Molly & Ben

This is LA!

Backing up just a bit, before hitting LA we stayed at a place between Yosemite and LA for a week in a town called Paso Robles which is kind of by Bakersfield. It was a nice RV park and we really planned on just catching up with work and getting our ultrasound at a nearby hospital. After we found out the gender of our baby coming in Feb, we started brainstorming for announcements.

Luckily, there was a fun little pumpkin patch about 10 minutes away so we did a little photoshoot there.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

There were actually some high school girls there who volunteered to take our picture. It worked out perfectly.

Ok, onto our LA experience. We headed to our next RV park which was about 50 minutes north of LA in a town called Acton. As we pulled in the lobby area, the park looked nice but as we found our site we realized this RV park was on its last leg.

Our RV park was really out of the way and we knew it didn’t have great reviews going into it. However, it was a free place to stay for 2 weeks through Thousand Trails. Once we parked, we knew automatically we didn’t want to stay very long. They didn’t get internet around the park except for two of the lobbies, and my phone didn’t get reception at all. Luckily, Bens’s phone plan is with Verison and he got some reception where we were parked so we could at least do some emails and planning inside the RV.

To make matters a little worse, the RV water and sewage next to use seemed to be shared with the RV that was supposed to leave the next day (according to their sign in the window) but never left.

Getting The Full LA Experience

Something I personally didn’t expect from California was how brown and yellow everything is this time of year. Someone said during our visit “it is the golden state!” which makes more sense now. From memory, California was always really green!

Somehow made it to Friday and headed to downtown LA only to find out there were multiple fires in the surrounding mountains and the main highway to LA was totally blocked off… ugh! The traffic was terrible. It was a huge cluster and so many cars and people trying to figure out what to do. We stopped at a Starbucks for an hour or so of work to hopefully let the traffic and fires die down but no such luck. It felt like no matter what we did all the roads were cut off!

Eventually, we found a little side road through the mountains which could potentially get us there. After an hour of switchbacks, I had to get out of the car to barf. I hate throwing up with a passion. So far LA had not been my favorite.

We finally made it to the city and had planned to go to the Griffith museum but since our arrival was a few hours later than expected, we just headed to The Getty which is a famous art museum.

The Getty

I personally enjoy art. I like reading the stories behind the illustrations and how the artist interpreted ideas or events in history through different mediums. Ben on the other hand just really has a hard time getting into it. He is such a good sport at these things but I could tell he was dying inside. It’s about 30 minutes and he is done.

Venice Beach

• 

• 

We had a bit of time before meeting up with friends so we made a stop by Venice beach! Also known as muscle beach. It wasn’t a long time we spent there but enough to enjoy people watching. Always great to be by the ocean.

Bens High School Friends

A big part of why we wanted to go to LA was to visit Bens highschool friends named Jordan and Blake. These guys have lived in LA for a while so it was fun to see them connect and tell stories about the “good ole days.” Jordan’s wife and Blakes’s girlfriend were lovely and really easy to be around. The kids watched a movie while we all sat around and chatted for a few hours. Meeting new people on the road is one of my favorite things to do.

We decided to stay the night at Blakes as they had a spare bedroom and had a few things planned for that Saturday. We had so much fun, we ended up staying a second night!

Mermaid Linden

Many of you know I work on an affiliate marketing website around the topic of mermaids. It does really well and I enjoy researching the topic and doing reviews on mermaid products. Being in the “industry” you get to know some bigger names and THE mermaid that I have always wanted to meet lives near LA and we went to lunch.

Mermaid Linden is one of the most genuine, sweetest people on the planet. I am so happy about the success she has had in the industry and only wants the absolute best things for her. She is one of the original mermaids who paved the way for so many others. She also really focuses on ocean conservation and education which is what I love. How cool… I was a little star-struck. Thanks so much for hanging out with us Linden!!! You’re a beautiful mermaid inside and out!

L.A Art District

• 

• 

• 

That Saturday night we went downtown and had some Sonoratown tacos which have probably been the best tacos we’ve had on the road since Austin! We walked around and visited the last bookstore, as well as General Market.

We even got to see a set being filmed at night. Not a bad night out on the town!

The Magic Castle

I had never heard of this place before visiting LA. But Ben’s highschool friend, who is an inspiring actor, had a connection to a member and we were able to go. Let me start from the beginning so you actually know what this place is.

