Momservation: The end of civilization will come when McDonald’s goes extinct.
☺ ☺ ☺
Just spent an impromptu 24 hours in Monterey/Carmel and the car. It was just enough time to get my daughter good and car sick on fast food causing her to barf upon her return home.
It all began when my mom, who lives in Montana (depriving our family of regular Gammy time), was going to be in Monterey visiting family. Despite being only a three hour drive away instead of 17, our schedule looked too busy to join her.
But wait! My son’s soccer tournament was cancelled. Hubby needed to go to work and suddenly we had a window of opportunity! A small, outhouse sized window, but a window nonetheless.
At 2 p.m. on Saturday we packed a hasty bag, called and reserved the spare bedroom at great gramma’s house in Monterey and jumped in the car needing to be back by soccer camp Monday morning.
(I was not going to miss out on my only week all summer of no kids for a three hour stretch.)
Here’s the breakdown:
Saturday
4:30-8:00 pm: Get DVD’s for car ride, kids take Dramamine, plug in headphones, stop only for potty and McDonald’s break on the way to Monterey.
8:00-9:30: We arrive! Give Mom big squish, visit for an hour and a half while kids jump in freezing pool and dress up the dog in dog clothes.
9:30-10:30: Head to great gramma’s house to bunk. Get kids in bed, visit before lights out.
Sunday
7:30-8:30 am: Get up, pack up and go pick up Gammy and Aunt Jackie for breakfast in Carmel.
9:00-10:00: It’s all about eating. Best place for breakfast in Carmel: Katie’s Place.
10:00-11:00: Drive around Monterey Bay giving kids a geographical family history before dropping Aunt Jackie off at church.
11:00 am -12:00 pm: Sneak a doughnut from church before heading to Seaside Beach to look for shells and slide on sand dunes.
12:00-3:00: Stop to eat at best pizza in Monterey: Gianni’s Pizza. Go to Carmel Beach to hang out with Gammy and enjoy the surf, soft sand and dog friends.
3:00-4:30: Drop Gammy back off at Aunt Jackie’s. Kids take one last dip in the freezing pool and dress up the dog in a goodbye outfit.
4:30-8:00: Kids take some Dramamine, pop in a movie and plug in their headphones and we head home stopping only for potty and McDonald’s (plus I let them have a GIANT Powerade – this will become relevant at 10pm).
8:00pm: We’re home!
10:00: Whitney barfs. Mom cleans up pancakes/bacon/doughnut/pizza/Chex Mix/2 double cheeseburger/grape Powerade barf just to the right of toilet.
Monday:
8:30 am: No more barf. No temperature. Back to a normal routine. Off to camp with you. Mom’s taking a well deserved rest.