I'm coming out of blog retirement to say that after several months of researching and now several months of road time, I can heartily endorse the Maclaren Quest as a perfect stroller for a 16-month-old AND a Beetle!
I have no idea why everyone I spoke with, including people at Maclaren, insisted that the Quest's hood did not tilt. We finally ordered the thing, because we liked it, it felt sturdy, it was tall, and it could hold more weight than the bulkier Peg Perego Aria. Then it came...and I shoved the hood forward and now it tilts just like I had hoped it would!
I suspect the screws holding the hood in place are probably looser than they are supposed to be. But it's working for me, and I love this stroller. It's so easy to pop in and out of the Beetle's trunk, and easy to fit other things in the trunk with it.
Baby H has taken two trips to Disneyland now with the stroller, and it's fabulous...it's easy to maneuver, fits into our Prius's trunk packed with luggage, and it can recline so Baby H can take a nap in the park.
It also collapses slim enough that we can not only fit ourselves and our stuff in the car, but also onto the seat of a Disneyland parking lot tram (possibly one of the only vehicles with less roomy seating than the backseat of a Beetle!).
Watching families struggle with lugging their giant strollers onto the tram, and in one case, being forced to prioritize fitting their stroller onto the seat before their kid (!), I was really glad that having a Beetle made me get more "minimalist" in my stroller search. Having a little car can end up saving you the hassles that can come with big "stuff"...even if you might have to have a screw loose to appreciate it!
Showing posts with label road trip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label road trip. Show all posts
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Roadtrip!
We've returned from our "babymoon" roadtrip down and up the California coast. Of course, we had to stop at Disneyland, but it was also really great to get to take a leisurely, scenic route down highways 101 and 1. California is a pretty nice place to live!
We didn't take the more gas-hungry Beetle, but our Prius was about due for a vacation, anyway.
First stop: Monterey and Carmel, for some lunch and frolicking.
First night's destination: Avila Beach.
I'd never even heard of this town before searching for a good stopping point along the coast, but it was tiny and charming. I feel like it's the kind of place we'll go back to in 10 years and it'll be a huge resort destination. For now, though, we found super friendly locals and really good ice cream (mint chocolate chip with Oreo crumbles!).
And we found an awesome hotel: Avila la Fonda. Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies in the lobby's kitchen: Check. Fireplace in room: Check. Giant whirlpool tub and nicer bathroom than mine at home: Check and check. We were off to a good start!
Next stop: Disneyland!
My first New Orleans Square "Courtyard of the Angels" portrait in which I am visibly pregnant. (When we last went in December, the day after I found out I was expecting, you couldn't exactly tell in the photos just yet!)
We spent the weekend in LA, going to some great museums. My favorite was the new Broad Contemporary. It was so playful and non-serious, and even Brad enjoyed the exhibits! (Which is really saying something for a "modern" art museum.)
But I will not post all my pictures. I am too lazy to do that, so I am saving my energy for pictures of our last stop: the incredible, tear-inspiring Ventana Inn at Big Sur.
We knew this would be a pretty nice place. Just look at our Prius's view from the parking lot!
In-room fireplace: Check. Enormous bathroom with window in the shower, to see view of mountains: Check. Kate crying in delight when she sees the upgraded room's view from the private porch and hammock: Check.
Brad figures out how to light a real wood-burning fire. (Hey, we only have a gas fireplace at home!)
Success!
Then, onto one of the highlights (and there were many!) of our one-night stay at the Ventana: my first-ever massage! It was a prenatal massage, involving a very pleasant masseuse, and a whole lot of funny pillows I arranged my body parts in. Plus, the massage room I was in had an ocean view. Sighhhh.
On our last morning of the trip, we strolled the trails winding through nature-y areas on property, and then I went swimming in this pool, which I had all to myself. OK, so it was about 60 degrees outside, but there was no way I had this pool and my pregnancy swimsuit waiting for me without using them! The water was about 80 degrees, so it was really as lovely as it looks.
And then on to home. Thank goodness for a roadtrip!
We didn't take the more gas-hungry Beetle, but our Prius was about due for a vacation, anyway.
First stop: Monterey and Carmel, for some lunch and frolicking.
First night's destination: Avila Beach.
