The Epic Road Trip - August 2013 Edition - Day 8 - Planes, Planes and Shopping

After quickly packing up the tent, our first order of business was to get gas and breakfast - not necessarily in that order.

Throughout our roadtrip, we relied on Starbucks to keep us fueled, and as a good way to get milk into Mr P - he likes that he gets to drink out of a cup that looks like ours. He also enjoys their banana muffins and oatmeal and bagels, so it's always a safe bet.

After a quick bite, we were on our way to Seattle. Through its maze of overpasses and underpasses, we finally made our way to Boeing Field. Mr T is always excited to go, but this was Mr P's first time. He is obsessive about airplanes AKA "airpwame" in toddler talk.

We had decided we would stick to the free displays outside of the Seattle Museum of Flight - the museum inside is just a little too crowded with people (and priceless displays) for the Toddler Tornado. When we go Mr P out of the car, he was almost in a coma - and pretty dizzy after spinning in circles and seeing airpwames everywhere.

Mr T got really excited when he saw there was B-17 bomber AKA Flying Fortress. There was a gate and ropes around it, and you had to be at least 12 years old to go in. Sucked, but we'll get back and hopefully there will be another plane for him to take a tour of.

There was a few other planes around outside, and he had a blast running around looking at them.

The best part of the museum is Boeing Field is right there. Which means there are a bunch of planes that are still in testing phase. And there's a airport where business jets are taking off all of the time. We sat there an watched planes take off for probably 30 minutes.

Here is the Indian Navy's Posiden for Maritime Patrol. It's behind barbed wire, but you can still see stuff. Pretty cool!

We went into the museum briefly to go into the gift shop - T-shirt! And of course a toy plane. AND a book about planes. He was in total heaven.

We'll go back in a couple of years when Mr P is old enough to go into the museum and look at the displays and enjoy the moon rocks.

After the museum, it was off to the Seattle Premium Outlets. It was always our plan to go there and pick up the boy some new threads. It's pretty cheap. We also wanted to get him some new shoes, and there is a wicked shoe store in the States - Stride Rite. It's a shoe store for kids. We were pretty sure Mr P needed wider shoes, but we don't have much of a selection where we are. They sell shoes in different widths. Turns out not only were his shoes too narrow, but also too small - by a size and a half. Poor dood.

We grabbed a couple of pairs for him, some good shirts and pants and more Starbucks. Then it was back on the road - we wanted to be back in Canada by nightfall. We have a campground we've stayed at a few times, just off the Trans-Canada - Dogwood. It's definitely a good place for a one-night stay.

We got to bed pretty early again - the next day was going to be awesome. A trip to my favourite store I've never been to, and a visit with old friends :)

The Epic Road Trip - August 2013 Edition - Day 7 - Voodoo Delights

Waking up in Marysville, Mr P was in a much better mood.

He ate heartily and won the hearts of all of the other diners at the continental breakfast. And he was excited to get into the car. "Go, go, go!!!" he chanted again with toddler glee.

So off we went. We skipped past Seattle and headed straight for Portland.

Now there are a number of reasons for visiting Portland. 

1 - It's a very nice city.

2 - If you've ever caught Portlania on IFC or Netflix (we're avid watchers - to the point of knowing dialogue), you're naturally probably a little curious about the city. If you haven't seen the show, please watch the video below. If you don't find it funny, you're probably not enjoying any of the posts on this blog.

3 - Two words. Voodoo Donuts.

If you don't know what this is - hit Google Images immediately.

This is kind of one of the big reasons we go to Portland:

Now. When you go, the first address on the box is the original store. This is the store we always go to. It's fun and magical and always surrounded by an eclectic mix of buskers. This time it was a dancing gorilla. Yes. You read that right. Dancing gorilla. 

Mr T was anxious to get Mr P away from said dancing gorilla, so I didn't get to snap a photo. Just know that it was epic and awesome.

So - I ordered six of the delicious confections. First - the Voodoo Donut. It's awesome. Second - the Maple Bacon. Yup. Maple. With strips of bacon. Ahhhhhmazing. After that, there were too many to choose from in the rotating display case, so I just told the guy to choose the next four. And he was bang on.

