Last week we headed out for a family vacation to Northern California.
At a stop for gas in Winnemucca, Nevada, a nice police officer gifted some stickers to the kids, which they promptly attached to their water bottles. Douglas read my captions as I put this blog post together. When he read this particular caption, he commented, "'Promptly attached,' that's very complex language." 😁
We stopped at a playground in Reno, Nevada, and quickly realized which part of town we were in.
I love the artwork at the park. So cool.
If I'm not mistaken, it says "Ayoba!" on this part of the bathroom. According to Google:
Ayoba is not a formal word. It's a made-up one that originates from the townships of South Africa where it's used to express appreciation of good dancing! It is slang for “cool, alright, ok” (or any other expression of approval!). In Zulu, it means “will be”. Ayoba is a feel-good word.
On our way out of Reno, we stopped at the Reno Temple to re-create this photo taken in 2014.
2023
We stayed at an Airbnb in Eureka, California while we explored the area. We went to the beach to play on our first day in California.
Douglas loved throwing this stick into the ocean and waiting for the ocean to bring it back to him.
We tried doing a jumping photo. Diana couldn't stop looking at the oncoming waves. She was afraid a wave was going to get her.
Douglas walking on the beach with his stick.
Diana playing in the sand.
Penny picking up shells.
Sam and I took this photo (above) on our last family trip to the northwest, nine years ago. This photo was taken on the beach in Oregon.
We tried to re-create the scene on the beach in Eureka, California.
We had to walk 10 minutes through the brush to get to the beach in Eureka.
The next day (October 6th), we went to the Redwood Sky Walk at Sequoia Park Zoo, in Eureka.
These two videos, which I cannot embed into the blog, show one of Diana's favorite animals:
Diana and the red panda
We saw this cool caterpillar in the zoo.
Diana was not afraid to pick it up.
The tube inside the otter enclosure.
Bald eagles
Following our fun at the zoo, we played at a park next to the zoo.
I pushed the kids on this merry-go-round at the park. Gradually, more and more kids came over to join us.
Eventually, all the kids wanted to give me a ride.
You might ask why Diana isn't in any of the photos at the park. She complained of stomach pain most of the day and eventually fell asleep on a blanket while we played.
Saturday morning, we drove one hour north to Lady Bird Johnson Grove.
Sam and I got this photo nine years ago.
Same tree, nine years later.
We collected some clovers and noticed they are green on top and purple underneath.
The redwood trees are so impressive!
Following our stroll through Lady Bird Johnson Grove, we drove another 30 minutes north to Trees of Mystery. This (above) is Penny at the little cafe across the street.
The weather was much cooler at the Trees of Mystery. Fortunately, Sam brought some winter gear for the trip.
With Bigfoot
Walking through the redwood trees on the Sky Bridge.
Penny and Diana with Yoda.
Douglas
Diana
Douglas preaching at Cathedral Tree.
Diana bearing her testimony at Cathedral Tree:
I told Diana to make a tough face.
Sam told Douglas to make a face as if he were exerting a lot of effort.
Waiting to ride the gondola. The kids loved the gondola ride so much that we rode it twice in a row.
Sam told us to make serious faces.
The serious faces didn't last long.
We ended the day in the gift shop before driving the 90 minutes back to our Airbnb. What a day!
Sunday morning, we left Eureka and drove almost six hours to Rocklin, California, where we enjoyed a yummy dinner and time with some of our beloved relatives at the home of Megan and Ben. Megan is the daughter of my cousin, Lori, and Ben is Megan's husband.
Penny and Diana made a new friend, Maggie, and they were sad to leave her.
Fabulous desserts!
Penny, Diana, Maggie
We drove back to the home of Kelly (my cousin) and Brian (Kelly's husband) where we spent the last two nights of our vacation.
Leftover butter from the delicious German pancakes Brian made for us yesterday morning.
Kelly playing pickup sticks with the kids.
Playing at a nearby park.
Last night, for our final dinner in California, Brian and Kelly made their famous fish tacos for us.
Penny, Diana, and Douglas helped squeeze the limes for the sauce for the cabbage.
We love you, Brian and Kelly! Thank you for being awesome.
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