happy travels

Full Tank  |  Bare Feet on the Dashboard

Back Roads  |  Sunglasses

Windows Down

Singing at the top of our Voices

Travelling often becomes a huge part of our lives at this time of year.  Whether it's planes trains or automobiles.  Visiting family and friends in the same town, next State, across the country or overseas.  Almost every one I know is either on the move or has family travelling to spend time with them for Thanksgiving or for the coming Christmas holidays.  AAA estimates that 44 million of us will travel 50 miles or more over the Thanksgiving break!  Wow!

We do love a road trip and an adventure, and we've already started talking about which part of the US to explore next summer when family from the UK comes visiting.  This year we spent two weeks exploring fabulous central and southern coastal Oregon, visiting places we'd never seen or heard of before (post here and here). Camping at beaches and lakes, a cabin and few nights hotel stays.  We loved every minute and only wished we'd had more time to spend longer in places we discovered along the way.  The year before we made a wonderful trip to Glacier National Park, taking our canoe and tent and enjoying the amazing scenery and fresh air and the joy of the open road and space space and more space (post here)!

And when we aren't road tripping in our own car, then car hire is one of the priorities when booking a trip as we love to explore our destination and not stay put in one place.  Usually we use one of the big name international car hire companies, but I was interested to hear about RelayRides - a company that provides peer-to-peer car rental, connecting car owners with renters.  Basically putting your car to work for you by sharing its idle hours with others.  Interesting idea don't you think?  So if you're planning a trip to, say Portland, then you should take a look at RelayRides airport rentals and see who might be offering their car for rental at PDX, or search for a particular car you'd love to try out for a change.  Less cars sitting around, and hopefully some great deals out there too.  Definitely worth a look for the next trip.

RelayRides asked if I'd share some of our essentials for taking a road trip, so in no particular order, well maybe some kind of order, here we go….

Snacks!  Always much discussed in our family!

A mix of treats and candy that we'll eat far too much of.

Atomic Fire Balls  |  Twizzlers

Maltesers (malt balls here in the US)

Banana chips  |  Apples

Pretzels  |  Apples
Carrot Sticks.
 Never bananas as they always get squished!
Lot of drinks.

Music Movies and Electronics

A great play list of music you love.  There is always plenty of singing out loud of course.

A few movies loaded onto an iPad or DVDs.

A couple of old favorites, and one or two new ones.  They usually end up on repeat.

And NOT forgetting those all those important chargers, extra cables, headphones
(who wants to hear two different movie sound tracks going at the same time?!)

Activities

The kids love to play the Road Trip Bingo App.
I also pack things like pipe cleaners, mini-white boards,
pencils and pens, coloring books, word search, books,
beads and string,
and lots of stickers.

Comfort

Our road trips always include some camping, so we are fully loaded with bedding.

In addition, the kiddos like to bring along a favorite fleece blanket

to snuggle with in their seats, or to hang up over a window to stop the sunlight coming through and spoiling movie watching.

+

An extra pillow to stop all heads dangling and falling forward.

For me, always a big soft scarf/wrap, sunglasses and my handbag nearby with all by 'bits and pieces'!


Map v Sat Nav!

As much as we all rely on the satellite navigation built into cars or using our phones these days,
I do like to bring along a good old real map.
I love following our route,
finding interesting names of towns along the way.
Taking detours to explore somewhere new always adds to the adventure.

(and boring but essential things like trash bags, first aid kit, wipes, emergency tool kit etc etc!)


So, here's wishing you happy and safe travels whether it be across town or across country or across continents!

E N J O Y!

summer road tripping part II - where there is water

As long as there is water nearby, my kids are happy.  Like 'Pigs in Mud' kind of happy!  When planning our summer road trip, these were the first things they asked.

"Is there a pool?"

"Can we swim in the sea?"

Well of course we couldn't have a vacation without it.

Here's a few photographs from our trip with them enjoying lakes, rivers, pools and the ocean, whether it was swimming, jumping, fishing or playing it it.

Happy Summer Days.

summer road tripping part I

Our family really loves a road trip.  A loaded up car.  Bikes on the back.  Box on the top.  Iphones with great playlists.  Movies loaded on iPads to keep kids going (eye spy only lasts a short time these days!). Not forgetting all kinds of snacks, candy and treats to pass those hours.

This year we headed to Northern California, coastal and inland.  Then to Southern and Central Oregon.  1800 miles.  4 overnight locations = 4 mini vacations.  A great mix of tent camping, a cabin by a lake and a couple of hotels (to ease that aching back from camping and to get a super hot shower and sleep in crispy clean white sheets - bliss!).

So much to see, do, experience and enjoy.  There is nothing like a road trip in the US.  The ease of driving makes such a difference.  Endless roads, many with just us travelling on them.  Amazing scenery - trees as far as the eye can see, crystal clear rivers, mountains, lakes and wildlife.  We've been swimming in lakes, rivers, the ocean and pools. The kiddos have tried to catch fish, crawfish, toad, chipmunks, gophers and tadpoles - the most successful was the crayfish when they caught enough for lunch on two days!