He chose a blueberry cake donut for Mr P. Excellent. Then a Milk and Cookies donut. A delicious concoction on a yeast donut that includes crushed Oreos. And then a Peanut Butter Crunch - another yeast donut slathered with chocolate icing, drizzled with peanut butter and then dipped in Rice Krispies. The final donut was the Devil's Food. It's a devil's food cake donut, dipped in chocolate, decorated with a red pentagram and the hole was stuffed full of chocolate chips. Yum!

We were so excited to dig in, I didn't take a photo of all of the donuts. Just what was left when we got to our campground - Paradise Point in southern Washington State.

We've stayed at this campground before. It's just off the highway, but super nice and has some nice and easy hiking so Mr P can enjoy it too.

We also got there early enough to have some time doing fun things with Mr P, like playing smash up derby with his Matchbox cars.

We went to bed a little later that night, but that was okay, because it was just a short drive to our first destination the next day - the Seattle Museum of Flight and Boeing Field.

The Epic Road Trip - August 2013 Edition - Day 6 - Crossing the Border

Waking up in Victoria, we had just one thing to do before we hit the ferry - laundry.

This is how we keep the vehicle relatively light. Only bring enough clothes for four days (in the case of Mr P, a little more, because toddlers can go through three t-shirts in a 15-minute period).

So, after camping for two days, it was an scheduled hotel stay and laundry day. It also gave Mr P to have a great nap before we got on the ferry.

We were a little smarter this time - seeking out the kid play area almost right away. We did shoot for Mr P spending a little more time outside enjoying the fresh ocean air.

This wasn't a very eventful travel day. Ferry to Vancouver (waiting in lines). Then to the Peace Arch (more waiting in line) and then into the States. We decided to alter our sleeping plans a little bit, and grabbed a hotel just north of Seattle. Mr P was done with being in the car, and so were we.

The Epic Road Trip - August 2013 Edition - Day 5 - The Island

Mr T and I have gone to Vancouver a number of times since we moved west six and a half years ago.

We've visited the island zero times (in real life. Mr T has spent days there via Google Maps). This year that all changed. We decided we would pony up the cost of the ferry and go to Tofino.

Anywho, we left of on Sproat Lake - which is on the Island. We woke up the next morning. Spent another few minutes gazing at the firefighting plane and we were off. The road to Tofino isn't AS winding as Highway 99, but it's still got some curves to conquer.

We zoomed through lush green forests (and fog... don't forget the fog) to make our way to the town to get breakfast.

The first place we tried seemed a little like the set of "Lost" and the yogis saluting the sun freaked Mr T out a little. So off we went to find somewhere else.

Here's our view from Tofino's Best Western restaurant (which has the most delicious, healthy flax French toast ever).

 Yup. That would be the Pacific Ocean in the background. Awesome.

Mr P had enough of breakfast before we even got in the restaurant. He just wanted to be outside. So after 20 minutes of Mr T and I dodging flying cutlery and French toast, out we strolled. On to the most awesome beach I've ever been on.

 Mr P was excited at all of the open space he had to run. However, he's not a fan of open water, so going into the ocean was a big NO for him (which means me too). However, Mr T got to do what he wanted to do - dive into the ocean.

Meanwhile, Mr P had fun exploring the sand and the things playing in said sand.

 I decided to be a dorky tourist, and do something usually reserved for tropical beaches (the palm trees in Tofino could fool you into thinking you were in a tropical area... if the damned ocean wasn't so cold).

Tofino is an interesting little town. Kind of hard to find a tshirt in Mr P's size, but after scouring all of the surf shops we finally found him one. And then we found some excellent ice cream.

After that, it was time to get back on the road - we wanted to be comfortably checked in to a hotel in Victoria by the evening, so we could take the ferry back to Vancouver in the morning. 

The finished product

So this video takes us back to driving through Edson, Hinton and Jasper, Alberta before crossing into the BC border (day 2 of the epic trip).

Please keep in mind this is my first kick at:
a - using the GoPro
b - using the GoPro software
c - using and editing in iMovie
d - doing video editing of any kind!

