter play area, rope swings, interactive rooms, karaoke, trains, science experiments, fun with static electricity, computers, blocks.  You name it they had it.  If I lived anywhere near this location I would have been there non stop.  This was easily one of the best places we have taken our kids for the money.

The kids came home and built legos with Grandpa.  On the whole a great day out.  As if the day couldn't get any better Cristina and I had a night out.  

The last few times we had been in Louisiana we had met up with one of Mary Jo's nieces.  This time two of her nieces and one of their spouses met us at a nice restaurant in town Bistro 121.  We had great food, a tasty crawfish and shrimp pasta, and a chicken with cream sauce.  The conversation was funny, a pleasant change from kid wrangling and all together a great time.  This would be the only time for us to have a dinner like this and we had a really nice time.  Stories were told that made my side hurt I was laughing so hard.

For a local few days in town Friday and Saturday really fit the bill, days like these make trips like this worth while; seeing people in person and spending time with them while doing fun activities is what we love.

Travel Log Day 10 - 11/24/11

Thanksgiving was originally planned as the centerpiece of this trip.  My vacation had coincide with Thanksgiving so it seemed a natural idea to plan a trip around the holiday.  In the end Thanksgiving is the one da, looking back, I wish would have been like more days of the trip, sleep-wise.

From the get go the day started early, the house filled up with people, and between people (14), dogs (6), or cats (2)  the house was full of life.  I had made some bread earlier and of course my favorite cole slaw (until you try it with Thanksgiving dinner it just seems odd to have, I agree)   And just like that Dinner was served.  What is odd about eating in Louisiana for Thanksgiving is football timing.  You can watch football all day long if you want on Thanksgiving.  Back home (Los Angeles) you could watch 2 games before dinner even started but here, it was still pregame at 11:00, games start by 8:30 at home.  

Dinner started about noon, and for the whirlwind of work by Mary Jo it was incredible to watch how fast dinner was eaten and we were washing dishes, no way it was more than an hour.  With the exception of my children most of that hour appeared to be spent by folks just plain eating.  By the time plates were cleared and Cristina and I sat on the couch to watch football we were asleep.  

My dad fortunately saw this as an opportunity to take the boys out for a little grandpa time at the park and we slept and slept and slept, (Eva blessed us with a wonderful nap.)  We likely would have kept sleeping except the fact that we were awoken by a loud crash.  I jumped up fearing my children had broken something, but was relieved to find a dog had pulled a pie to the ground.  This seemed the perfect time to have some pie and watch football.  So after cleaning the mess, Cristina and I continued on our rest and relaxation.  By the time Eva woke, and the boys were back, I had a good chunk of time with my wife on the couch doing nothing.

I was thankful for Thanksgiving, this was the middle of the trip for us and we were running on fumes, without an uneventful day we would have been in a bad way.  Fortunately my daughter slept and my dad took the kids out...This was exactly what we needed, an easy going day. 

Travel Log Day 8 & 9 - 11/22/11 thru 11/23/11

When you are finally able to breath, stop planning, and let your guard down a bit time becomes a blur.  Whether I was making a new pancake recipe, making a simple ham sandwich or just playing with my kids it was nice to not have to think about going somewhere, doing something or anything else for that matter. Tuesday was great, a great opportunity to unwind, unpack the dirty clothes and just let the kids run around a bit.  Okay maybe not that run around thing.

See Eva and Sean must not have been seeing what I was seeing.  I walked in and saw two rather small dogs that were excited and loud and a bit over exuberant.  Well one dog was like that, the other dog was small, loud and none to pleased his domain was invaded by these interlopers.  The bigger young dog couldn't be more thrilled.  Sean and Eva saw a small bear and a mountain lion who wanted nothing more than to eat the bones of two little children walking into their den.  Or I have to assume that's what they saw because they screamed, ran and cried the second my dad's two rather small dogs came anywhere near them.  The two dogs were relegated to sun porch or outside, and this was not what those two dogs wanted.  But I really appreciate my Dad and Mary Jo's willingness to accommodate my very scared kids.

For dinner that night we were once again blessed with a lovely dinner of homemade ragu with venison sausage that the neighbor had hunted and made.  Magnificent.