The Magic Castle is an old hotel close to the LA Chinese theatre that hosts magicians. It’s this crazy nice old hotel with multiple rooms where magicians perform all throughout the night. You can only get in by being a member or being invited by a member. We were fortunate enough to go and it, for lack of a better word, was magical.

Photography wasn’t allowed so the only pictures we got were outside. There is a dress code and it’s like a black-tie affair so everyone was really dressed up. It gave us a good excuse to get out some of our fancy wear we have been carting around in the RV this whole time and unable to use! You can’t see it but my baby bump looked amazing in this dress.

There is even a secret door that opens with a secret password! Anyway, as you enter the decorations seemed old and fit in well with the holiday theme. There was a “ghost” playing piano all night. I am sure it was connected to a guy in another room but you would ask it to play anything and it did! I requested Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash and he played it!

The place seemed to go on forever with an upstairs and downstairs. There were multiple rooms/stages where professional magicians would perform and THESE GUYS WERE GOOD!

The first room we went to was an up close and personal card magician from Spain. He was super entertaining and did some tricks I had never seen before. I kept trying to figure out how he did it but the talent and skills of these guys really blew me away.

The second room we went to was probably my favorite. It was two different magicians and I could go on and on about the tricks they did but I will save you the time and just tell you my favorite.

One magician took two chicken eggs in his hands and was put into a straight jacket. The trick was supposed to be getting out of the straight jacket and not crack the eggs. He was able to get out but there were no eggs in sight. He proceeded to take out two fully grown chickens out of the straight jacket!!!! I was totally blown away!

The last act was a magician that had music and told lots of stories as he performed. We were sitting in the front row and Ben and I got to help out with a trick. There was some really cool stuff and was fun to see the different styles of performing.

It was about midnight but Sam (the member who helped us get in) had a few tricks of his own! He had been a member for a number of years and was working on some card tricks that were really good! He plans to perform next year but I think he could do it sooner than that!

Ben and I walked away really grateful for the experience. It was so unique to the area. We had never been to a magic show before but really respect the art and would do it again!

Thanks for the good times LA!

Benjamin and I are looking forward to our first child coming in February of 2020.

It’s a Girl!

My birthday is June 8th, and all I really wanted this year was to be pregnant. We had been “trying” since the first of the year and not really sure if we could even get pregnant but June 4th, 2019 rolls around and that was the day we found out we are going to be parents. IE birthday wishes do come true!

We were exploring southern Utah at the time and had planned to keep the RV life going along the west coast until the end of the year and possibly longer. With the new baby on the way, we had a lot to think about.

To spare everyone from all the details, we decided to head up to SLC and find a midwife who was willing to work with a traveling couple. SLC made sense to have the baby there as we both have family in the area, and could use the extra support during that time. We found a great midwife named Heather from Segolilly Midwifery who helped us come up with a game plan for what we needed on the road, and what the monthly check-ins would consist of until we got back to SLC. Throughout the process, she has been extremely helpful and available at all times day or night.

Travel Plans

We’ve kept our original travel plans and had a great time visiting national parks as well as our family and friends throughout Idaho, Oregon, and California. We plan to conclude our adventures before Thanksgiving and plan to be back in SLC the first part of December to get ready for the holidays, and Baby Beck arriving in February.

After some recovery time, we plan to head back down to Austin Texas to settle down as a family. We have honestly loved this adventure and couldn’t have had a better first year of marriage traveling and spending so much time together. We are both lucky, and so excited about this next stage of life.

Here are a few questions you may have!

How has being pregnant on the road been?

Well… I don’t have anything to compare it too but it was rough the first trimester. My mother had 5 kids and said she doesn’t remember getting any morning sickness for any of them! Me thinking my genes would make this stage a breeze, I didn’t anticipate the brutal reality of morning sickness. It wasn’t fun but Ben was a really big help. The worst part was just feeling too hot in certain areas of the country. We do have AC in the RV but it can only do so much. When you feel like you are overheating and there isn’t a place to escape, it can be rough. If we were by a body of water or a pool I would often go take a dip and cool down. There were times I felt like a hot iron being cooled off by water with steam and bubbles coming off my body as I slowly submerged myself (to give everyone a visual).

At nights, I would have a squirt bottle by the bed and Ben, being the amazing husband he is, would squirt water on me which would help cool me off.

