On the Road and Going Nowhere

We left the peninsula around 3pm and crossed over to the east bay to take a less busy route south. After only 90 min on the road we hear a loud, startling sound and thumping. This could not be good. Immediately we pulled off the highway and looked. At first I didn't see anything, but upon closer inspection the truck had blown the back inside tire and there was metal hanging underneath. Nope, not good. We called the roadside assistance number and they were very nice and sent someone out to help us. 45 min later we had a great mechanic telling us that its even worse than it looks. Fan.tas.tic. If anyone is familiar with NorCal we were on hwy 580 just before it merges into I-5. Hot, dry and middle of nowhere. Oh and speed limit is 70 which means people are really going fast! We could see the rest stop a mile up the road and I had to pee like nobody's business. Needless to say its very awkward squatting next to a Uhaul with traffic on both sides. Mr. S was a trooper holding a blanket in front of me. Enough said.

Turns out the blow out ripped off the sheet metal that protects the fuel lines underneath, then sheared off part of the siding and the gas cap. In doing so it crushed the fuel line and was digging into the outside good tire. After 2 hours working on it in the hot sun and fast hwy, the technician was able to get it repaired enough to be moved. The closest town was Westly (yeah, I've never heard of it either) and it was determined that a part of the pinched fuel line needed to be obtained from Uhaul. So now we are spending the night at a tiny little motel, who took pity on us and gave us a deep discounted rate. But at least they have free wifi which gives me an opportunity to catch up on my blogging. We'll see what tomorrow brings. :)

To be continued...

6/28

Let the Adventure Begin

After 2 straight days of intense packing and multiple mishaps, we are on our way! The 17' Uhaul is packed with a little room to spare. This is the smallest Uhaul we've ever used. Captain says it will be like driving a sports car,  I'm not sure I'd go that far. We're towing our car behind and Mr. S and I will also be riding in the cab.

Time to load the car onto the transport. One of our neighbors who we'd never met before popped by out of curiosity and stayed to help out. Perfect timing because I couldn't even watch as Captain tried to line up the wheels and not drive over the edge.  Too much stress!

The real reason he stopped by was to complement us on our ingenuity for placing an extension ladder and sawhorses in front of the car trailer because our neighbors kept parking very close to either end of it.

Thanks to all our friends who kept our kids occupied and stopped by for moral support during this transition! We'll miss you!!

Adios Foster City!

6/28

Second Verse, Same as the First

One advantage to the kids spending another night with us is that Divagirl (far right) got to spend one last fun-filled evening with 2 of her best friends. They went to the movies and out to dinner and had a blast. She was so happy!

After the airline mishap yesterday I did not have high hopes for today. The kids were automatically re-booked on a new flight leaving at 6:41am and connecting through Chicago. Anyone who has connected through O'hare knows that this is bad news. More bad news is that due to the cancellation the rest of the week's flights are completely full. Nonetheless, Captain woke up at 4am and took the kids back to the airport to do an instant replay of yesterday. Only it was not to be. Turns out the level of incompetence was higher than I thought. United does not allow a six year old to fly without an adult 18 or older, even if she's flying with someone who is allowed to fly alone. They basically told him that they have no idea how they made it through yesterday. Or why no one knew on the phone. So Captain needed to pay an unaccompanied minor fee for her, but not for Mr.T, although they both received wristbands since they were flying together. Then all sorts of fun kicked in. They oversold a direct flight and bumped 2 people. Captain had to stay with them until the plane took off. Thankfully, the flight was on time. But the new flight was at 10. After packing all day and night, getting up at 4 and then having to wait at the airport for 5 hours, coming home to pack afterwards was not fun.

They got to Florida 13 min. early and their grandparents met them at the gate. I actually got to talk to the flight attendant and she said they were absolutely wonderful (of course they were) even though they couldn't sit together. Divagirl sat between two gentlemen and had them wrapped around her little finger within minutes. They waited on her like a princess and she talked their ears off the entire trip. I wouldn't recommend United if you had minors flying alone.

 

6/27

Who Needs Summer Camp?

On Monday we called Comcast to schedule internet shut off for Thursday. As soon as Captain hung up we lost our wireless connection. Coincidence? He called back to see if it was a glitch and we had already been terminated and removed from the system. Really?? Meanwhile he was still supposed to be working online. The kids were using the wireless for the ipad and their ipods so they weren't pleased either. Therefore, I haven't been able to stay connected or update the blog until now. I've been totally relying on my phone to stay connected and using tons of data. I'll do my best to catch up...

