Heading Home

We left the hotel around 9:00 am Thursday morning. Had breakfast and we were on the road by 10:00 am. Driving through Los Angeles is hectic and it didn't help any that there was construction going on as well. That definitely hindered our driving time. Once we drove past Ventura on the 101 the drive was smoother.
It was pretty cool to see the coast from Thousand Oaks until Santa Barbara. The temperature began to drop and there was cloudy sky.

The kids were doing pretty good and also happy to not have to deal with hot muggy weather like we've had for the last twelve days.
Passing through San Luis Obispo.

I had done a little bit of research on Morro Bay and although it's a small town I have been wanting to visit since. So when I saw Morro rock from a distance I became quite excited.
Morro Bay is a cute laid back town. We liked it.

My hair was so messy. We had our windows down taking in the fresh air that's why it looks so disheveled.

We had to hold this little boys hands while we were in this rocky area. Kids just get so excited about anything and they just book it ... never once realizing if what they're about to do is dangerous. Makes my heart feel like a ticking time bomb. Nerve-wracking for sure!

We then parked closer to the beach sandy side. We climbed a few large rocks and found the sand.

And I don't know how it happened but some man came walking up to us and asked us if we had lost a phone. We weren't even aware that Jacob didn't have his phone with him until the man walked up to us and I recognized Jacobs phone case.
All we could think of happening was that as we were climbing down the rocks his phone must have fallen out of his shorts pocket. We were so relieved that someone returned Jacob's phone. Happy that there's still some good people in this world.

The water was a bit chilly but not bad at all. We let Riley play in it for a little bit while we took in the view. There was a sign that said, "Alert, shark spotted". Scary! There was also a group of otters {which is called a romp} ... just floating on their backs. It was kinda neat to see them. Sydna loved them. Riley saw them but wasn't really interested in them. All he wanted to do was to splash.

Running away from the water laughing. Jacob was telling him to "run run!" and Riley thought that was the funniest thing ever.

He looks up to his daddy and adores him so much. It's really very sweet to see.

Hope to one day go back to Morro Bay and visit again. It was very cute and had several restaurants and shops too.
It was 4:00 pm when we left Morro Bay. The weather was definitely a lot cooler here, 65 degrees. We continued on Hwy 1. Very nice drive.

We stopped to see the elephant seals at Piedras Blancas in San Simeon. They are huge and they make the loudest weirdest sound.

The next two hours the road looked pretty much like this sign. You do not want to be hasty on this road. Besides, why would you? Hwy 1 is very scenic and could be quite romantic if one didn't have any kids along for the ride.
Definitely a re-do with just Jacob and myself. Hope to do this one day.

We had stopped on the side of the road because Nathan and Jacob had spotted a whale breaching {jump out of the water}. We waited to see if we could see it again and sure enough we did. It was a pretty cool sight to experience. 

We drove past Big Sur. I believe there was only a restaurant and bakery {and gas station} there. We did see lots of cars parked along the road and was curious why there was so many for just a restaurant and bakery.

As we continued driving I spotted the Point Sur Lighthouse. I mentioned it to Sydna and asked her if that's where the Ghost Adventures had done an investigation and she said yes. That was cool but it did look very eerie. There were also several small buildings. Everything looked abandoned. I know the lighthouse isn't because they have tours a couple days a week during the summer and on weekends during winter.

It was already 8:00 pm when we got to Monterey. We parked at a small park and when we got out we were taken by surprise at how cold it was. I mean it was freezing plus it was very windy. Good thing I had a long skirt on and wasn't worried about my undies showing but boy were we freezing. Totally felt like if it was the middle of winter. Drastic change in temperature that's for sure. I was out here just long enough to take this next picture then we sped walked back to the truck, lol.

We drove around a little. We drove past the shops and restaurants but we didn't dare get off since it was so cold. Besides, Riley was asleep at this point.
It was disappointing not being able to explore Monterey. I've heard nothing but good things about this place and from my research it is such a beautiful place.
Jacob did promise me that we would be back to visit. Just the two of us. I'm definitely looking forward to that!

We stopped in San Jose, CA for the night.
The next morning, Friday, July 14th, after breakfast we were back on the road by 8:45 am.

Again, seeing Lake Shasta makes me sad. The water level is so low, its depressing. They seriously need rain and all those CA people need to stop wasting water and stop watering their lawns every single day. There's no need to water daily. We learned this when we lived in TX.

That second day of driving had nothing exciting happen to share really. By this point the kids were a bit fed up to be in the truck. Riley missed his playroom and toys {this is what he kept on saying}. Jacob and I took turns driving even though Jacob still drove most of the time.

By the evening we were getting close to Springfield OR and so we decided to stop there. We didn't want to push it because it sucks having to drive at night when you're tired. We had pizza for dinner then drove to the hotel. The boys went swimming in the hotels pool while Sydna and I just relaxed in our room.

On our third day which was Saturday, July 12th we got back on the road by 8:30 am. We were in better spirits than the day before because we knew that we would be home that day. We stopped in Portland for some breakfast at Pine State Biscuits.
Back on the road by 11:15 am. The kids were very excited about getting home.

Finally, at 2:00 pm we arrived at our street. Here are the boys smiling from cheek to cheek.

I immediately said a little prayer, thanking God for His protection.
It sure was a relief to finally be home. We unloaded the truck as soon as we got home and put all of the stuff away. We also unpacked all of our clothes and I began washing the dirty laundry.

I wanted to get everything done right away because if I would have slacked then it would have been harder to put away things. It's just not in my nature to have a messy house or tons of clothes to wash.

Now, what we couldn't wait for was to get back to our routines. The kids yearned to have their own space and so did I. I was also looking forward to Riley sleeping in his crib instead of sleeping between Jacob and I. He's such a crazy sleeper.

And again, I've got to say this. Although we really enjoyed ourselves on this vacation and we had fun spending time with loved ones there is just no place like home. I missed my bed. I love my bed!
But most of all ... I missed the cool WA summers.

Summer Road Trip 2014 ... The End!