Roadtrip 2010

Cole's Last Blog Post

2010-08-09T20:34:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-07T21:15:00.000-07:00

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??

2010-08-07T14:55:00.003-07:00

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

2010-08-05T23:00:00.000-07:00

California

2010-08-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-02T09:28:00.000-07:00

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?

OREGON

2010-08-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

We spent the morning in Seattle and tried to make it to Oregon for the night. We took a detour in Oregon to see the beautiful Multnomah Falls. We got there a little before sunset and the lighting was just right. We went for a hike up to the bridge and viewed the falls from there also.

Seattle

2010-08-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

Cole Speaking: We went to Seattle today and visited Pike's Place. We saw all the many vendors and street performers. We also saw The First Starbucks, and the fish market. At the fish market the men working there yell and scream and throw large fish around. It was really cool and very impressive I might add. We stopped and watch a store that makes cheese. They had a large bowl, small swimming pool full of cheese, spinning and spinning and spinning. We got some amazing macaroni and shopped around at all the shops. (check back for more pictures) Signing out

Views

2010-08-01T07:16:00.000-07:00

The comments posted by Cole are not necessarily the feelings and comments of all the members of Roadtrip 2010.

~ Thank you

My Favorite Video Clips

2010-08-01T06:26:00.000-07:00

I have a camera that takes both video and photos. Sometimes I tell Cole & Jacquelyn that I'm going to take their picture and I put the video camera on instead (just to annoy them) their reactions make me laugh so hard that I put my favorites together for you to see.

Thank You Canada

2010-07-31T22:59:00.000-07:00

Thank You Canada!

We loved Canada We easily got over the border and were treated wonderfully by the border patrol going into Canada. All the Canadians we met were so friendly and helpful. I was nervous to take a roadtrip into another country and drive on roads and through cities I was so unfamiliar with, but Canada quickly became our favorite part of the journey. The roads are nice, the views are outstanding, the weather is perfect . . . it was nice to get to know the neighbors finally.

Thank You Canada for your incredible hospitality and for a roadtrip we will not soon forget.

Viewers

2010-07-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

Cole Speaking: Good Morning Fellow Viewers. Im sorry to inform you i'm deeply dissapointed in all of you. We currently have 734 views and 13 followers. Last year we had 1746 views and 19 followers. Whats going on? Don't expect fun possitive posts if we dont get views. If your one that checks everyday well you can check twice a day. Theres another thing too Whats going on with commenting? Its not that hard. COMMENT.

I personally want this blog to end with 1000 views. Come through for us. Signing out

roadtripccj.blogspot.com

A Return to Belligham feat. Captain Nick

2010-07-31T09:08:00.000-07:00

Cole here: We made it back to Bellingham and spent the night on Martyn's boat ~ thanks again Martyn . . . who is in San Diego. I'm not too sure giving us the combination to unlock the boat was really the smartest thing. I feel like we know Bellingham now. We met up with Nick again and spent the day walking around Fairhaven . . . great place. Nick, Jacquelyn, and I went down to a beach and climbed on rocks and made an awesome Drift wood house.

After that we went cliff jumping. Nick grabbed a camera and video tapped me doing a double back flip off. It was so much fun and was amazing to watch.

Nick was a Great Host and really invited us into his apartment. He told us great stories and brought us out to skate, climb, hike, and jump. Thank you Nick

Vancouver Canada

2010-07-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

We made it to Vancouver today. We'll write more later.

The Drive from Prince George to Hope

2010-07-29T11:46:00.000-07:00

We always intend to wake up early and get on the road but when morning comes the job of packing the car up takes longer each day. We carry way too much stuff into the hotels each night. We have an air mattress, sleeping bag, three suitcases, coolers, bathroom bag with brushes, hairdryers, and 5 pounds of other things, we travel with a fan if it gets too hot, and then we also have pillows and other food bags that seem to always be in the way . . . not to mention three laptops, cameras, video cameras, iPods, and a 20 pound bag of electronic cords to charge all the electronics and extension cords with extra outlets. The pile of cords is just a little insane ~ it's not easy to find the cord you're looking for and when or if you do it's guaranteed that it's tangled up with someone's headphones ~ I'll try to take a picture and post it so you'll have a visual on that one.

We drove from Prince George to Hope, BC. Another really long drive. We wanted to get as close to Vancouver as possible because we wanted to spend a day there looking around being tourists.
Seemed that we had a million trucks on the road with us today. They all go incredibly fast and lots of them have just too many logs they're hauling! We drove through a town named Boston Bar . . . seemed like a great name for a town (feel like I've been there in another life)

Traveling is different this year than the years before . . . once I was allowed to pick the music now it's all them. So I don't recognize a lot of the music I'm listening to and the volume is louder than I'm wanting. . . . feeling old.

we're back a few days on our posts . . . and plan to catch up before we get back home.

Drive From Canada

2010-07-28T11:04:00.000-07:00

We drove all day from Alaska to Prince George . . . roughly a 10 hour drive. I can't believe we made it all the way to Prince George I thought I would cave and stay a few towns earlier.

The return trip to Prince George was just as beautiful as the trip North. We made some photo stops along the way and I kept my purse in the car the entire time. Learning metric has been a task. I continue to see road signs with the speed limit 90 or 100 and I have to remember that's not MPH . . . Cole is my metric converter. He will look at the speedometer and say "mom you should actually be going 60MPH now" He has saved me speeding tickets!

On the map it really doesn't appear to be a long drive but CANADA is HUGE! and the roads we've been on are all single lane with the yellow dashed passing lane.

Where Are They Today?

2010-07-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

It's a long drive home . . . but we're on our way!