In the morning my wife awoke for her birthday to my boys climbing all over her.  We headed out for the day running errands with my dad and stopping for lunch at Raising Cane's.  Now while this lunch would normally fall out of my rule about fast food it was tasty.  At raising Cane they make chicken strips and fries, that's it.  My best description for SoCal/AZ/Nevada folks would be, it is the In-N-Out of chicken strips, they do them extremely well, hand battered and breaded fresh chicken fried and you can taste it.  It was fantastic, I want to have them again before I leave they were so good.

We dropped Eva and Cristina off back at the house for a Jewelry party and my dad and I had a boys movie out.  Hugo, while our best intention of a kids movie was the idea, a toddler movie it wasn't.  My dad and I both sat completely engrossed by the beautifully paced, touching piece of cellulose that I genuinely enjoyed.  While nothing in the film is inappropriate for very young children.  The film is paced for an adult audience, or at least an older audience and I think would be fine for pre-teens, beyond that its just slow.  All that said, my boys sat through the entire movie to the end, and for that I give them credit.

We returned and I got started on my wife's birthday dinner.  Cristina requested a light salad, bread and her favorite; Potato Leek Soup.  I made a mixed green salad with toasted pecans (from Mary Jo's 90 year old uncle's tree hand bagged by him), crisp granny smith apple slices, goat cheese, and topped with home made balsamic Dijon mustard vinaigrette.   The bread was a home made rustic loaf with 10 cloves of garlic and rosemary I had started the day before.  Cristina loved her dinner which made me very happy, though our kids were more than a bit unruly and her and I were rushed.  Ultimately by 9 that night we were exhausted.  Cristina had some cake pops for dessert and the kids gave her her homemade card.

The two days had been exactly what we were hoping for, an opportunity to have some family fun, eat some lovingly prepared food with family and just be.  We left our visit here agenda free and while that may lead to some bored kids at time, thus far it has been working.

Travel Log Day 7 - 11/21/11

The kids woke in the morning and we were all ready to get moving, well except for Eva who had decided she needed a bit of beauty sleep.  So everything was ready to go before breakfast which was nice and once we finished eating it was time to go off to our final destination Lake Charles Louisiana.

This was an average mileage day for us, nothing out of the ordinary about 360 miles, but it just dragged on forever.  We took side highways, and what I mean by that we were on a major highway for about one and a half hours and the rest of the day on roads that went from 60 mph to 35 to 70 to 35 again, single lane, double lane, passing lane turns, anything but an actual freeway.  While we actually averaged 70 mph, it felt long...really really long.  We gave in early on movies and just let them watch a ton.  Eva was a champ in the car, she slept, she sang and she played.  She hardly cried and if every time we were driving it was that easy I wouldn't even have to parent in the car.

By the time we stopped for lunch, around 12:45 the kids were fried.  They were done being in a car for days, done driving and were an emotional mess.  Of course the lack of sleep for Drew wasn't helping and Sean just wants to move, heck, I just want to move.  We ate a chain deli called Jason's Deli, as far as chain food goes it was about as good as it gets health wise, was reasonable in cost and okay tasting.  I wish I knew more about Beaumont Texas and where I should have stopped, Yelp wasn't particularly helpful with nearly every recommendation being a chain restaurant.  We ate rather quickly and much to our children's chagrin we left right after finishing, fortunately with only 50-60 miles to drive.

We pulled into my Dad's, tired, I'm sure smelly, and ready to relax.  About an hour into our stay we ditched the boys and went to Target to pick up some needed trip necessities.  It was nice having a home base for a week.  Mary Jo made us an incredible chicken and sausage gumbo.  Being in Louisiana where they really know how to create savory delicious food that is like having a bowl of feel good.  The kids discovered the greatness that is gumbo and were great eaters.

We were able to put our kids down relax a bit with my dad and Mary Jo, all this driving had paid off.  Spending quality time with my dad in his home and allowing my children to see Grandpa in his environment which was exactly what I was hoping for them.  The journey here was a breath of fresh air for us, we discovered what we could do as a family and it has really opened our options up for future years of vacation.  Hopefully Drew, Sean and Eva will spend the week connecting with Mammo and Grandpa and it will all be worth while.

Travel Log Day 6 - 11/20/11

When you have an infant, a terrible nights sleep is to be expected.  The baby is tiny, needs a lot of food, and I can't blame a kid for being uncomfortable it was a lot more cozy in their previous environment.  When you have a nearly 5 year old child, waking every two hours is about the most miserable thing I can think of.  But, none the less, Drew decided sleeping was not in his cards and we were treated to his presence every two hours.

