January is almost over....

I HATE January. Seriously, I despise the entire month. It is dreary and cold, I end up spending way too much time inside and not enough in the sun. I get depressed and cranky. This January especially sucked because Scott was gone for most of it. Since I knew that was coming, I filled the weekends with places to go and people to see to make it go that much quicker.

We spent the first weekend with Pamme in Asheville. That is one of my most favorite places to go. We can have an adventure or spend the entire weekend in our pajamas and it is always a good time. We did a little of both by going snow tubing at wolf's den. That was our first tubing experience and it was the perfect place for the kids to get the hang of it. We also got to eat at Early Girl which is one of my favorite places to eat in Asheville.

The next weekend we spent Saturday night at my parent's house. I went out with a friend for dinner and to karaoke while my parents took the kids to a movie.

On the 21st, Scott finally came home from China. It was really weird to have him here and be sleeping next to another person again. He didn't stop snoring while he was gone. :)

We went to West Virginia over the weekend. We spent Saturday at the state capital in Charleston and then visited the New River Gorge National River and surrounding areas to get 3 more park stamps in our passport. Sunday was Boy Scout Day at Winter Place and we had a great time learning to ski. None of us had ever been before and it was a great experience for all. One weird note, I ran into my high school boyfriend that I had not seen in about 13 years. That was very strange.

This weekend is Lorelei's birthday and we are headed to the circus tonight. Lorelei's friends are coming over for a dress up party on Saturday and Sunday we will be hosting the families. At least the month ends on a high note with that celebration. Hopefully February will leave us in higher spirits.

January 7, 2009

We are doing good despite Scott being gone. With all of his traveling, we have gotten used to a week without him. The trouble will come when we hit next week and he is still not here. We have been video chatting on Skype this week which is pretty cool. He did give me a cold before he left which means once again, we will all be sick while he is gone. Lorelei got it today. She was tired and lethargic at school and now has a fever. Hopefully it will be gone before we go to Asheville this weekend. Luke will probably have it on Friday and we won't be able to go.
I have uploaded some more photos to FLICKR tonight. I tried to be selective and just get the highlights because 775 pictures takes a lot of space.
That's all for now. I am changing my settings so you should be able to post comments. I may have to switch blog sights because I keep having problems with it. We'll see.

Yop, We are here, we are here, we are here.

Thursday, the 1st of January, was again foggy and cold. We hopped on the bus so that we could go to Golden Gate Park for the morning. We visited the Japanese Tea Garden which was really beautiful and walked around the park to the Children's Playground. The kids had a great time playing and riding the Carousel. We had hoped to go to the Conservatory of Flowers but being a holiday, it was closed. After a few hours at the park, we were cold and tired so we walked up Haight street to Ashbury to see the former 1960's glory days. If we had more time, I could have spent a half a day in the shops. But we only had late checkout until 2pm and we needed to get back to the hotel.
We got all of our stuff together and took a taxi to the hotel near the airport. The plan was just to hang out and watch TV. This is a total treat for the kids. Our TV is almost never on at home and I refuse to have cable because it is a vast wasteland of brainlessness. So the kids (and Scott) were very excited to spend a few hours watching TV. There was a Mythbusters marathon on Discovery channel and we watched several episodes of that. We ordered pizza and salads for delivery and had a picnic on the beds. We had to be up at 4 am to catch the plane to get home. The kids were ready.
Friday went off without any trouble although there were the annoyances of flying a non-stop flight and I will say that I will do my absolute best to NEVER fly Delta again. They had the longest check-in line everywhere we went. When we arrived in Atlanta, Lorelei said " Land ho!" which gave us a good laugh. We landed in Charlotte around 5:15 PM East Coast time and were ready for real food because we had been off schedule all day. We stopped at my parents house to pick up Cherokee and they had KFC and sweet tea waiting for us. It was great! We were finally home around 9pm and the kids finally got to have Santa. They were up until 10:30 and Luke had still not opened all of his presents. We promised they could play the rest of the weekend.
Saturday, Scott Luke and I all slept until 9 and we had to wake Lorelei up at 10:15 so we could eat. There is literally nothing in our fridge. We had also promised that we would go see the Adam Sandler movie Bedtime Stories. So we headed to Waffle House for Breakfast at 11:30 and hit the first showing at the movie theatre. It was an excellent movie. We then went home because Lorelei wanted her bunk beds re-stacked and we still had laundry to do and Christmas decorations to take down. Normally those are gone the day after Christmas because they have been up since Thanksgiving but we were more than a little delayed. We spent the afternoon trying to get things back in order and at least had the tree down and ornaments put away before we went to bed at midnight. The floor is covered in toys and clothes but that will have to wait. Scott had all of his stuff packed and ready to go.
So it is now Sunday at noon and Scott is on his way to China - Shanghai and Hong Kong and some other place that I would butcher if I actually tried to spell it. He woke me up before he left at 4. Luke crawled into bed at 7:30 this morning and we slept until 9. I again had to wake Lorelei up for breakfast. 6:30 is going to hurt tomorrow morning. Scott will be gone for 18 days which is the longest he has ever been away from the kids and the longest time that we have spent apart in about 13 years. We will be talking on Skype a lot which should be interesting. At least with the kids help, I have been able to get the house clean this morning and I am on the last of 5 loads of laundry. I still have to go grocery shopping this afternoon.
So I did wan tot summarize some of the things we saw in California:
1)More cattle than anyplace else we have been.
2) Groves and groves of oranges and grapevines.
3) Lots of grafitti, everywhere, which is sad to me.
4) If you live in San Francisco, you don't need a car because the public transportation is great (and not scary). AND, you would be way less fatter, which is a bonus since the food was so good.
5) Speaking of food, it is expensive out there. It cost us 22 dollars to eat at Mcdonald's where at home it costs aout 13.
6) I am a damn fine travel planner, we went with $2500 cash for all of our expenses except for the few hotel rooms we didn't have on reward points (a benefit to Scott's travel) and the rental car and we came home with $62. Not too shabby if you ask me.
7) My kids have a serious souvinir addiction. Every where we went they wanted to buy a souvinir (we didn't let them). Hopefully the 775 pictures will be enough to help them remember.
So now, we have our favorites:
My three favorite places we went:
Sequoia - this was the best National Park we have been to so far. The snow made it soo glorious. Just the most serene and beautiful place I have been.
Monterey Pennisula - Not so much the commercial parts but there would be so much to love about this area. The food was good. The whale watching was awesome and you can probably do it from the coast in some places. The sunsets were awesome and the area was a place I could see myself living.
Muir Woods and Yosemite in a tie - we didn't get to explore quite as much as we would have liked due to time and weather but these forests, valleys and craggy mountains are a place I feel at home.
So obviously from their responses, adults and kids take home different things on their trips but hopefully we are laying a foundation. Here are the kids favorites in no particular order.
Luke's 3 favorite: The pool at Tenaya Lodge; Snow, snow, snow; Children's playground
Lorelei's 3 favorite: Butterfly grove, The pool at Tenaya Lodge, Children's playground
Scott's 2 favorite that I know are Sequoia and whale watching
So that's the end of our trip but not the end of the blog. I have enjoyed writing and have had several people tell me htat they enjoyed reading so I am going to keep blogging about all of the regular things that we do. I apologize for the typos and some of the poor wordings but I don't edit as I am writing and am not really that big on proof reading. So if you are interested check back in on us.

