Last week our family of four took a 2400-mile round trip spring break vacay to San Diego! This was our first big trip since Everett was a baby, and we had some idea of how it might go but knew that it would be a gamble. How does one survive those long hours in the car with a 2 1/2 year old? (Aside from figuring out how to purchase six different Disney movies on Amazon Prime, our 6-year-old, by the way, was an angel!) We packed ALL the snacks, ALL the puzzles, ALL the activities, and of course, the iPads loaded with ALL the ABC's and Sesame Street games I could find. In spite of a couple incidents of Everett getting sick in the car (both times it was in Utah on those curvy mountain roads), Cecelia asking to ride every roller coaster we passed by, a few bouts of toddler tantrums, and Steve and I both starting to feel our age with sore backs from all the driving... the trip went surprisingly well.
I love to travel. I love seeing new places, experiencing new things, trying new foods, and of course, painting whenever I get the chance. On this trip I had to manage my expectations and simply take note of many of the beautiful places I went. They are places I'd like to revisit, probably either alone on a painting trip, or when my kids are older. Traveling with kids is the opposite of relaxing. And, as my husband and I pointed out to our daughter all the wonderful things to see and observe along the way, we realized that she was quite unimpressed. "It's not that beautiful," she would say. She was way more impressed with the games on her iPad (damn this digital world we have become slaves to!). Her apathy made me sad, but also made me determined that she just needs more experiences like this. I want to inundate her with the wonders of nature, sunshine, wildlife, mountains, the ocean, and the national parks. Seriously, if there is anything our government has gotten right, it's the National Park system. We were able to see four out of Utah's five national parks on our way to and from California. It was phenomenal!
I managed to sneak in a few very quick plein air sketches on this trip. It was just enough to fill my oxygen tank and keep me in my happy place in spite of the challenges of dealing with kids the whole time. I could happily hose off the sand covering every inch of Everett's body, or give the kids their second (or third) snack before lunch time, or deal with the absolute chaos of bedtime and nap strikes. It was all good.
Here are a few pictures and highlights from the trip. I took over a thousand photos and came back with lots of great reference images, so I'm excited for the inspiration and the resulting studio works you'll see soon.
I'm so grateful to have gotten away for a time. Views like this are always good for the soul. :-)
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