mini-roadtrip

Another in a series of photos of Sweetpea with a dirty face.

For some reason as I was pulling together the photos from our slapdash weekend road trip, I kept thinking of Forrest Gump. You know... life is a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get?  Our weekend was definitely a mishmash of experiences.

We were so desperate for a change of scenery that we pretty much woke up and decided to hit the road without having a clear plan in place. Threw some clothes and a cooler of sandwiches in the car, called a cheap motel just to make sure we'd have a place to lay our heads and off we went.

Sweetpea is fascinated by mummies so we started with a stop at an Egyptian museum in San Jose, which was a little bit hokey but had some nifty antiquities (and yes, mummies) plus a re-creation of a pyramid tomb which was dark and spooky and kept Sweetpea occupied long enough so English hubby and I could actually read a few exhibit descriptions without interruption.

After a night at the motel, in a town south of San Jose with not much culture but charming in an outlet mall kind of way (and yes, we shopped), we got up at the crack of dawn and headed for the Pinnacles National Monument.  It's an area maintained by the National Park Service and is definitely worth a visit.  It's the site of an ancient (dormant) volcano with geologically-interesting rocks and caves and canyons galore to get lost in.

If we hadn't reached the Pinnacles, the drive alone was worth the journey.

Once we did arrive, we weren't disappointed.  We weren't two minutes into our hike when Sweetpea found this little treasure, who completely ignored us on her way to somewhere more interesting.

There were caves to explore (flashlights necessary)....

... and I'm pretty sure the blank sign was intended to keep hikers out of that section of the cave but it of course didn't stop English hubby and Sweetpea.

And there were rocks to clamber over which looked fit for a lunar landscape.

Sated by fresh air and physical activity, we rewarded Sweetpea with a visit to a tiny amusement park on the way home, where she satisfied her own cultural desires with ice cream and mini roller coaster rides.

In the end, although we furrowed our brows over the slightly schizophrenic 36 hours we spent away from home, it was what we needed.  Our minds and spirits (somewhat) refreshed, our legs satisfyingly sore, and with a renewed resolve to do it more often.  With maybe a little more forethought.

I highly recommend it, although I can't guarantee you travelling companions as exceptional as mine.

(If you'd like to see a few more photos, then go ahead and have a peek here.)