Gonna Ride, Ride, Ride

Our family invited Aunt Shuawana and Rayjehan to come with us to Fort Bragg to ride the Skunk Train. I picked the Skunk Train for Abby because it was on the coast, and I was ready for some coolness in July. We could have gone to Railtown in Jamestown, CA, but that wouldn't have really felt like a vacation to me. Plus, it would have been HOT!

So we packed up the kids, tons of activities for them to do in the car, and headed for Ft. Bragg. It was deliciously cool there. The burning furnace of the sun was hidden behind a grey blanket of a thick marine layer. You could feel the moisture misting your face and smell the salt water in the air. The heavy weight of summer slid off your shoulders and suddenly you could breathe again. Ahhhhhh...








We were there for three days with two nights in a hotel - with two kids. Of course, the day that everyone was the most cranky was the day we rode the train. Abby was a little monster and Rayjehan was bursting with wild energy. Lee didn't sleep that well so he was pretty short tempered. Shawna and I slept well enough but we were sick of dealing with the kids.

I really tried to enjoy the train ride. Abby was fairly excited at the depot, watching the cars couple together and the steam engine puffing around, pulling the cars out and getting ready. That part was really nice - enjoying the mighty steam engine with my little girl who loves trains. And the beginning trip was cool. But after the first tunnel, Abby transformed herself into a crazy, wild-eyed beast. Sigh. And by the trip back I told Abby to either fall asleep right this instant or I would make her go to sleep. She took the hint, requested a seat to herself, and within 10 minutes she was asleep. Finally, Lee and I were able to enjoy the ride. Not soon after Abby passed out that I noticed Rayjehan nodding off too. Then all the adults released a collective sigh, and we enjoyed an actual conversation. How refreshing.





The rest of the trip was comprised of a journey to a local playground, dubbed the Wiggly-Giggly Playground (which lived up to its name), a trip to "Glass Beach" (where the kids collected handfuls of glass), a walk around Ft Bragg and the hotel, and an outing to a "normal" beach. Our other adventures involved food. It was maddeningly stupid the difficulties we had trying to find food. Fort Bragg claims to have a ton of eateries, but they all have weird hours. Plus, we were there mid-week, and a ridiculously large amount of eateries there were closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Bizarre. Plus there was the problem of finding food for the kids. Most restaurants there involved seafood. Not exactly the kind of fare children often enjoy. We wound up eating in disappointing dinners, and we even found one place Lee would like to report to the Health Department. To balance it out though, we found an ice cream parlor we LOVED called Cowlicks. Yum yum GOOD!!!





Exploring main street in Ft Bragg was fun. We found a fun toy store, a hot dog place called Relish, a glass store, a seashell place, souvenir knickknack store, a pretty public space in front of "The Guest House" manor, and all sorts of local wonders. Did I mention the totally awesome ice cream place called Cowlicks?? One of the restaurants we ate at had outdoor seating overlooking a tiny harbor where seal lions frolicked and seagulls sat beside us. Pretty cool.

I was pretty proud of the planning and preparation I accomplished for the kids' car activities. I brought a whole beach bag full of kids' activities - things like coloring books, crayons, Bendaroos, MadLibs for kids, puffy stickers in flower and bug shapes, magnet travel game like "I Spy," a dinosaur digging game, glow sticks, balloon punch balls, books without words for the kids to make up their own stories, and a small craft project for the kids to glue things to a "flag" (a cut up paper bag with handles on it). We also had some "loud time" where I passed around kazoos and other noise makers, and we rolled down the windows and yelled or howled out the windows. They loved it all and I think the adults appreciated how quiet and distracted they were.













I have more pictures but haven't loaded them yet. Expect more later - whether you want to see them or not!!

When we asked the kids what their favorite part was about the trip, they invariably picked one of the "free" activities - like the playground, or collecting glass, or bouncing on the beds in the hotel room, that sort of thing. Next time, I'm just going to invite everyone to come with me on a really long car ride to visit a playground far, far away. I bet Abby and Rayjehan will want to come!