Two things happen when I am tired, and I mean really tired.  I have no patience and thus yell at my kids, and I feel like crap.  My wife I have no doubt feels the same way, but she is able to hide it better or some special mommy juju overcomes this.  The mommy juju sounds better so I go with that because then it isn't my shortcoming but rather I wasn't given the same tools as my wife to be an awesome parent.

After a brief breakfast that was nice, but rather old since it was the same style of breakfast 3 days in a row, we planned our day.  I attempted to get some lunch supplies at the Superwalmart, but was unsuccessful due to not having ANY sandwich supplies.  We still fed the kids their favorite Mac and Cheese and were off to my big idea for Dallas, The Lego Discover Center.

My kids and I are Lego fans, well I sorta indoctrinated them, but none the less they love Lego.  So last winter I took them to Legoland, and Legoland is just that, a LAND dedicated to the awesomeness that is Lego.  This was a natural step for us, going to what I thought was a "museum" built around Lego.

My boys were ready to go

Now once I got inside I came to discover that unlike Legoland which only sort appeals strictly to children still had some charm for adults like me.  Well any attempt to appeal to adults was gone here.  The opening tour was slightly intriguing to my kids, and bored me to tears, the first ride (which I knew with Legoland) was slow and methodical and boring to me, my kids adored.  The actual center is small, like think less than half the size of a normal grocery store, and while the movies they had were a tad different than Legoland were so-so to me, but they were amazing to my kids (even Eva).  Little did I know that the highlight of the entire afternoon there would be the Duplo area.  While this area was small it had Duplo (meh) but it had GIANT Lego Blocks.  Now if I could get some righteous Lego blocks like this I'd be in heaven.

Eva got her own Lego Chair

Drew helped me build a tree

In the end I can't deny that the kids had a blast at Lego Discovery Center.  I have been spoiled with the quality and refinement of Disneyland's ability to appeal to kids and adults alike, and while LDC (Lego Discovery Center) and Legoland do a top notch job appealing to kids they lack so severely in appealing to adults it is rather remarkable; considering I really love Lego a lot.

After this we discovered the mall (where LDC was located) and I remembered why I hate the mall from November to the end of December.  But not to be discouraged we had planned a dinner with Cristina's Cousins who were locals to Dallas and wanted to meet up with us at a restaurant for dinner.  

Two nights in a row meeting with family/friends was great.  We went to La Hacienda Ranch.  A little history I guess the owner of the place invented the frozen margarita machine which is now on display at the Smithsonian.  Having dinner with adults again at a fantastic TexMex restaurant was a blast.  The fajita platter was through the roof good and my wife enjoyed her margarita.  The boys got to play on "horse" and they even had saddle bar stools.

The boys loved the 25 cent horse

Our trip has 4 multi-night stops, Santa Fe, Dallas, Lake Charles and San Antonio.  If the latter two can get close to equalling the first two this trip will be an overwhelming success.  We loved Dallas and I would come back in a heartbeat, but next time I will have to hit up a football game.

Travel Log Day 5 - 11/19/11

The Falls

Well, a good nights sleep does wonders for you, and a pretty good breakfast for free doesn't hurt either.  We left the hotel later than planned since breakfast on the weekend isn't served until 7:00am.  We stopped for a cup of coffee at Rooster's Coffee and Tea, and I really wish I didn't eat at the hotel, because the food looked incredible and the prices were very reasonable.  With that we were off to Dallas.

A funny thing happened the night before as we watched Lion King, but first a quick back story.  Over the summer the Disney Channel released a TV movie of Phineas and Ferb.  This show happens to be hilarious for kids and adults, and while shopping at Costco a few months ago we bought the movie for this trip and hid it.

For some reason Sean (he must of seen us packing it) became convinced the movie was with us and wanted to watch it.  We had to really carefully talk him down after Lion King finished the night before saying he could pick anything he wanted to watch in the car the next day.  Drew kept telling him we didn't have the Phineas and Ferb movie, but Sean was steadfast.  In the morning he looked through the folder and was very proud and said "see I told you we have Phineas and Ferb across the second dimension."  Drew was blown away and Sean was proud of himself.  Eva whined, and I can't blame her the drive is boring, but we managed to do well cruising through Texas.

