Well we sure had a great time! This was our first real family vacation and I'm asking myself, "Why haven't we done this before!?"
Thank you all for the great suggestions of places to go and things to do. We were able to see a lot and do all the major kid-friendly stuff without doing too much and still having time to just relax. Definitely much needed time together. We've decided to put money away monthly to save up for the next one every year.
We left Santa Paula on Saturday at 4am. Made it to Barstow at 7am and stopped for breakfast.
Next stop was a stretch break at a little oasis in the middle of nowhere on Route 66.
We recently purchased a 2010 GMC Savana 2500 12 passenger van. SO GLAD WE DID! We all fit very easily and the front seats are the most comfortable I've ever had. I could drive all day and not be sore or stiff.
We spent the night in Flagstaff AZ. What a cool town! I told Kallie if I could find work there, we're moving! We squeezed all 7 of us in an EconoLogde room for the night. Makes for creative sleeping arrangements.
The next morning we headed north to the Grand Canyon. What an amazing sight! Our first time there and it blew us away! It almost seems fake, it's so incredible. I could stand there for hours and just look. The kids just like climbing on the rocks
After a while on the road again my wife pops in the Eagle's Hell Freezes Over CD and I know we must be close to Winslow AZ.
Had to stop for a photo op.
We rolled into ABQ pretty late on Sunday night. We had booked a place on Airbnb that was up in the hills on the east side of ABQ in little town called Tijeras. The place was on 7 acres of forest and it was built around the turn of the century as a school house. Later converted into a farm house it fit us perfectly. 4 bedrooms and lots of space for the kids to play. Since we got in late it was dark and quiet. We couldn't see anything around but trees and my wife was expecting a night from the Texas Chainsaw Murder movie LOL. Once the sun came up the next morning we were excited about this place!
It was the perfect headquarters for our week there.
The first day we needed some groceries and stuff so we also made a trip to the Petroglyph National Monument. It was a pretty cool place and the kids loved searching for the indian drawings.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing and hiking around the property.
Tuesday we decided to go the the ABQ Zoo and aquarium. We all love anything to do with wildlife so we had a great time. The Zoo was great, with lots of animals we don't see at our local zoo and habitats that make viewing the animals very easy. My favorite as always was the reptile house, but the kids loved seeing the Llamas and Alpackas up close and petting them.
The aquarium was very cool also. Lots of great displays and exhibits (although it was mostly related to east coast fish).
We were pretty beat after a long day of walking so we finished it off with dinner at The Cracker Barrel (another first for us).
Great fried shrimp and hush puppies!
Wednesday we spent some time exploring the shops in Old Town.
Thursday we went for a hike in the morning to Travertine Falls. Should have been called Travertine Trickle LOL
Had to stop for a snack break to eat some wild cactus apples
Friday morning we headed for home.
We took a scenic route through the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest.
The kids had a blast digging for dino bones at the visitor center.
I did not enjoy the stretches when my wife drove quite as much
We spent the night in Flagstaff again on the way back. Last night on the road.
Date night on the road calls for some creativity. Burgers and Netflix in the hotel bathroom while the kids sleep.
If you're ever in Flagstaff you have to try Bun Huggers!
The last day was a long, straight shot home. It was a wonderful week to spend quality time with the family and make some great memories. Thanks for reading!