It's about 8 minutes long, but if you've never been to Jasper, it's a pretty fast way to see it :)

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

The rest is coming, I promise

There are still days left to document of the August 2013 Epic Road Trip, but I've been fumbling my way through GoPro and iMovie software.

You see, finally, after almost two years in the box, I decided it was time to break the GoPro out. So it captured roughly 10,000 photos (no lie), and I'm trying to piece together a time lapse video of the road between Edson and the BC border.

So after I get that fixed up, I'll get back to writing up the awesome trip :)

The Epic Road Trip - August 2013 Edition - Day 4 - Whistler and beyond

The weather was still a little dreary, but we were raring to go. Not only was it time to visit Whistler, it was also a day to go on a boat!

We had decided a week or so before heading out to ditch our original plan of going to Portland via Montana and Idaho to go to Vancouver Island instead. We had been to Vancouver a number of times in the past six years (including the August 2012 road trip), but we always thought the cost of the ferry crossing was prohibitive.

We loosely strapped Mr P into his car seat and packed away the tent. He sat contently drinking water, eating crackers and throwing his cars around until we were done. We drove into Whistler. Which is a bit of a deceiving town! Everything (restaurants, stores, etc) are hidden away from the main highway. It's a nice way to build a city (everything looks so clean!), but hard for the spontaneous to find breakfast.

After finally tracking down a place, we decided we should see SOMETHING from the 2010 Winter Olympics, and decided to take a short detour to the Whistler/Blackcomb resort where the downhill ski events had been held. Here is where we ran into one of the few drawbacks of travelling with a toddler.

I'm sure it's very nice.

We were still (and continued to stay on) Alberta time. Which means Mr P woke up at his usual 7:30 a.m. time. It just meant 6:30 a.m. in BC. So when we went to go take a look around the resort (and buy a tshirt!), we found it all closed up. It wouldn't open for another couple of hours. We wanted to catch an early afternoon ferry to the Island, so we decided not to wait around, and headed into Vancouver.

I don't know why, but I always pictured ferry travel to be not very popular, and thus was surprised by the lineups to get on the boat. Granted, we were going from one of the most popular ports to one of the most popular ports, but I still didn't expect a two-hour wait.

So close...

Confession time - besides a canoe, I'd never really been on a boat before. So this was kind of new and cool to me. Mr P was a take it or leave it kind of guy, but was really excited by the whole driving onto the boat thing.

Oooh. We're moving.

Well I don't like this one bit!

The view from the ferry. What a beautiful country I live in.

Umm. So over this. Can I go inside now?

Mr P really didn't care that he was on a boat. He didn't want to be outside (too windy). There wasn't much to do inside, until we found...

What?!? I can go down these things on my belly?

The ferry crossing is about one and half hours. We were about an hour in when we found the kid area. It had a slide! That was the best news ever for our boy. He spent the rest of the crossing here, having fun and being a kid.

Once off the boat, it was time to pick a place to stay for the night. Back to our handy BC Parks Guide, I picked Sproat Lake. Little did I know how completely awesome it was going to be. My kid (and Mr T) LOVE airplanes. So when we got to our campsite and saw this, I knew it was going to be one of the best campsites ever.

The Martin Mars - used as a tool in forest fires. Check out the link here for more info.

It was a beautiful site with a rock beach to play on, and of course an airplane to stare at all day long. Sproat Lake Provincial Park is also home to some Petroglyphs, which are kind of cool. More info here.

It was an early night to bed - the next day was going to be exciting - we were off to a place Mr T had wanted to go for a very long time - Tofino.

The Epic Road Trip - August 2013 Edition - Day 3

After waking up, getting some breakfast we got back on the road. 

With Matchbox cars in hand, and happily looking at all of the new scenery ("treeeeeeees! Treeeeeeeees!), Mr P was ready for travel.

We've taken a bunch of different routes to Vancouver, but never Sea to Sky Highway. We had never been to Whistler . We decided it was time to change that.