As we got into Oregon and near the coast, the weather cooled down and has been really pleasant for the most part.

Why did you keep traveling after finding out about the pregnancy?

Great question… Because we like to do difficult things? This RV life has been a blast and we really were looking forward to exploring the west coast. We figured we would just go for it , and if needed, adjust along the way. It’s been great and I am glad we decided to keep going rather than settling down while the little gummy bear grew.

Did being pregnant limit your life/travel style?

The first trimester I felt really exhausted, slept and gagged a lot. I remember making lists of things to do during the day and if I got two thing done it was a good day. We still went on daily multiple walks, but slower this time. As far as exploring each area, we did take it down a notch as my energy was limited. However, we still enjoyed hiking in places like the Oregon coast, Redwoods, and Yosemite. We even went to the sand dunes and had a blast riding around in a dune buggy! So the answer is yes and no. We still enjoyed every place we stayed but had to be more conscious of energy expenditure.

What about the 20-week ultrasound?

This was the one tricky thing that our midwife was not able to do herself. We contacted a midwife in the area and asked for a one-time appointment and a California referral in the area for a 20-week anatomy scan. We had to wait until week 22 as we were in Yosemite for weeks 20 and 21 but it actually wasn’t that hard. A very nice midwife in Paso Robles named Jennifer who came to our RV and talked for about an hour. The next day we went to the ultrasound and then went over the results with her. That information was relayed to my SLC midwife and added to my chart. So not to bad!

What do your monthly midwife check-ins look like?

Heather has been really helpful, caring, and available to chat/text/email whenever I need. There have been a few times I reached out with questions or concerns and she got back to me within the day. Our monthly chats consist of me giving her my blood pressure (which I test myself in the RV) and questions from me or from her regarding the progress of our baby. She asks things like “have you felt any movement yet?” or “have you experienced blurry vision or dizziness?” sort of stuff.

I really appreciate the personal touch of a midwife. I couldn’t imagine dealing with different Dr’s offices along the way. Everyone is different in the kind of care they like but we have been very happy with our choice.

Any crazy cravings?

The only thing that stands out is I kept craving crappy birthday cake at Yosemite national park. Like the kind of cake you get in a box from the store and the tub of Pillsbury frosting to put on top because you are too lazy to make your own. It seemed like every Netflix show we watched had some form of cake in it that made this craving worse. Eventually, we went to the only gas station nearby and found me some cake. It was delicious.

Any other questions that I missed?

Conclusion

Our RV life has been amazing but we look forward to planting some roots and having a family. We have seen so many places in the USA and seen so many of our family/friends scattered around the world and know this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. We also know we will never run out of amazing places to explore whether it’s here in the USA or abroad. Now we get to have a little one to share the experiences with.

Here we go!

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.” – John Muir

After San Francisco, we stayed midway in a town called Lodi close to Stockton. I was actually nervous because the weather said it was going to be the mid 90s-100s while we were there. Last time it was that hot was in Cloverdale and we were… miserable. Luckily, this place had a pool which we frequented a few times a day for a dip. It’s the small things in life right? Anyway, it wasn’t that bad. I even went into town and got a much-needed haircut.

Yosemite Lake RV Park

The road to the RV park was drivable but nerve-wracking as we drove up the switchbacks. Luckily, its only 5 miles away from the entrance to Yosemite! Of course, we spent the first few days settling in and catching up on work. The weather gets a high of 85, and low into the 50s at night. It’s great 🙂

The only complaint we have is a few days in our first week the internet was extremely spotty. Our year of doing this, only a few parks have had terrible Wifi. I know that’s a super “millenial” thing to complain about, but since we make our living online, it’s a necessity.

Let’s Go To The Park!

On Friday we headed to Yosemite National Park and were really taken back by the huge solid granite cliffs on each side of the valley. Growing up in SLC, I am familiar with huge mountains but these are solid granite! Nature be crazy.

We did a short hike to Bridal Veil Falls which were the only falls in Yosemite valley that had water. It really would have been amazing to see all the snow runoff on the other falls but still a great trip!

Next, we headed to the visitor center, and the parking was packed! We learned about how the mountains were formed and the people that inhabited the area for centuries. After talking with a ranger, we learned that taking the shuttle was the best way to get around so off we went!

