Surprise Trip to California

 Some friends from Lake Jackson moved to southern California a year after we moved to the Houston area. This was an answer to my prayers. It was incredibly difficult to leave our friends when we moved. I prayed for new friends, which slowly came. But I think Heavenly Father knew my two closest friends would also leave Lake Jackson in the year following our move away. It made the move a little easier knowing that even if we had stayed, I wouldn't have the close friends anyways.

The family in CA rented a house until they could find one to buy. They found one this spring and between a larger house and less travel restrictions, we decided to surprise the kids with a trip. Due to a two hour time change and wanting to do some "big kid" stuff, Joseph stayed back with the two littles. I picked Ashton up from school on the last day of school and we went straight to the airport. Tanner and Ashton were shocked. It was perfect! The Coon's hadn't told their kids either so they were happy to see us when they woke up the next morning after we arrived.

We flew out Thursday and got in late to the house that night. Driving in LA in the dark wasn't much fun but the kids fell asleep so I could focus on driving. Houston traffic has prepared me for that, though.

Friday was my favorite day. We went the Channel Islands National Park. It was simply majestic. We took the 1.5 hour boat ride out to the island. It was pretty bumpy and I got a little nauseous but the kids did fine. We saw hundreds of dolphins that swam right along the boat. The island is completely free of resources/amenities aside from some porta-potties. This means you bring everything you need for the day. The boats only come and go at set times that you reserve. So you must be ready to stay for the day as there is no option to head back earlier. The kids handled this very well. We went hiking up to the top of the island and Tanner didn't complain at all! We had lunch at the top with the ocean surrounding us. On the way down, we saw the two animals specific to this island: Island Fox and Island Scrub Jay. Tanner loved the little foxes. There are also eucalyptus trees all over so it smelled amazing.

After the hike and lunch, we wandered the rocky beach and went snorkeling. Well, as close to snorkeling as you can with a 5 and 7 year old. I brought wetsuits for us as I knew the water would be freezing. And it was. But the kids lasted longer than I anticipated. Then, they build rock creations on the beach.

Saturday, we went to Ventura and visited the beach and boardwalk. The family we stayed with has a trampoline so any downtime was spent jumping on that.

Sunday was church and a visit to some tide pools. The kids found tons of hermit crabs and were happy.

Monday, we ventured up to Santa Barbara for the day. We visited a science museum that the kids loved. Then we got some lunch and ice cream  along the pedestrian walk/boardwalk area. That night, we had dinner at the family's parents home with their outdoor pizza oven. Delicious!

Tuesday, we traveled back home and were so happy to be back together. It was a fun trip and we will definitely go back in future years. Probably to see/visit more of the national parks in CA.