7 Quick Takes, 5/27/11

1.

Wow - it's been a busy week around here (!), beginning with Ria's 18th birthday last weekend! I was recovering from Strep, so I couldn't do much of anything. Ria and friends and siblings did most of the planning and I did some quickly grocery shopping (we had hot dogs, ice cream, watermelon and misc. potluck items). We also had a lovely may procession and crowning around the yard and under the beautifully blossoming trees before having the crowning in the house.

2.

Monday morning we learned that good friends of ours in Joplin lost their home in the Tornado. Fortunately they are all well, though they had some worries at first as their older son was at the movies with friends when the Tornado hit. We are praying for all those who have died and for all those who are suffering in this terrible tragedy. Seems to hit a little closer to home as we just drove through Joplin at the end of our big road trip earlier this month.

3.

Last night was our homeschool group's high school graduation. We had a whopping SIXTEEN graduates! I was in shock that they were old enough to graduate. SO many of them are ones we've known for years and shared classes and performances with over the years. Had a nephew in the crowd who is following his older brother to Christendom in the fall. Very exciting!

4.

Yesterday morning we had big news in Milwaukee! The beloved rector of our local seminary, Fr. Don Hying, was named auxiliary bishop of Milwaukee. It seems like everyone is bouncing off the walls with joy. We have many friends who are close to him and our pastor was one of his teachers in the seminary. Happy day!

5.

In bummer news, one of our family's favorite athletes, Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants, had a season-ending injury in a dramatic home-plate collision on Wednesday night. Buster is the reigning Rookie of the Year and a significant part of the heart and soul of his team, playing a big role in their World Series win last fall. A little extra bummer because we have tickets for a Brewers-Giants game this weekend here in Milwaukee and were hoping to see him play.

6.

Now that Ria has been accepted to the college of her choice (although there is a short waiting list) it seemed a reasonable time to start getting rid of school paperwork that she didn't need to save for sentimental reasons. So often, on a day to day basis, I don't feel like we've accomplished that much in the way of education. So I was a little surprised to see how much evidence there was of education going on around here. She picked out a smallish pile of things she'd like to keep (including many delightfully funny drawings and a page with two or three paragraphs on it labeled "A Novel".

7.

I'm really behind on writing notes about movies I've watched and books I've read. Here are a few quick lists I hope to spend more time with in the near future:

Movies I've seen lately:

127 Hours (I think my expectations were too high - didn't like it very much).

Finding Fatima: An interesting documentary which uses some footage from the movie The 13th Day (which I haven't seen).

The Shroud of Turin: 3 Movie Collector's Edition - Three interesting documentaries on one DVD. Silent Witness, produced in 1978, is one that made a big impression on me as a child. It's a little spooky for the younger set, but quite interesting (though sadly faded - doesn't look like they digitally remastered this one). The second film was produced by the BBC in 2008 and focuses on beginning to address the carbon dating process that seemed to prove the Shroud a Medieval fake. The third movie is the official movie for the exposition of the Shroud in Turin in 2010 and is quite lovely.

Books I've read lately:

How to Eat a Small Country - (Slightly rough around the edges, but loved it on the whole. The story of a Food Network chef who quits her job and moves with her family to France in order to try to save her marriage)

The World is Bigger Now - (a journal/memoir about two female American journalists who were captured by the North Koreans and held hostage for 5 months back in 2009). The book is a very personal account of the ordeal written by Euna Lee, one of the two journalists. It was a quite a good read, and very moving at times - especially in recounting her relationship with her husband and young daughter. An unexpected spiritual theme runs through the book, including the journalist's decision to admit her belief in Christianity, even though she knew it was a dangerous thing to say.

The King's Speech - A rather thorough double-biography of Lionel Logue and King George VI. Fascinating and a great follow-up to the movie. We listened to this on audio during our road trip.

Schooled - I've been curious about this title for quite a while and finally picked up a copy at a rummage sale. A light young-adult novel. A homeschooled and socially isolated teenage boy (homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, with lots of hippie values, minus the drugs and free love) is sent to a public school he definitely doesn't fit in, but has some interesting and humorous adventures anyway. An interesting theme to play with, and the author uses it largely to shed some light on social problems common in today's schools.

As I Am - by Patricia Neal - A harrowing but very spiritual autobiography of the famous movie actress who converted to Catholicism on her deathbed a few years ago.