Happy New Year Dec 31, 2008

We had tickets to Alcatraz this morning at 9 am. We caught the trolley car and made our way over to the pier. We waited in line to board the ferry. This morning San Francisco was covered with a thick blanket of fog which left the airr feeling very cold. We boarded the ferry and sat there talking while we waited to leave. One of the things that Scott and I love to do is people watch. Scott likes to study faces and sort of classify them in categories. As he was people watching he spotted someone that he knew. He kept thinking, I know that person and he said to me that guy looks like someone famous, who is it? I turned and saw Dylan McDermott in a cheesy baseball hat and high end sunglasses with his expensive leather coat collar turned up. He was totally conspicuous reading the New York Times. We got a little star struck and even looked up his picture on my phone to be sure. He was with a VERY skinny waif girl in designer jeans, not that I am judging or anything. Anyway, he was headed to Alcatraz with us and when we unloaded Scott stepped p next to him and said "so I can't help but notice, you bear a striking resemblance to Dylan McDermott" and Dylan turns and smiles and says "some people would definitely consider that a compliment" and they both smiled and we left Dylan to his privacy. Now, I love to read a good People magazine and I confess that TMZ is a guilty pleasure so over the course of the next hour and half we ran into him about 4 times and rode the same ferry back to the docks and we got a little giddy. Scott had taken a picture of him with his phone before he knew it was really him. We admit that this a little stalkerish but it was a really cool thing to happen. Alcatraz was very creepy. The morning fog probably made it more so and one of the creepiest parts was the echo of the recreation yard. You could imagine never being alone in that prison. They had an author who had been in prison there from 1959 to 1963 for bank robbery and his direct comment to me was "it was hell on earth". We got our 11th passport stamp for the trip!!
So after our tour, we went ate lunch at Fisherman's Wharf and then made our way up to the Powell - Hyde cable car turnaround for another ride. We rode to the Cable Car museum which while really a neat thing for adults was "boring" to the kids. We made them suffer through while we looked at the exhibits and then caught the Powell Mason line to within two blocks of our hotel. The kids are tired of walking and seem to be needing more rest over the last couple of days. So we watched a movie in the hotel room and then went to Boudin at the Wharf for an early dinner. Scott had the Trout and I had a crab cake sandwich with avacado and a salad. There has got to be nothing better than a crab cake on sourdough bread. Heaven on earth! We ate the whole basket of sour dough bread they brought to the table (me and Scott, the kids don't like it). We then bought Sourdough bread in the shape of a turtle for snack tomorrow morning. Next we headed back to Ghirardelli square for another sundae and Luke had a cookie that must have weighed a pound. We then caught the bus back to the hotel to repack and hang out. Tomorrow is sort of a free day to spend in Golden Gate Park and see a few other things we want to see before we head to the hotel near the airport for a travel day on Friday.
We won't be awake to see the clock turn from 2008 to 2009 so we hope all of you have a very Happy New Year celebration.

December 30, 2008

We got up early again this morning. I am getting at least 8 or 9 hours of sleep every night which is way more than I get at home. We were in the Muir Woods parking lot at 8:30. We were so early they weren’t collecting any fees and the visitors center wasn’t even open yet. We grabbed a map and stared along the path to the Cathedral Grove. These coastal redwoods are amazing things. They can grow much taller than the Sequoias we saw in the mountains but now nearly as big around. The air is cold inside the forest and we had trouble taking pictures because the flash made it look like you were standing in the dark and no flash made the pictures unclear. We did get a few good shots though. We were pretty much all alone in the forest and in some places it was eerily quiet. The cathedral grove did seem to be a place where silence is louder than a yell and a weird thin happened with the picture we took there. Scott says it is the spirit of the forest. Hopefully I will be able to post that one here. As we were leaving we noticed how many people were coming in to visit and we were very thankful that we had once again had a park to ourselves. It would definitely not have been the same experience. We drove back towards San Francisco, stopping at the Marin Headlands to get some good shots of the bridge.
Our original plan was to drive down the curvy part of Lombard street on the way back to return our rental car but we felt like we had been there and done that through out the whole trip and we were over it. Luckily we were able to check into the hotel early. We unloaded and the kids and I got everything to the room while Scott took the car back. We ate lunch and were once again on foot/public transportation.
Since the day was once again sunny and warm enough for just long sleeves, we walked from the hotel down to the Hyde Street Pier and the Maritime Museum for another park stamp. We were told that there was a visiting sailing ship here because the Baclutha which is normally here was out for a paint job. They were having an open house and this really did turn out to be a treat. One of the crew members who had sailed the ship up from the L.A. area was on board and gave us a full tour. She answered all of Luke’s questions and even gave the kids handmade ropes for swabbing the deck. We had stayed well past our welcome, they had roped off the entrance while we were still on board, but it was a neat experience. We toured a few of the other boats and the kids had noticed that there were people swimming beside the pier. They really wanted to play in the sand so we went down to Aquatic park and they played on the beach with bare feet. The water was cold!After playing for a while, we made our way back to the hotel to shower and change clothes. We had dinner reservations at Il Fornaio. This was one of the restaurants that the guidebooks for San Francisco had recommended. I love Italian food! The olive and rosemary bread was heavenly and the olive oil to dip it in tasted so great. Scott had the lobster and crab ravioli with a shrimp and lobster bisque. The shrimp was so fresh and tender it was incredible. I had the chicken with a white wine sauce and sautéed vegetables. The chicken was so tender and juicy and the sauce was great on everything on the plate. We also had dessert, I had a dense sponge cake topped with bananas and strawberries, Lorelei picked a peach sorbet covered in a cream sauce with strawberries (it was way better than what I had picked) and Scott had some kind of apple and ice cream concoction. We left feeling satisfied but not stuffed. I would definitely eat there again but only for a special occasion because it was probably the most expensive family meal we have ever had. We rode the muni back to the hotel and spent an hour watching tv before bed. Alcatraz tomorrow, can’t wait.

