Our 2+ hour drive took us from sea level to 6000 feet and from chaparral to pine trees. It is cool to watch the landscape transform so much over such a short distance. By mountain town standards there isn't too much to do in Idyllwild with no ski hill, but there are plenty of hiking trails in the San Jacinto mountains, cute restaurants and shops, and an amazing playground.
This was the kids' favorite hang out at 6000 feet. The concrete slab in front of the playground made for hours of scootering. The kids favorite game (when they weren't pretending to be planes from the disney movie) was catch Daddy. At least Greg got in some altitude training.
On our one rainy day we tried out a paint your own pottery studio where Teia painted a puppy and Kai created a plane on a plate :-) They were such focused little artists.
We also let the kids drink way too much hot chocolate. I guess we got carried away with the novelty of the cold weather.
We did a little hiking where Greg found some snacks along the trail.
Our Thanksgiving dinner turned out pretty well, all things considered. We baked our pumpkin pie for twice as long as normal and peeled the butternut squash with a cheese shredder; but kitchen challenges aside, it was still yummy. And the kids actually ate turkey yet again. But first of all they subjected us to the usual refrain of "I don't like that, and that, and that....." Holiday meals for them consist of a little turkey, fizzy juice (aka apple cider), pumpkin pie, whipped cream and peanut butter on toast.
Because Idyllwild is such a cute little town, we had to do some window shopping. It quickly turned into real shopping when Teia the Determined absolutely had to have a pair of fuzzy slippers. We agreed, thinking that we'd be able to pick some up for $10. Apparently not in Idyllwild. The only two pair we could find were $30 and that was after checking out just about every store. Greg declared Kai "husband material" as he patiently followed little sis and Mommy in and out of every store. She did end up with a very nice pair of slippers.
Probably the most remarkable part of our weekend was Kai and Teia sleeping in the same bed. Our little cabin had 2 bedrooms, each with a queen bed. We decided to give the kid co-sleeping thing a try, fully expecting 3 nights of musical beds. We were pleasantly surprised. Each night we'd listen to some chatting and some giggling and then nothing...the sweet sound of babes asleep. Each morning we'd hear the same, chatting and giggling and then little feet walking around the cabin. It seems we solved the problem of the Teia alarm clock - put her in bed with her brother. Unfortunately, then he loses out on his beauty sleep. So now that we're home she is back in her own bed, sleeping solo, and we're back to enjoying our 4 year old human alarm clock.
Traveling with kids is never relaxing. I read somewhere that you should never refer to a trip with children as a "vacation." It is always just a "trip." Agreed on that one but there is something refreshing and rejuvenating regardless about "getting away from it all."
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