Books I've Started Reading Recently:

Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather

The Penderwicks at Point Mouet by Jeanne Birdsall

It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh

The Happiness Project by Gretchin Rubin

Happy 18th Ria!

Gargoyles in Flagstaff?

Gargoyles from Flagstaff!, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

We stumbled upon a lovely old Church in Flagstaff,, Arizona, along an accidental detour made by our GPS on our way to the Grand Canyon. Our Lady of the Nativity Church was built in 1930 (though the parish dates back to 1888). The dark rocks visible here are local volcanic rocks. We thought the towers and gargoyles were pretty cool. :)

Wedding #2

DSC_4231, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

The wedding (just to remind you - our second for the month - both of them my nieces) was beautiful. This is one of my favorite photos, with my nephew and godson, the ringbearer, trying to get a better view. :)

DSC_4706, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Mission almost accomplished. :)



John and I and Frank enjoying the reception.

DSC_7978, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

M&J are quite the dancing duet as you can pretty much tell from this picture. :)

Our Little House Moment

DSC_7376, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Our last big push before arriving in Oklahoma was on Wednesday of Easter Week. We hit the Petrified Forest in the early afternoon and still managed to cross all of New Mexico (and two time zones!) before we arrived at our hotel in Amarillo, Texas, at about 2:30 am (we pushed a little farther than intended due to some miscalculations on my part). Thursday we arrived at the Guest House at Clear Creek Monastery where we stayed for the weekend.



We reserved the large bedroom upstairs (in the enormous and incredibly gorgeous log cabin guest house), not remembering how many beds there were, but vaguely remembering one large bed and some bunk beds (we stayed at the Guest House a few years ago, but in several smaller rooms downstairs). It turns out it was one large bed and ONE bunkbed, plus a few loose mattresses we were able to dig out of various closets. But lo-and-behold, there was an exterior door to a balcony, which was enormous and well protected from the rain. Most of the kids decided to sleep outside (we had to block some large openings with some of our luggage just so I wouldn't worry about someone rolling off the balcony during the night). And so the space was really quite nice for us, even though it was quite chilly the first night and we scared up all the extra blankets we could find in the whole place.



This rather fuzzy picture is from the night before the wedding. The kids had played at my brother's house while John and I went to the rehearsal dinner (since he was the official photographer) and we were instructed to make sure they washed up to avoid ticks. The girls also wanted to dry their hair and put in curlers. So this picture was taken late at night with everyone hanging around in one spot while Daddy read from Kate's journal of the trip. It was perfectly lovely!

Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, Arizona

DSC_7268, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

The Petrified Forest and Painted Desert (two parks for the price of one) was well worth the visit. As directed by the AAA guide, we entered from the south, which took us along another bit of the old Route 66. We duly noted the famous Wigwam Motel and suspected that it was another inspiration for a piece of the Cars movie (it was).



The little walking tour by the visitor's center was amazing. This is one of the more colorful specimens we came across. We also recommend the audio tour on CD that is sold in the gift shop. It included not only scientific information about various points along the way, but also included interesting stories. Well worth the $10.

DSC_3815, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Near the visitor center at the Petrified Forest.

DSC_3826, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Kate was our most faithful journaler on the trip. She would sit down each night (no matter how late!) and write some of the essential details of the day. She did a little sketching too, which is, I think, what she's up to here. Although she's working on a computer version of the journal (my excuse to get the kids doing more writing) the journal itself is be a priceless keepsake.

Petroglyphs at Painted Desert/Petrified Forest, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

The Petrified Forest and Painted Desert also featured the ruins of a pueblo, an historic petrified wood bridge, some badlands, some incredible vistas and some genuine petroglyphs (shown here).

She Flies!

DSC_3907, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

This is Bernie in mid-flight, somewhere in the midst of the Petrified Forest in Arizona.

Da Pacific!

Da Pacific!, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

We only really had one day in the Bay Area before it was time to turn around and head back. We got a very brief visit in with a dear friend, before heading down the coast and meeting my little brother and his family at a beach in L.A. It was cold and windy, but quite lovely and it would have been such a crime to miss the beach when visiting California!