December 29, 2008

We got up and left Monterey at 8 am. We needed to stop at Walmart to return the tire chains we did not use and re-supply our snack bag. That was the emptiest Walmart I have ever been in and the cashier actually wished up Happy New Year. It was like being somewhere completely foreign, but I digress.
We also needed to get our outdoor supply store fix because Scott had promised Luke he would get him a pocket knife so we stopped in to an REI store between San Jose and San Francisco. And of course, along the way someone sang “do you know the way to San Jose?”, bet you can’t guess who? We also bought lunch at Subway to go with the plan that we would go to Muir Woods and then have a little picnic. We had to drive through San Francisco to get to Marin County and we were excited about crossing the Golden Gate Bridge but as we later found out after out 20 minute trip became about an hour, the 101 was down to 1 lane for no good reason. Doesn’t Caltrans know that I have a plan? So we ate the sandwiches in the car while we were sitting in traffic and postponed Muir Woods until Tuesday morning because we really wanted to make it to the lighthouse at Point Reyes that closed at 4:30. We drove across the bridge and the weather was pretty good although there was a little fog. We then hit the California 1 again which is pretty much curvy all the way from Mill Valley to the lighthouse which is a little over an hours drive. Luckily the sun was shining and we could roll the windows down. We stopped at the Bear Valley visitors center for a bathroom break and a map. This is also the site that was the epicenter for the 1906 earthquake that caused the fires that destroyed most of San Francisco. I can just hear some of my piglet friends cringing at that one. So we followed Sir Francis Drake Boulevard through the park which lines the San Andreas Fault Zone and passed still more cows. I have seen more cows in California than I have seen in my whole life in NC. The fog was a thick as pea soup as we came over the mountains and we wondered what kind of view we would have. We found the parking area and started the hike (on a pathway) up to the lighthouse. It’s about .4 miles to the visitors center and then down a LONG flight of stairs to the actual light house. Just as we neared the visitors center, the sun began to show and the fog lifted. We read the warning sign about the strenuous stair climb and went down anyway. The view of the ocean crashing on the cliffs below was awesome and we listened to the ranger talk about the light and old technology vs. new technology for the lights and the fog horn. We had an amazing view of the ocean. It really felt like you were at the end of the earth. I can not imagine how hard it would have been for life as a lightkeeper in that place. Very lonely I would think. Of course since we came down the stais, we had to go back. There are 308 stairs that rise the equivalent of a 30 story building to get back up to the visitors center. I was so proud of the kids because they did it without complaining and by themselves. I did pass several people who asked if Luke belonged to me and to me and told me how he kept saying “must keep going” and Lorelei was telling people there were only 100 stairs because she got tired of counting and that’s where she stopped. Most of you are not collecting National Parks passport stamps but if you were, you would be incredibly disappointed to know that at Point Reyes, you get the same stamp no matter which visitors center you go to. In a lot of parks, each visitors center is different. I mean, if you climbed those 308 stairs, you would want some kind of recognition right? We left just as another fog bank was rolling in.
We stopped in Olema and ate at the Farm House Restaurant. This place has been around since 1857 and Olema has a population of about 60 people so you can definitely tell locals from visitors. However, I can say without a doubt, that I had the best crab cakes I have EVER eaten as this restaurant. We ordered the crab cakes appetizer and I ordered the macaroni and a salad as my meal. The crab cakes were so good we ordered another serving. The macaroni was made with local cheeses and the salad was covered in best pomegranates I have ever tasted. A great meal! It was dark after dinner and we took that winding road back to Mill Valley to reach our hotel. Not a fun experience with a full belly and dark roads but we had another great day and we were content.

December 28, 2008

It’s Sunday morning and a beautiful sunny day. We got up late considering the other times we have been getting up on this trip. Our whale watch trip began at 10 so we got up around 8 and ate breakfast taking out time and enjoying the morning. Scott and I took 1 pill each of Dramamine and gave the kids a half pill each around 9 to prevent any sea sickness. We hung out on the pier until it was time to board. Although the morning was sunny, there was a little breeze and we had our heavy jackets for the cold. Once the boat started and we were off to the deep sea, the kids were very excited and stood at the rails with the wind in their faces waiting to see something. We passed the coast guard jetty and saw the sea lions sunning themselves and listened to all of their barking. About 45 minutes from the dock, a whale had been spotted by another boat and we moved into position to follow it. The kids were beginning to get cold so Scott took them into the cabin and they watched out the windows. We watched as over and over again that same whale came up for air. We probably stayed with that one for about an hour. It was really cool to watch and it was really close to our boat. The captain decided to leave this spot and head to another spot to see if we could find anything else. Along the way, there was a pod of Risso’s dolphins that we watched jumping in the water. By this time, Luke had apparently been affected by the Dramamine and was fast asleep in the cabin of the boat. After watching the dolphins, a fishing boat had told our captain that they were catching a ton of jumbo squid so we went over to take a look. Lorelei and I watched as they brought 2 squid up onto their boat. We returned to port after about 3 hours. The company that we used was great and they had a marine biologist on board who would come around and answer any questions you had which was really cool.
It was about 1:30 when we got back and despite snacks on the boat, the kids were starving. We drove over to the Aquarium and ate lunch at their food court. I would definitely recommend doing the aquarium in the morning and the whale watching in the afternoon because the boat ride was cold and the aquarium was CROWDED. We made our way around the aquarium which was definitely one of the best ones we have been to. I would say that our favorite exhibit was the one where you get to touch the different sea creatures. On the east coast, these are always filled with horse shoe crabs, a few very small starfish and a few other things. This one had Abalone, which had just been on the Dirty Jobs episode we watched on the plane (we love that show!). It also had 2 types of starfish, a decorator crab, sea kelp and a few other things that I have never seen before. Luke had a great time touching those things. We left the aquarium about 4:30 which was too early for dinner but too late to do anything of significance. The guidebooks had all said that Pacific Grove which is right next to Monterey has a great park where lots of butterflies come. We went over to the park but didn’t see any. And they call it Butterfly Town, USA! We still had some time so we drove down to Asilomar State Beach. We parked on Sunset Rd. and went down to check out the rocks and sand. The cove where we parked had a lot of craggy rocks which Scott and Lorelei had a great time climbing. Luke looked along the beach for rocks and shells to take as souvenirs and I took the last of the pictures before my camera battery died. We watched the sun set over the ocean which was really beautiful and then headed back to the car for dinner.
We drove the short distance to the town of Carmel-By-the-Sea where Clint Eastwood has an Inn and Restaurant. Our goal was the Mission Ranch Restaurant. We arrived about 5:30 and were told there was a 30 minute wait for indoor tables but if we preferred to sit under the outdoor heaters we could be seated right away on the patio. We took the patio seating because we were hungry. It wasn’t too bad outside and there was a great view of the last of the fading light of the sun at the horizon. I had the best meal I have had since we have been here. Free range half a roast chicken, mashed potatoes and buttery steamed broccoli. The heaters were ok and if the kids had on their heavy coats instead of hoodies and the breeze had not picked up during dinner, they would have been very toasty. We had noticed as we entered the town that there were no streetlights. From the patio of the restaurant, we could understand why. Just looking up at the sky, there were so many stars. Orion’s belt was low in the sky and you could see it and all of the other stars around it so clearly. We left dinner and went back to the hotel for the night. It had been an exciting day and we were tired.

