Road Trip

Ansel and I hit the road last week for a little mom and son road trip. Unfortunately Jeremy had to work as much as we would have loved for him to come along. We started with a drive to Davis (1 hour). We visited with our friends Allison, Scott and Nicole. Scott and Ansel were born a week apart. First we watched a big construction site with lots of big machines. Then we went to a small farm where we visited with animals and saw tall sun flowers.

Scott and the baby cow.


Mama and Ansel by the sunflowers.


In the afternoon we played in the backyard with a kiddie pool and sprinkler.




We spent the night and the next day headed up to Lake Tahoe (2 1/2 hours). We stayed with our family friends Louetta and Bob. The lake was gorgeous. So clear and clean. In the afternoon thunder clouds rolled in and poured and hailed down. It delayed our lake fun but we had plenty of time afterwards and the next day for digging and swimming. I found it very relaxing to sit in the sand while the lake lapped the shore. Little bits of fools gold sparkled in the water. The big bulbous clouds had moved into the distance. It really is one of my favorite places to visit. I love the colors of the foliage. The manzanita has a beautiful smooth red and brown bark. The pine trees smelled so good after the rain. There was a lovely moon and lots of stars after dark.







Our hosts have traveled extensively and had a Thai noodle cart in the living room. Ansel spent extended amounts of time moving sugar packets from one tin to another. Why spend money on expensive toys?
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Sadly we had to head home the next day. Traffic cooperated and we made good time, arriving before dinner. Over the past two years my confidence as a parent has grown and Ansel has become a good traveler. I feel good about taking him almost anywhere, except perhaps an airplane because he kicks the seat in front and gets bored.

I have a side note. We went to the park the other day. A van pulled up, a man unloaded two, young, shoeless kids, and then got back into his car and talked on his phone. I'd say the van was parked about 50-75 feet away from the playground. The kids were about 5 and 2. I don't plan on winning any parenting awards but this struck me as wrong.