I really don't see why all our friends stress out about finding summer camps for their kids all day. Just do what we do, drop them off at the airport and come back for them 7 hours later! Okay, before you call CPS, that's not really the entire story. We had planned on Mr. T and Divagirl flying early to their grandparents and we booked them on United months ago. I even called the airline to clarify their somewhat beguiling policies. We got there an hour and a half before the flight and its already delayed 45 min. We find the Special Services desk and ask for a gate pass. Because Mr. T was allowed to travel as his sister's guardian only one parent can get a gate pass. Hmm, ok, Mr. S and I waited until Captain got them through security and settled comfortably at the gate. Then we bid them farewell and went home to pack. We'd been following the flight info through notifications and the flight kept getting delayed. Long story short, after many hours at the gate and 2 hours on the plane the flight was cancelled. Stop packing, return to airport, pick up kids and carry on. (to be continued...)

6/26

My Baby is So Grown Up!

Sometimes its hard to believe I'm the mom to 3 awesome kids, and then I remember my oldest is turning 14. And then its extremely difficult to believe that I'm old enough to have a teenager! (One look in the mirror usually brings me back to reality pretty quick)

Yes, my baby boy who made me a mom for the first time, is turning 14 today. (*sniff*)

Happy Birthday Mr. T!

Last night I booked the flight to Florida for Mr. T and DivaGirl at the end of June. We thought it would be easier to send them to grammy's house ahead of time and let Mr. S, who was a little bent out of joint that big brother got to travel across country in November, travel with us in the moving van. Can I just say that airfare is getting ridiculous?! Last night I was logged in to the airline and figured I'd just book round trip tickets since we will need to get back to CA in the near future for ortho appts. While I was logged in, my first search brought up $439 pp rt. A little high, but okay, book...alas, in the time it took me to decide to click 'book now' I get an alert that says "This fare has gone up. The lowest fare is now $480 pp rt." Well, crap. Let's do a little more research...da da dah...okay, still the best deal, let's book it. What??? Another alert: "The lowest fare is now $509 per person..." Are you kidding me?! The price hiked twice in the 2 hours I spent making reservations. So I changed my strategy and booked a one-way for each and total for 2 passengers my total came to $509. Blarg.

A little note about unaccompanied minors traveling by plane, it can be easy-peasy or it can be very challenging depending on the airline. Obviously you will be limited by the airlines that fly into your closest airport. For us we had a decent selection as we fly San Francisco to Orlando. We also have the equally close options of San Jose or Oakland. So here's a breakdown of policies by airline with the best, IMO, at the top.

1. Alaska  ages 5-12 pay $25 fee, non-stop flights only; age 13-17 service fee is optional (Flights are generally on time and crew members are pleasant)
2. Virgin  ages 5-14 traveling without an adult who is at least 15 years old, $75-125 fee; ages 15-17 service is optional, non-stop flights only, includes a complimentary snack. Children under 4 years old are not allowed to travel unless accompanied by an adult who is at least 15 years old. (Awesome flying experience)
3. United  ages 5-11 pay $99 service fee, non-stop flights; 12-17 service optional or can travel as an adult. (Not my favorite carrier, flights are often late)
4. Southwest  ages 5-11 pay $50 service fee each way, non-stop flights only. (Would be ranked higher, but never fly to where we want to go)
5. Delta  ages 5-7 non-stop flights only, $100 service fee each way; ages 8-14 non-stop or connecting flights, $100 service fee each way; ages 15-18 service is optional.
6. American Airlines  ages 5-7 non-stop flights only, $100 service fee each way; ages 8-11 non-stop or connecting flights, $100 service fee each way; ages 12-18 service is optional.

These are the top 6 that I would consider. If you have had experience flying unaccompanied minors I'd love to hear about it.

In our case they kids won't technically be considered unaccompanied minors since Mr. T is 14.  I actually had to call the airline to figure out how to book him and they told me to check him in as an adult. That means that DivaGirl, being 6 at travel time, is accompanied by a guardian. Either way, we can still approach the counter and pick up gate check passes for the rest of us to see them to the gate and through security. Being well flown kids, they will not need grammy to do the same when they arrive, they will just follow the signs to baggage claim and be met at the end of security.  Mr. T has flown unaccompanied before and has been at this airport before so navigation shouldn't be very difficult.

Let the fun begin!

Its official. We are the proud owners of our first motorhome, a 1990 Barth Regal 31'. Its a little scary but even more exhilarating thinking that this is really going to happen.

We have always moved from place to place. My parents think I have gypsy blood. Usually hubby's job takes us from one place to another and we just follow obediently and make the best of it. 14 moves in 16 years of marriage. I don't wonder why our friends and family think we are nuts. Now we are choosing to embrace the nomadic lifestyle and live simply but so much more richly while slow traveling across America with the kiddos.

Welcome to our blog, in hopes that you can live vicariously through us and try to keep up with our life if you choose.

Happy trails!