December 27, 2008

This morning we were again up at 6 so that we could eat breakfast and be out the door at 7:45. Scott and I slept really great and were ready to go. We took the 41 all the way to Hwy 1 and saw Morro Rock which we had not had time for the day before. We drove the rest of the way to Hearst Castle, enjoying the scenery of the pacific along the way.
We enjoyed our 2 hour tour of Hearst Castle despite the fact that most of it was outside and it was only 50 degrees. The outdoor pool was really spectacular. The kids thought it was really funny that all of the statues were naked, and Luke decided to point it out during a photo. It was amazing to see how much money one person can spend filling up a house especially when you consider that they only lived here about 3 months out of a year. The views of the ocean were awesome and the castle was still decorated for Christmas, not as wonderfully as the Biltmore but the still very nice. The kids were hungry and we ate lunch as soon as we finished our tour.
About 4 miles North of the castle is the Elephant Seal Rookery. The babies are being born this time of year and we got to see babies and parents sleeping on the beach. One male woke up and snorted at us. They smelled bad but it was fascinating to see the large creatures up close.
We hopped back in the car with plans to stop at Jade Cove to walk on the beach but the kids were tired and the winding road and ocean breeze made them fall asleep. They both slept for over an hour and we missed all of the stops in the state parks and Big Sur that we had planned to make. We stopped just north of the Bixby Bridge so I could take a few pictures and they woke up. The drive was curvier than we had anticipated and it was strange to see that most of the way, there were no beaches just rocky cliffs that dropped into the ocean. Every once in a while we would hit a patch of trees that came out of nowhere but most of the time it was rocky barren mountains. We did see a few sections where fires had burned everything on the hillsides and we passed more than one area where there were signs for rock slides. At one where there were fences and wires to hold the rocks back, we had just commented on how menacing those fences looked when we heard a rock hit the roof of our car. The kids did not wake up but it sounded hard and when we arrived at the hotel this afternoon, there is a new dent on the top of the car. Let’s hope the rental car company doesn’t notice.
We drove through Pebble Beach and took some pictures at the lone Cypress tree. Then we checked in at the hotel for some down time. We went down to Cannery Row, which is cool and annoying all at the same time. The buildings are cool because they are the original cannery buildings but they are now filled with all kinds of tourist junk shops. We had to go to say we had been there and we ate dinner at Louie Linguini’s. The food wasn’t bad and the sour dough bread was good.
We then came back to the hotel so the kids could have play time. Lorelei said at dinner that she misses home. I think she mostly misses her toys and stuffed animals. We are hitting the sack early tonight and will actually be able to sleep in tomorrow morning before we go on our whale watching excursion.

