Caliblog

Sorry for the delay – I’ve been meaning to tell you guys about our trip to California for Thanksgiving, and haven’t done it until now. It was a great trip, although with a lot of driving involved – mostly due to weather. Plan A was for Kimberly to catch a ride to Salt Lake on Friday after class and Mom and I would meet her there and go to San Lorenzo via I-80. Jennifer had classes on Monday that she needed to attend, so we arranged for her to catch a shuttle to Vegas and a flight from there to Oakland on Monday night. But a big storm was hitting the Sierras that weekend, so we decided that discretion was the better part of traveling, and went to Plan B. Plan B was for me to go to Salt Lake, get Kimberly and come back south, meet Mom and go to Grandma’s via the southern route. We caught some rain going that way, but not the 10 feet of snow predicted for the High Sierras out of that storm. We got to Grandma’s on Saturday night, went to church on Sunday and relaxed. We also went out to Bart’s house and visited with them on Sunday evening.
Sarah and Aaron also decided to make the trip and got to San Lorenzo on Monday evening. On Monday, we did a little bit around Grandma’s house and went out to Janae’s in the afternoon to see them for a bit before Sarah and Aaron got in. Jennifer’s flight was due to arrive at about 10 pm, but was at least an hour late due to circumstances beyond her control. You’ll have to get her to tell you about that – I don’t have the vocabulary.
Tuesday, Kimberly and I took Pyper and Hakan for a ride down the coast to Bean Hollow, Pigeon Point Lighthouse and Ano Nuevo Island State Parks. It was still rainy and blustery, but by the time we got to Pigeon Point, got out and into our rain gear, the rain had about stopped, although the wind kept up. All three parks are well worth the visit. Pigeon Point is an old, closed lighthouse just south of Bean Hollow.

From there, we went south to Ano Nuevo. It was about a mile and a half hike out to the beach where the elephant seals were hanging out. Pyper and Hakan were pretty great little hikers, going the whole way themselves. That’s not to say they were happy about it, though – “Can you carry me?”, “I hate hiking”, “Why can’t we drive out here?”. But we weren’t about to do any carrying, so they made the trip on their own power. We were a little early for the big arrival of the seals, but there were a few out there for us to see. Even a big ugly male who raised up for a minute so we could see him.

After the long walk back to the car, we went back up the coast to Bean Hollow for a quick stop there (it’s a rule you know – you can’t not stop at Bean Hollow). It was a long day, but lots of fun.

On Wednesday, Mom, Sarah, Kimberly and Jennifer decided to take a trip to San Francisco. Aaron, Grandma and I decided we would be better off staying home and watching the kids. So the 2 groups went their separate ways. Because Mom didn’t take any pictures of San Francisco, I’ll have to post this slightly outdated picture from Ghirardelli Square.

On the home front, Pyper and Hakan invented the game of throwing their stuffed animals up into the magnolia tree in the back yard. When one got stuck, Pyper climbed into the tree and decided she couldn’t get down by herself. Hakan wanted to help her with the rake, which she politely declined.


In the afternoon, Aaron and I took them down to Kennedy Park. The concessions were closed, but they had a good time in the playground. Finnley liked the swings. Ryan, Jan, and Curtis got to Grandma’s house on Wednesday night as well. I hope this video post works - sometimes I can't get them right.




Thanksgiving dinner was at Bart’s house and was all we could expect and more. Lots of great food, great family and fun for all.
Finnley, Grandma and Aiden.

Couldn’t resist posting this picture of my daughters interacting – with their electronic devices.

On Friday, Sarah’s family drove up to Aaron’s parents home in Windsor. Jennifer didn’t feel well and stayed home, but the rest of us drove to Muir Woods and met up with Bart’s family for a day in the redwoods. Unfortunately, there were masses of other people who were trying to avoid the crowds of Black Friday in the same manner. I only had to drive ¾ of a mile from the park entrance to find a parking place. Bart and Jane went farther. But it was still a beautiful day and more beautiful setting, and despite the crowds of people, as Jan pointed out, it was still quiet and peaceful in the redwood grove.

We had to go home on Saturday, so we loaded up in the morning and headed south. Again, Plan A was to go the northern route and meet up with Kimberly’s ride in Salt Lake on Sunday noon, but there was snow predicted again in the Sierras (I’ll let Sarah tell you about that). So Plan B took us the southern route again and got us home to Coral Pink at about 2 am on Sunday. After 4 hours of sleep, Kimberly, Jennifer and I got back up, hit the road, dropped Jennifer off at her dorm in Cedar City, and got Kimberly to her appointed meeting place at the appointed time. By this time, I must admit, I was getting close to beat. Much as it pains me to say it, I was getting tired of driving. So I went over and visited Keith and Rachelle for a bit before heading home again. Unfortunately, during the visit, the cold front that had pounded the Sierras the night before arrived in Utah and I got to drive south in the snow. I made it as far as Beaver, and Mom and I decided (on the phone) that enough was enough. She checked around and got me a room at the Motel 6 where I crashed for the night. Luckily, I didn’t have to work on Monday, so I took my time in the morning and gave UDOT time to work on the road. I still saw a number of wrecks and slide offs between Beaver and St. George. It’s better to crash at the Motel 6 than on I-15, in my humble opinion. After all was said and done, I made it home alive after a grand total of 3,287 miles in the 10 days of vacation. How great is that?
Anyway, there you have the grand narrative of our Thanksgiving trip to California. We had a wonderful time seeing our loved ones, revisiting fun places and spending a lot of quality time together in a small car. Thanks to everyone who participated, and those of you who weren’t able to this time, maybe we can do it again another time. Dad