Road Trip 2008!

We took our first family road trip last week. Daddy got home from San Francisco Friday afternoon and we drove to St. George a few hours later. What did we eat? What did we see? What did we listen to during our 24 hours of driving (playlist at right)? Who do we love even more?

What We Ate

The Bad:
Wendy's - Do they make the special burger with a head of iceberg lettuce on it just for me?
Courtyard Marriott's Breakfast Buffet - One more place where I made the mistake of ordering any food for Bridget.
Taco Bell - As always, great Mexi-Melt, but my memories of the Chicken Burrito Supreme are all wrong.

The Good:
25 Main in St. George - A cupcake bar (they make beautiful cakes, too) with yummy salads, sliced apples with a side of peanut butter for dipping. Daddy took too much of Mommy's cupcake on the first visit, so we came back on our drive home.
Chef Aron & Chef Allyn - Homemade food! I'm always impressed when there are sides on the table. My favorite was Orange Julius the morning we left. Awesome!
Coyote Cafe in Old Town San Diego - Patient (oh, so patient) waiter, my vacation friend Dr. Pepper (hello, lover), and a perfectly executed quesadilla. (Added bonus of a sleeping Noah in my lap.)
Caldo Pomodoro in Carlsbad - We were there on a double date with Allyn & Aron. No kids! And we ate outside, one of my favorite things to do in California. Great company, great food, shared dessert and a walk on the beach after it was over.


What We Saw

The Bad:
Step It Up And Dance - I realize you're supposed to watch TV every moment you're in a hotel room, but I don't like getting addicted to a marathon of a show where the dancers who get kicked off have to dance their "last dance." And that psycho-eyes from Saved By The Bell is on it.
Las Vegas Billboards - I know it's Vegas and everything stays there, but think of the children. THINK OF THE CHILDREN. For crying out loud.
Baker, California - Any town that takes that much pride in being home to the world's largest thermometer is sad indeed. Especially when that thermometer rounds to the nearest 10. Not helpful.
J.B.'s Big Boy in Baker, California - This restaurant gets mentioned even though we ate there 3 years ago and will never eat there again. The disappointment is still palpable.

The Good:
The Flower Fields in Carlsbad, California - Most of the blooms were spent, but we didn't have to pay money to see the fields from a neighboring hotel terrace and it still looked very cool. (The first picture in this post is from the Flower Fields. Thanks to Allyn for the only picture with all 3 of us in it.)
Torrey Pines - We feel like a trip to California is not complete without a peek at the ocean. We went for a nice hike with Allyn, Adam, Banks, and Noah. Bridget kept shouting "WATER!" Yes, lots and lots of water.

The Mormon Battalion Memorial - We went in for a recommendation on where to eat, but we stayed for the touching stories and the senior sister dressing up Adam and Banks for the trail. (Elder and Sister Burgon are walking 6 miles a day, 6 days a week to walk as many miles as the members of the Mormon Battalion did only they're doing it over 18 months. I was inspired!)

Old Town San Diego - We didn't walk around it much, but it felt like a trip back in time and to Mexico. And, of course, the previously mentioned perfectly executed quesadilla.






The San Diego Zoo - The last time we went to this zoo, it was August. We (just Brian and me) went with Allyn and 4 of her kids (Noah wasn't born yet). We had enough room in the strollers for 3 kids. Math that equals disaster. It was so hot that the animals stayed in their houses. The only animals we saw that day were the elephants (who were showering their backsides with their trunks, which was very cool) and the goats at the petting zoo. We paid almost $50 for those 2 pleasures. This time it was 70 degrees, all the animals were out and we had 1 kid and 1 stroller. Hooray! Bridget and I wore our zoo shirts (mine has flamingos and Bridget's has zebras). We saw monkeys swinging from ropes and teasing each other. A panda walked down for her food right in front of us (Bridget couldn't believe her eyes). The giraffes ate their lunch while we observed. Even the not-so-amazing animals (wart hogs) were amazing as they chased each other around and made the same sound that Mommy and Daddy make for pigs. (Not "oink.") Brian took Bridget into the petting zoo portion (a bunch of goats smoking weed) and I got my favorite picture EVER. Wrong side of the bars!

Who We Love Even More
Aunt Allyn - She fed us! She took us to the ocean and Old Town San Diego. She looked at fabric with me, then we went to a fabric store and bought supplies for my dream bag that she is making for me. She made us laugh. We love love LOVE her.
Uncle Aron - Somehow we ended up with no pictures of him, but Uncle Aron also fed us (he made Mother's Day dinner) and shared his dinner when Brian and I double dated with him and Allyn. He also made a wicked train track for the kids when Bridget couldn't sleep.
Emma - She (and Lilja) were so good to Bridget. They let her wear their sunglasses, watches, shoes. That does not remind me of myself at that age. Two of the mornings we were there, Emma was taking care of Noah when he woke up. Very sweet.
Lilja - I feel like Lilja gets all the grown-up jokes. I love watching her twinkling eyes when she secretly knows what's going on. She was very quick to take care of Bridget, too.
Adam - When Adam and Banks wrestle, the women and children should leave the room... and all the men who don't happen to be wearing cups. BUT, he was so gentle and kind to Bridget. He shared his trains and protected her like a good big brother.
Banks - is the Master of Disaster! I missed him once we got home. He was so into whatever we were doing. I asked him if he could sing songs and he smiled big and we sang songs. He invited Brian to play "I Spy" with him. ("I spy with my little eye... a sailboat!" Points to the sailboat.) He was just game and I loved it. He also wanted to be Bridget's BFF and there's nothing cuter than that.
Noah - I wanted to take him home and love and squeeze him and call him... What? Nothing. He is the sweetest, softest, most lovable baby ever.

So that's it! And I'm finally done with this post!