Volcanoes, Volcanoes, Volcanoes: Final Chapter of our Journey TO Monterey!

This is Update #11 on our 2015 GRAND CROSS COUNTRY ADVENTURE.
For previous installments CLICK HERE!!!

So yesterday I left off with us in Oregon having come though the vast nothingness of Idaho. But remember in Idaho we had stop one of our Volcano Grand Tour! Craters of the Moon national park, aka Pumice Stones R Us.

Tommy Lee has nothing on us.

Well entering Northern CA we continued on with this part of the journey, first up Crater Lake, or as Gabe called it "A swimming pool with a volcano island"

With this stop, Garbiel got to play in snow for the first time EVER!!! Mind you this was June too.

He wanted to keep playing in the snow, but his hands "burned" and he didn't know what to do.

Someone skied down this while we were there. As I learned from an Australian I only remember as "Bruce" at Ski Dubai once: "Shred where ever you are at brah"

It is important he show you his car.

Because thats the ideal pet to take to National Parks. Goats. Not like they destroy vegetation or anything.

I swear he said "The night is dark and full of terrors, old man, but the fire burns them all away."

After a volcano pool came a volcano bed, or rather Lava Beds National Monument/Park (I forget which and am too lazy to google it. Sue me), which was really just another branch of Pumice Stones R Us. 

So its a monument. But I am still to lazy to go change that above. Be satisfied with the knowledge that riddle is solved.

Gabe exploring "Caves"

Found a "Cave"

Found another "Cave"

We went from there to Lassen Volcano National Park, which was really another big snowy rock WHICH WAS HIDDEN IN THE CLOUDS! LIKE EVER SINGLE OTHER MOUNTAIN ON OUR TRIP!

Yes dear, that is a big rock.

This is a debris field from the last eruption.

This forest was killed by the Volcano IIRC. Either way, good location for Blair Witch 3: The Volcano Witch

Come to CA they said, the Summers are great they said. Golden State they call it.

From there we just drove onto Monterey, where we proceeded to live for the next two years. Yay. 

With that the EPIC TALE IS DONE. PREPARE YOURSELVES AS WE SET FORTH ON ANOTHER GRAND ADVENTURE!!!!

Moving again... I guess I should finish up the last journey first...

This is Update #10 on our 2015 GRAND CROSS COUNTRY ADVENTURE.

For previous installments CLICK HERE!!!

Well, the time is upon the Valdyke clan once more to pack up and head out on another grand adventure. Finally, Eastward bound!

To California, I say "Good Riddance"

I will surely wax poetic on our time here in the "Golden State" (by which they mean dead grass because it never rains...), but that is for another time. I realize I must first regale you with the final chapter of our tale from last time...

We had just left Yellowstone and were Grand Teton Bound... not that we could tell

Essentially that was our view of the majestic Grand Tetons. Can't you see the majesty. Just sooooo much of it. Oh, it also rained on us there... just like it had in the badlands... and black hills... an Mt Rushmore... and like 90% of our last trip.

From there we continued onto the high desert....

wooo

SO we went from seeing nothing to having nothing to see. It really is just vast emptiness. We did stop at the first site that ever had Nuclear Power, EBR-1, which was pretty neat. Especially since after Fukishima and visiting Nagasaki and Hiroshima, I didn't glow green enough. They also had two rail cars with Nuclear Powered Jet Engines on them

Gabe, go play on those jungle gyms

We wanted to lick it but couldn't get in...

Gabe, come help me run this 

Yes, pull out all the rods Gabe

Standing on top of a reactor 

Which is the perfect place to rest. We can even lick this one!

After I explain radiation to everyone

After our adventures in Roentgen Land (which I still feel is better than Disney)  we continued on through the wasteland that is Idaho

And went to Craters of the Moon national park, stop one of our west coast Volcano Tour!

Its like something from a Dr. Seuss nightmare.

 

You can tell just how excited Gabe was to see a bunch of rocks. Also how excited Jennifer was given the number of pictures she was in there.

After Idaho we moved onto Oregon. Let me tell you I see why the game is Oregon Trail and not Idaho Trail, that's for sure. Speaking of which, we saw the Oregon Trail

We come all this way and all he cares about is an ant?

