the plan

I love Christmas, but it’s also overwhelming. We are leaving town this year in hopes of toning it down a notch. We are road tripping to Southern California. We are going to camp in Malibu and fulfill my dream of the camper covered in Christmas lights card that I am drawn to year after year. (you’ve seen it…the photograph of the solitary ham can with a string of lights)

We’ll see the sights, eat lots of exotic foods, picnic under the Hollywood sign, find the best used book stores and thrift shops, hike, play at the beach, and of course, hit a few funky toy stores.

We will move into fancier digs on Christmas Eve and find a loud and bustling Chinese restaurant in Chinatown and then go to the prettiest church we can find.

Santa will come in a low key kind of way.

Someone mentioned that Lego land is in southern cal. Hhhhmmmmm.

I want to go to a wrestling match in Tijuana.

And maybe we’ll wetsuit up and do some baja surfing.

Eat some lobster in Ensenada.

Suggestions are welcome!

I hope all you people out there who read my ramblings have a wonderful season…and I’ll keep you posted on our where abouts!

ps! Santa says I’m getting a camera so I will be uploading MY OWN pictures again soon!

cheap trip

The next few posts will be about travel and about budget travel in particular. Spring break is next week and, of course, we are itching to GO. But alas, there is no extra cash for it. So what is one to do? The answer is easy at first blush. We go camping. Duh. But the devil is in the details when traveling with three young children (3,6, and 9) and expenses mount quickly, given the least opportunity. I’m not sure about ALL children, but MY children could EASILY drop $75-100 dollars at the first convenience store headed out of town. There are so many things in there that they NEED and they are so very good at communicating this deep need. In a foreign language even….. Whine-ese.

I’ve often thought that this would make an interesting experiment, if I had a hundred bucks or so to flush down the toilet. What would happen if I said, ‘Hey Lewis, no problem man, here’s a credit card, just get whatever you need.’ Good God Almighty! He’d come out with all the usual suspects, of course, gallons of red bull, lots of fruity candy….starburst, skittles, blow pops and pop rocks, miniature boxes of oreos, doritos and cheetos and teriyaki beef jerky….but what else? He’s quirky. He’d probably get a Car Trader magazine and he and max would pore over it picking out their favorite rigs. (and they have AWFUL taste in cars and that’s a whole nother story)) He’d get a lighter, and a flash light with a sewing kit and an air freshener. A key ring and a hood ornament. A bawdy license plate and a decorative figurine for the dash. And he would be genuinely thrilled by it all, bless his heart.

But it’s not happening, and the moral of this post is that if you’re on a budget, don’t let your kids run willy nilly through a convenience store when you stop for gas. Don’t let them near it. Don’t even let them out of the car.

That’s what travel diapers are for.

Stay Tuned.