Our Road Trip to California

“There’s a lot of nice places in Mexico” -Oakley

These were the words out of the mouth of our son as we stopped for a bathroom break and lunch in Oregon at a lodge I promised myself I’d remember the name. My heart smiled at the thought of the innocence in his comment and the sweetness of his observation. “There’s a lot of nice places in Mexico.” It wasn’t Mexico but it was indeed nice. The lodge was perfectly nestled in a beautiful setting of trees, lakes and streams filled with kayakers and lovers of nature. Old and young, they were finding retreat there. I daydreamed of us coming back to this lodge spending more family time on the quiet, secluded lake. We finished our lunch and were surprised at a fully paid bill compliments of a couple of elderly onlookers that complimented us on the behavior of our children. We felt proud. As parents, and as a family. What a gift that was! What a gift the whole trip was!

Places We Stayed & Visited

ON THE WAY TO CA — We stayed at The America’s Best Value Inn & Suites in Klamath Falls, OR. This is a no thrills motel. We found a room that had 3 queen beds all in the same room. We slept well. Kids were happy with complimentary bagels for breakfast.

In beautiful Mammoth, CA– We stayed at The Chateau Montagne with our family. This was a two story condo with a master bedroom upstairs and three bedrooms downstairs. One room had two sets of bunkbeds. There was a full kitchen and three bathrooms. We enjoyed the deck with the grill and enjoyed a Hawaiian themed dinner and luau with the kids.

The hotel was within walking distance to the park, pool and other nearby places. While there, we visited a couple of parks, one was a cool skate park and the boys all wished they brought their skateboards. We had ice cream twice at Hugs Ice Cream in the village. My goodness, I’m still thinking about that mudpie ice cream! The village had a lot of shops to explore but with little people with us, we didn’t do any shopping. We did, however go bowling at Mammoth Rock N’ Bowl. By far the nicest bowling alley we have ever been to! We enjoyed pizza and root beer and an overall wonderful time. (even with the littlest of non-bowlers)

In Bishop, CA we stayed with family and visited Mount Tom located in the Sierra Nevada. Absolutely stunning views. We were surprised to see that there was still snow(in June!). You can hike, camp, swim, fish, climb and ski. This is a destination I’d love to explore more as the kids get older.

We swam in the warm, fresh water of Keough Hot Springs with grandma, once considered sacred by the natives of Owens Valley, outside of Bishop, CA. What a relaxing place! Thankfully our littlest one slept most of the time.

Next, we headed to Southern California to the San Bernardino Mountains. We visited Lake Arrowhead and enjoyed lunch at Papagayos for Father’s Day. We walked around the village and had fun watching grandma race around on the go carts with the boys.

We then traveled up to Keller Peak in Running Springs, CA and enjoyed a hike around Children’s Forest. This is one of my favorite places to visit and go for a walk with the kids. It’s an easy paved trail with spectacular views.

We met my sister and kids at Greenspot farms in Mentone, CA. This place is a gem as they do not charge for entry. The kids loved petting the goats and playing around. We had a picnic on one of the tables and went through the beautiful manicured maze.

ON THE WAY HOME FROM CA–We stayed at the Springfield Suites by Marriot in Medford, OR.. This hotel was nice. We stayed in a room with 2 Queen beds and a pull out sofa. It had a nice pool and a full (very crowded) breakfast. Wonderful location. Across the street from a Walmart and Cracker Barrell. We would stay in this area again.