Mirror Lake Hike

Again, there wasn’t much water so Mirror Lake was more of a Mirror puddle. It was still a great few mile hikes to see some amazing granite mountain faces! Ben and I really enjoy being outdoors and spending so much time together.

This is actually the bottom of Half Dome. You can’t really tell at this angle but people climb all the way to the top!

After that little hike, we hopped back on the shuttle and made our way to the upper and lower falls of Yosemite. You can see the path of the waterfall but even the marble coloring of the granite is so beautiful.

It’s really hard to portray what it was really like there, but hopefully, these pictures will help!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

After hiking all day, we went into the city of Groveland which is just a small town 30 minutes outside of the park entrance. It was super small but they did have some good burgers!

The next week was mainly work, hiking around the RV park, and I actually ordered a “paint by numbers”. It has satisfied the craft itch so far.

Let’s Go To The Park Again!

The next Friday we decided to go exploring again. This time we went to Glacier’s point which was an hour’s drive from the park. Totally worth it! We drove out to the main point and was surprised by how many people were out. We were not aware that it was “Yosemite Face Lift” day and hundreds of volunteers were helping clean up the park. So cool!

This is Half Dome! There are other smaller domes around the valley but this is by far the largest. It broke in half and the granite was crushed and moved down the valley by the glaciers that carved the deep canyons here.

Next, we headed to Sentenial Dome which is another lookout point of the whole valley. We are definitely not in shape enough to do the half dome hike and this was just a few miles. Still fairly difficult though!

The Beck family all grew up doing gymnastics and now they have handstand contests of doing them in crazy places. This is one of my favorites.

Again, I can’t quite get over how cool these mountains are… Also, how do these trees grow out of pure granite?!!?!?

Thanks, Yosemite, we really enjoyed being here! Next time we will see you in the Spring!

Right by the ocean? Can’t complain about that!

We decided to splurge a bit on this location and stay right on the coast just south of San Francisco called Pacifica. This specific location with our Thousand Trails membership does have a daily cost of $20, however, the prices here for everything else are crazy. It was foggy half the time but we didn’t care. It was SO NICE!

I love opening up the windows in the morning and hearing the constant sound of the waves crashing on the beach. We are able to walk down to the beach, but currently, it’s on a cement pad at the top of a cliff. Great location for whale and dolphin watching!

The weather was really welcomed. We stayed 4 days in Cloverdale Ca which is also known as wine country next to the Russian River. It was ridiculously hot… We thought the river would be easy to access but it really wasn’t. We do have AC, but this old Bay can only do so much when it’s hot outside. Now we just leave the windows open most of the time.

Let’s Get Together!

We met up with some networking people that Ben knows and had a great time. People are very friendly and love their city! It is busy here! It’s almost like Ben and I forgot what a big city felt like. We met at a local brewery and met a bunch of people from the area. I really like how Ben isn’t afraid to connect with other marketers. They are so friendly and do think alike. I talk about my Mermaid Blog and they get all excited. I am not as embarrassed as I usually am to tell them about my niche site. They seem to get it!

A woman named Michelle was a contact of Bens that came over after work and we had a really good conversation. She even invited us over for dinner that Sunday night! We met her two cute kids and husband Arney. What an amazing couple. Thanks so much for having us over!

Oakland Trip

Ben had a work meeting over in Oakland so I came along and went to the Oakland Temple. It was fun to talk with the Sisters and even got some suggestions on where to eat! They recommended Fentons for icecream. I guess it’s a pretty famous place!

• 

• 

Sausalito

Just north of the bridge, we had the chance to spend an afternoon in Sausalito. It’s advertised as a Mediterranean town next to the water. I wouldn’t go that far, but it was a busy place with lots of visitors, shops, and icecream! We walked along and saw some fun stuff but was fine leaving an hour later. There were SO many tourists there.

Hop-On Hop-Off Bus

For our play day, we asked a few locals what to do and they recommended a Big Bus tour that would take you around the city. We actually love these and haven’t done one since Boston MA! We spent all day seeing the sights, going to Pier 39, and crossing the Golden Gate bridge. It’s such a great way to see the city and everything it has to offer.

• 

• 

• 

We ate at a super fancy seafood place in Pier 39. The Clam chowder was super good, and the fish was excellent. We definitely spent the most money on food while we were there. It’s not every day that you get this great of food while on the road! We made our way over to the Fishermans Warf and found ourselves in this odd coin-operated museum. Don’t get me wrong, it was ridiculously fun, but strang at the same time!

