Long Overdue! A Family "Day-Cation"

If you're still following me, I'm surprised (and ever so grateful!).  I've been out of the blogging loop for a little while.  Life's been hectic and I needed a break.  Something had to give.  Honestly, the only reason my cooking blog kept up was because I had about a million recipes already in the hopper and waiting to be posted!  And, while I may not have been posting please know that I have been reading and keeping up with you all.  I'll try hard to be better about at least commenting to check in and say hi!

But for now, let's catch you up on the end of the summer and fall thus far.  Actually, this might take a few posts, so bear with me!

So....back in mid-September, my husband and I had a heart-to-heart.  When Hubs first received orders to Monterey in early 2011, we made a list of all the things we most wanted to see and do on the West Coast, knowing that the opportunity for extensive exploring out here would probably be limited to the 18 months we're actual residents.  We're East Coasters at heart, and coast-to-coast vacations are really not that practical for us.  High on the list of places we had yet to go were Yosemite and Lake Tahoe.  But as of mid-September, we were running short on time.  We move in mid-December, so other than Hubs' week-long Fall Break and a couple of three-day weekends, there was no time for a short get-away.  Especially since Tahoe is a good five or six hours away.

So I sat down with Hubs and mentioned that we probably needed to pick just one of the two places and plan the trip before we missed the opportunity.  We decided that Tahoe was just too far away with a toddler, we can't ski due to my being pregnant (there are several Kids Clubs in Tahoe, so Bunkey's childcare would be covered), and that honestly, it's not quite late enough in the year to even feel like skiing, even if the conditions permitted it!  So we decided upon an overnight in Yosemite.  

No, not camping.  More like just to alleviate the need to be in the car for eight hours in one day with a feisty toddler.  Yosemite is close enough that it could be a day-trip, but far enough away that we'd be so much more relaxed if we could simply crash for the night somewhere.  We thought we'd save the trip for Veteran's Day weekend, or possibly Columbus Day.

But the more I thought about it, the more I didn't think it made sense.  Over dinner one night, I mentioned to Hubs that I was concerned as to what we were actually going to do in Yosemite.  Is the park car-friendly?  Is it stroller friendly?  Would we even get to see anything by car or stroller path?  We're not mountain climbers.  We could be into hiking, but Bunkey's just too big to carry all day long.  I can't carry him for long, being preggo.  The carrier that we do have for him is not hiker friendly, and I don't think he fits in it anymore anyway, and I really  didn't think Hubs would want to carry him all day long anyhow!  So I mentioned to Hubs that I wasn't convinced Yosemite would be a good experience and maybe we should bag the trip and instead save the money to go somewhere just the two of us for our anniversary in April.  After all, by then, I won't be pregnant, we'll live close enough that my mom could come watch the babies for the weekend, it's our Fifth Anniversary (we decided we keep things small most years, but we'd go all out with gifts and something special for anniversaries that end in 5 and 0!), and that we really hadn't done anything just us in a while and I really thought we needed (and deserved) that.  Hubs agreed, and I later mentioned it to my mom, who jumped right on board with the plan!

Well, just a few days later, my husband came to me with his computer and said that he really stil wanted to see Yosemite.  He had done some research and found that really one day was all we needed at the park (really, just a few hours) based on the fact that we were just sight-seeing.  And he found a guided bus tour that would allow us to drive up to the park early in the morning, get lunch, and then hop on the bus for a four hour sight-seeing trip.  Then we'd get back in the car, get dinner on the way home, and call it a day.  He figured the entire thing would cost under $200, so we could check it off our list and still do our anniversary get-away in April.  I told Hubs I still wasn't sure, that it was a lot of sitting in the car, or in our laps, for Bunkey, and I just wasn't convinced it was a good idea.  But Hubs insisted, reminding me that I always chastise him for not planning anything, and that he was sure everything would be ok.  So he made the plans.  With the caveat that if things turned South, I was definitely within my rights to say "I told you so!"  When Hubs told me it was supposed to be in the 80s in Yosemite the day he proposed we go, I was sold; this would be our one day of real summer weather (it's around 60 year-round in Monterey)!