By about Witchita Falls we were ready for food, we had packed a lunch and were looking for somewhere to stop when off the freeway we saw some beautiful water falls (pictured above) from the freeway.  I suggested we stop "There" pointing at the falls, and Cristina said "Let's Do It."  Without having a clue how to get to the falls or the park that must be near, we started driving in the general direction.  By the time we had the GPS looking we saw a sign for Lucy Park.  We stopped and I made our sandwiches.  The kids didn't really eat, they just wanted to play, but Cristina and I enjoyed our roast beef and provolone sandwiches.  The boys and Eva ran around, climbed a BIG old school slide, and Eva kept taking her shoes off.  This park is incredible, huge, lush, green and covered in trees, lots and lots of pecan trees.  We had a pleasant surprise stopping here and were glad we did.  My only word of warning, the bathrooms are more like old school camping bathrooms (no doors.)

Just like me, Eva loves bare feet

As we got closer to Dallas out of nowhere the freeway we were on turned into a parking lot.  With a little of my wife's encouragement we hit the "off road" button on the van and were following a few cars jumping curbs to get off the freeway;  like Cristina said, "when in Texas."  The hotel, a Homewood Suite again, was perfect. 

Cristina and I had a few family friends we wanted to see here and fortunately Luisa was close by and up for our Triple D adventure (Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.)  Luisa is a very old Family friend of mine, I have known her as long as she has been alive and her Dad was in my wedding.  Luisa works for a two local colleges as a Campus Minister and I really looked forward to the conversation and chance to catch up.  

We went to Downtown Dallas which surprised me, not just by size but by how incredibly gorgeous it was.  Of all the downtowns I've seen, Dallas topped even San Diego in my opinion for sheer niceness of streets and buildings, and while San Diego has the beauty of the environment, Dallas was clean and stunning, I'd go back in a heartbeat for that alone.  We decided on a burger joint, Twisted Root Burger Co., and the fare was just as I expected, tasty.  The Fried Ride, while WAY over the top bad for you wise was great, and the burgers were awesome; I had "The Spicy Goat".  We ended up moving outside because the restaurant is a seat yourself LOUD place and definitely not kid friendly (Drew was covering his ears), once we were outside away from the one table with smokers were able to talk with Luisa.

Drew though was tired and whining and I was not very patient so back to the hotel we went, he was asleep in minutes. Luisa graciously was able to stay and the three of us were able to talk about life; over a cup of coffee, I found that very apropos.  We were able to talk about faith, being catholic, reaching college students and the different needs we had as Catholic College students, versus her students which are at secular schools.  We talked about our families and hobbies.  It was good adult conversation about life, and we didn't rush.  When Cristina and I finally tapped out it was late, but even with the long drive, long day and even later night the day felt perfect, and I was glad that we where able to meet up with life long friends over dinner and coffee.

Travel Log Day 4 - 11/18/11

The kids loved the cozy Mommy and Daddy Bed

There were no fancy breakfasts, or busy morning today.  The day was simple, wake up, a light breakfast, key word light and head out of town.  This was marginally successful, the coffee shop in the hotel had mediocre breakfast burritos (not too light) which we split and the kids had cereal.  We left Santa Fe, a little heavy hearted, the city is magnificent and I will be coming back, I think many times, but likely sans children, this is a town I could spend a lot of time with my wife in.

We were only driving to Amarillo, TX, mileage this would be the shortest day, but it was the longest drive.  Even with the generous New Mexico 75 MPH speed limit the drive was boring, and the kids were fried and tired, which equals whiny and nothing is worse on a drive than that.  We arrived in Amarillo, extremely fried around lunch time, at this point I was done.  I asked the wife to fined a Chick-fil-A, the most marginally healthy moderately fast food I could think of.  The past 3 days I had indulged in extremely rich (bad for me) food and needed a simple grilled chicken sandwich.  We checked in, and got settled.  Cristina and I decided we should make dinner because the Homewood Suite we were staying in was awesome with a full size fridge and kitchenette. 

So off to Super Walmart for us, a box of pasta, vodka sauce, and Italian sausage as well as a Caesar Salad.  We also bought some lunch supplies for the next days drive.  Little did I know such a quiet night in Texas could be so pleasant.  I made a nice dinner, which the kids LOVED, we had a "Movie night family" as Drew and Sean say and watched Lion King.  The kids went to bed and actually slept moderately well.