I'd never even heard of this town before searching for a good stopping point along the coast, but it was tiny and charming. I feel like it's the kind of place we'll go back to in 10 years and it'll be a huge resort destination. For now, though, we found super friendly locals and really good ice cream (mint chocolate chip with Oreo crumbles!).
And we found an awesome hotel: Avila la Fonda. Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies in the lobby's kitchen: Check. Fireplace in room: Check. Giant whirlpool tub and nicer bathroom than mine at home: Check and check. We were off to a good start!
Next stop: Disneyland!
My first New Orleans Square "Courtyard of the Angels" portrait in which I am visibly pregnant. (When we last went in December, the day after I found out I was expecting, you couldn't exactly tell in the photos just yet!)
We spent the weekend in LA, going to some great museums. My favorite was the new Broad Contemporary. It was so playful and non-serious, and even Brad enjoyed the exhibits! (Which is really saying something for a "modern" art museum.)
But I will not post all my pictures. I am too lazy to do that, so I am saving my energy for pictures of our last stop: the incredible, tear-inspiring Ventana Inn at Big Sur.
We knew this would be a pretty nice place. Just look at our Prius's view from the parking lot!
In-room fireplace: Check. Enormous bathroom with window in the shower, to see view of mountains: Check. Kate crying in delight when she sees the upgraded room's view from the private porch and hammock: Check.
Brad figures out how to light a real wood-burning fire. (Hey, we only have a gas fireplace at home!)
Success!
Then, onto one of the highlights (and there were many!) of our one-night stay at the Ventana: my first-ever massage! It was a prenatal massage, involving a very pleasant masseuse, and a whole lot of funny pillows I arranged my body parts in. Plus, the massage room I was in had an ocean view. Sighhhh.
On our last morning of the trip, we strolled the trails winding through nature-y areas on property, and then I went swimming in this pool, which I had all to myself. OK, so it was about 60 degrees outside, but there was no way I had this pool and my pregnancy swimsuit waiting for me without using them! The water was about 80 degrees, so it was really as lovely as it looks.
And then on to home. Thank goodness for a roadtrip!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Babymoon roadtrip
Brad and I drove to Southern California on our honeymoon in our Beetle, and, although we hadn't planned on it, it seems that we might be making another road trip...for a "babymoon"!
We had planned a big trip to Paris and the Netherlands...two months before we found out we were expecting a much bigger event! (That would be the baby.) I'd been optimistic about still flying and having a great time on the trip, but in the last month, my doctor's warnings and my own paranoia were really starting to make staying grounded a much more fun option.
Still wanting to take at least a little bit of a vacation before shifting organs make urinating my number-one priority, our solution: give our Disneyland Annual Passes one last workout as a twosome, and take another celebratory drive down south!
We're "planning" on driving down and back up the coast. (I say "planning" because I have a feeling that being "sure" of any "plans" is not really going to mean the same thing ever again!) Our trip will be in the Prius, since the Beetle, as much as I love it, is something of a gas-guzzler. But I hope the Beetle's festive spirit will follow us down the coast.
Of course, I guess that with a babymoon, there isn't a ceremony before you leave, and your friends don't get your car all decked out like for a honeymoon, but that's OK. This time, for this drive to LA, we've already got an extra person cheering us on.
We can be tourists in our own state, right? I've never been to Big Sur before, so I think yes.
We had planned a big trip to Paris and the Netherlands...two months before we found out we were expecting a much bigger event! (That would be the baby.) I'd been optimistic about still flying and having a great time on the trip, but in the last month, my doctor's warnings and my own paranoia were really starting to make staying grounded a much more fun option.
Still wanting to take at least a little bit of a vacation before shifting organs make urinating my number-one priority, our solution: give our Disneyland Annual Passes one last workout as a twosome, and take another celebratory drive down south!
We're "planning" on driving down and back up the coast. (I say "planning" because I have a feeling that being "sure" of any "plans" is not really going to mean the same thing ever again!) Our trip will be in the Prius, since the Beetle, as much as I love it, is something of a gas-guzzler. But I hope the Beetle's festive spirit will follow us down the coast.
Of course, I guess that with a babymoon, there isn't a ceremony before you leave, and your friends don't get your car all decked out like for a honeymoon, but that's OK. This time, for this drive to LA, we've already got an extra person cheering us on.
We can be tourists in our own state, right? I've never been to Big Sur before, so I think yes.
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