Another Great Day 12-26-08

We got up at 6 am this morning so that we could be at the entrance to Sequoia by 7:30. We had a good breakfast of waffles and cereal in the hotel lobby and loaded up to go. It was sunny outside and we were excited that we would not have to drive in bad weather.
About 6 miles into the park we had to put on our tire chains. We were the only people going up at that time of the morning and there was a lot of ice. We really are pros at the tire chains now and I had mine on before Scott did. There were a few clouds as we passed through the upper elevations but the views of the valleys were nice. Our goal was the Giant Forest Museum and the General Sherman tree. As we entered the Giant Forest, we were struck by so many big trees it was breathtaking. To see the trees in the summer would really be something but Scott and I both thought that to see them covered in snow has to be way better. We got to the Giant Forest Museum parking lot before the museum opened. The parking lot had been plowed to about 4 inches of snow but the walkways were covered. The kids were excited to play despite the fact that it was 11 degrees outside. We bundled them up and they played in the drifts. I had to rescue Lorelei from a snowball to the face and when I stepped to where they were, I sunk to the middle of my thigh. It had to have been at least three feet in some places and where there were drifts along the roadway, the snow was over the kids heads. The rangers finally arrived at the museum at 9 and they found out that they had no power. It was 37 degrees inside the building. They allowed me in long enough to stamps our passports. They can't open the museum without power because the bathroom pumps won't work. But they were still plowing sidewalks as we jumped back in the car to head to the General Sherman tree. Lorelei had somehow managed to get snow in her boot and as soon as she was in the car every article of snow clothing came off.
We drove to the General Sherman tree. This is the tree that everyone sees pictures of when they see a Sequoia. 103 feet in diameter, 36 feet across and over 250 feet tall. There was a little hike up to the tree. Lorelei refused to go no matter what and Scott did not have boots. I took a look at the trail and there were others who had been before us so I knew I could step in their footprints and not sink to my knees. I told Scott I was going to take the hike and Luke wanted to come too. So he and I trudged up the path to the tree. It was amazing to be next to the largest living thing on the planet. A guy at the tree took our picture and we hiked back down the path. My jeans were frozen up to the middle of my calf so I grabbed a warm pair of pants for the drive back down the mountain. We took bathroom breaks and stopped for a few more pictures of the big trees. Since it still seemd like we were the only ones in the park, it was really like being close to God when you stopped and there was no sound among all those Giants. My favorite park so far! On the way down, we rounded the corner and there was a Coyote! We stopped and it came around my side. I took a few pictures and it went around the back of the car. Lorelei and Scott watched as it went down the drivers side. We realized it was begging for food and was not at all afraid of people as it came back across the front of the car to the passenger side. None of us has ever seen a Coyote and to see it so close was awesome. When he realized he wasn't getting any food from these people he disappeared up the road behind our car. We continued down the curvy roads of the park. These were also some very tight turns like the 245 from the day before. The sun had been shining for hours now and all of the ice we had on the way up was melting. We were also starting to see traffic coming up the mountains. It was completely worth being up early to have the park to ourselves. We also commented on how awful it would be to share the park in the summer with the crowds that must come. As we rounded another corner, Scott yelled out deer. There was a deer headed across the road and straight up the mountain. We stopped as another deer came across the road and as I turned to look down the mountain two more were looking up to see if it was ok to cross. We stopped and another 2 joined the herd as they headed up the mountain face. They stopped and we got a few shots of them as well. We have been that close before when we were in Shenandoah but to see them charge up the hill was lovely. A short time later, we removed our tire chains for the last time and drove out of the park. There was a line coming in and we were glad that we had the quiet serene experience of the park to ourselves.
We stopped for lunch and gas in Visalia and made the trek across California. Once again we were in the land of orange groves which strikes us as so odd given that the mountains and feet of snow are so close. Shortly after we joined CA 48 from CA 198, we passed the California Aquaduct. We had noticed we were driving towards mountains again whic seemed so odd. We are so used to NC with is coast, piedmont and mountains that it seems strnage to think of mountains, dessert/plains and then mountains again. Of course these were not the rocky sierras. The were more like rolling hills. They were covered in cattle ranches and grapevines and looked more like wrinkled sheets. We were contniually surprised and wondered what it must have been like for those first settlers who crossed the Sierras and thought yes, we are back on flat land to run into the rolling mountains. And once they crested the first one, viewed another set just beyond the valley. Over and over and over again we were surprised by those hills. Although there were no trees on most of them, there was a sort of beauty to those hills. The tapestry of California really is beautful.
We were aiming for Pismo State Beach and the Monarch Butterfly Grove. Every winter these moarchs migrate from Canada and come to rest in the trees as Pismo. As we rolled into Pismo, we finally saw what we had been hoping for. The Pacific. The first time we had laid eyes on the other side of the United States. We had not made it far enough on our short first days in San Francisco. The coastline was more like cliffs and not a beach which is a hard concept to grasp and the rocks just off the shore in the water were a sight to see. We reached the grove around 3:45 and saw a few of the butterflies. Unfortunately they are most active when the sun warms them around 11 am. It was really cool to look up into the trees and see what look like leaves but are really butterflies. Some of them were still hanging around on the ground and we watched them flutter. There were a few dead ones and the kids enjoyed feeling their soft wings and investigating their shapes.
We headed back out on Hwy 101 for dinner and our hotel. We had a nice private dinner at an IHOP. We were literally the only people in there. We then checked in to our hotel for a little down time and LAUNDRY. There is only one set of washers and dryers so I will be downstaris a while washing a weeks worth of 4 people's clothes. But at least I had plenty of time to write this entry and can check the weather and a few other internet things. Tomorrow we head up the Big Sur Coast on Hwy 1 with our first stop at Hearst Castle. Final destination is Monterey.

