The first few couple of months of ellie's life was a plethora of new discoveries. It took us weeks to start feeling like we were actually getting some sleep, and months to realize we could leave the house without stuffing the diaper bag with excessive potential needs. As prior backpackers, we decided it was time for a small trip to figure out how on earth it was possible to start traveling again, this time with an infant. With Ellie turning 2 months, and Eric's parents on town, we all loaded up the van, stuffing it unnecessarily full, and headed off on what would be Ellie's first road trip and vacation.
Not wanting to venture too far away from home in fear of some kind of newborn disaster, we planned a tentative trip from Chico to Monterey, San Jose, and Sonoma in 6 days. We chose Monterey mainly because of its close proximity to home, and also because I had never been there before. Monterey sounded like a nice leisure vacation spot to spend two nights with a newborn baby. Next on our radar was Sonoma, mainly due to our interest in visiting GTRV (a motor home conversion company) to get some ideas for our near future, and try some wineries while in town. While between towns, we decided to stay two nights in San Jose to visit some friends and relatives, so we could show off our new baby girl.
We made it to Monterey no problem, with only one stop to nurse. We checked into our reasonably priced, very comfortable hotel room for the night, and ventured out to dinner. At this age, we had only had a couple of successful meals out in public with Ellie, so we were all feeling a little on edge. It turned out Ellie loved the busy, bustling sound of Monterey's Fish House, and we were all able to enjoy a delivious seafood meal with a view of our little baby. Mommy was even able to have a glass of wine for one of the first times since delivery!
The next day we had planned to relax by the ocean with our van and a nice day camp, but it was much more windy and cold than we anticipated. We spent the day walking around Lover's Point, Monterey's Fisherman Wharf, and downtown Monterey before heading back to the hotel for free cocktail hour and a sunset walk. Ellie cried the whole way home from our walk, no doubt due to the cold, so we spent the rest of the night huddled inside our hotel in the heat, and enjoyed some illegally boiled pasta with our camping gear.
Ellie was an easy travel companion, she was still sleeping every 1-2 hours for this trip!
h
The next day we headed for San Jose, stopping at a couple of local farms along the way for some artichoke and garlic goodies, and gifts for our friends and family we were visiting. Christy and Chihiro, Eric's childhood friends, had just opened up a bake shop so we stopped by for a visit before dinner at their house for the night. The next day we spent lunch and dinner with Eric's aunt and uncle, and drove around San Jose, the tech capital of the America for a little sightseeing.
A little roadside, unscheduled breastfeeding.
Christy and Chihiro have two adorable kids, Scotty and Bailey. Everyone loved Ellie and we had a great time, as always, with them all.
The next day we ate lunch at a great local Chinese restaurant with Eric's aunt and uncle.
Uncle Ming taught Eric how to make bread & pastries.
Chinese food again for dinner. Ellie cried for about half of the time. We later figured out that she might have been sensitive to the spices in Chinese food restaurants, as she tended to cry in almost all Chinese restaurants. Sorry Ellie!
The next day we left for Sonoma. We rented a nice big vacation rental for two nights to give us plenty of time to check out GTRV, and explore the wine country. We hit a few places on the way into Sonoma before checking into our hotel.
First on the map- Sonoma Portworks
I tried to feed Ellie before going into the winery, but she wasn't hungry. Of course she chose 20 minutes into our tasting to decide she was hungry now. No matter, I can do both!
Next on the map, Cline winery. We didnt actually try the wine here since it was too busy to get inside, but were able to use the picnic area for some snacks.
Next, Jacuzzi winery, owned by the same guy who invented the jacuzzi!
Mommy only tasted the wine at each place since she is still breastfeeding every 1-2 hours, so she was the only one who didnt need a nap while pulled over on the side of the road waiting for Ellie to finish her meal!
We all realized eating in was much easier while traveling with an infant. Much more relaxing for everyone, especially this nursing mother.
The next morning we went to check out GTRV, and Grandma babysat while we explored the ground. GTRV is located at the owner's house, in farm country. We explored all the different vans for sale and got some ideas on what we want to do to our own van in the near future.
Afterwards we went to Korbel winery and took a tour. It turned out to be one of the most fun, imformative tours we've ever taken and liked the champange to much that we joined the wine club at the end. After a breif tasting, we all needed some food in our bellies before getting back on the road. We opted for another picnic at Korbel.
Right at the start of the tour, Ellie began to cry. Not the best place for a crying baby, but it turned out she was hungry and was okay for the rest of the tour. I'm not sure if wine tasting with an infant is in good taste, or how often it happens, but Ellie got a lot of attention from the sommeliers!
We ate dinner at our rental again, but took Ellie for a first time swim before settling in for the night. She loves bath time, so of course she loved the pool, too. The pool water was a little cool for her, so we opted for the jacuzzi instead, which was a better temperature for our infant baby.
Swimming was tiring, and Ellie had a meltdown towards the end of pool time, which last about 20 minutes total. This is Ellie after the pool and a very tragic bath time.