It was a fun day anyway. Lots of loud music and kids seat-dancing. Tons of gorgeous scenery and a beautiful sunset at the beach with cousins. What could be better! :)

Yes, that is me dancing in the waves. The kids ended up getting a lot wetter than I did (jeans and all!) and we had a lot of very sandy laundry to wash at the hotel the next morning.

Easter!

DSC_6827, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

John rejoined us very late on Good Friday and then we caravaned together to my brother's house in the Bay Area late on Holy Saturday. I didn't really good much in the way of pictures on Easter itself, but we had a lovely day. The kids enjoyed Easter "baskets" (little gift bags of goodies) before Mass. We were able to attend Mass with all of my local family (two siblings and their families) at the lovely St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Palo Alto, where my sister and brother-in-law sing with the St. Ann Choir.



Afterwards, we enjoyed a lovely barbeque party at a local park where the weather was absolutely perfect and the park was filled with other happy families celebrating the great feast. It was wonderful for the kids to get lots of time to run around in the grass - we really hadn't had a lot of that on the trip.



My sister-in-law made these amazing gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. They're made with an almond butter base and so they don't have that weird sharp taste that a lot of gluten-free bakery goods suffer from. They were SO good - I must have eaten 4 or 5 of them!



The picture, in case you're wondering, is of the house I grew up in. We did a quick drive-by on the way to Easter Mass. It's a little strange to not be able to visit the house when I go back "home". In fact, later in the day on Easter, when John and I had to return his rental car (long story), we made a quick visit to Our Lady of Peace Shrine (which we frequented when I was growing up) and there was something about stopping there, and sitting in front of the statue for a few minutes, that made me really feel like I had come home. The statue, by the way, is a 35 foot outdoor statue of Our Lady - makes quite an impression!

Wedding Art

I know this is a little out of order as far as my trip posts go, but my niece who got married at the end of our trip posted on the Catholic Illustrator's Guild the artwork she drew and handed out as wedding favors at her reception. You can read all about it here.

Quiet Week at the Cabin

Cabin's probably not quite the word. It's a rather nice house and holds lots of guests quite comfortably. As a matter of fact, we (the kids and I) were only there on our own for about 2 out of the 8 days and spent some lovely time with two of my siblings and their families. Terri recovered nicely and we had one big hike with my brother and his wife and my sister and most of our gaggle of kids to a gorgeous mountain vista. The kids (especially Terri) got a bit homesick as the week got quieter, but especially because they missed John. But mostly they were content to stay put and play with the cousins (plenty of cards, movies, dancing and Wii) and take a break from all of that driving around in the car and hopping from place to place.

Did I mention that this was Holy Week? Terri wasn't well enough to make it to Mass on Palm Sunday, but fortunately she was well enough for the rest of us to get to Mass (me with a cellphone on vibrate in my pocket just in case - fortunately the Church was quite close by) and bring her communion afterwards. We debated about bringing palms all the way home with us and decided that yes, we really wanted to do that (they made it home safe and sound sticking out of a little bag in the big compartment in the driver's door of the van). The church was small and quaint - one of four churches in this very rural mountain parish - which only offers Mass twice a week (one Mass on Sunday and a daily Mass just one day each week). The priest gave quite an excellent sermon on suffering which would have been twice as good if it had been half as long. Funny thing is, when we managed to make it to Good Friday services at the main church of the parish, he gave the exact same sermon. ;)

Here are a few pictorial highlights of our week:

Listening to a Giants' game (while watching the computerized online display) with my brother-in-law...



Enjoying a little sunshine on the deck (there was quite a bit of snow on the ground when we arrived, but the weather was mostly in the 50s and 60s)...



Lots of good food! After all, my sister-in-law Patricia is the blogger extraordinaire from Brownies for Dinner! The only time I thought to bring out the camera at dinner time, though was on Holy Thursday, when it was back to just us Van Giggles as we celebrated with our traditional lamb dinner:



...which we ate out on the deck as we couldn't fit around the table inside. Bernie came up with the idea of putting the two coffee tables end to end. Not quite the same as being at home and with Daddy (and just a wee bit chilly), but it was a lot of fun and everyone enjoyed what they always declare to be their favorite meal of the year.



Yummy!

Crossing California

Cows off San Juan Grade, originally uploaded by sourskittled.