I don’t think 2 weeks will really give SF enough time to let its true light shine.

More Food! Sushi and Filipino

Sushi was a MUST for me while in SF. I have been craving it like crazy! A place called Amami Sushi Bistro was recommended to us and wasn’t disappointing. My brother Jason gave me a gift card for my birthday back in June so we used that up. Thanks for the great B-day gift, Jason!

Ben served his mission in the Philippines and was itching to get some authentic Filipino food while in SF. As for me, I wasn’t quite sure what I was in for. He ordered and my dish wasn’t too bad but was extremely filling. It was a noodle-based dish with chicken, sausage, and veg mixed in. Ben said it was what people got for their birthdays because it could feed a lot of people. We splurged and got the Halo-Halo dessert which means “everything mixed up.” Um… I really couldn’t eat it… It had ice cream, black beans, jello something, and even like a potato root mixture… It was expensive so I felt bad but we both agreed it wasn’t very good.

Mermaid Meet Up

During our stay, I contacted the Norcal mermaid group on FB and found that they were doing a meetup and photoshoot at a beach less than 15 minutes from where we were staying! I am never sure what to expect when it comes to these meetups but I am always happy I went. I even met someone who reads my blog! How about that! I’ll post more pictures when I get them.

Moving On

We really enjoyed staying in SF. What a treat to be right next to the beach and enjoy such great food! We are heading toward Stockton CA for a week, then we will be in Yosemite for two whole weeks! Neither Ben nor I have been there so it will be fun to explore.

Making our way south and crossed the California border. Not sure if we expected things to be different but it still very similar to the Oregon coast but the trees have definitely increased in size! Which is exactly what we came for.

Our RV park is right next to the river and pretty bare bones. The internet hasn’t been great which is a bummer and this is really the second place after a year that we couldn’t get great internet. Oh well. Luckily, they have an office within walking distance that is nice which we can work at. Something good that came from this lack of internet is the connection you make. They have a community fire every night at 7 pm which Ben and I have ventured to a few nights and met a fun older couple from San Diego that gave us some great suggestions of what to do in the Redwoods. Also, you should ask us more about John and Gale. They were a pretty interesting old couple.

Klamath Ocean Overlook

One night, we went on a Klamath ocean overlook drive that had some fun historical points along the way. It’s been nice having the coast so close and seeing the ocean. We saw the dark sand beaches and the waves crash against the huge rocks scattered in the water.

Ladybird Johnson Hike

We also took a half-day and the Redwood forest with the Ladybird Johnson hike. We were originally trying to hit the tall trees hike but when we got there, we realized that a permit was needed. It was a blessing in disguise though, we found out later that it was a pretty strenuous hike.

They had a self-guided map with history and information about the Redwoods. These trees are massive and will outlast most things in the world. Some of them are over 1500 years old! They stand fire, termites, floods, and pretty much anything else mother nature can throw at them. It’s more likely a Redwood tree will die from the human intervention than on their own.

Fern Valley

This place was probably the most unique little coastal hike I have ever been on. It wasn’t super easy to get to but it was super worth it! It’s a canyon you can walk through with ferns lining the high walls, and a crystal clear stream going through the center. It felt like a fairy tale. We took our time and absorbed the greenery. There were these little wooden bridges that allowed us to cross the streams. We could have hung out there all day.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Drive-Thru Tree

We also drove through a tree! It only 5 minutes from where we are staying so we ventured there one night. Nothing too spectacular but still fun to say we did it!

Paul Bunion?

This statue is huge and what is going on with his chest hair? We checked out the store but didn’t do the gondola ride. Funny story, we bought a selfie stick so we could take a photo with Paul and his blue bull but the first one we got broke right as it came out of the package. We walked back inside and switched it for another one. The second one, the button didn’t work so we just returned it.

One More Hike

The day before we left, we went and hiked Big Tree Wayside which was just a mix of short hikes around a huge tree. It was exactly what we needed. Just being out in nature and so close to everything was fun.

It was fun to be in such spectacular nature and these trees almost didn’t seem real!

Moving Down The Coast

Currently, we are staying in a place called Cloverdale CA which is about an hour north of San Fransisco. The temperature is in the 90s and we are HOT! It’s just been a 4-day stay-over and we are anxious to get to a bigger town as well as the cooler weather, and the beach.