Mile High Thrifter: 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