We had about 200 miles of California to cross (from west to east) and were on a bit of a tight schedule. California is interesting in that its freeways are well-designed for traveling north-south (three big trunks converge on L.A. - the 101 on the coast, the 5 in the more barren western part of the San Joaquin Valley and the 99 that hits many of the farm towns along the more fertile eastern side), but quite a bit more difficult to traverse east-west. This was made all the more interesting because our GPS (who we call Hermes) was set in a mode that always seems to favor the scenic route. It's really too bad that I had just scolded the kids about using the camera too much (it was getting a bit worse for the wear and the autofocus was almost completely dead) because no one took pictures on the drive that day and we saw a LOT of gorgeous and amazing scenery.

I found this photo on Flickr of a little of the view from the San Juan Grade, a single-lane paved "cowpath" that takes you from Salinas to San Juan Bautista as it winds its way over and around gently rolling, grassy hills, among idyllic farms - you just have to watch out for cars coming the other direction!

According to various websites I've seen, it's a popular road for motorcycles and bicycles.

We also crossed the famed Pacheco Pass and on the whole, I was feeling pretty excited about tackling some challenging geography all on my own (I can be a rather timid driver, especially in the big van). We spent a little time on both the 5 and the 99, but mostly we zig-zagged our way across the state through lovely fields and orchards of the central valley before arriving in Modesto, where we knew we could find a Trader Joe's to stock up on food for the week.

I was trying to coax Terri into eating some food all day, but wouldn't you know it, it was chocolate that got her back on the road to health. ;)

Highway 4, which takes you from the central valley into the Sierras was absolutely lovely. First it was simply straight on level, grassy land. Then suddenly it started, while proceeding straight toward the mountains, rolling up and down like a roller coaster. Then gradually we started winding in and around some rolling hills and then finally into the mountains.

It was in this area that we found our new favorite city name - Copperopolis. It has such a ring to it, doesn't it?

Sick Day

The day we visited the last two missions, San Miguel and Soledad, was when Terri was started to feel sick and feverish. She mostly wanted to sit in the sun by the fountain at San Miguel and by the time we got to Soledad in the afternoon, she decided to stay in the car to rest. While John was back in Wisconsin, it worked out best for him to find hotels for me (he had Internet access, after all) and he thought Salinas would be a good place to stop for the night - fortunately only a short drive from Soledad. We had been planning on spending the next day in the Monterrey area (hoping to get to Carmel Mission again plus a visit to one of the local beaches), but Salinas was only a short drive from Monterrey and much less expensive.

He found a nice Comfort Inn with two adjoining rooms - one with two queen beds and one with a king bed and a pull-out couch. We got everyone settled in and then Gus and I ran to Target across town. In addition to some necessities, he helped me find the cord needed to connect our portable DVD player to the hotel TV so we could actually watch movies! I was delighted to find a San Francisco Giants' section in the store and couldn't resist buying myself a t-shirt. I also splurged and bought the Voyage of the Dawn Treader for the kids.

The next morning Terri was running a pretty high fever and had a very ugly cough. I didn't even stop to eat breakfast, just brought her right into the Urgent Care. It was a good thing I did as she was getting worse rather quickly (couldn't eat, etc.) and it turns out she had pneumonia. After a couple of hours and a few jaunts across town (had to go to a different center for an x-ray and then back for the diagnosis - thank goodness the pharmacy was right next door!) she started getting the treatment she needed and John arranged to have us stay an extra night at the hotel (thank goodness for having two rooms - and the staff was wonderful about accommodating us without charging us an arm and a leg). I also almost learned the hard way (came very close to a car accident during the hubbub of driving Terri around while fielding phone calls) why driving while talking on a cellphone is illegal in California (I didn't realize it at the time). It was a little nerve-wracking trying to get her to keep the antibiotics down on the first round (I was praying like crazy about that one - and it wasn't the only time I put things in God's hands that day), but after that she slept for most of the next 24 hours and felt considerably better, but still weak, the next day.

It was a longish day for the rest of the kids, but fortunately Ria and Gus were more than capable of watching them at the pool, plus they had that whole room to hangout in (with movies - the timing on the cord from Target couldn't have been better!) AND Uncle Dan had pizza delivered to the hotel for them. We even managed to spend some time on journals and writing postcards. It turns out the extra time was rather fortuitous besides, since Ria was trying to finish up her admissions stuff for Thomas Aquinas College as soon as possible. It had suddenly and unexpectedly jumped to the top of her list after we realized that the financial aid for our circumstances was virtually the same as what she would get at U.D. Anyway, that day she managed to finish up and turn in her essays while I took one last peek at her narrative transcript and got that sent off as well. It's funny how difficult it can be for me to be objective about a thing like my own child's essays. Perfectionism can be such a pain sometimes, but I managed to put it aside and move forward on that one.