However, before you can get to Whistler (and the Sea to Sky), you have to drive BC Highway 99. If you love twists, turns, extreme drop offs, trees and water, this is the road for you. Full of 50 km/h speed zones (and really, with the twists and switch backs, you should pay attention to these speed signs), it takes what feels like forever to get to where you're going, but it's totally worth the drive.

(I apologize now for not having photos, but due to weather and wildlife on this road, I was being more of a co-pilot and less of an archivist as we went).

We stopped in Lillooet for lunch. It's a quaint little town nestled in the heart of a valley, accessible only by these heart-stopping curvy roads. Mr P was having a blast looking down at the village though, and liked being able to see airplanes and helicopters so close to us when we were at the summit.

After lunch, we surprised Mr P with a 45-minute visit to the local playground. There wasn't much there - a slide and a lot of rocks, but plenty of room to run. He was in heaven when he realized he had free reign.

Back on the road, we picked out a campground from the BC Parks Guide and made our way to Nairn Falls Provincial Park 30 km outside of Whistler. While we didn't get to see the falls (the 2.5 km one-way hike is on a super narrow trail and runs right beside the river - plus it was raining), it was a great place to stay. It was P's first night in a tent since the 2012 road trip, and he did well. 

As all toddlers do, he took up almost all of the room in the tent by sleeping at a strange angle. We found as long as he had a car and his blankie he was good to go. Oh - and as long as he could spend at least 20 minutes using Mr T and I as his personal trampolines, he slept just fine. Not like a baby at all!

The Epic Road Trip - August 2013 Edition - Day 1 AND 2

Day 1

Admittedly, this was not really a road trip day.

Mr T and I went to work. Mr P went to day care. But when we got home, the Swamp Monster (our new road trip vehicle - 2014 Subaru Forester), was packed in quick order, and we were heading for Edmonton to spend the night.

Mr P knew something exciting was happening when he got to have his blankie, Scout AND his little SLS Mercedes Matchbox in the back seat with him. When he saw the hiking backpack we carry him in for long walks, he knew what was up. "Go, go, go!!!" he chanted with toddler glee.

That is the deep sleep of a happy toddler in a hotel.

Day 2

Our day started with a trip to Subaru City to get the Swamp Monster (so named because of it's green/grey colouring) its first oil change (fortuitous timing if I do say so myself). After less than an hour and a quick trip to Costco to pick up a flat of water and some road snacks, we were heading west, toward Jasper.

Taking into account the rules (see the backstory below), we decided we'd stop in a few places - Edson and Hinton. It's only three hours to Jasper from Edmonton, but we thought we'd be generous with the stops at the beginning of the trip.

Heading into Jasper, Mr P was sleeping, so we thought we'd bang on and forego our usual stop for a sandwich at our favourite joint. It was only a few hours to where we thought we'd be staying for the night - the KOA in Clearwater, BC.

However, as we drove on, we drove deeper into a storm. While we had made our reservation hours before (again, see The Rules), we quickly decided we'd much rather hit up a hotel than stake up a tent in the pouring rain. So, keeping in mind the fact Mr P needed to eat, we stopped at a restaurant in Valemont, BC to load him up. He wasn't up for playing nice, so it was an eat quick and get the toddler who throws cutlery out of the restaurant kind of stop.

Then it was onto Kamloops for a hotel. This was against our rules for two reasons: 1 - it was last minute lodging and 2 - we had agreed to stay in hotels only every two days to do laundry and to get Mr P a bath. However, it was in everyone's best interest. Due to his long nap in the car, it was a few hours past bed time when he finally decided to sleep. 

All it took was a little Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives to get him down.

Road Tripping - The Back Story

Before I can get to documenting our most recent awesome adventures, you may want to learn a little about how we got to this point.

It all began with a drive west just over seven years ago. I fell in love (cue the sappy awww here), and decided to pack up my life and move to Alberta with the man who would become my husband.

So picture this, beautiful January day in Ontario. I packed my little Hyundai Accent (which had been through a couple of States and all over Ontario in the four years I had it) with all of my worldly belongings. My dear husband-to-be (Mr T to you) also had his VW Jetta packed with some of my stuff and a bag of clothing to wear as we made our way across the country.

