Extreme Mom Bravery

It is very important that I mention the extreme reserves of bravery that Dr Mom had to call upon. I had intended for us to to do a two mile, easy loop through temperate forests - the upper and lower Waimano Trail loop - but we didn't take the correct turn to the left to make the loop, and went incorrectly ahead onto the much longer and more difficult Waimano Ridge Trail. (To be fair, the hike books said that the turn was marked with a sign, we sure as heck couldn't see, and one of the books helpfully told us it was marked by two mango trees, two stumps, and a rock....which didn't help much either.)

Anyway, the Waimano Ridge Trail turned out to be about 80% easy with a couple of really hard bits. We strolled along the ridge path, which was quite flat and mostly wide enough to walk with ease. Then we met a small family coming the other way who said we were heading to a place where you had to use a rope to get along the trail. Since our guide book for the loop hike said we would need to "traverse the canyon wall" we thought, at this point, that we were still doing the loop hike. When we actually got to the place with the rope, we started to have our doubts. Hubby will post pictures of the spot in question. Suffice it to say that Dr Mom had to steel herself to hold onto a rope, reach down to a bunch of slippery roots from a high rock, and balance along the edge of the wall clinging to the rope, all over a pretty sheer drop. Of course Deep Thought managed it with no problem, and Little Starlet only needed a bit more encouragement because of having shorter legs. But Hubby was full of praise for Dr Mom for not giving up.

A few hundred feet further on, we met another rope dangling over a bunch of rocks above a narrow ledge. Gosh, we thought, and this walk is meant to be good for beginners? At this point I think we concluded that we were on the wrong trail. Dr Mom got down that one by sitting on a rock in a puddle. Coming back the other way was easier: We all scaled the rocks like goats, and even the precipitous rope-over-drop experience wasn't quite so bad (though both Little Starlet and Dr Mom needed a bit of a boost from Hubby, or our little, unathletic legs might not have made the step up).

Didn't we all feel triumphant at the end of that one!

And When They Were Up, They Were Up...Except When They Couldn't Make It

Hubby has delegated all activity and route planning to me, so I have spent several evenings glued to the computer trying to work out ways to get back to nature, etc, without any of us keeling over. Analysis of the trail maps for the State and National Parks where I've selected our camp sites reveals an alarmingly large number of trails marked "strenuous" and very few marked "easy for people who haven't done any exercise in the past month."

I presume Deep Thought will be fine, with a week of soccer camp in her back pocket, following hard on the heels of her two weeks at away camp where she was board diving, rock climbing and so on. Hubby seems to maintain some residual level of fitness even when he is a total couch potato - and he has managed a few cycling outings recently, so he's not so bad. I'm a bit concerned about Little Starlet - whose weekly gymnastics class makes her very red and sweaty - and perhaps a little more concerned still about me, a person who needs to take a rest on the sofa after carrying in the shopping bags.

Hubby reminds me of an incident in our younger days, when we were walking in the Peak District and, in an attempt on a steep slope, I sat on the floor and refused to go any further until he gave in and allowed us to retreat downhill to the nearest pub. He seems to think that now I am older and wiser, and a mother, I might be shamed by such behavior (at least in front of the smaller set). How little we get to know our partners, even in two decades. Besides which, nothing about my lack of enthusiasm for exercise would surprise our two.

That said, I am eager to get out into the redwood forests and enjoy some nature, maybe even a bit of solitude. That might be asking a bit much for a family of four travelling by RV, but who said wishful thinking isn't allowed?

Trying to Engage the Troops

All the books say that you should make sure to involve your kids in the planning process for any lengthy trips such as the one we are about to do. What the books don't say is how to get them to show any interest at all. I've tried asking what they think will be interesting or surprising, what they're looking forward to or not sure about. I've tried spreading the maps across the living room, and leaving heaps of guide books on the sofa. I've tried saying things like "Gosh, there looks like there might be a good beach here, or do you think we should try to get to there for the lunch stop?" But all to no avail. Little Starlet gives a theatrical sigh and says she really doesn't mind what we do. Deep Thought takes a quick look before going back to her book or whatever is clearly more interesting than interacting with her mother.

Perhaps they'll want to engage more when we are actually on the road, or is that just wishful thinking?

Worryingly, the thing that has fascinated them most so far is choosing a portable DVD player and five brand new DVDs to take on the journey. Not quite what I had in mind.

Size is Everything

Hubby and I have been checking back on the size of the RV we've hired. It's the smallest available - we didn't want to be too ambitious on this, our first trip - but the dimensions seem enormous now we really consider them. 25ft long, 8ft wide, 11ft high.

Even so, a quick look at the floorplan so helpfully provided by Camping World makes us wonder where we're going to stash all the stuff that is already on our barely-started packing list. And Little Starlet hasn't even begun to put her extensive Polly Pocket family into a suitcase.

The floorplan consists of a driving cab area (lucky, that), with a "cabover bed"; a lounge chair which appears to be bolted to the floor, probably a good idea as we are combining the accident-prone Little Starlet with a twisty road; a "dinette" that converts into a single bed, reminiscent of all those happy holidays spent in fixed caravan sites in Rhyl; a "double bed" designed for two short, svelt sleepers; a shower and sink; the delicately named "toilette"; and a cooking area of small oven, microwave, stovetop, and sink. There is also something enigmatically labelled "Refer", which presumably is some hitherto unknown abbreviation, or perhaps a special technical word known only to RVers, refer-ing to the refrigerator.

Let's hope so, as we plan to take as much food with us as we can load into the van. Though our route follows major highways through delightfully named towns like Eureka, we're not sure that the Formager D'Affinois or Greek olive oil will be so easy to find as it is in the Bay Area. Mind you, the food shopping I've done so far consists of jumbo boxes of Cheezits and multi-packs of tomato sauce, so who am I trying to kid?

Hubby says with a reassuring chuckle that I would have no trouble driving this monster. Well, that's not my plan. Someone needs to commune with the maps, and that seems like my sort of gig.

10 days to go

In ten days time, we'll be heading out on our first RV trip. The kids have been pestering us for a couple of years to do the deed, and we've decided that maybe, just maybe, they are old enough to cope now.

Whether we are old enough to cope is another matter.

The trip was planned about six months ago. Guide books bought. Route planned. RV rental booked. Campsites selected and reserved (no reckless spontaneity for us). It is only just now that we've thought to look at a really good map.

Hmm.

I've just got back from buying an armful of maps of California, in the hope that one of them will reveal a cunningly concealed network of perfect, straight roads through the mountains. Funnily enough, they all look very similar to one another, just in different scales of scariness.