We decided to by-pass both Monterrey and the SF Bay Area and head straight to my brother's cabin near Angels' Camp, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas the next day. That way we wouldn't have to worry about whether any of the kids were contagious AND Terri would be able to stay put and get lots of rest in one place for a whole week.

Mission Soledad

DSC_6612, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

The final California Mission we made it to on our trip was Mission Nuestra Senora Dolorissima de la Soledad, which translates: "Our Most Sorrowful Lady of the Solitude", commonly known simply as "Soledad". It's an appropriate name for a mission found today mostly in ruins and quite a ways off of the beaten path (i.e. Highway 101, which roughly falls along the original El Camino Real). It was quiet and a bit desolate, although the reconstructed chapel (which is still used as a Catholic Church on special occasions, but did not host the Blessed Sacrament) was lovely and there are a few rooms holding a gift shop and museum. A nicely cultivated area with roses brightens the entryway and parking lot, but other than that, most of the site was dirt with some random artifacts - a grave site here, a rubbly fountain there, and lots of remaining bricks from the floor of the original church.

According to a sign found on the site, the mission was dedicated in 1791 and destroyed by floods in 1828. There were signs of flooding in fields not far from the mission, so the reality is still there.

The restored buildings were reconstructed in 1955 and even when I was a child, we had friends who occasionally did volunteer work at Soledad, but somehow I missed visiting myself.

You can see the rest of our pictures from Soledad on Flickr.

Mission San Miguel

DSC_6428, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

We were highly amused by this sign in front of our parking spot at Mission San Miguel. It was entirely true too - the tree was enormous, but it was the only reasonable spot for us to park our enormous 15 passenger van in.

For the excessively curious: you can see a picture of the van and the corresponding tree here.

DSC_6469, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

The Church at Mission San Miguel was almost a twin to the one at La Purisima - the same shape and size with similar coloring and ornamentation (and there is a wide variety among all of the California Missions, so I found this similarity surprising). But it was very different - it's an active parish, there was activity and many signs of life - especially that beautiful sanctuary lamp you can see in the picture.

While not as remote and "unspoiled" as La Purisima, the setting was more rustic and much less touristy than many of the missions we've been to. Although it's only about a block from the 101, the town is small (it shares a name with the mission) and quiet. Only part of the courtyard is open to the public as a large segment of the mission is used to house Franciscan seminarians (if I'm remembering my facts correctly). There were a number of rooms housing interesting artifacts, including a large glass case filled with tools, weapons and other metal objects found on the grounds of the mission.

Mission San Miguel Website

DSC_6450, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Like many places we visited during this trip, there was a dramatic temperature difference between sunshine and shade. The shady areas, often including the insides of buildings (early spring, chilly nights, not much in the way of heating) were uncomfortably cold and the warm sunshine was most welcome (especially for Terri who was starting to get sick by this point). And so, partly for this reason, the front courtyard was a favorite spot with our family. We especially enjoyed watching (and attempting to draw) the fish in this lovely fountain.

There were a number of interesting artifacts placed around the courtyard as well, like a cannon, a large bell and an old wagon.

You can see more of our pictures from Mission San Miguel on Flickr.

The Bittersweetness of Beauty

I've been thinking about my post from yesterday, {pretty, happy, funny, real}, and I just realized that my random thoughts on the "pretty" category reminded me of this quote from Pope Benedict:

The beautiful and the good, ultimately the beautiful and God, coincide. Through the appearance of the beautiful we are wounded in our innermost being, and that wound grips us and takes us beyond ourselves; it stirs longing into flight and moves us toward the truly Beautiful.

The more I experience life, the more I find this to be true and yet I find it to be such an elusive concept. Very difficult to wrap my head around entirely.

La Purisima Mission

La Purisima Church, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

After the wedding weekend and a day to visit to the Getty Villa (and meet with the financial aid director at TAC), John flew back home for ten days to work. The kids and I started to slowly make our way up to Northern California, visiting several missions and such along the way.

