Our last couple of days at Anza Borrego happened to be New Years Eve day and New Years day. Actually, it is no coincidence that we are for New Years. We had planned to meet up with a few other Airstreamers to come here and spend the last night on 2010.
Four years ago during one of our first trips to Tucson in our T@B trailer, we intended on driving through a town in southern California known for its small world charm and apple pies called Julian. Instead on the way there, our GPS was convinced that we were off roading instead of driving on Interstate 8 through San Diego county. By the time it finally found itself, we were all the way to El Centro, CA.
Our first Anza Borrego trip started out as everything we expected. The cool, dry air, expansive desert scenery, bright starry nights were everything we wished for and then some.
Ava and Mila especially enjoyed being in a giant sand box to drop and dig whenever and where ever . For example here, right in the path of oncoming traffic.
Most of you not living on Mars have probably heard of the name Eddie Bauer. Who knows, maybe even some of our Martian subscribers have heard of them and just haven’t had to time to comment on our blog. Yet. If you are one of these people who have heard of the name, what does the name mean to you? Is it just a brand name? Does it convey some type of lifestyle and environment? Or maybe it just reminds you of your last trip to the mall where you saw some sweet down-filled winter jackets. Well for me, its a little bit of all of them.
The rain storm that came through while we were at Rincon Parkway turned out to be the worst storm of the season. It continued to rain for a few more days even after we left. Rather than trying to back the Mish down the narrow driveway with soggy mud, we just left it out on the street. Plus we knew it wasn’t going to be long before our next trip: Anza Borrego State Park.
Although our first day at Rincon Parkway was a magical sunny winter day in California, it didn’t prove itself to be sustainable. Our first night at the campsite was enjoyable for us but Ava complained non-stop about the waves being too loud. Yeah, poor Ava, it sucks to sleep next to the ocean and be forced to fall asleep to the waves.
A stretch of frontage road right off of the 101 freeway just north of our house is a place called Rincon Parkway that we have wanted to check out for many years. Being so close to where we live, we often take it for granted. Every time we drive by, we are always looking to see if there is vacancy. Being a first-come-first-serve campground right by the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, it is a busy spot year round.
Over 6 months after we returned from our first cross country trip, we have only been on a few local trips. One trip to San Onofre State Beach and another one to Lake Casitas just up the hills from our house. Many of the causes are just us getting back into the swing of things and overwhelmed with work, kids and household chores. But one of the biggest reasons that we did not jump right back into a big trip is that Mali Mish really needed to spend some quality time at her Airstream Resort and Spa of her choice: C & G Trailers.
The girls are excited for Mali Mish that she is going in to get much needed work done. Don’t worry, we DO put seat belts on them when we are driving. We are not driving in this photo, put the phone down, there is no need to get the cops involved.
Does this look familiar? The girls napping in their car seats in the van with the freeway zooming past us outside the window while towing the Airstream. Well, we are on another trip. And this time, we are going back to Lake Casitas.
Since we have been back on our trip, Marlene and I are not the only ones who miss our lives on the road. Every now and then, Ava will ask me to tell her stories about camping during our bed time routine. We have even sat and watched our entire photo slideshow with well over 2,000 pictures in one sitting just to jog our memories.
And yes, we did a magnadoodle version of us next to the mish. Even our beloved late husky Rudy was there. She wasn’t even alive when we bought the Airstream but Ava insisted that she pose for this family portrait.
It is amazing how quickly things can get out of hand when we are living at home. I mean that in the most mundane way possible. We don’t have extraordinary lives here in southern California. I still work from home and Ava goes to preschool a few hours a day while Mila hangs out with us at the house. But for some reason, time just seems to get away from us. Since we got home from our trip, things have changed a little bit.
For one, the girls are not riding 3 feet apart like they are in the GMC Savana. They actually got close enough to hold hands while we drive in Marlene’s car.