We made it out by 10 or so and found a yummy local bagel shop in Point Loma. We had homemade soft pumpernickel bagels with bacon, garlic and basil cream cheese P.L. bagel
We hit the atm, grabbed our passports and headed to Mexico. Although we expected inspections and questions, we literally drove right in. There was no showing our citizenship, no stamp.
We headed toward playas and the kids all fell asleep. We drove through a street market, mountains and towns. We had a very hard time finding our way back into the states even though we had a map. Our whole trip lasted about 90 minutes, sadly we bought nothing, ate nothing and literally didn’t even get out of the car. We used it as our nap time excursion. Even the border patrol had a hard time believing we were leaving empty handed.
We then picked up some coffee and headed to Mission Bay Beach.
It was overcast and actually really nice to not be too hot. The boys played in the water and sand. Jake naked…Gavin in clothes.
Of course they got the most amused looks from people walking by.
We stayed for a good 3 hours then headed back to the tiny house for showers.
Uncle Michael came over with Thai food from Saffron. Oh it was delicious. We talked more about travel and dreams and funny experiences. Everyone was tired and in extra silly moods and we all passed out around 9:30.
Follow along
Plan your family adventure
More from the Americas
Plan for roughly half the driving you think you can do. Kids need movement breaks every 1.5 to 2 hours. The best stops are not the ones on the itinerary but the ones you find by pulling over. Pack snacks that avoid crumbs. And accept that the trip will go differently than planned and that is usually better.
Audiobooks and podcasts for kids work better than screens for longer stretches. Window games. Music everyone can agree on. Letting older kids navigate. And giving them meaningful jobs rather than just asking them to sit quietly for hours.
A car trash bag. A cooler for drinks and snacks. A first aid kit. One bag per person that lives accessible in the car. Entertainment that works without wifi. A physical map as backup. And less than you think you need of everything else.
Four to five hours of actual driving is comfortable for most families with young children. More than that and the last hour tends to make everyone miserable. Factor in stops and add at least 50 percent to driving times.
The national parks are extraordinary and widely underused by families. Zoos in major cities. Interactive children’s museums. Sea World, Legoland, and similar theme parks for dedicated days. And the unexpected stops that were not planned that end up being everyone’s favorite memory.
Share this:
Discover more from Adventures We Seek
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.