We were especially interested in visiting some of the missions that we had missed on our last California adventure, in 2008. La Purisima Concepcion, a state-owned historic park, was closed by the time we got to it both directions on our last visit. But this time we made it a priority and had a nice visit. It's a great place to stop along the mission tour, because all of the mission buildings appear in their natural setting. No city has grown up around this one and there aren't even telephone poles visible. It gives you a sense of what it was like then, except that it's so empty!

The Church was extremely large, quite lovely and SO empty. We've walked through historic parks like this before - no docent or guided tour (at least when we were there), but made available to the public in a simple way. The emptiness made it kind of strange to see so many artifacts - like the Stations of the Cross paintings on the wall of the church.

That emptiness was something we noticed in both de-consecrated churches that we visited. It really makes you think about what really matters in a church.

La Purisima Concepcion Mission Church, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

Isn't it lovely? It's difficult to describe how big and empty it felt.

Here is the mission website for those who might be interested:

La Purisima Mission

Exterior View of the Mission:

DSC_6303, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

(Plus proof of our habit of practicing the legendary "buddy system".)

You can view the rest of our La Purisima pictures on Flickr by clicking here.

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

I'm finally catching up on my Google Reader just a bit and enjoyed this charming little memish thing that I noticed on several of my favorite blogs. I thought it might be a fun way to highlight the more family-aspects of our trip (as opposed to the destinations that are easier to portray in the mini photo-journal I've been doing).

Pretty:

I found this combination of charming, but boarded-up house, and spring blossoms poignant. Like many pretty things, it is bitter-sweet; a reminder of the fleetingness of life. This is from Peach Springs, Arizona, along the old Route 66. It's located in the Hualapai Indian Reservation.

We saw loads of beautiful scenery along the way and we have, I think, thousands of photos to attest to it (most of them taken by kids from the car).



Happy:

We had all kinds of schemes going with my little brother to try to figure out a way of connecting up with him while we were in California. Tougher than you might think because, despite having a whole month, a lot of big events dictated the schedule. We finally came up with the idea of meeting up at a beach in L.A. on our way back home (we were heading south to the I40 anyway) and besides, we hadn't even made it to a beach yet! (We had been planning on a day at the beach in Monterrey when Terri came down with pneumonia). And so, after a late start in the Bay Area and a long drive down the 5, we arrived at the cold, windy beach, triumphant and giddy. The kids all went dancing into the waves with their cousins, without even bothering to change into swimsuits. And the sunset looks positively unreal!



Funny:

Did I mention that there was a photobooth at the first wedding (complete with a box of silly props)? This one really cracks me up (some of my kids plus some of their cousins - that's Frank in the middle.)



Real:

Car travel is messy. This one was particularly complicated since it was a full month long (with many stops), it was right at the change of seasons AND we covered a huge range of climates along the way. We got more organized along the way, because we didn't have time to do it before we left. This is an earlier-on picture, but I have to admit that it was often messy even after we got more organized.

One thing that helped a lot was giving away the full-sized freezer chest we started with and picking up one that was about 1/3 the size. The big one took up a lot of space, was difficult to lug in and out of hotels and friends' houses and was hard to open while driving, because it always had to have stuff stacked on it. The new one was just big enough for a few things of blue ice, half a gallon of milk, a tub each of yogurt and cottage cheese and a few odds and ends. After that change we used our food AND space more efficiently and had a much easier time getting the freezer chest in and out of each stop (necessary to recharge the ice and keep the other food cold in the meantime).

We also picked up two big stacking laundry baskets along the way which we bungee-corded to the wall. They really helped keep the stuff from drowning us when we were on the road.

I always like reusable Trader Joe's bags for travel (they're $1 each, tend to stand up well and are waterproof!) but I also discovered their velcro-closing insulated ones during this trip. They're just $2 each, foldable when you don't need them and clipped easily onto the big blue clip on the back of my chair in the picture to keep things in order. They were especially welcome since there were several times when we had to do a bunch of grocery shopping before heading to a remote area.

Finally, just on our way back out of California, I discovered that Trader Joe's has re-usable wine totes (like little reusable grocery bags, but with sections) that were only $1 and were perfect for holding all of the kids' water bottles.