Boise and Kennewick

We saw this book in Boise!

Boise was one of our major considerations when Dan and I first started talking about moving out of California, so naturally we were excited to check it out. 

We arrived late afternoon at the Gowen ABF (Air Force Base) campground in Boise and couldn't have been more pleased. It was beautiful, quiet and green. We got everything set up and I was able to catch a lovely sunset before we retired for the evening.

After a good night of sleep we set out the next morning to see what Boise had to offer. We drove through the Downtown area and it was clean, has classy architecture and there was no graffiti anywhere. Amazing!

The first stop was the Boise Aquarium which sounds big doesn't it? It's pretty small but the kids loved it. (I got a bit carried away with pictures)

This was the best "Family" picture I could get of us

Daniel loved petting the sting rays!

Next we decided to go to a Scottish Pub/Eatery called The Tilted Kilt. When we entered the establishment it became clear that this was just a Scottish Hooters.

Walking up to the door...

When we walked in...we realized it was basically Hooters, lol.

Dan and I looked at each other and were like "are kids even allowed in here" because it was set up like a sports bar...but the hostess grabbed two adult menus and two kids menus with crayons and led us to a table. We were hungry so we followed. I'm really glad we did because they had great service, good food and the coldest beer we've ever had. All in all, two thumbs up!  

They even had little kid juice cups

Daniel is totally chillin

I love this! I had two beers here and I was feeling pretty good:)

While in Boise I had a chance to make cookies for the first time in the RV oven and they turned out decent, the trick is not to cook them on the lower rack which looks like it's the middle rack.

Mixin it up

Delicious!

Dan and I were feeling a little under the weather on our last day in Boise so we didn't venture out too much more but I've got to say that we were a bit underwhelmed by Boise's lack of trees or mountains.  It wasn't excactly what we expected so that's going to affect our decision to relocate there or not. 

Our next destination was Kennewick, Washington because even though it would seem like it, going through Oregon and Washington was the best way to get to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho (most scenic at least).

We stayed at a nice upscale RV Resort in Kennewick called Columbia Sun. This place was efficiently run and well maintained.

Columbia Sun RV Resort

With our trailer set up for the night, we ventured out into town to eat dinner and just fell in love with the simple beauty of Kennewick. The homes and streets were perfectly cared for and clean. There were a lot of new buildings like the area is up and coming. You know, sometimes you just get a "vibe" from a place? The vibe we got was laid-back, accepting and just a little bit of a retro funk. People had tattoos, body piercings and multi-colored hair but also looked well dressed and well educated. This town is already imbedded in our hearts and definitely goes on the list of places we could live.

Kennewick at night

After a somewhat sleepless night thanks to the train and multitude of cars driving by our RV sight during the early hours, we are on our way to Coeur d'Alene. If we ever stayed at the Columbia Sun RV Resort again we'll ask for a spot in the back, much quieter. 

Next stop, Coeur d'Alene!

Utah and Central Idaho

Look at this cutie pie!

After one night in Utah, we woke up ready to drive up to Idaho. It seemed like a good idea at the time except for one thing...I failed to secure an RV Park for our next location (I'm still getting used to the new travel routine).  

At first I felt like I had to find something RIGHT NOW! Because that's the way everything used to be when we lived in a sticks & bricks house in San Diego, but my sweet husband reminded me that there was no hurry...we don't have anywhere to be. So we decided to stay an extra day at the Wagons West RV Park in Fillmore, Utah and I'm glad we did. Upon our RV neighbor's suggestion, we checked out a public park that twists and bends up and down a gorgeous mountainside and lead us to a cool rushing stream.

The road up the mountain

The stream

It was there that the boys had their first lesson in "this floats and that doesn't." They enjoyed throwing sticks, leaves, rocks and anything else they could find, just to see what happened. In that moment, Dan and I looked at each other and smiled because we realized "this" is why we are traveling. To see our family grow and explore together. 

Putting our feet in the water

Watching to see if our leaf floated down the stream

Everything was great about our stay in Fillmore except this crazy guy doing laundry in the RV laundromat. The crazy dude tried to tell me he's been taking to Jesus & The Holy Ghost, then attempted recruit me in his anti-Islamic task force in which I politely declined. 

Tuesday we drove up towards Idaho only this time, I actually booked us at a promising RV Campsite in Central Idaho called Moose Crossing Campground. After driving 7 hours, we arrived at this quaint little park in the middle of nowhere. Outside our door were beautiful mountainous views. We felt a calm of spirit here.

The front of Moose Crossing Campground

This is our sweet camping spot

The boys waste no time checking out the area

Wednesday we set out to the grocery store to stock up on supplies and the gentleman who helped us carry our groceries out noticed we had California license plates. He then recommended that we check out Sun Valley, about an hour or so away. "All the movie stars an yuppies hang out there" he said. Well, I guess that's what people here think Californians are into. We smiled and thanked him for the advice then set out to discover what "stars and yuppies" we could find in Sun Valley.

What we found was a beautiful back road through the countryside. It was paved in the beginning then turned into dirt road. At one point we were on a steep one lane dirt road climbing down a mountainside. It was pretty cool.

This is the road to Sun Valley

When we finally arrived in Sun Valley it was a small resort with million dollar homes around it. We stopped at a cafe in the resort shopping area and ate an expensive lunch before heading back to our humble campsite. 