The strangest Christmas Ever 12-25-2008

At 6 this morning we woke up to Luke saying "can we open presents now?" We got up and they opened the few gifts my Dad shipped to the Lodge. They had fund playing with their gifts while we packed up. We discovered that it had snowed at least a foot over night and it was still coming down. We knew we needed to get moving because we didn't know how bad the roads would be between Yosemite and Kings Canyon/Sequoia. We ate breakfast at the Deli and bought lunch for the road. The snow was up to Scott's knee in a few places as he removed snow from the windows and the snow bank in the parking lot that had built up behind our car from the plowing took several tries to get over. None of us have EVER experienced this much snow. It truly was amazing. As we were leaving we passed some one who told us the road into Yosemite was closed and the snow was still falling.
About 10 miles South of the hotel, the roads cleared and the weather turned to rain. We removed the snow chains which we now have become pros at. We continued the drive to Fresno where the weather turned from rain to sun. We changed highways and stopped for snacks and gas then headed to Kings Canyon. The park road from Kings Canyon through to Sequoia is closed which meant we had to decide if we still wanted to head to Kings Canyon and then take a major detour to get to Wuksachi Lodge in Sequoia. We decided we had to go because when would we ever get to again. The drive wasn't bad but again the weather turned to rain as we went down the empty CA Hwy 180. As we neared the park and got back to about 4500 ft, we once again needed the snow chains. As we got near the park entrance there was a ranger checking for tire chains. He asked us where we were going and we told him Grant Grove. That's where the General Grant Sequoia and a whole grove of Sequoia's is. When we asked about the roads, he said they were bad and getting worse. The he said "Good Luck". That left us feeling a little ominous. As it turns out, the feeling was warranted. When we arrived at the visitor center, it was like a blizzard had hit. The snow was more like ice pellets and it stung your eyes. We stopped in to the heated bathrooms and then toured the visitor center. Of course while we were in there, the power went out. A tree had apparently hit the power line/building in the Village. We paid our entrance fee, got our map and took the road down to the Grant Grove parking area. It was a short hike into the Grove to see the General Sherman tree. The kids looked like Ralphie's brother in A Christmas Story with the scarves and hats and gloves we had them in. Scott and I did not buy ski bibs for the trip and our jeans were literally frozen by the time we finished our hike. Scott had to carry Lorelei on his shoulders most of the way and I piggy backed Luke for part of it. The trees were amazing and you can not even capture their size on film. After the hike we ate lunch in the car while we thawed out and then decided we needed to get out of their because the snow was just CRAZY!
Since we had to take a detour from our original route, we debated between the CA 245 and the CA 63. The CA 245 was 15 minutes shorter than the 63 and we felt like we might have a better chance of not having to take the snow chains off. Just because we were getting good at them doesn't make us less lazy. That road turned out to be a MISTAKE. I think the 245 is the curviest road in California. Picture Hwy 9 in North Carolina. All of those switchbacks going through Chimney Rock towards Asheville. Now, fill up 30 MILES, yes, I said 30 miles of switchbacks. We had to roll the windows down to keep from getting sick. The wether went between pouring rain, sunny and then hail. By the time we had finally gotten off of that road, we were nearly insane. It was the kind of drive where EVERYTHING becomes really funny, even when it's not.
We were finally on CA 198 headed towards Sequoia and it was already 4 PM. We were really worried about getting into the park before dark because we knew that there was snow. As we pull up to the entrance gate and show our pass fro Kings Canyon, we asked about the road to Wuksachi. Apparently 5 miles ahead the road was being cleared from some falling tree limbs and Wuksachi had been without power since 8 AM this morning. OH CRAP!!! The ranger suggested we call because they were advising people not to stay there. We called up the lodge from the first visitor center. There was no power and the chance of it coming on soon was not good. We could stay for free with dinner on the house if we came. Now, this lodge was $250 dollars a night including breakfast so we were definitely considering it UNTIL, I asked what the temperature was supposed to be tonight. The guy said 6 degrees. Now, let's do the math. No heat since 8 am and the temperature has been in the teens all day. Even if the inside temp dropped 1 degree every hour and the room started at 72 this morning, those rooms would have been in the low 50's by tomorrow morning. There was no way we could stay there with the kids. We got our room refund and are now at the Comfort Inn and Suites in Three Forks.
Of course that made dinner a problem. Every where we went in the 6 miles between the park entrance and the hotel was closed. We were in good spirits despite the problems and decided if we had to eat out of the vending machines we would. Luckily there was one place in town open for dinner. The Sequoia Cider Mill Restaurant. Back home, this kind of place would have Fried Chicken and homestyle mashed potatoes with biscuits and fixin's. In California, this place has steak and enchiladas. Luke and I ended up with shrimp and Lorelei had chicken nuggets (again). Scott thoroughly enjoyed his steak which had been mesquite cooked outside on the grill. He also enjoyed the Flan, which he said was excellent. I had the apple pie which was decent although not up to homecooked standards. Despite the lack of "Christmas dinner" food, we had the best time laughing and making jokes. We played 20 questions which is the kids favorite game. You can be sure that these things will be mentioned when we play that game: poop, chuppa cabra, bigfoot, naked mole rat and the phrase "goat sucking devil monkey". We had a ton of laughs and took a few pictures and then returned to our hotel for some TV and internet.
So things are a little strange. We have seen every kind of weather possible today. It hasn't been how we intended to spend Christmas day but still good. This morning feels like it was days ago. We are having a great time together even when we fight and that is the lesson I hope the kids learn. Tomorrow, we will try to fit in both Sequoia that we missed today and the butterfly grove at Pismo State Beach which is nearly 4 hours from here. Should be a long day. Hopefully we will have sunny weather. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Yosemite and more snow Dec 24, 2008

This morning we got up and ate breakfast in the Sierra Restaurant in the lodge. I think we might have paid 14$ for 2 bowls of cereal but the kids are full and happy for the drive into Yosemite. We spent about a half hour figuring out how to put our snow chains on. Neither of us has ever used or driven with them so we knew the day was going to be an adventure. We needed them as we got closer to Yosemite where they were required. The weather forecast was for 17 inches of snow on Wednesday with more coming on Thursday into Friday. We paid our entrance fee, passing the Mariposa Grove parking lot. I was so hopeful 1 week and a half ago when the road into Mariposa was still open that we would get to go in and see the big grove of trees. The road was now covered with over a foot of snow and the road was closed. If the kids had been a little older, we might could have snow shoed the 2 miles but I had to give up that dream.
The conditions on the Wawona Rd were not bad. Some of them had a light dusting of snow while other parts were clear. The snow chains were required and we found out that the rangers were definitely checking when we began a climb because they were stopping cars to check. After about 45 minutes of driving we came to a bathroom and the parking lot for Bridalveil Falls. There was about a foot of snow on the ground with an ice pack underneath. The bathrooms are not heated and that was probably the coldest bathroom seat I have ever sat on! Once all of us had our potty break we took the short hike up to the Falls viewing area. The water was flowing pretty good although not as strong as it will be during the spring when the snow melts. The legend at the falls is that you can still hear the voices of those who have drowned in the water. There was definitely an ominous feeling and you could hear some kind of popping or breaking noise every once in a while.
We continued toward the valley stopping at the Valley Overlook on the other side of the tunnel. I was the only one who got out and had a decent view of El Capitain and through the snow clouds, I could just barely see Half Dome. I hopped back in the car and we arrived in Yosemite village about 20 minutes later. Everything was covered in snow and the snow was beginning to come down even faster. We parked in front of the Village Store and walked to the Visitor’s center. We took the tour and then watched the “Spirit of Yosemite” in the theatre. We got our passport stamps and then stopped back into the store for souvenirs. We were beginning to get hungry so we jumped back into the car to head over the Ahwanee Lodge for lunch. We stopped in at Cook’s Meadow which had a view of Yosemite Falls and was a great place for the kids to play in the snow. After playing for a while, we finally found the lodge and had lunch. By 2:00 the snow fall was increasing and there were no longer any views of the granite cliffs. As we drove back past Cook’s Meadow, there was no longer a view of the falls. We weren’t going to get to see Half Dome. We decided we needed to get out of the park because the roads were getting worse and all the kids wanted to do was play in the snow at the Lodge.
On the drive back through the park we went right past El Capitain and I got a decent picture when you consider the cloud cover. The kids fell asleep and despite the snow, we made good time getting out of the park.
After an hour nap, the kids were ready for more snow play and we hit the sled hill. Lorelei and I also made a snowman. Around 5:00 we returned to the room to get ready for dinner. We had reservations for the ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Jazz dinner in the Grand Ballroom. The dessert bar was the best part and the kids hit the dance floor afterwards. We returned back to the room for showers and PJ’s so that we could go to the lobby for Mrs. Claus reading of “Twas the Night Before Christmas”. By 9, we were all very tired and went to bed. As Scott turned out the lights, Luke said “Yesterday and today were the best days ever”. He was right.

