Army men up the Pacific Coast

Last week the Walrus, Walrus Jr. and I took our first "family" vacation. Whenever I think of family vacations, I automatically flash back to my younger years when my family would pile into a hatchback subaru (always my mother's vehicle of choice) and drive to Wallowa Lake, OR where we would feed deer by hand, ride bumper boats, and complain about boredom, tent trailer detail and a complete lack of exploration freedom. Since I love to travel, I was really on board with the idea of a family vacation in which Walrus and I would, of course, create a vacation Eutopia for Walrus Jr. Our agenda included San Francisco, Redwoods National Park and Bandon, OR. Here are a few personal lessons I learned from our first family vacation:

1. I can only listen to Candy Crush music for thirty-nine minutes before getting an eye twitch
2. Walking miles in the sand for days straight is a better workout than jazzercise

3. No matter how many times you stop for snacks, site seeing or gas, a nine-year-old will only realize he has to go to the bathroom once you are on the road again
4. If you get something out of your suitcase, while its in the trunk, you should make sure you rezip it, especially if you are going to ask someone else to bring it in

5. The "Silent Game" no longer exists with the current generation...unless they have an electronic in front of them
6. A $4.00 bag of army men can go a looooooong way
7. Siblings are not great photo assistants

The photo assistant

I crown thee Princess Seaweed

Land Shark

Ark and Company dress, San Francisco Goodwill (tags attached) - $7.50

Dress, San Francisco Goodwill (tags attached) - $5.50

Gold 'n Rust

Ambercrombie and Fitch Jeans (Goodwill) - $5.00

Jacket (Mile High Thrift) - $2.50

Tank (ARC) - $1.50

Shoes (ARC) - $2.50

Clutch (ARC) - $2.00 

Necklace (ARC) - $2.00

An Alternate Trail

Sunday, my boyfriend, The Walrus, and I dedicated ourselves to a beautiful Colorado hike. I was so excited to FINALLY be exploring one of the Colorado bucket-list items: Hanging Lake. Now understand, this is one of the busiest trails in Colorado, but the beauty that awaits at the top is well worth the crowd. Since The Walrus had previously completed the hike, he took the planning into his own hands. Typically, within the relationship, I handle all details as he tends to be more of a big-picture guy. We packed our camelbacks and headed out on a journey, just the three of us, The Walrus, me and the dog, Chuggy.

After 2.5 hours of driving we arrived at our destination, later than expected, because I got caught up thrifting. (Oops...sorry, not sorry). My detail-oriented self noticed that NOBODY in the over-crowded parking lot had a dog with them. This is REALLY unusual for Colorado - the only place I have seen a "Bark Bar" (yes, a bar where one can stand and drink beer within a connected dog park).

I mentioned to my boyfriend that nobody had dogs and I did not think that dogs were allowed on the hike. We put our heads together and came up with the following options:

1. We could go somewhere else to try to find a hike,

2. My boyfriend could walk me to the trailhead and then I could complete the hike by myself or

3. We could just pretend we did not know that dogs weren't allowed

We naturally chose the third option, despite a sign with very large letters reading, "NO DOGS ALLOWED ON TRAIL". Since I am such a rule follower, I simply brought up the fact that if Chuggy was a service animal she would be allowed on the trail or it would be discrimination. Jokingly, he asked me, "what would my disability be", which I quickly replied, "mental health". (Confession: there is a very explainable reason why I know so much about American's with Disabilities Act and mental health, which I'll keep for a later discussion). We were golden, until we hit the trailhead and heard a loud voice saying, "You can't take dogs on the trail", simultaneously pointing to the sign saying such. My boyfriend immediately responds with, "she's a service animal". 

The story ends with the two of us leaving the hike, back tracking an hour and completing an alternative hike. One in which Chuggy, the service dog, could join, without fear of discrimination.

 

Hat (A.R.C) - $2.00

Old Navy Tee (Mile High Thrift) - $2.50

Lucky Shorts (Mountain Thrift) - $3.50