Dan looking ant the "yuppie" cafe menu. 

This is our view driving back to our campground

We spent the next couple of days hanging out around our trailer relaxing and completing a few projects that can only be done while stationary.

The boys "chillin" and drinking apple juice

Now it's Saturday and we are preparing to drive to Gowen Field Air Force Base RV Park in Boise. I'm really excited about this next trip because I've wanted to check out the vibe in Boise ever since Dan told me he wanted to live in Idaho. So now we're off on our next great adventure....

Here are pictures from the road:

Daniel is enjoying feeling the breeze from the open road

We're driving away from Moose Crossing

"Craters Of The Moon"  national park where lava flowed thousands of years ago

Vegas To Utah

After almost 8 hours of driving on Friday, we finally made it to our official first stop on our road trip, Circus Circus RV Park. The actual RV Park is pretty much just RV parking lot with hookups but it was all we needed. We were tired and hungry by the time we got there so we set up camp, ate and went to bed with the AC cranked up because it was 100 degrees!

We woke up on Saturday refreshed and ready to see Vegas.  So after breakfast we set out for Circus Circus's famous Midway Carnaval Games and the boys really loved it! They won several stuffed animals and then we saw a live show with a clown and skating act for free, awesome!

Finally we met up with our friends Joe & Amanda who live in Vegas. We saw their beautiful home and enjoyed their gracious hospitality including good company, Greek food and air conditioning (it was 110 degrees outside). They even let our boys play with their Star Wars helmets, so cute!

After a fun filled day in Vegas the boys crashed as soon as we got back to our trailer and Dan & I weren't far behind.

We woke up Sunday and wasted no time packing up to take off on the next leg of our journey. We set out around 9:30 headed towards Utah where we would stop for the night at Wagons West RV Park in Fillmore. It was exciting watching the temperature slowly creep down as the farther north we got. We went through the north-west tip of Arizona and into Utah. I swear, the moment we crossed the Utah state line everything became cleaner and crisper in color. The streets, homes and landscape were immaculate. No graffiti or trash anywhere. Dan and I were impressed.

We discovered on of the benefits of driving our home around today as Daniel (our 4year old) asked to go to bathroom 3 separate times on our 5 1/2 hour drive today. Each time we just pulled off the nearest exit and let him go in our own personal bathroom. It was fast, efficient and kinda fun :)

One of our bathroom stops on the side of the road :)

After a relaxed and easygoing drive, we arrived at our campsite and set up camp. The temperature was a perfect breezy 85 degrees. The campsite was totally small and low-key. If this is what our traveling is going to be like for the next year I'll take it, it's pretty sweet!

Tomorrow we are off to Idaho!

 Pictures from the road:

Look at the sweet faces :)

Daddy was singing and Caiden didn't like it 

Beautiful scenery in Arizona

Landscape in southern Utah

And We're Off...

Our first night camping in our new home. You can see Dan, Caiden and our friend Katie who came to visit us.

It's been a crazy few weeks but we are FINALLY ready.  My brother flew in from Iowa for 6 days to help my husband Dan put in new flooring for my mom. So of course it had to be 108 degree weather from the day he arrived to the day he left (btw my mom doesn't have air conditioning). It was hard work in extreme heat but somehow they pulled it off and my moms floors look better than they did before the flood, awesome!

We have our 5th wheel now and it's even better than I remember! We decided to take it on a test run at a local campground with full hookups and so far so good. We had all our friends and family come out and see our beautiful new home on wheels and send us off in style :)

We actually leave San Diego tomorrow and are headed for Las Vegas to see our friends Joe & Amanda. It's our first stop on our long journey and I can't imagine a better way to begin out adventure than in the bright lights of Vegas.  We are staying for two nights at Circus Circus RV Park and I know the kids will enjoy that. 

It's been a long time since we started planning and I can hardly believe we are actually ready to leave. It's seems like because we have been so busy and constantly go, go, go...we never had a chance to let it sink in that our dream of traveling is really happening...like right now! It just doesn't seem real yet. I'm guessing that after the first couple of weeks our mindset will begin to shift and hopefully we finally relax and take it all in. 

With that, we are off to our next great adventure...

Here are some pictures on our first night in the 5th wheel:

our campsite 

Our bikes (one day we are going to actually ride them lol)

Our living room/kitchen


   
Striking a pose

Adventure Awaits...

I keep fantasizing about writing our first post from the road but unfortunately I must wait a little longer.

It's been a couple of weeks since the flooding of my moms house and we expected to be on the road already, but we're not. The anticipation of actually beginning our travels is almost too much to handle. We are so freakin close but there are a couple of things keeping us from our elusive venture:

1.  Our Palomino Columbus 5th wheel is in the shop getting upgrades and repairs. It's being outfitted with new solar panels, batteries, & grey tanks along with the repairing of the awning and apparently mice decided to take up residence in the space under the tanks. They chewed through some of the wiring but thankfully there was no major damage. We don't know exactly when it will be ready but assume it will be about two weeks.

2.  We have to wait until my brother Troy flies in on August 13th to help my husband lay new flooring at my mom's house. We are currently walking on concrete. 

Hopefully the next post will be from the road...