CaLiFoRnIcATion!!

We had a great trip to California at the end of July and beginning of August. The trip was planned around two major events... me running the San Francisco marathon and our first benefit for Matteo's Dream Fund.

We were gone for a total of 11 days, including travel time (since we drove). Yes, we are that crazy family. Financially, it made the most sense and was much smarter to drive. I couldn't believe how much it was going to cost us to rent a suburban sized vehicle... we couldn't find anything for under $1,800.00 for 8 days. Add air tickets for 3 adults and 2 children (we brought our au pair) and that added at least another $1,000.00... and then we still needed hotel rooms on top of that! Driving saved us oodles of money!! But seriously... what was with the sky-high car rental prices over the summer!?

Also, because we needed to drive... this was the perfect time to invest in a bigger family vehicle, which we have been in need of. I LOVED the mini-van... no really, I did! Sliding, touch-a-button-to-open-doors being my very favorite feature... closely followed by the low chassis for ease of loading kids, and ease of parking it! But... it just wouldn't cut it for this trip with 3 adults, 3 children, and luggage for all! So, we ended up getting a used 2008 black Yukon Denali XL. And, it's been fabulous and perfect - love it. Still miss the mini-van a tad bit, but can't imagine not having all the extra space now.

The only challenging part of driving meant that we wanted to do it over night... leaving home in the afternoon and Dan and I driving throughout the night. Both of us ended up being sleep deprived. The unfortunate extra challenge was Giuliana once again battling a fever on the drive down and us having to stop at the ER in Medford, OR, after being directed to do so by our pediatrician.

Gabby traveled really well in the car with very little complaining - would totally do this with her again. Rocco spent most of the drive down (when awake) asking if we were at the beach yet. He loves the beach! He slept pretty good... but on the drive down and back, he did have one wake-up where he started crying hard because he wanted to be stretched out in his bed. Poor 'lil guy! Giuliana did not travel very well at all! When sleeping, she would wake up every couple hours crying and frustrated that she was in her seat. On the way home, 3 hours into the drive, she had a major meltdown after spending 45 mins on repeat, saying "mamma! out! mamma! buckle! out!" So, we had to stop for a little while, get her some food, and we were able to distract her enough to get her buckled up again and driving. It was torture though hearing/seeing her so upset to be stuck in the car seat! UGH!

We arrived the day before the marathon. Giuliana was still battling a virus with a nasty fever, and I caught a 1.5 hour nap to prep for the marathon the next morning, while Dan and Maria took the kids over to Fisherman's Wharf. We spent the night in 2 hotel rooms located right on Fisherman's Wharf. We had a fantastic Italian dinner on Columbus Ave the night before the race, and played at the "new since I lived there park" at Washington Square Park in North Beach (my old 'hood!). Dan and I of course loved hanging out in our old neighborhood... reminiscing about how we'd go out to dinner almost every night... just walking to any one of hundreds of yummy restaurants. The nostalgia hit hard - that was such a great, carefree time in our lives!

The marathon was Sunday. My family and Maria all got up at 5am and walked two blocks north to cheer me on 1.5 miles into the course - what troopers! LOVE them! After the race, we went back to the hotel, kids napped, I cleaned up and then we went touring and grabbed some yummy food in the Marina (also an old haunt of ours). We took the kids and Maria to Lombard Street and the Golden Gate Bridge. Then, we bbq'd with Kathleen's family at our friend's Sara & Brad's beautiful home in Noe Valley. We spent the next 2 nights there... it was SO NICE of them to allow us to stay at their home while they were on vacation! Thanks again guys!!

On Monday, we drove up to Stinson Beach and spent the afternoon soaking up the sun, digging in the sand, jumping waves and just relaxing. We had a great lunch at a little cafe right off the beach. It was a perfect day!

On Tuesday, we went to a park for the kids, did a picnic lunch, and then hit Venice Beach in Half Moon Bay for more playing in the sand, water and soaking up the sunshine. Dinner was Mexican food in Pacifica.

On Wednesday we headed down to our hotel right on the main strip in Los Gatos. Wednesday night we went to our good friend's and old neighbor's home, Jody & Andy. It was super fun to catch up with them, and spend time with all the kids together. Dan worked on Wednesday and Thursday. And, I spent Wednesday and Thursday prepping for the Matteo's Dream Fund benefit... there was LOTS to be done so it was like a full time job! It was SO GREAT staying in downtown Los Gatos though... seriously, truly LOVE that town. And, loved walking around town each night and hitting different/favorite restaurants of ours. Maria watched the kids during the day and took them over to Oakmeadow Park on the train, carousel and all the play equipment. They also played in the fountain in Los Gatos's town square park.

Friday, we took the kids and Maria to Natural Bridges beach and Santa Cruz beach & boardwalk. Then, we went to Kathleen's house that night... her mountain neighborhood has a bbq every Friday night during the summer with great food and volleyball, boccie ball, parks for the kids, etc. It was a fun, relaxed night hanging with good friends.

Saturday was our event for Matteo's Dream Fund!! It was a total success and you can read more about that here.

Sunday, we spent the afternoon with our family.... Leo, Kenny, Trish, Todd and Courtney and it was fabulous! We've really missed them SO MUCH since we've lived in Washington. It's brought me to tears at times... I truly miss having them/family near us and being a part of the kid's lives. The kids have really missed them too, so it was such a great afternoon of quality time together. Trish made a super-delicious dinner (as always) and we caught up with everyone's lives. So fun!!

Monday, we headed home... we had to rent a small trailer to get us home because Leo & Kenny had been babysitting 5 of our very large plants ever since we moved! Also, we ended up having a lot of extra Matteo's Dream Fund "stuff" to bring home.

Oh... and on our way home, we unknowingly stole a gas pump line @ 4am from a gas station in Washington!! It was hilarious! Dan had been driving since we left at 2pm on Monday afternoon. We stopped at a gas station. I took Gabby in to go potty. Dan started pumping gas. Dan came in and browsed for snacks. Then, I browsed for snacks and told him I could drive. He agreed because he was exhausted and went out to the car. I paid, went out to the car, jumped in the drivers seat and took off. We were probably 4 or 5 miles on the Interstate and I saw something sparking in my side mirror... something was hanging off the side of the truck. What? So, I asked Dan if he noticed that earlier. I couldn't figure out what it was. Dan thought it was a chain from the trailer. No.... couldn't be.... not from where it was hanging. I looked closer in the mirror and realized it was the GAS PUMP LINE!! OMG!! Sparking EVERY time it hit the road!! I started laughing so hard as I realized what it was... Dan was SO upset and did not think it was funny one bit. I couldn't stop laughing and I started slowing down so we could pull over and remove it. I couldn't help but wonder what the couple cars who were now passing us thought of this.... total crazy white-trash people, right?! OMG... soooooo funny! Still can't believe this happened. Obviously, I never checked the gas pump before I got in the car. I guess I figured that since Dan started pumping the gas, he would finish it! Especially since he was in the store browsing for food! Slight communication problem there, eh?! That was the funniest story from our trip... will definitely remember this forever! HA!