Drew hardly moved from the spot for the movie

This was just a travel day, nothing over the top special, just us driving and ticking miles off.  Simple, but even with the brutal actual drive the night was nice, quiet and hit the spot.  The hotel even had a piano in the lobby that Drew was able to practice his piano on.  

Mileage was just a hair under 300 miles.  But given the wind, and lack of any elevation or sites to be had felt like much more, or maybe that was just the kids whining for large portions of the drive.

Travel Log Day 3 - 11/17/2011

Magnificant

Day 3 was our first day without real driving, and we started as anyone should with a healthy breakfast courtesy of Triple D (Diners Drive-ins and Dives.)  Tecolote a breakfast and lunch joint with the soul of the city in it.  There was a community table in the middle of the middle room where old timers were sitting chatting a bit but mainly reading the paper.  Almost everyone who walked in was greeted by name and we saw our waitress give a hug or two to some of the patrons.  I partook in a special I watched on the show.  It was Huevos Yucatecos, which seemed to be a New Mexico take on Huevos Rancheros, and it was delicious.

The kids all ate a great breakfast and Cristina's green chili "fix" was met after leaving (she had the Huevos Rancheros.)  I think this is a good time to breakdown something very special about New Mexico, and that is Green Chili.  See Green Chili is almost a religion, it is to New Mexico what Lobster is to Maine, this isn't just a tasty food, this is part of the states identity, heck the state as a state question "Red or Green" meaning do you want Green Chili or Red Chili sauce.  Since a Red Chili is a dried green chili this one plant effectivly is THE staple of New Mexico.  Given that Cristina's family comes from New Mexico I have been spoiled with real chili, and Ortega just ain't cutting it anymore, so being in New Mexico is a treat for our pallets.

After leaving breakfast we went into downtown, and since I have never been there it is not hard in the least to see the charm of such a wonderful city.  The downtown is remarkable and the plaza has all the charm of a city founded over 400 years ago.  We stopped at the Cathedral and while the inside was beautiful it was not the most memorable part of the church for me. Sean surprised us with a spontaneous prayer by the baptismal font and I rushed to try and take a picture before he stopped.  You can see him just finishing and getting up below.

The magic of this stop of the trip came when we walked through the newly renovated prayer gardens.  The gardens are full of some remarkable bronze statues depicting the stations of the cross.  As we walked outside the boys asked what the statues were.  Since they did this more than a few times I decided why don't we just walk the stations and tell them about all the stations.

"What is that man doing to Jesus" - Sean

Station 10 - Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

Station 14 - Jesus is Put in the Tomb

I was almost brought to tears a few times getting to go through the stations with my boys, and to think of it, I don't think we have ever done the stations before with them.  This was a special moment for me, and I am pretty sure Cristina loved it as much as I did.  Every station had a statue as big as the one above.  This was a particulary poignant moment in my entire life's faith, something I won't likely ever forget. 

From here we walked across the street to Loretto Chapel where we saw the miraculous stair case.  A picture inside showed it during renovation when the stair railings were off and the recently added brace to the column was removed.  The kids did enjoy this, and I found the beauty of the stair case and legend to be something really unique to this city, a must for anyone of any faith visiting.

From there we perused the city by foot and couldn't help but be in awe of how many jewelry and art stores are in this city.  Every where we went was a restaurant I'd love to try, an art gallery that would be nice to visit sans kids, or jewelry store after jewelry store.  The hardest part of this was the time of year, it was just plain brisk outside, low 40s Fahrenheit, and eventually things were cold and we stopped in a small independent book store Collected Works which also had a small cafe.  We bought hot cocoa for the kids and Cristina and I had a bit more caffeine. 

This was all done before 10:30 in the morning.  We still had a full day ahead, and had already seen and experienced some great times.  From here we drove to Cerrillos.

The town had dirt roads and full of buildings just like this

Cerrillos had character, Cerrillos was dripping with character, so much so, wild looking turkeys (perhaps pheasants) were walking down the road.  We decided to come to this town, south of Santa Fe for the Casa Grande Trading Company.  Now had Sean not been a total rock hound this would have never come up, but Sean is the type of kid who comes in our house with arms full of rocks wanting to keep them and save them, decorate with them, the kid loves rocks.  So when I heard about this place on the web I knew he needed to see a store and museum with all the coolest rocks in the world.  And it was closed.

