Our Vacation to California

[EddieWalker]

I'm from California, but have been living in Texas for the last six years. My wife and kids have never been there, so for Spring Break, we decided to do a quick tour of the state and see as much as possible in just 6 days.

This was also the first time for the kids to fly in a plane, so we were both nervous and excited for them. They loved it. The stewards made a big deal about it and gave them special treatment. Then after landing, they gave them their "wings" with the United logo on them. It's funny how much they enjoy things like that!!!

The rental car was supposed to be a Ford Escape, but they were all out, so we ended up with a Toyota Hilander 4wd. Nice!!!!

From SFO, we drove down to Santa Cruz for our first stop along the coast. This was also the first time for Steph and the kids to see the Pacific Ocean. The water is always cold there, but the kids don't feel cold when they are excited.

From there we drove to Montery, did the 17 mile drive through Pebble Beach and then on down to Big Sur. We made it past Hurst Castle in San Simeon by the time it got dark out with about two dozen stops to explore the beaches. There were twice as many stops to just take pictures of the water and shoreline!!!!

After it got dark out, they fell asleep and I drove the rest of the way to Disneyland. We got to bed at 2am.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

We stayed in a hotel across the street from Disneyland, so all we had to do was wake up walk to the park. No parking or shuttles to deal with!! For one day passes, you can only buy those at the gate. No discounts either. It was about $250 for the four of us to get in, and with the day pass, you can only go to one park. I've been to California Adventure and wasn't impressed.

This was another first for them, so it was allot of fun for me to play tour guide. Our first ride was Indiana Jones with a wait of about 15 minutes. I was worred about crowds and Spring Break, so I sort of rushed them to hit the main rides early. As it turned out, it wasn't needed as Spring Break hadn't started there. The longest we waited in line for anything was 15 minutes except for the Autorama. That one was full of kids too small to ride the roller coasters. The park was full of strollers and the rides for them were all very long. After we realized that, we just stuck with the good rides and were able to walk right on sometimes. 15 minutes was about the longest we ever waited for a ride!!!! The park was open until 11pm, but by 9pm, were were all wore out. Another hour buying souvineers and we called it a day.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

Steph wanted to see the Hollywood sign and the footprints in front of the Chinese Theater, so that was our first stop of day three. The sign was fogged in and we could barely see it. The foot and hand prints in the cement are always fun to see, plus the crazies walking around there.

Before leaving on this trip, I had contacted Rob (3RRL) to see if he and Loretta would be at thier land, and if we could stop by and visit with them. I'm a big fan of his projects and have enjoyed following along with his thread on the building of his log home. He told me on the phone about a shortcut to get there, but to be careful of the speed limit. It's 55mph and well inforced. It's an amazing drive with orange orchards and wildflowers in bloom. Most of the drive, I was following other cars and staying legal. But then it was just us on the road and my speed sort of drifted upwards to 75mph. That's when I got pulled over. He saw the camera and our rental car had Colorado plates, which led him to giving us a warning about the dangers of driving too fast on that road. I slowed down after that.

The drive to Rob's home is amazing. We timed it just right for the flowers, and as you can see in the pics, it was just awesome!!! We were constantly stoping to take pictures and marvel at how beautiful it was there. Then when we saw the house for the first time, we just had to stop and stare. It has the most amazing view possible. Pictures don't do it justice.

The drive in to their land kind of winds aroudn the hills to make it very pleasant. Rob is probably the best box blade operator you'll ever meet. His dirt roads are as smooth as pavement!!!!! After all this time of reading his posts and commenting back and forth on here, it was a real pleasure to meet him and Loretta in person. We enjoyed a soda with them at there "campsite" and toured his shop area. He showed me his tractors and the modifications he's made to them, which just blew me away. The attention to detail, the fit and the skill he puts into his modifications are just amazing!!! It would have been easy to spend a full day just looking at all his projects. The house is at the other side of his land, so we walked over there and was able to see how beautiful his land is. Again, the colors were just incredible.

His shop is huge. I didn't realize it woudl be that large, but of course, with all he's got going on, it will fill up with tools and projets in no time. Hopefully I'll be able to come back in a few years and see it in operation. The solar panels are massive. He said there were, but you don't realize it until you stand under them.

Then we got to see the house. I don't know which is more impressive, the house or the view. It's truly situated in the most perfect location. He has views on every side that most people will only dream of. You can see for dozens of miles down a beautiful canyon, or watch wildlife on the ridge right next to the house. It's just awe inspiring!!!!!!!!!!

Then to finish up our visit, we went to the tree house he built. It's much higher up then I'm comfortable climbing, but since it was so solid and secure, the kids and I climbed up it. I was a little more then scared, but still enjoyed the view and workmanship that went into building it.

Thanks Loretta and Rob for your hospitality.

After talking to Rob on the phone and through emails, I found out that the Giant Sequoia's were right next to his place. I've never been there, so it was a perfet fit to go see them. We hit snow on the ground at about 5,000 feet, and a little bit higher it started to snow. Living in Texas, anytime it snows is a treat for us. The trees were amazing. They are absolutely HUGE!! The truly massive ones are named after famous generals. The closest one to the road and the only one we had time to see was General Sherman. As you can see in the pictures, it's almost unbelievable how big it is. Then on the drive back down the mountain, a coyote walked out into the road in front of us.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

My parents live near Jackson, which is just below the snow line. From there house, we drove up the mountain to the National Forest where we found a good place to play in the snow. The kids were dying to get out there with the sleds and see what it's all about. We didn't have the proper clothes, so I put thier feet in plastic bags to kee them dry and figured we'd leave when they got cold.

Being kids, they didn't let the cold stop them. They were having so much fun that we had to call it a day when they started shivering too much. If left on there own, they would just keep on playing regardless of how miserable they were.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

Yosemite is one of those must see places, so we made a full day of it. The weather was perfect, but there had been some storm damage to the roads. In two places, they were partially washed out and under construction. Luckily for us, it was the slow time of the year and traffic was good. We had a great meal at the lodge, saw some of the waterfalls and went on a nice 2 mile hike.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

Our last day was spent in San Francisco. We explored the Warf, rode the cable cars and walked out onto the Golden Gate Bridge. Again, we were lucky and didn't have big crowds to deal with, which always makes it nicer to see an area. There were plenty of crazy people out too, so that's always fun to watch them. One nice thing that happened was when we parked at the Bridge. There are meters at the parking spaces, but we didn't have any change. All the stores were closed and we didn't know where to get change. I asked a police officer for advice on what to do since we didn't want to get a ticket and it was getting too late to go get change and still be able to walk out onto the bridge in daylight. He said they had change inside their office for tourist and gave us three quarters. It's alway really nice when things like that happen!!!!

It was an awesome trip that we all enjoyed tremendously. It's been so long since I've been back to California that I had forgoten how beautiful the state can be. It really is a great place to visit!!!!!!!

Eddie

 

[RobS]

Great pics Eddie, looks like a wonderful vacation. What ever became of Steph's trip to Chicago?

 

[caver]

Anybody ever tell your wife that she looks like actress Nancy McKeon?

 

[ultrarunner]

Eddie... I thought that was you driving by!!!

Glad the natives treated you well... it's nice to hear and great pictures!

PS You timed Disney Land right... my brother is there this week and he said it's crazy... wall to wall people!

 

[Bird]

That was quite a trip, Eddie, and some beautiful pictures. I can certainly understand the whole family having a good time.