From there we set off from a snowless, sunny farm and started making our way northwest. By the time we hit Sault St. Marie, it was snowing. Little did we know, we were driving west as a huge blizzard (that would eventually make its way across the entire country) was making its way east.

In any case, it took us seven days to make it to Alberta - and that was just the first of our epic road trips.

Once firmly rooted in our new home, we took to driving around the province (some people call three hours one way a day trip - we call it going shopping in Edmonton). 

On whims we would jump in the car and drive seven hours to go to Jasper. Not to ski. But to get a sandwich at our favourite joint - the Patricia Street Deli. 

Over the next five years, our friends came to know that we weren't sitting idly at home on weekends. No. We were off exploring. Monday mornings inevitably started with the question, "so where did you guys go this weekend?"

Trips to Jasper, the Loop (Edmonton to Jasper to Banff to Calgary back to Edmonton and finally that three-hour leg home), Vancouver, Osoyoos, Kamloops and Golden were all favourites.

And then. And then came Mr. P.

People told us the trips would stop. We wouldn't be doing road trips anymore. It's too hard to travel with a baby. 

Nah. That wasn't the plan. The plan was to make our little dood into a road tripper just like us.

And so it happened. He was born in Edmonton. It took almost six hours for Mr T, the new dad to make the drive home. That was officially his first road trip.

Two months later, leaving Mr T at home, Mr P and I got on a plane and went back to Ontario to give his grandparents something to smile about. Not a road trip no. But a reason to get Mr P a passport. And to keep the travel bug going.

As new parents we stuck pretty close to home the first few months - a day trip to the border city of Lloydminster (about an hour and a half away), Edmonton a few times. It was winter. We didn't want to risk anything. 

By April, we were chomping at the bit to go. So in the car we got. Loaded with bottles and diapers and all of the stuff new parents think they need to get through the day, we set our sites on doing the Loop.
And it was perfect. Mr P was, at seven months old, still sleeping most of his day away. We would stop every four hours or so to eat, change diapers and see something new.

Jump ahead to August. Mr P has been doing day trips to Edmonton and thinking nothing of it. He's 11 months old now and starting to get a little independent. Mr T, who had taken four months of parental leave, was getting ready to go back to work. Mr P was going to start day care, and we thought, hey, let's take a road trip. And let's tent instead of getting a hotel. And while we're at it, let's go not just to Jasper, but maybe to Vancouver. And hey, while we're down there, let's go to the States too. We had just seen a show on Voodoo Donuts and started watching Portlandia on IFC, and decided we should head to Portland.

Wow. What a difference a few months makes.

The start of the trip was what it always is. Easy. Sleeping baby. Happy baby. Happy parents.

There were moments when he wasn't happy. Hungry. Dirty diaper. Sick of being in the car. We understood that. He slept in the tent like a champ. Which was a blessing.

And it was all good... until we started making our way back into Canada from Seattle. Then the ear-piercing, headache inducing screaming started.

We had no idea what was going on. We had no plans for lodging for the night and it was getting dark fast. Desperate, we took to a hotel. The screaming continued with short bouts of sleep. Getting back to northeastern Alberta was going to be rough.

We drove at length, trying to get back home in as little time as possible. Probably not the best idea.

It was at the point the Rules began being formed. (By the way - we tracked down the source of the crying - poor Mr P had developed bronchitis and was just not feeling well. Trust me, I had tons of new mom guilt on this one).

You see, this wasn't just a road trip, this was a learning experience. So here they are - here is what we've learned, and hopefully can help someone else later.

Rules For Traveling with Small Children (0-2)

1 - Be willing to bring toys. We don't have DVD players in our cars. Hopefully we never will. It's not just about the destination - it's about the journey. On the latest trip (August 2013), we allowed Mr P to bring four Matchbox cars, three books, Scout and Elmo. We also bought him stuff along the way. See the next post for what :)

2 - Always have snacks and water on hand. I don't know about your kid, but mine eats like a linebacker. Having food on hand is essential. Water is also essential - it can get hot in a car, even with air conditioning. You have to keep your kid and yourself hydrated.