Glacier Story of the Day!

2010-07-27T23:02:00.000-07:00

I love this picture we took it on the side of the road leaving Alaska. I pulled over and set my camera up on the hood of my car . . . my mini tripod broke so I had to use something to balance my camera on. My purse was just the right size to balance the camera so I pressed it down on the front end of the car and took the picture. We drove off and less than a mile down the road ~ a very winding and steep cliffs into rushing rivers road ~ we see a white thing fly up and hit the front window and fly over the car and land in the road. I thought was a trash bag or a grocery bag it happened so fast. I said "what was that" and wanted to turn around . . . Jacquelyn knowing the narrow road said don't turn around. Cole looks out the back window at what landed in the road and says "That was your purse mom!" . . . can you imagine? !!!! seriously can you imagine??!! We may have become permanent residents of Alaska . . . fishing for salmon for dinner . . . no ID, money, credit cards . . . that could have been really ugly!

The N

2010-07-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

Cole Speaking, As some know i will soon be joining you all on the road so I've been interested in the rules and procedures of getting your license. So here in Canada to get your license for the first year you must have an adult in you car and have a L sticker on your car that stands for learner. Then you get a N for novice the next year. So this year when we've been driving around everywhere i've been seeing big green N stickers on the back of cars. Its kind of obvious too because they haven't been the best drivers. 1 of them i saw was smashed in an accident and another one was swerving around and struggling. It's interesting and slightly funny how people see the N and kind of shun that car so its isolated from others. I think its interesting how Canada does that - thanks Nancy for giving us the heads up on that one, we spot them everywhere. Signing out

Fudge!

2010-07-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

We drove back down from Alaska today and headed back home! We've passed so many fly fishing spots . . . John we should have taken you with us . . . we saw all your people! We're actually getting comfortable seeing bears walking around on the sides of the roads . . . we saw a few today and I didn't even take a picture of one.

One of our favorite things from Alaska was the Fudge store . . . it was 5 maybe 10 large steps from the border first house on the left. Caroline is the store owner and she had the best fudge there that you could imagine. If you need fudge her e-mail is boundarygallery@yahoo.com and we recommend the mocha and the raspberry although they all are good. I'd drive up there just for that!

Saw a Black Bear CLOSE!!

2010-07-26T21:45:00.000-07:00

Sunday we arrived in Alaska and went directly to the bear viewing area. We spent two hours there and didn't see any bears. We were told to come back in the morning early to see them eating salmon . . . well our early morning didn't end up being 7:00am but more like 11:00am. When we arrived a black bear walked up alongside the viewing area and grabbed a salmon and ate it right in front of us. It really was absolutely amazing . . . we couldn't have wished for anything more from Alaska . . . We saw the some bald eagles, salmon swimming up stream, bears eating salmon and a big fat Glacier . . . what else is there? I would like to have seen a Killer Whale but some of the salmons were as big as whales so that will have to do.

Camping in Alaska

2010-07-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

Monday we spent the day in the very little town of Hyder Alaska. We loved the town and the people who live there . . . and the view goes on forever. The hotel selection was very small consisting to two little motels so we decided to camp. We found the camp that everyone who comes through town uses "Camp Run A Muck" and reserved a spot. We brought a tent and sleeping bags and all the camping essentials ~ When we arrived at the campsite we found it was an RV site and were told we would have to stay in the car because of the Grizzley Bears! We empted the car and put most of its contents in our roof cap and some of it we just put on top of the car. Fortunately we took the middle seats out of the car this year so we only had to fold down the backseats. Cole and I slept in the back in sleeping bags and Jacquelyn reclined the passenger seat and slept there. We used our hot plate and cooked pasta at the picnic table. We had an outlet right next to our car and the best thing we brought with us was an extension cord. Charged all our laptops and actually had a fan in the car at night . . . We really had a great time and had WiFi in the car. We woke up at 5:00AM and it was freezing 52 degrees which was cold. I can't say I had a good nights sleep but we had so many laughs and it really was fun!

Cole checks every night for comments . . . can someone comment to him! He's still annoyed that Jacquelyn received 3 comments on her one and only post . . . and we have to hear about it every day!

ALASKA! we made it!

2010-07-25T22:52:00.001-07:00

We made it to Alaska today, Cole and Jacquelyn have been asking me for years and I always told them there was no way I would drive up to Alaska . . . well I did it! Now that we've driven to every state be prepared Jeff . . . they want to go to Hawaii next! We left Prince Rupert and drove up to Hyder it was about a 6 hour drive but one of the most beautiful we've been on. We saw a bear cross the road right in front of us. We stopped the car and got out and took pictures at almost every turn . . . all except the one the bear was at (those photos were taken from inside the car) I really wanted to see a bald eagle and then sure enough I saw one swoop down close to the road. No chance to grab the camera and take a picture . . . I was thinking I'd never get a chance to get a photo of one. Then a few miles down the road I looked out and saw two sitting on a large dead tree branch . . . pulled the car over and quickly slammed on my telephoto lens and jumped out of the car hoping not to scare them away. We watched them and walked closer as they watched us. They were not really happy with us walking out close to them but when they flew off it was breathtaking! I have to say that was the highpoint of my day today. I was finally thrilled to make it to Alaska but my God how am I going to get home? 3,000 miles today (half of those are actually kilometers!) I usually have my sister or parents house to rest at before I tackle the journey back . . . I'm hoping to have a restful day tomorrow and build up the energy to start the journey back . . . bring on the Coffee! If anyone wants to fly up and help out with the drive I'll share my chocolate with you.

2010-07-25T20:28:00.000-07:00