Part 1: Getting There

As you can tell, we made it up north and back. For as hellish as it sounded (waking at 3:00am to drive 6+ hours) it was actually way better than driving after dinner and getting there at 3:00am with the hopes that the kids will settle down in a new bedroom. Plus with our 'wake up at the butt crack of dawn' kids, we'd only get 2.5 to 3 hours of sleep before Truong and I played the 'let's pretend I don't hear them so s/he'll get them' game.

This trip was so packed with activities that I'm going to break it down into several postings.

PART 1 - Getting There
So, we hit the road at 3:20am. It was so nice. We flew by downtown LA and hit the Grapevine in less than 2 hours. Malia stayed up for 20 minutes before falling back asleep and Kael took an hour before nodding off. Truong and I drove in shifts, each taking turns to nap. For as big a car that we have (an Expedition) the front seat is agonizingly uncomfortable. I felt so bad for Truong as he tried to contort his body to find a comfortable position to bend his body into for a nap.

I had no idea where we were on the road as everything was dark. We usually don't drive at night so it was a different experience. There's literally nothing to see. There's already nothing to see in the daytime and at night - it's even worse. I was dependent on the radio to keep me awake. For a few stretches of the drive, I tried to teach myself Spanish as that was all I was getting. Then on one of my many scanning trips all around the radio stations, I hit payday - a song I recognized! It was probably the only time in the history of man's existence that I will ever be so happy to hear REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling" - I actually said "YES!" with the accompanying arm pump. Jeez, how embarrassing.

Around 6:20am we were near, in or past Bakersfield (I know this because the radio station mentioned Bakersfield) and it was already 80 degrees. Holy cow!! My friend Marie just moved there and I hope they have a great air conditioning unit.

We get to Gilroy at 8:00am'ish and it's time for breakfast. The Breakfast of Champions. Malia woke up at 6:30am (as usual) and Kael woke up at 7:30am. Let's see... our choices are: Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, McDonald's, and In-N-Out Burger. We pull into McDonald's. I'm in my pajamas (bottoms, tank top and nursing bra), Malia's in her pajamas (food stained onesie and mismatched pants), Kael's in his pajamas (short sleeves and shorts) and only Truong is dressed (T shirt and shorts). Truong changes Malia's diaper but keeps her in the onesie (we're eating, she's only going to get dirty) and I change Kael into sweat pants as it's 64 degrees in the Bay Area. The problem is Kael hasn't worn his sweat pants since... spring?? He's sprouted several inches and the pants are about 3 inches too short. He also took a shower the night before and do you know what happens to short wet hair when you sleep on it then move to a car seat where you get nice and sweaty? And he's wearing his Crocs.

We were looking pretty good at the McDonald's in Gilroy.