December 23, 2008

This morning we were again surprised that it was sunny. We left Sacramento around 8:30 and started the drive towards Yosemite. We found out that the tire chains we bought only had two in them and we actually needed some for all 4 tires. So after looking for another Walmart, we found one in Lodi. Of course since we took the worng exit looking for it the CCR song definitely came to mind. Oh lord, stuck in Lodi again…
We stopped at the McDonald’s in the town of Merced (which I think is mentioned in a Dr. Seuss book). I think that is probably the only place in california that serves Sweet tea. It was just like we were at home. We changed highways in Merced and entered no man’s land before we began to climb the mountains. We stopped for gas and again changed highways in Mariposa. We hit hwy 41 in Oakhurst. 13 miles from Oakhurst is the South entrance of Yosemite and a mile from the entrance is Tenaya Lodge. There was no snow in Oakhurst and the reports on the California highway information line had said the day before that we would need tire chains from Oakhurst to Fish Camp. As we drove higher into the mountains we saw more and more snow. The kids were getting very excited. As we got a little higher there were several people who were pulling over putting on their snow chains. We decided not to because several people were coming down the mountains without them on. It was a good thing we didn’t because 500 feet later we were at the lodge. There is snow everywhere!!!
We found out in the lobby that the reason the roads were better is because it rained last night and a lot of the snow melted. We have heard that the higher elevations have as much as two feet. Can’t wait to see Yosemite tomorrow!!!
After we were checked in, we got all decked out in snow gear and went out to play. The lodge has a ton of green space that was covered in white. After about an hour we decided we were cold and went inside to check out the indoor pool and hot tubs. We then need some food so we ate an early dinner about 4:30. After dinner we donned the snowgear again and headed out to the ice skating rink. We skated for well over an hour and the kids had an absolute blast. After the skating rink, the kids grabbed some sleds and slid down the hill right next to the rink. We were all exhausted by then and returned to the room for showers and bed. There is no free internet at the lodge so these posts will be late.

Sacramento 12-22-2008

Monday was a great day! We woke up and the sun was shining and it was warmer here than it was at home. We picked up our rental car about 8:30 and drove over the Bay Bridge on our way to Sacramento. It was so clear we could see Alcatraz and the Golden Gate with no problems. After about a 45 minute drive we stopped into the Jelly Belly Factory for a tour.
Luckily when we got there, there was no line. It was really neat to see the jelly beans being made. The kids really enjoyed it and we picked up some free jelly beans, a few souvenirs and a box of bamboozled beans. These are basically the Harry Potter Bertie Botts beans. You get several colors and a lot of them look alike. So a blue will either be toothpaste or blueberry, a black is either skunk spray or licorice. The kids had a great time at lunch because Scott was tasting them. Apparently the skunk spray and pencil shavings are the worst so far. I don't really like jelly beans so I smelled the skunk spray and it really does have the exact same odor. Who was the poor taste tester for those??? Anyway, I have video from that.
Next we jumped back in the Explorer we rented and headed to Sacramento. The kids are making a song for the trip. Video of that too. We pulled right up to the state capitol which is second only to virginia's in beauty of the 5 we have seen so far. Of course NC is the ugliest, go figure. We took the tour and saw a little of the movie about the restoration done in the 1970's. We also went to the Govenor's office where the kids had their picture taken in front of the tree in his reception area. We also now have the Govenator's business card, although I am guessing that the number leads you to the Arnold fan club switch board and not to his actual office. But still pretty darn cool!
We left there and headed over to Olde Sacramento. The old buildings were pretty neat but basically this is a tourist money trap. We walked along the cobblestone streets lined with shops filled with junk that nobody wants unless you are a t-shirt collector (which we are not). There are also lots of candy shops but we had just been to the candy mecca and these pailed in comparison. We did visit the California Railroad Museum. The exhibits and train cars and engines in here were amazing. It puts the little NC Transportation museum in Spencer to shame although they are trying. We took our pictures with a lot of them and wondered what it would be like to ride a train across the country (maybe another vacation???).
The kids were getting tired and our parking meter was getting low on time so we checked in at the hotel around 4:00. I have to admit it felt really good just to lay on the bed and veg out for a little while. Scott and I both have noticed our legs are sore and tired from all of the walking and sometimes carrying the kids.
While we had a good weather day with temperatures in the 50's, the rain is supposed to move back in. We did buy tire chains yesterday so at least we are prepared. We head to Tenaya Lodge outside of Yosemite today. Looking forward to some snow!!!

