Thursday, August 24, 2017

Head Waters of the Sacramento

We had spent 3 days driving north of San Diego…and we weren’t out of California yet!  But we love the Mount Shasta area and have fond memories of McCloud, so we grabbed a hotel there and headed over to the Shasta City Park, remarkable for being the head waters of the Sacramento River.  It’s a beautiful spot, though perhaps all the pot smoke made our memories hazy.  What kind of people really, really like river sources?  Hippy, pot-smoking, skinny-dipping hot women and unbathed men.

I have to say all that before I show you the edited version through family pictures.  It’s an amazing park, but the following is not an accurate portrayal of an average experience.


DSCN3497

DSCN3508DSCN3515

DSCN3540

DSCN3543

DSCN3548

DSCN3554

 

DSCN3559

The smoky skies made the sunset a bit eerie.

DSCN3575

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Is Santa Barbara a Soap Opera?? Because We Should All Live There

WP_20170822_18_54_34_Pro

WP_20170822_18_30_42_Pro

WP_20170822_18_31_18_Pro

It was the end of our first day’s journey home, and we had driven our 5 hours (plus 2 for LA traffic) and we wanted food. And the beach.  And food.  Luckily, we found a beach cafĂ© where our feet were actually in the sand as we ate burgers and the best prepared salmon I’ve had in months.  Did I mention the sunset?  It was Perfect.

WP_20170822_19_31_25_Pro

WP_20170822_19_30_46_Pro

8-22 Santa Barbara Beach 1

Guess who’s going to be wet by the end of the evening? (Um, Kyla, if you haven’t been paying attention.)

8-22 Santa Barbara Beach 48-22 Santa Barbara Beach 7

#2 & #3 amused themselves by racing the waves up and down, up and down.  I slept well that night just watching them!

8-22 Santa Barbara Beach 5

8-22 Santa Barbara Beach 6

Must come back someday!  Come with me??

Tar Pits are Neither Tar nor Pits…But Still Very Cool!

8-22 La Brea Tar Pits 10

Our plan for the drive home was to get in about 5 hours of driving a day around Family Adventures.

First stop, La Brea Asphalt Flypaper (yeah, Tar Pit does sound better, though less accurate). 

8-22 La Brea Tar Pits 1

This is a real life pit, with lots and lots of predator bones…greedy sabor-tooths!

8-22 La Brea Tar Pits 4

The Giant Ground Sloth would be a wonderful addition to current zoology.

8-22 La Brea Tar Pits 6

It’s safer to be up in a tree around the tar pits!

8-22 La Brea Tar Pits 8

Isn’t this a cool exhibit?!

8-22 La Brea Tar Pits 11

8-22 La Brea Tar Pits 12

8-22 La Brea Tar Pits 14

Wesley got to be photographer for a few minutes!

8-22 La Brea Tar Pits 20

8-22 La Brea Tar Pits 21

Monday, August 21, 2017

We Say Goodbye

Everyone but us left this morning, as the eclipse was (what’s the verb?) eclipsing.  We took the day to clean up and prepare for the long journey home. 

8-21 Esther and Kids (17, 10, ,9, 7)

There may have been a nap involved.

8-21 Last Day Nap

But you can tell that we were not up to standard this trip—a 1000 piece is put away unfinished and no marathon games of Kings and Serfs. 

DSCN3245

So long and thanks for all the memories!

Sunday, August 20, 2017

We Do the Zoo!

San Diego Zoo is almost too big and exhausting.  But, Piper found her wombat! SDZ has two wombats, but the statue was the most cooperative.

8-20 San Diego Zoo 1

In retrospect, we should have had our big family day at the beach or park, because 17 people can’t really roam the zoo well together.  But we did get a little time with everyone and saw many amazing things.

8-20 San Diego Zoo 2

Well, if They won’t let me have a koala of my own, these kids will do.

This is how Wesley measures up to a Mammoth.

8-20 San Diego Zoo 4

Somewhere on this vacation, we invented “ice cream o’clock”. Really, it helps everyone survive all the fun we’re having.

8-20 San Diego Zoo 108-20 San Diego Zoo 3

And after all we saw that day, Piper and Wesley were most excited about the lizard they caught back at the house that evening!

8-20 San Diego Zoo 14

Friday, August 18, 2017

Balboa Park is HUGE

Which is a stupidly obvious observation to those who know it, and completely non-descriptive to those who don’t.

8-18 Balboa Park 20

Dwayne loved the architecture, of course, and took lots of pictures of things he will build me when he has time time and coin. 

8-18 Balboa Park 1

8-18 Balboa Park 7

I liked the gardens, and the Japanese Gardens will be first on my list next time as we ran out of time/energy this time. And note: Secret is my favorite perfumed rose, I discovered. Lovely!

8-18 Balboa Park 12

8-18 Balboa Park 14

8-18 Balboa Park 15

8-18 Balboa Park 21

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Day at La Jolla Beach!

8-17 San Diego Beach 1

This San Diego beach is actually worth the 20 minutes or so it takes to find a parking spot.

We met up with most of the family to walk, play, ride the waves, and relax in the shade.

8-17 San Diego Beach 88-17 San Diego Beach 9

8-17 San Diego Beach 15

8-17 San Diego Beach 18

8-17 San Diego Beach 19 8-17 San Diego Beach 21

8-17 San Diego Beach 22

Dwayne, Debi, and I walked down until we came to this dream sand castle. 

8-17 San Diego Beach 23

8-17 San Diego Beach 24

8-17 San Diego Beach 25

Esther dug a Hole.  Piper explored it in every way she could.

8-17 San Diego Beach 308-17 San Diego Beach 28

8-17 San Diego Beach 32

Then the grown ups left (I guess except for me, but I’m more like the shadow photographer/chauffer/food provider) and then the sand really got a work out!

8-17 San Diego Beach 35

8-17 San Diego Beach 38 8-17 San Diego Beach 41 8-17 San Diego Beach 42 8-17 San Diego Beach 45