Car & Caboodle: The CarandCaboodle Family Road Trip

« Clek Boosters Make Safety Fun, Fashionable and Easy | Home Page | The CarandCaboodle Family Road Trip - Be Prepared! »

The CarandCaboodle Family Road Trip - Up The 101 in Oregon

Car Accessories, Editorial, Luggage & Travel Accessories | Share Your Opinion

September 2, 2008

Our second day of travel had us arriving in Crescent City just past nightfall. We had every intention of using our usual last minute lodging formula - a complex algorhythm involving the AAA diamond sytems , online travel reviews, a drive by assessment of the cars in the parking lot, and a whole lotta luck. But luck, this evening, was not on our side. Flashing signs on every hotel and motel shoo'ed us away. No Vacancy. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Read on to see how we made it through the night and next day...

Frustrated we drove on through the night, towards the Oregon border and Brookings. We couldn't pull over on the narrow shoulder to soothe the crying baby. Sleep Sheep On The Go sound machine to the rescue. Our kids use the full size Sleep Sheep at home and the travel version went a long way to soothe all of us. I even used it to catch a few z's myself, at various times during the trip.

We decided it might be wise to call ahead from the car, seeing how booked up the coastal motels were. The fog was rolling in and the pitch black winding roads were a bit hair raising. Not wanting to diminish visibility for my husband by turning on an overhead light, I threw a shawl over my head and used a Coghlan's Micro-Lantern to read by. These powerful tiny lanterns really shed a ton of light and are a favorite for camping. My kids use them for bedtime reading. I've got an extra one in my glove compartment that stays there at all times. They operate in regular or flashing mode. It's reassuring to know it is there in an emergency.

We did eventually find lodging in Brookings though nothing I'd care to share. It was quite possible the last room in town, and not the most pleasantly aromatic. But at about midnight, after travelling several hundred miles, our requirements suddenly became a bed without bedbugs and a working toilet. We all crashed in our clothes. In the morning, we did not feel so fresh. I was so glad to have my travel wipes from La Fresh Beauty. These are another must-have glove compartment item for travelling families! We gave the littler kids the once over with High Chair Hair rinse- free shampoo and Bubble Bath from Oopsy Daisy.

Our late night drive-through dinner-of-desperation the prior evening also had us feeling parched and out of sorts. It was time to healthy up and rehydrate! We refilled the kids Sigg water bottles with plain tap water squeezed out of our H2OWellness bottle. These are a must for anyone who is making an effort to use less plastic but who (like me) gets the heebie jeebies about tap water in unfamiliar places. I really can't stand when tap water "tastes funny". It so reassuring that the H2O bottle has an internal filtration system that removes toxins and chemicals, purifying and preparing water for optimal hydration.

It was our last day of travel before reaching our destination in Pacific City and everyone was a little sick of the car. We chose our destinations carefully. A stroll through the West Coast Game Park Safari - the largest wild animal petting park in America, provided thrilling close encounters with lions cubs, tigers, bears and more. My son wanted to take a baby goat home with him, and will forever remember Oregon as the place where he petted and fed donkeys, deer and llama, and got splashed by a mischievous chimp holding a water hose.

We stopped for a late lunch at the Bliss Hot Rod Grill in Florence, Oregon. This diner sports gutted classic cars fitted out with restaurant booths inside. It's amazing how much the kids could not wait to get out of the car, to eat in a car. Vintage coin operated rides in the back room added to the nostalgic thrill.

If only we'd had more time we would have had so many more places to stop that day. We whizzed past the Sea Lion Caves, the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and a few other stops that would have to wait for later in the week or for a future visit. It was the home stretch. The last 100 miles before we reached our destination. As with any journey, the last few miles were the toughest. It was at this point in the trip that we would be so glad to have brought along so many handheld games, the kids ipods, and a classic film or two.