Rain, rain go away... Dec 21, 2008

The kids suitcase arrived at 3 AM this morning and the idiot at the front desk actually called us. Don't they know we are sleeping? At least we have all of our clothes. Turnes out it was good thing because it rained today.
After breakfast in the hotel, we caught the electric trolley and rode to union sqare. We walked around and checked out some of the shop windows, took our picture in front of the Christmas tree. Our original reason for going there was to buy muni passes which is the best way to get around San Francisco if you don't have a car. It's good for the BART (subway), bus, electric trolleys and the cable cars. Of course we were there too early and the TIX place was closed. So we jumped on the Cable car where we bought our passes. If I had realized we could get them on the cable car we never would have gone to Union Square. So we rode the Cable car to the end of the line to catch the bus to Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge. While we were in Union Square it started sprinkling and Scott says to me, "if it starts pouring down rain, we aren't going to go to the fort." Uh, if we don't do it now, we won't get to do it. But we keep pushing forward. We walked way more blocks than we needed to so we could get on the right bus. The kids were complaining, Scott was cranky. All of that was making me cranky too. I mean, I've been working on this for a year and have any of them (especially Scott) tried to help? NO! So there's all this pressure on me when things go wrong. GRRRRRR!
Eventually we get to the Golden Gate Bridge and the Fort which the kids were really happy about. We took the path from the parking lot to the Fort which looked like it was going to be muddy. I don't think Scott really wanted to do it. (Maybe I should let him put an entry up on his take on the day. :) ) But the kids were game because it meant we would get a passport stamp. So we arrived at the Fort and checked out the cannons and rooms in the Fort. It was pretty nice and I think it is so cool that they built the bridge right over it. After we toured it, we were so tired of walking and we needed to get up to the parking lot because we still needed to eat lunch and get to the Nutcracker at 2 PM. We didn't have a lot of time. The path back up wasn't bad because the rain stopped for a little while. The only exception to that statement was the 157 stairs which weren't that bad going down but on the way up, were like torture to already tired feet.
We caught the bus right as we reached the parking lot but were getting dangerously close to 2 PM. We brought individualized trail mix for everyone and the kids had been snacking on that throughout the day but they needed lunch. By the time we caught the 3 buses to get to the Opera House, it was 1:30 and we were not going to have time for lunch. Once again, the kids snacked on their trail mix (sometimes while the show was going on) to get them to the end of the show. It was a good performance. Ballerina's really are amazing.
After the show the kids were really hungry and we rode the bus straight to Ghirardelli Square. We ate at a place called Lori's Diner. The burgers and fries were good and Luke really enjoyed the fried shrimp. It wasn't fine San Francisco cuisine but it was dry and satisfying. After dinner we stopped in to Kara's Cupcakes. Cupcakes are mine and Lorelei's favorite dessert and these are fancy. Even the vanilla cake with chocolate frosting was heaven and the whole place is pink to boot. Next we stopped into the Ghirardelli store for a Hot Fudge Sundae and Hot Chocolate. I don't drink coffee and hot chocolate is my favortie cool weather drink. It was one of the best cups I have ever had. Scott and Lorelei shared the sundae and I had a bite. It was very good. Afterwards, we hopped back on the bus to the hotel to relax. The kids were full and happy to be resting and dry pajamas felt awesome.
Tomorrow we get our car and drive to Sacramento to see the State Capitol and Olde Sacramento. It's supposed to be raining. I have also been checking the weather for Yosemite since we head there on Tuesday and it is snowing, A LOT! We have to buy snow chains for the rental car which is actually a no no. We have been hoping not to have to use them but the weather doesn't look good.
Anyway, it was a good day despite the rain and we have 3 new passport stamps to show for it.

We made it but... Dec 20, 2008

So we left Charlotte an hour and 20 minutes later than we were supposed to. There was fog or something in Atlanta and they had grounded any new flights coming in. We arrived at 9:51 am in Atlanta and our flight for San Francisco left at 9:45 am. You would think after all the problems they would have held it for 10 lousy minutes. I went to the Delta service desk where I waited in line with about 150 other people who missed connections. After at least an hour and a half, I found out we were automatically booked on the 4:05 PM flight ON SUNDAY!!! So I had tried to be all Zen as I was waiting in line but when I found that out, I had a freak out moment and had to cry. We got put on standby for the 2:35 pm flight today but I was not hopeful since we had to have 4 seats. I was bound and determined to get on a flight today no matter what it cost. After my freakout, Scott and I started making contingency plans. We got our Alcatraz tickets moved from tomorrow to the 31st and we resigned ourselves that we would end up missing The Nutcracker tomorrow. I was cranky, the kids were cranky and crying because we couldn't get to California and where would we sleep and where were our clothes, etc, etc, etc.
We went to eat lunch and we were all snapping at each other. So we decided that if we could not get on the standby at 2:35 we would just have to turn it into something good and stay the night in Atlanta, visit the aquarium and make the best out of a bad situation.
We went to the gate for the standby flight and for about 45 agonizing minutes, we didn't know. There was a group of 6 in front of us and there were nine seats left on the screens in the terminal. I even offered the lady $1000 to let us have her seats (she wouldn't do it). The after the party of 6 got on and they had checked all the seats, they had 5 left. We were literally the last four people on the plane by some miracle (and believe me, I was praying like crazy). I mean, our seat assignments were hand written on a ripped sheet of paper, seriously.
So we made the flight and we had good seats that were all together. The flight was pretty good but about 1 hour before we landed, after about 4 hours of watching the in flight TV, Luke felt sick. He was using the barf bag and freaking out. Luckily it was just a little motion sickness and the poor eating schedule from today and watching the horizon and sitting in my lap cured him.
Next comes the luggage situation. As I mentioned in my last post, the baggage belt broke in Charlotte and the last time we saw our luggage was in a pile at the check in counter. We got to baggage claim and while I waited to see what came off the carousel, Scott checked with baggage services. One bag could not be found, one was on a Northwest flight to San Francisco (we flew Delta), and the other was on our plane. As it turned out mine and Scott's were on our plane and we have no idea where the kids is. They are supposed to deliver it to our hotel but the website says it was foudn in Charlotte and we'll be here, the question is when.
We took a taxi to the hotel 6 hours after we were supposed to be here where Luke fell asleep. Hopefully they will have clean clothes in the morning but I am not holding my breath.
So we are here, and we are together and I guess none of the rest should matter. It has been a dreadfully long day but we will get to go to Fort Pointe tomorrow morning and see the Nutcracker in the afternoon. Hopefully I will be able to post some pictures tomorrow.

Delayed, Delayed, Delayed Dec 20, 2008

we were supposed to leave at 7:10 this morning. the TSA luggage belt broke so the likelihood that we will have luggage when we get there is not good. atlanta, which is where we have connection is at a standstill so at least we will get to san francisco at some point. at least we are on vacation so we are taking it all in stride. there are a lot of kids on this flight so i feel sorry for the other people. more later.

California Dec 18, 2008

So we leave in about 36 hours on our 2 week trip to California. This will be our first time away from family for Christmas and Santa will be leaving presents at our house when we get back. There are a lot of people who want to hear all about the trip so I figured a blog would be a good way for people to know what's going on while we are out there. Scott is the only one that has ever been to California before so we are looking forward to a grand adventure.
For those that don't know, we are trying to get every State Capitol and as many National Parks as we can by the time the kids graduate from high school/ college. If I had my way we would spend all our time traveling from state to state in a RV and home school the kids. But there are responsibilities and jobs and all of that boring stuff to think of. Tomorrow is our 10 year anniversary and last year when we started thinking about how to celebrate, this was the way we chose. Of course we would not dream of taking a big trip and not brign the kids along. So we are heading west. We already have Virginia, SC, NC and Georgia under our belts and are already thinking up plans for next year.
We have internet almost every place we are staying to check in often over the next 2 weeks!