But after a little rest, all was well again.
Mini burgers for dinner
Grandma and Grandpa "watching tv"
The next day we headed straight for home, a 2.5 hour drive. Overall our first trip with Ellie was not only successful, but fun and encouraging It turns out Ellie loves sleeping in the car, and can handle long road trips with minimal issues. We had to make a few unscheduled stops for feedings and diaper changes at times, but nothing too unexpected. Ellie did so well that we immediately began planning future trips, and became excited about what our future would hold.
We made it to Monterey no problem, with only one stop to nurse. We checked into our reasonably priced, very comfortable hotel room for the night, and ventured out to dinner. At this age, we had only had a couple of successful meals out in public with Ellie, so we were all feeling a little on edge. It turned out Ellie loved the busy, bustling sound of Monterey's Fish House, and we were all able to enjoy a delivious seafood meal with a view of our little baby. Mommy was even able to have a glass of wine for one of the first times since delivery!
The next day we had planned to relax by the ocean with our van and a nice day camp, but it was much more windy and cold than we anticipated. We spent the day walking around Lover's Point, Monterey's Fisherman Wharf, and downtown Monterey before heading back to the hotel for free cocktail hour and a sunset walk. Ellie cried the whole way home from our walk, no doubt due to the cold, so we spent the rest of the night huddled inside our hotel in the heat, and enjoyed some illegally boiled pasta with our camping gear.
Ellie was an easy travel companion, she was still sleeping every 1-2 hours for this trip!
h
The next day we headed for San Jose, stopping at a couple of local farms along the way for some artichoke and garlic goodies, and gifts for our friends and family we were visiting. Christy and Chihiro, Eric's childhood friends, had just opened up a bake shop so we stopped by for a visit before dinner at their house for the night. The next day we spent lunch and dinner with Eric's aunt and uncle, and drove around San Jose, the tech capital of the America for a little sightseeing.
A little roadside, unscheduled breastfeeding.
Christy and Chihiro have two adorable kids, Scotty and Bailey. Everyone loved Ellie and we had a great time, as always, with them all.
The next day we ate lunch at a great local Chinese restaurant with Eric's aunt and uncle.
Uncle Ming taught Eric how to make bread & pastries.
Chinese food again for dinner. Ellie cried for about half of the time. We later figured out that she might have been sensitive to the spices in Chinese food restaurants, as she tended to cry in almost all Chinese restaurants. Sorry Ellie!
The next day we left for Sonoma. We rented a nice big vacation rental for two nights to give us plenty of time to check out GTRV, and explore the wine country. We hit a few places on the way into Sonoma before checking into our hotel.
First on the map- Sonoma Portworks
I tried to feed Ellie before going into the winery, but she wasn't hungry. Of course she chose 20 minutes into our tasting to decide she was hungry now. No matter, I can do both!
Next on the map, Cline winery. We didnt actually try the wine here since it was too busy to get inside, but were able to use the picnic area for some snacks.
Next, Jacuzzi winery, owned by the same guy who invented the jacuzzi!
Mommy only tasted the wine at each place since she is still breastfeeding every 1-2 hours, so she was the only one who didnt need a nap while pulled over on the side of the road waiting for Ellie to finish her meal!
We all realized eating in was much easier while traveling with an infant. Much more relaxing for everyone, especially this nursing mother.
The next morning we went to check out GTRV, and Grandma babysat while we explored the ground. GTRV is located at the owner's house, in farm country. We explored all the different vans for sale and got some ideas on what we want to do to our own van in the near future.
Afterwards we went to Korbel winery and took a tour. It turned out to be one of the most fun, imformative tours we've ever taken and liked the champange to much that we joined the wine club at the end. After a breif tasting, we all needed some food in our bellies before getting back on the road. We opted for another picnic at Korbel.
Right at the start of the tour, Ellie began to cry. Not the best place for a crying baby, but it turned out she was hungry and was okay for the rest of the tour. I'm not sure if wine tasting with an infant is in good taste, or how often it happens, but Ellie got a lot of attention from the sommeliers!
We ate dinner at our rental again, but took Ellie for a first time swim before settling in for the night. She loves bath time, so of course she loved the pool, too. The pool water was a little cool for her, so we opted for the jacuzzi instead, which was a better temperature for our infant baby.
Swimming was tiring, and Ellie had a meltdown towards the end of pool time, which last about 20 minutes total. This is Ellie after the pool and a very tragic bath time.
But after a little rest, all was well again.
Mini burgers for dinner
Grandma and Grandpa "watching tv"
The next day we headed straight for home, a 2.5 hour drive. Overall our first trip with Ellie was not only successful, but fun and encouraging It turns out Ellie loves sleeping in the car, and can handle long road trips with minimal issues. We had to make a few unscheduled stops for feedings and diaper changes at times, but nothing too unexpected. Ellie did so well that we immediately began planning future trips, and became excited about what our future would hold.
