Cole's Last Blog Post

You can check out our older blogs too:
http://roadtripccj.blogspot.com/

I'm sorry everyone but this is my last entry. I have loved writing to you all this trip. Were now home and our voyage has ended. We've left from San Diego to see diverse culture along our country. We wet through L.A. and San Francisco. Became friends with Belligham. Went to Victoria and all the way up Canada and to Alaska. I had an amazing time and have loved everything. I wish we could continue on but we must lock back into everyday life. I'm never going to forget the things I've seen and experienced. I recommend Roadtripping to anyone and everyone. Why fly across the country and off to other continents before you explore your own backyard. I don't have a favorite moment but i will remember each and every moment. Thanks for listening watching and following the many many things that seem to happen every roadtrip. This year i really noticed the "roadtrip magic" as we call it. See every time we tell someone about our trip they groan and Say wow that must be terrible, to a normal person 6,000 miles is painful. But we have this magic and it always makes us all get along and makes 6,000 miles feel like going down our driveway. I can honestly think i can say for all 3 of us that we would easily get in the car right now and go again. Hope to Write to all of you next year. Signing Out...................

Jacquleyn's last blog entry

Wow! our 2010 road trip is already over! Time flies when your having fun! This has been one of the best road trips yet. Alaska is such a neat place, and I hope everyone has the chance to see it someday! I remember when Cole and I were little and first took the road trip, a lot has changed since then. It is nice to get home, and see my animals and friends, but I miss the road. I miss the big cities, the small towns, and the beautiful drives. Sadly this may be our last road trip, that is if Cole gets a job next year. If not then were going to Minnesota, so we can officially say we have been to every state in America, that is if my dad takes us to Hawaii sometime in between. Everyone of these trips has been so fun, and we have learned so much about people, states, and cities. I want to thank everyone who has participated in making this trip so enjoyable, and for following our blog! And most importantly, thank you to my mom, who went out of her way, to make such cool summer experiences for Cole and I. We will always remember these trips.
Sadly this is my last blog post. We have enjoyed every second of this trip, and hope you enjoyed the blog. Thank you for being with us and you can check out last year's blog at: http://roadtripccj.blogspot.com/

xoxoxo
Love
Jacquelyn 

Back Home Again

Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Another great roadtrip came to an end . . . possibly our last. This was a roadtrip of firsts. It was our first roadtrip not leaving our time zone, our first in only coastal states, our first time staying out of the country, our first time camping, and first time staying on a boat. This is my 9th summer roadtrip with Cole and Jacquelyn, they were 6 and 4 when we first ventured out and drove to the East Coast. I'll remember these trips for the rest of my life because I feel they were a huge accomplishment for me . . . I so feared going on the first one. I feared flat tires, something happening and we would be too far from home, not actually being able to drive that far and I also so feared getting lost. I packed up and left every July despite the fears that would always return the night before we left. I did have flat tires, dead batteries, sick kids, and we sure did get lost a few times ~ with and without the GPS. Our second year we were driving home from South Dakota, I told the kids to look out the window to see the up coming sign welcoming us to Wyoming but instead it said welcome to Nebraska! I'll never forget that day. . . . I don't think I had a Nebraska map. I remember I called my dad and asked him to find where I was . . . and he did. Since then I've been good and lost a few times but always found our way somehow. Cole and Jacquelyn have stories of me pounding the steering wheel, yelling out the window and throwing my cell phone all the way into the back of the car while lost in New York last year but I'm trying to forget that particular one.
I posted a few photos of our first roadtrip together I didn't do a great job scanning them. Apparently they've been climbing on signs since the first trip.

What is this??

Am I the only person who has no idea what this animal is? We saw a few of these signs in Canada and I started referring to it as the Canadian Animal. I saw moose, bear, deer crossing signs and recognized them all but this sign confused me. When we passed the sign I would announce "the Canadian Animal might be crossing here soon" we would look but never saw an animal that looked like that sign. I really thought the first sign was a printing screw up . . . seriously!
I think I'm going to embarrass myself when I find that we're the only people who don't know what this animal is (or how big it is).

Cole and Jacquelyn are adding one last post . . . check back in a day for it

Roadtrip Video

California

This is a HUGE state when you drive from the Oregon border to San Diego. We spent another night with Janet . . . it felt like months when we were here last. We had a great time sharing all our stories with her and another great nights sleep. We spent the next morning packing up and went to Chinatown in San Fran for a good part of the day. We shopped, ate, looked around and took pictures. I don't know what on earth I was thinking when I left San Fran at 3:30 in the afternoon heading back to San Diego . . . I was exhausted. Not so much tired exhausted but stupid exhausted . . . I missed turns, let the gas go down to almost empty, and forgot to put the gas cap on. Here I am in moving traffic in LA at 11:00PM when a girl yells out the passenger window of her car alerting me that my gas cap is off and hanging . . . gets better here . . . and she wants to reach out the window and close it for me WHILE WE'RE DRIVING!!!!!! there just aren't enough exclamation marks for that one. As nice of a gesture as it was, we were driving in heavy LA traffic going 40MPH . . . seriously.
Whenever I looked out the window and her driver is getting close to the car and she's hanging out her window reaching toward my car . . . only in LA! I yelled out that I'd rather us both live and look for a new cap tomorrow. although I must admit I did think for just a moment . . . what a great photo that would be on the blog.
We drove 6,000 miles in 20 days and had just a great time. I thought a roadtrip with my teenagers would be a deal breaker, but instead they were so much fun. They had me laughing a few times so hard I had to wipe my eyes. They dealt with pay showers, boats, sleeping in our car, GPS changes, grumpy US border patrol, and my selection of books on tape. Cole spent days converting MPH to KPH and reminding me I was either going too fast or too slow ~ and how many miles it would be to our next stop. Jacquelyn kept my windows so clean and had to scrape bugs off at every gas station. I never once had to ask and everytime I was at a station there she was giving me perfect windows. It all worked really well.
I usually try to reflect on the trip our last miles home but this time I was just trying to get us home alive. I hope to reflect in the weeks to come instead, we do have a certain roadtrip magic that surrounds us ~ I only wish it would last throughout the year and in everything we do.
. . . and who knew potato chips and pizza could put that much weight on so fast?

Leaving Oregon

We spent the night in Oregon . . . I tried to drive as far as possible but I think we spent too long at the falls and I wanted to find a hotel before it got too late. We go between the AAA books and map and the GPS. I honestly don't know how on earth we ever took a roadtrip without a GPS. It can find me when I can't find me . . . it has found us gas stations, hotels, places to see and everything else possible on a roadtrip. My only major complaint is it can find me but can't seem to find itself when it's buried in a hidden place in my car . . . Ironically I've spent time trying to find it so it can tell me where I am?