3 - Know where you're staying by 3 p.m. You don't necessarily have to be there by that time, but have reservations and know where you're going. This is especially important if travelling on weekends, long weekends or during peak tourism times. Our first long road trip (August 2012) had us calling multiple hotels and stopping at campgrounds for almost two hours until we found something. When you have a screaming baby, that's just not an option.

4 - Stop frequently. We've called it at every two hours. Two hours is a good marker. Get a snack. Get some snuggles. Everyone gets out, walks around and gets a stretch. Our minimum stop is 15 minutes, but usually last closer to 30 minutes.

5 - Every four hours stop for a meal. As adults, sitting in a car doesn't burn many calories. But our little doods are growing, and they need food. Stop for something of substance. This works in with the stop every two hours rule nicely. For more of what we did on our latest trip (August 2013) keep reading the blog.

6 - Do something just for the kid(s) every day. We're very aware these trips are mostly about us right now. So we try to make sure we do something every day that's just for Mr P. Stop at the aquarium, the zoo, a toy store, etc. Let them go a little nuts. It's a much needed break from the car for all of you, and it lets your kid(s) know you're aware they need time to have fun too.

After hearing this story, most people said they would just give up and stop road tripping. That wasn't an option. As selfish as it all may seem, we just want Mr P to explore and experience the world. We want him to be curious and be willing to try new things. We believe doing these road trips will do just that.

Well that was a book. If you're not completely bored, keep reading for notes (and photos!) from our latest trip.

Bring on the real Trials and Tribulations!

While this blog was originally started to post assignments for my ECSM course through U of A, I've come to the conclusion it can take on a decidedly more personal vibe now.

If you're not interested in the trials and tribulations that accompany raising a toddler, you may not want to read on.

If you're a seasoned parent, sick of the FTM (first-time moms for you Internet lingo illiterate [not a bad thing I assure you - the fate of the English language lays in your hands]) obvious stories and solutions, you may not want to stick around either. But you're more than welcome to.

This is also to try my hand at documenting our family's road trip adventures "Tripping with a Tiny Dictator". Although Mr. P is not yet two years old, he's pretty well travelled for a North American child (and no - that's not a dig at North Americans - it's simply pointing out its easier to travel to many different countries and experience many different cultures in Europe due to proximity. Our continent is impossibly large).

I'm going to do some backtracking to get you all up to date on our previous travels, and then hopefully sling you some new info as our next adventure starts Aug 16, 2013. 

For now, I leave you with this photo from our last trip to BC on Canada Day weekend.

A note to all first-time and expectant mothers...

Do you have one of "those" books by your bed? You know - Having a Baby for Dummies, or something similar?
You do? I thought so.
Here's a piece of advice. Throw it away. Burn it. Just get rid of it.
I had those books too. And I spent every night reading it. And then I spent the rest of the night having nightmares about what was possibly happening in my belly, where my bright, beautiful baby was growing.
At about six months (or 24 weeks for those of you who are now looking at time and its measurements in a whole new light), my husband said "enough".
"It's nothing but a bunch of fear mongering," he said. "If it were up to the writers of these books, you would never move, at all, during the entire nine-month process. But then they'd freak you out about not being active enough. You don't need these books. Get rid of them."
And I did.
Shortly after I had my very healthy, not at all afflicted with one of the thousands of things that could have gone wrong according to "those books" baby, I went back and looked at the book again.
Every pregnancy symptom known to man was in those books. And every symptom "could be" something going wrong with your pregnancy. But as we all know, hormones don't necessarily make us the most rational people on the planet. Our eyes skip over "could be" situations and make them into "will be" situations.
So here it is - we visit doctors every month. Those same doctors invite us to come in any time we feel something may not be right (I had my share of non-stress tests, let me tell you). They also increase our visits to once a week after we get past some magic number (34 weeks in my case). We have ultrasounds, and get to hear little rapid heart beats every time we walk into the office. Now, more than ever with medical technology, doctors know when something isn't quite right, almost immediately.
So sit back. Relax. Let this miracle happen. And if you really want to scare yourself, go look up the chart for growth spurts. And teething. Then you'll know why your little angel is screaming blue murder at 2 a.m. when nothing is seemingly wrong.