The website didn't say it was closed for the fall/winter season, but sure enough no one was there.  We drove a block up and asked the antique shop owner if the store was closed, and she mentioned it was, and hasn't been open lately.  Cristina and I were bummed to say the least, but mostly because we left Sante Fe Plaza just for this place, and it was nearly 30-40 miles from our hotel.  She suggested we call them and even offered her phone, so we called but it didn't sound like I had the right guy.  We drove back to the store front and I called the number on the door, they advised they were working on something and would open at noon, it was like 11:45 so we made the kids some sandwiches and waited.  The kids ate and we made it inside to meet the owner a very nice woman, and Sean was in heaven.  Each boy bought a special rock and we bought a big Geode, the boys are excited to get to Grandpa's to see the crystals inside.  All this and I forgot to mention that there was a petting zoo to boot.

We drove back to the hotel and I picked up two sandwiches for Cristina and I.  We ate, put Eva down for a nap, and I took the boys swimming.  Cristina finished up some work, and had to work really hard to put Eva to sleep.  The indoor pool was a blast and the boys and I had a fun time playing in the pool and hot tub.  When we finished up we got set for dinner at "The Shed" which we luckily met Theodora the night before who arranged a reservation for us.  I wish I had a way to contact her to say thank you.

The Shed was the epitome of New Mexican Cuisine.  The doors don't open before 5:30, and there was a line already.  You saw hotels sending their fancy cars there with guests, and people dressed to the nines, to families like us.  This place was special and our dinner was too.  From the blue corn enchiladas to the green chili stew to the unique and rich lemon souffle dinner was everything I could have hoped for.

By the time we got back to the hotel, everyone but Eva was asleep and I sat and typed a bit before I went to sleep.  Days like this were what vacation was made for.

Travel Log Day 2 - 11/16/2011

Mmmm Coconut Cream Pie.

Well as soon as we had gotten set up in Flagstaff, we were off again.  We awoke at our normal time, 5:30 in the morning and waited impatiently for the clock to strike 6:00 so we could get breakfast.  While breakfast was  rather mundane, it was warm, free and the kids ate a lot.  Just like that we were off.

We left with full coffee cups, and a small prayer for well behaved kids.  Having never driven further east than Flagstaff before this was new territory.  The drive was mundane, and straight, really really straight.  We started the kids without any new toys or movies and just bid our time.  Sure enough an hour or so into the drive they were getting antsy, so we revealed a little secret, they had brand new sticker books we put in their "distraction" bag.  The boys were over the moon, a brand new Lego and Star Wars sticker book from Costco.  Even Eva got in on the action with a Sesame Street sticker book.

Our goal was to see how far we could get without stopping, ideally only for lunch.  Sure enough about an hour from Albuquerque, Eva was beyond hungry and couldn't take it.  We stopped and I made her a quick PB&J sandwich and got the boys re-situated with toys, drinks and snacks and pushed through to Albuquerque.

Once there we wanted to save some money, let our kids stretch their legs and eat some lunch.  So to Costco of course.  We had our usual fare, pizza, a turkey sandwich and some drinks, total cost 10 bucks and we were all satisfied.  We ran around Costco, doing our usual thing, but this time we let the kids linger for nearly 30 minutes just looking at books, which is easily their favorite part any Costco run.

We left Costco, gassed up and were on the short road to Santa Fe, as the two cities are so close to one another I thought we would merely be arriving in the center of town, but in my attempt to get a good deal I booked the nicest hotel in "Santa Fe" not thinking there would be much sprawl, and I would be wrong.  If I thought I was booking a hotel near downtown I was sorely mistaken as I booked at the brand new fancy Hilton which doubled as a golf course, spa and casino, oh yeah it is also 15 miles North of the wonderful downtown plaza.  Vowing to make the best of it, we arrived, and the hotel was beautiful, to add to it at check-in the lady took pity on me and the brood running around and upgraded us to a suite, though not a 1 bedroom suite, a much larger room.  It was perfect.

When some friends had heard we were going to Santa Fe, they immediately told us to eat at "The Shed."  Sure enough this was mentioned by three separate people, so while not a Triple D (Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives) establishment, it is definitely locale fare that we should make an effort to get to.  I called them and of course they were full for the night, and stand-by was an hour wait, which is not possible with our kids, the next night looked the same, so we were out.  I went with my stand-by Triple D theme and came up with Harry's Roadhouse.

