When Travel Plans Don't Work Out

This Christmas we were finally planning to do a little traveling again. Since we just had a baby 4 months ago, we have been home more than ever before. Like last year, we wanted to drive to Southern California and spend Christmas with my husband's family. After Christmas we planned to drive somewhere to have a little vacation, but one plan after another has been ruined. We will see, if we ever get out of the house this Christmas. 

THE FREEWAY IS BURNING

The freeway is literally burning this year. Wildfires are everywhere in California, two of them are on our route. The fire has jumped from the other side of the road to another, and is now burning on both sides. I hope they won't have to close any of the roads or we might not be able to go anywhere.

A CRUISE TO MEXICO - NO BABIES, THANK YOU!

Then I got an awesome idea for the days between Christmas and New Years! We could jump into a cruise ship in Long Beach and visit Mexico. On our way there, the cruise ship will stop at Catalina Island where I have never been. A cruise sounded so fun, plus it is always easy with kids and strollers. But after I started to read the fine print of buying a cruise, I found out that they won't take babies under 6 months onboard. I never found out why that is, but that ruined another plan of ours.

NATIONAL PARKS SURROUNDED BY WILDFIRES

The next idea was to visit some national parks, since I am an enthusiastic national park explorer. There are two on the California coast that I have not yet visited; the Santa Monica Mountains and Channel Islands. But what else could have ruined this plan but another wildfire? I had been thinking about either glamping or staying the night in a teepee in Santa Paula. But that is exactly where the Thomas Fire is and I'm not sure if this camping area even exists anymore. I hope the fire hasn't destroyed it. 

SOLD OUT MADONNA INN

Then we decided to look into cutting our drive in half and staying the night in the Madonna Inn in San Louis Obispo. The hotel is famous for it's rooms each having a different theme, and the whole building being very kitchy. I have stopped there a couple of times, and even the restrooms in that place are famous. The men's urinal is built as if it was a waterfall, and you can often run into some ladies in the men's room trying to take a picture of the urinal. 

We have often talked about staying the night in the Madonna Inn and now would have been a perfect opportunity for that. Especially since we are driving with a baby and this would have made the drive easier. But who knew that a place like the Madonna Inn would be full booked during the holiday season. Sigh!

We have no idea where we will end up; only time will tell. On the morning of our drive, we still have to check that all the roads are open, and we are able to make it without detours. I will also be checking the air quality in different places. Could you believe that here in Silicon Valley, they even have an app for that too?! So our plans are still on the table! Even the best plans don't always work out.

Have you ever had travel plans that didn't work out?