So, on Saturday, just days after all these discussions, we packed a cooler and an extensive diaper bag, and hit the road around 6:30.  Originally Hubs thought the trip was three-and-a-half hours, but when we learned how far into the park we'd have to venture to meet our tour, it was really four hours.  We arrived just before lunch, fed Bunkey the sandwich we brought from home, ate deli sandwiches we purchased for ourselves in the park's cafe, and wandered around a bit.

As I expected, Bunkey was extra feisty after being cooped up in the car for so long.  He hadn't really napped, and he wanted to get down and run and play and explore.  Only there wasn't really a place for that.  And there was a convention for blind and deaf folks in the park that day, so it wasn't really safe for us to let him walk around on his own, because he wanted to pet the service dogs, which is unsafe, and it was just really crowded at the visitor's center. Hubs and I were taking turns being "in charge" of chasing Bunkey, but really we were both exhausted.  I tried to keep a cheerful face, since it was so important to my husband to plan this fun day, but it was very quickly becoming not fun.  Hubs knew it too.  And as the realization set in that we were about to get on a bus for four hours and all Bunkey wanted to do was run and yell, Hubs knew that our bus tour was not going to be a success for us, the tour guide, or the other guests.  He went to the tour counter and asked if they could switch our tickets to a tour that left a few minutes later than the original tour, but lasted half as long.  When they agreed, and even refunded the difference in ticket price (Hubs was willing to eat that cost and just exchange the tickets, even though there was a $25 difference in price per ticket), Hubs made the command decision that that was what we'd do.  We went back to the car for more sunscreen (this new tour was on an open-air tram) and to drop off the stroller, and eventually we were on our way!

Although we didn't see any wildlife, the scenery was breath-taking.  It was a hot day, and we were thankful for our huge water bottles (Bunkey only spilled a little all over himself!), but the tour was a success!  Bunkey sat relatively still in our laps on the tram, and eventually fell asleep on Hubs lap!

I'll spare you all the photos I took that day, but just imagine all the gorgeous scenery!  After our tour, we made one last pit-stop in the visitors center, did one last back-of-the-car diaper change, and hit the road once again.  We'd planned to stop at McDonald's on the way home, to give Bunkey his first ever Happy Meal, since I knew he'd eat chicken nuggets, but wasn't convinced about a hamburger, but even though our GPS said there were two on our route and within the dinner-hour timeframe, there weren't.  If it'd just been Hubs and me we could have pushed on, but Bunkey was starving, and I was down to just cheerios in the diaper bag.  So, when we saw the In 'n' Out Burger on the side of the road, I told Hubs just to stop.

Since In 'n' Out doesn't serve bona fide kids meals, we ordered a plain burger and fries for Bunkey.  As I'd guessed, he wouldn't touch it.  Not the meat.  Not the fries.  Nothing.  He just put it in his mouth, spit it out, and then threw the remains on the floor.  I was beside myself for not feeding my baby dinner, but we needed to get back on the road so we could get home.  Obviously there was nothing we could do about his not eating, and since he wasn't fussing, we took the chance.

We arrived home around 8:45.  I plopped Bunkey in his highchair for a midnight (to him, anyway) snack of cheerios and milk, and put him to bed around 9:30.  Hubs and I watched the football games we'd DVRd during the day, and at 11:45 I made a last-ditch run to the grocery to get ice cream just before they closed at midnight!

It was a long day, for sure, but a fun one!  And while there were certainly a few hiccups (aren't there always when you're traveling with kids?!) it was a success.  I didn't ever mention "I told you so" to Hubs, and instead gave him credit for planning a fun day away.  If anything, we all needed to get away and enjoy the outdoors for a little while!