While I can't say I was blown away with our dinner, a skirt steak and a green chili themed burrito, their margarita was incredible, and I am not a fan of anything with tequila.  They also had a local micro brew on tap which was very good.  While the dinner did not knock our socks off, the dessert was flawless.  I had easily the best piece of coconut cream pie I have ever had, and I even got to share it with my son Sean who picked it.  Drew had a huge chocolate chunk cookie and Eva turned down all the sweets, and dinner for that matter.  Cristina took all the kids to the car while I waited to pay, and then something serendipitous happened, a couple sitting next to us started talking to me about my family.  Theodora and Zach, who had a boy they thought about Drew's age, turns out they were right.  They were Cristina and my age and started chatting, I told them about being on a road trip and looking for really great food, and without prompting Theodora asks if I am in town another night, because if I am we really should go to "The Shed."  I was awestruck for a moment, and then I told them we tried but couldn't get a reservation, and we would try to drop in for lunch if the crowd goes down but waiting in line for an hour isn't really an option for us.  This is where things got real incredible, turns out Theodora is related to the owner in some way and told me she would call for us, and have a 5:30pm reservation waiting for us.

What a way to end our day, some nice food, a chance meeting and my kids slept all the way back to the hotel, which is good since the hotel was a ways out of town.  Miles driven 400 miles, and we didn't even need to put on a movie, a very smooth travel day.

Travel Log Day 1 - 11/15/2011

Cheers!

About six months ago my wife and I decided that we wanted to take a road trip to see my dad with my long vacation.  Unfortunately I think the great American road trip is in dire straights as most people rarely have the time to dedicate to driving "the long way" to a destination.  But I am blessed with a job that affords me enough time off to travel for a true extended period of time.  Now if the pocket book can support such an en-devour will be another issue.  The trip, Los Angeles to Flagstaff, Flagstaff to Santa Fe, Santa Fe to Amarillo, Amarillo to Dallas, Dallas to Lake Charles, Lake Charles to San Antonio, San Antonio to El Paso, El Paso to Tempe and finally Tempe to our Home.  Time frame November 15th - December 3rd.  This trip's underlying theme is Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

A good omen

So the family road trip of 2011 was off and running.  At the bright and early time of 4:20 in the morning my wife and I hit the road with 3 very drowsy kids and a full pot of coffee between my wife and I.  Our goal was to make it to Needles, CA for breakfast with our kids asleep the whole time.  Sure enough the kids needed a brief stop for a potty break (none of them slept the whole time), and we managed to be done in under 15 minutes and back on the road.

Needles is famous for being a gateway to Lake Havasu and on Route 66.  The options for breakfast are slim but with the help of Yelp we located Juicy's River Cafe.  While I won't slam the place, I couldn't praise it either.  In the end the lovely Asst. Manager waited our table and put up with our kids, which alone requires a lot of patience and we ate a successful meal and about an hour and a half later were on the road nearly arriving in Flagstaff AZ .

We pulled into Flagstaff with a last hurrah of a movie, courtesy of my mother-in-law's portable DVD player.  The last hour was trying needless to say, but Peter Pan playing distracted the kids perfectly and the timing couldn't have been better ending right when we pulled in.  It was brisk outside in the high 30s, but this was a breeze.  My wife took the kids inside and we ate sandwiches I packed the night before.  The kids played with their Lego set I bought them (a small pack from target) and when we were all done my wife very lovingly took the kids to the store while I took an hour nap.

When I awoke we took the kids to the pool and it was a great family time.

When we wrapped up the pool we decided to take the kids to dinner and it was our first try at the idea Cristina and I embarked on with the trip.  Attempting to hit as many Triple D (Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives) restaurants as possible.  We decided on Salsa Brava, and the wife and I had a drink and shared a stuffed sopapilla.  While my daughter was totally fried and basically cried the entire dinner, we did still enjoy the great salsas and dinner.  For our first go round with a Triple D restaurant on this trip I would say we picked a winner, and avoided the dreaded chain burnout that can be associated with road trips.  Eating like a pseudo local I find to be far more enjoyable than a restaurant I can eat at back home, or anywhere for that matter.

Sleep at this hotel was rough, all of us in one room, but we managed. I'm just thankful I got that nap.

When we first started on this trip many thought we were crazy for doing this with 3 kids under 5 (my wife and I did too at times) but if all the days can be this smooth, we are in for a wonderful trip.  440 miles driven, one movie and only one unplanned stop for a potty break.  Day 1, a big success.