The kids have enough scrapes, bruises, blisters and tan lines to show they've really lived outdoors these past two weeks. Screens only during travelling time.  The rest of their days spent cycling, playing games in grassy campsites with newly made friends until the sun has set, trying to climb rocks or jump off them, making campfires, exploring rivers and lakes, toasting way too many marshmallows.  Great memories.

I hope you'll indulge me as I post more than enough photographs ….

First up…  A little town named Cottage Grove in Oregon.  Most well know for its six 'Covered Bridges'.  A perfect stop after 2.5 hours driving.  Lunch, a drive around the town finding the 6 covered bridges.  And a few rides at the fair ground.  There's also lots of murals painted on buildings which made turning every corner a surprise.

 

   

 

And then we moved onto the Redwoods and our first camp site at the coast…

To be continued ...

Hope your summer is going great and is filled with all good things.

viva las vegas

A rather significant birthday for my Huzz and a well deserved 3 nights away for us to celebrate, escape and enjoy.  Viva Las Vegas!

It was our first, but won't be our last, trip to Vegas and it was fantastic.  Disney for Adults!  No kids, little sleep, dinner at 11pm, lazing by the pool with a cocktail in hand, blackjack, roulette, champagne, a show and fun fun fun!

We stayed at the magnificent Encore @ The Wynn.  Such a fabulous hotel, from the service, decor, gorgeous artwork, restaurants and overall attention to everything.  We would absolutely stay here again.

We went to see Cirque de Soleil's The Beatles LOVE.  It was fantastic!  Such impressive dancers and performers, and of course The Beatles music was superb.

From the luxury of the Encore with it gorgeous flowers and multi-million dollar artwork (the Jeff Koons below were two of many fabulous pieces ), birthday champagne and chocolate covered strawberries, to downtown Motels, strip joints and casinos, Elvis themed wedding chapels, and neon signs.  There is something for everyone.  We loved it all.

Popeye by Jeff Koons

Tulips by Jeff Koons 

So long Las Vegas.

Until the next time!

Pamplona and 'The Paris Wife'

I have just finished reading 'The Paris Wife' by Paula McLain.  It took me a little while to really get into the book, but then I could hardly put it down.

An historical fiction novel about Hadley Richardson, the first wife  (The Paris Wife) of Ernest Hemingway, and their years together.  The book tells the story of their early romance, great love for each other, marriage, trials romantically, financially and emotionally.  As newly weds they relocated from the US to Paris where Ernest struggled to find himself and to write the novel that would catapulte him onto the stage as a celebrated writer.  The books focus is on Hadley, her challenges as a devoted wife, friend, mother and Ernest's muse.  The years that the Hemingways' spent in Paris where heavy drinking, open marriages of friends, making connections with the 'right' people, glamour, affairs and jealousy, changed their love and their lives.  It was an emotional read.

Hadley and Ernest spent a lot of time in Paris and travelling to other European countries, but reading about their time together in Pamplona, Spain was my favourite.  The heat and feel of the city, the bull run, cafes and bars all brought back wonderful memories of Pamplona where the Huzz and I spent a few days during a 3 week Spanish road trip we did together in 2001.

I remember having breakfasts in Cafe Iruna where Ernest Hemingway had sat writing and drinking with friends and Hadley. The little hostel where we stayed, with a double stained glass windows that opened onto the street below.  The cobbled streets.  The town hall with window boxes overflowing with geraniums. The piazza where there was a huge demonstration early one morning, when a number of huge trees were cut down so that a parking lot could be built!   Whilst in Pamplona I had to buy Hemingway's book 'The Sun also Rises' (Fiesta) as a souvenir.

And so I went on a 'digital' search back through our hard drives looking for photographs of that trip in 2001. We didn't actually take as many photographs as I'd thought.  Here are just a few of Pamplona from 2001.

The windows of our apartment.

Inside Cafe Iruna

The beautiful piazza and trees that were cut down.

Poster advertising the bullfight

Fabulous hams in a cafe.

I'm now going to reread 'Fiesta', to relive the memories, and as I haven't read any other Hemingway novels, I'll be pickng a few from this selection and see how it goes. 

Novels

The Torrents of Spring

A Farewell to Arms

To Have and Have Not

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Across the River and into the Trees

The Old Man and the Sea

Islands in the Stream

The Garden of Eden

Stories

Men Without Women

Winner Take Nothing

The Snow of Killimanjaro

General

Death in the Afternoon

Green Hills of Africa

A Moveable Feast

(a memoir with much reference to his life with Hadley which I think I may read next)

The Dangerous Summer

Have you read any Hemingway?  Any recommendations?