NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TRIP - AUGUST 2013
SANTA BARBARA: Elaina in front of city hall on the first day of our trip.
MORO BAY ROCK: We camped at Moro Bay overnight. I remember camping here in junior high with the young women in my church. I had a great time and it has been one of my favorite campsites ever since.
PINNACLES NATIONAL PARK: There wasn't enough here to make into a national park, but we visited it anyway. I would visit it if I lived in the area, but I wouldn't go out of my way. I think President Obama was paying back some political favor when he made this a national park.
PIGEON POINT LIGHT HOUSE: On the way to Half Moon Bay. Elaina, Pamela, Seth and Aubrey stand in front of it.
RITZ CARLTON HALF MOON BAY: I feel like I'm in Ireland looking at this view. It isn't how far away you go, but how far away you feel.
RITZ CARLTON HALF MOON BAY: Seth stands on the south facing view of California's Ireland or Scotland.
PIER 39 AND THE SEALS: It is fun to watch the seals , but it is too bad for the people who once docked their boats there.
UNION SQUARE IN SAN FRANCISCO: We came there on a Korean festival day. It is a place I've never been to before. Union Square is also the premiere shopping area.
THE TROLLEY TOUR: Once I was allowed to let Aubrey roam about a bit, this tour was fun. Fortunately, Aubrey's engaging personality made her adorable to the other passengers on the trolley. This trolley tour took us to many parts of San Francisco that we had never seen before.
RUSSIAN CHURCH IN SAN FRANCISCO: Apparently when the Romanovs were killed in the early 20th century the Russian aristocracy escaped to San Francisco. That is why there are Russian churches there today.
SWING DANCING IN GOLDEN GATE PARK: We came upon a a group a people swing dancing in the park. What a treat, since I use to go swing dancing whenever possible when I was single. Apparently they set up speakers an come here every Sunday at 2:00 pm. This almost makes me want to move to San Francisco.
CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: This was a scary sight to look up at, but a fun one. Neil remembers coming here when he was young so we had to go back.
ROOF TOP GARDEN AT THE CA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES: It was quite cold up there but fun to visit a roof with grass on it.
AUNTY COUSIN BECKY: Neil has cousins old enough to be his aunts since his dad was 50 when he was born. Funny how Neil has repeated that legacy. Becky was one of the best hostesses ever and it was wonderful staying with her and her collection of Tweety birds that her friends donated to her. She has around 200 of them.
GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE
STINSON BEACH: We had to stop to go to the bathroom and ran across this park. I loved it. Seth learned to go across these rings all by himself.
POINT ARENA LIGHTHOUSE
MENDOCINO, CA: We prepared to visit this quaint location on the Northern California coast by listening to the 60's song "Mendocino."
MENDOCINO, CA: In the garden next to the restaurant where we had dinner.
RUSSIAN GULCH STATE PARK. This was a great little park and campground right on the beach. We talked to a European guy there who was biking from L.A. to Vancouver. He said he could only go 50 miles a day.
SHRINER REDWOOD TUNNEL. We were actually able to drive our van through this tree. A tight fit, but we made it.
HUMBOLDT COUNTY FAIR: A small local fair that made up in charm what it lacked in size. I loved seeing the local kids displaying their animals.
GINGERBREAD HOUSE, FERNDALE, CA. This used to be the town hospital. Now it's a popular B&B.
FERNDALE BEACH. You can find some very secluded beaches in Northern California. I ran for 20 minutes along this beach, looking at these rocks.
CARSON MANSION, EUREKA, CA. This is one of the fanciest and most photographed Victorian houses in all of California.
WHISKEYTOWN LAKE. We took the opportunity to cool down in this beautiful local lake near Redding, CA.
LAKE HELEN, LASSEN NATIONAL PARK. This isn't one of your more well known national parks, but I liked it. I want to come back when our kids are old enough to hike down to the geysers.
ELAINA, KATIE AND ANNA AT LAKE HELEN, LASSEN NATIONAL PARK.
AT A WATER PARK IN REDDING, CA. Seth really enjoyed this place. They really need something like this, considering how hot it gets in Redding in the summer. And this water park is totally free!
ELAINA WITH LEGO EXHIBIT AT TURTLE COVE. We saw signs all over Redding for this unique exhibit.
HAPPY HERMANSONS. We love staying with this fun family near Redding, CA. They even taught Aubrey to sing the ABC song.
FORMER RITZ CARLTON, PASADENA, CA. I enjoyed coming here when I lived in La Canada. We got this Mickey Mouse balloon from a nice kid who gave it to Aubrey. She even held onto it, unlike a more recent balloon that she let go into the air and whose loss is still traumatizing her.
CAMPING IN IDYLLWILD: We camped at a private Thousand Trails campground. It was fun, they had a concert, but they didn't have fire rings.
HIKING: We found a nice hike that wasn't too steep. It took forever to hike away from the campground. Amazingly enough it seemed to take half the time to go back.
THUNDERSTORMS: It had been in the 90's in Fallbrook for 2 weeks. The best place to find cool weather is in the mountains where the clouds settle. We decided to go swimming later in the day just in time to get rained on. It dropped to 60 degrees and sure enough back in Fallbrook it was back in the 90's.
TAHQUITZ ROCK, IDYLLWILD: I have vivid memories of attempting to rock climb that rock. We: Cristine, James, Adam, and I only got up 3 pitches, but it was scary looking down at our little car hundreds of feet below. We quit when there was yet another lightening storm. Good thing we did since we didn't get back to our car till 10 PM.
AUBREY THE SQUIRREL: She looks cute roasting a marshmallow.
AUBREY GETS HER FIRST SET OF UNDERWEAR: Aubrey chose Dora underwear. She wouldn't let them go while shopping. She hasn't figured out how to go potty in the potty yet, but she does understand, "poor Dora" when she pees in her underwear. She does mention when she has a stinky diaper and asks to have her diaper changed.
THE TRIPLE CRAWL
SETH GOES PADDLE BOATING: On their daddy and son outing Seth and his dad went paddle boating in Oceanside Harbor.
SLIDING IN NEW PORT BEACH: I went to the temple and then we went jogging on the New Port board walk. We stopped at the playground on the beach. I would love to go to this Elementary school.
LAVENDER HILLS PUMPKIN FARM: We went there to attend one of Kelly's concerts. It was a fun atmosphere that reminded me of the east coast.
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