Road trip to CA

My mom celebrated her 54th birthday the day before our big road trip to California to visit the Carpenters. That day my sister Karli also received her mission call. She is going to serve in Tucson Arizona and leaves in January. We were all very happy for her and it was wonderful we were all together for both the birthday and the call.


That was October 19th. The next morning my sisters Holly, Karli, and Kynsie, my mom, and I all woke up bright and early so we could drive over 800 miles to visit our sister Heidi and her family in California. Holly suggested we take a road trip and fall break was the best time for us all to go, so we just grabbed the opportunity and did it! We made it there without any incidents other than bathroom breaks and had a lot of fun laughing and quoting movies. Heidi and Gabe live in a Army housing unit and graciously let us take over their living room as our sleeping quarters so we didn't have to stay in a hotel. Heidi made mom a nice birthday cake and everyone had some even though they had junk food all the way over in the car! (I became the obstacle of ridicule for my constantly griping about how much thrice blasted sugar everyone was eating.)



Mom, Kynsie, Karli, Heather, Holly Heidi, and Lucy
The next day we got up and exercised, and then Heidi managed to find member passes from all her friends and got us all into the Monteray Bay Museum for FREE. We spent an enjoyable few hours browsing all the aquatic displays and seeing a huge sun fish being fed.

We were all starving by the time we walked out of the museum so we stopped at a conveniently located Johny Rockets and had lunch and jammed to the music with all the servers. Heidi accidently was given my hamburger and took three bites before she realized it wasn't hers, so I switched her hamburgers and she tried to pry off some of hers to make up for eating mine, but it just ended up making a huge mess and I only got a gram of meat, and Heidi and I were laughing so hard our sides hurt.


That evening we drove to the beach by Carmel, there were all kinds of gorgeous and unique houses and trees on this drive. It was gorgeous! We got to watch the sun dip into the ocean and ate salad on the beach. The kelp was really odorous, but we found a spot that wasn't too smelly and just enjoyed the evening.





We went home and made sister bracelets out of beads Heidi got us. We played balderdash and laughed more and were all exhausted by the time we found our beds.

The next day we again exercised, walking about 3 miles to the closest beach to Heidi's house. It was SUNNY, Friday was so overcast I wasn't sure if the sun came out in Monteray, but we lucked out and had a very beautiful sunny day. We then went to the Fisherman's Wharf and enjoyed clam chowder in bread bowls and music and fun shops.




Karli loves lighthouses, she collects them. So we had to stop by the Monteray Light house that was built in 1853. Those lighthouses on the poster Karli is holding are all located on the West coast.
Sunday morning we said good bye bright and early and hit the road again. Thanks to the Carpenters for their food and hospitality and fun! We made it home without incident as well, the Lord was with us. I am amazed at how far we can travel in relative comfort and with such speed. It was a wonderful trip with my mom and sisters and I am so glad I took the time to do it, and that Jared and the kids were so supportive of me going as well. The kids slept over at grandmas the first night and spent the day there. But Friday Jared took most of the day off, and they went to the movies, to Trafalga, to Cabelas, they went fishing, they had dinner with the Schauers, and Sunday they all made it to church. He is a great Dad!