And from there we saw Mt. Rainier and Cascade Gorge, where I drowned many a time playing the Oregon Trail

 

Gabriel needed to see a train. He said he was okay to wait for it.

Visiting Family in Portland

We then drove up the coast. We WANTED to go see Mt. Saint Helens... BUT RAIN AND FOG STARTED ROLLING IN. So instead we went to Lewis and Clarke National Monument and Astoria Oregon

The Goonies House

BULLET HOLES

THE FRATELLIS ARE MAKING A BREAK OUT!

More Family in Salem!

He had to sleep with the toy

I swear we are almost to Monterey (remember, I am writing this because I am about to leave there), but that will have to be for next time. This post is just getting a little too long and I am all out of jokes. 

Alistair Augustus is born

Alistair is a male given name of Scottish and Gaelic origin of the name Alexander. The name Augustus is a Latin name meaning venerable or majestic. Basically, Alexander the Great.

On November 7th, our second child was born. Alistair Augustus arrived at 1 AM weighing 8 lbs 2 oz and measuring 19 1/2 inches long. It happened all so quickly and I was not always aware of what was going on. Here is my side of his story.

My regular, weekly appointment scheduled on Thursday was normal. I had been feeling more pressure in my back and shooting nerve pains down my legs starting the day before. My doctor measured my cervix at 2 cm.

Since Thursday the 5th was the first due date we were given, we went to Chili's to initiate contractions. Hey, it happened last time, why not this time? For Gabe, I decided to get a half rack of ribs which is out of the ordinary. Leading up to the 5th Evan and I were discussing how I would re-order the ribs because that was obviously the key to unlocking labor. Well, I didn't actually feel like ribs that day, so I ordered the chicken enchiladas. No contractions during dinner. We went home and went to bed like normal. Obviously, I should have gotten the ribs.

Friday, Evan had to go to school briefly in the morning to get his FluMist. Naturally, he was tired from it and took a nap. I was folding laundry when the contractions started at 1:30 PM while Gabe was on my computer playing PBS games. I woke Evan up to tell him, "I think I just had a contraction." He looked at me, looked at his watch, and then closed his eyes again. A few minutes later, I had another one. This went on and on for several hours where the contractions were 5 minutes apart. During that time, we packed Gabe's overnight bag to stay at a friend's house. Then we packed our bag.

While the contractions gradually increased in intensity they were still bearable. The typical rule is to go into the hospital after an hour of contractions that are 5 minutes apart and lasting for a minute each. We figured we should take Gabe to his friend's house and for us to go to the hospital to get checked out.

Despite 6 hours of steady contractions there had been no cervical change by 7:30 PM and we left. We walked around the nearby shopping center. Almost immediately after we left the hospital the contractions increased in pace and intensity. We went home where I would be more comfortable. After the pain was too much for me, we got into the car to head back to the hospital.

We checked into the hospital (again) at 10 PM and I was dilated to 5 cm. The staff got the room prepped for delivery. The pain was rough but I did NOT want an epidural. Evan was a big asset in me reaching my goal. He held my hand and talked me through each contraction, the constant shakes, and fetched me water. He even tried to drown me once. And when I told him to shut up or stop breathing in my face, he did just that without taking offense.

Anyway, when I measured about 8.5 cm my contractions were at a point where they were causing me to push. If you've ever tried to prevent yourself from having an involuntary impulse (such as hiccups or sneezing) then you know just how difficult it can be to not push during a contraction. Yeah, it wasn't working. The water had not broken on its own yet and the offer to have them broken was presented. I accepted. 9 cm. Pushing was unstoppable. My doctor agreed, thankfully.

This doesn't make things easier. There is not enough evidence to support or refute the idea of "pushing too soon" or before complete dilation. My doctor thought it was best to stretch the cervix around Alistair's head. Yep...it was as enjoyable as it sounds. The pain was different than the contractions, but it wasn't unbearable. The sensation was definitely something I had never felt before and cannot compare it anything else. Evan tells me that during the second stage of labor all I could say was "Ow! Ow! Ow!" It lasted 3 minutes. It was quick and then it was over. He was born at 1 AM.

He was placed immediately on my chest and I closed my eyes and rested my head from relief and exhaustion. He is sweet, asleep most of the time, and so loved.