Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park

We had a long drive today to get to the Jedediah Smith State Park.  On our drive we had some pretty incredible views of both the pacific ocean and a heard of elk.  Once we got into the park it was after the office was closed so we made it to our assigned campsite to find that we were assigned a tent site.  We spent over an hour cramming our 26 foot camper into this teeny weeny spot.  Thankfully the people across from us offered to let us park the suburban on their spot because there was absolutely no room for that too.   We were packed so tightly that we couldn't put the slide out the whole way and I had to climb over Doug to get in and out of the bed.   This site also had no hook ups and no WiFi. (which is why 3 days later I am posting this). Luckily we were able to get our site changed for our next night at this park.

The next morning we drove into Crescent City for Breakfast, since we did not have electricity.  Then we took the carriage road tour through the Redwoods.  They were completely amazing to see.  All four of us were marveled by their size and how they grow in clones.  Their bark can be up to a foot thick and protects them from fire.   The drive was on a one lane road, and I had to pull over a lot to let people get by going the opposite direction, but I didn't mind.  It gave  us more time to look at the trees.

After that we went to the visitors center and watched a movie about the redwoods and then we went on a hiking trail.

All four of us really loved this park, it was beautiful and not crowded,  This is a place I would like to return to in the future.

San Francisco

Today we got up early and drove to Anthony Chabot Regional Park, which is right outside of San Francisco.  It is a beautiful campground, and it is very quiet.  I had made reservations for a boat tour of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge, sadly, the traffic was so bad between the park and the dock that we missed our boat. :(  The 45 min trip took us almost 2 hours.  (We were able to get a refund on out tickets though.)

We decided to walk to Pier 39, for some sight seeing and shopping.  Boy did we see some sights, on out way to the pier, we saw a woman drop her pants,lean against a car and pee in the road ( a sight I wish I could un-see).  We made it to the end of the pier and got some excellent photos.  Then we went for Sushi at Hana Zen Sushi Bar, where we had an awesome view of the bay and incredible food!!!! We did a little shopping, and just enjoyed being together,  It was so cold and windy out (61 degrees) that we were not too upset about missing the boat tour, as we would have been uncomfortable.  All in all it was an enjoyable day, even if it did not go according to plan.  One of the many things we have learned doing these trips is to be flexible.

We stopped at the grocery store on the way back to the campground and we are all snuggled up in the warm camper eating ice cream (It's a Gaede thing).

Yosemite

We had another day of exploring today, this time it was Yosemite National Park. Maddie thought it was "Yo- Sa- Might" which made the three of us laugh and call it that the rest of the day. The campground we booked as about 45 minutes from the park, but this one had full hook ups and we were happy about that!   We went into the park and I drove to give Doug a break.   There were a lot of steep mountains to travel, that did not have any barriers or guard rails.  Needless to say, I was not a happy driver and did not see much of the views.  I focused on breathing calmly and the road in front of me.

The park was packed with visitors so we were not able to get to visitor center and beyond. The one area that Maddie wasted to see, Mariposa Grove, was closed for renovations.  We did get to see Half Dome from both sides, and Bridalveil Fall, as well as many other impressive areas. Since we did not have a good radio signal, Doug started playing music he had on his phone. The girls, we not impressed at all by our "old people" music, and did their best to make fun of us.  We attempted to have dinner at the lodge, but it was reservations only and we did not have them so we opted for some snacks, pumpkin seeds, GORP, and gummy worms to tide us over. Thankfully, Doug offered to drive the 2 and a half down the mountain on the way home. Maddie fell asleep on the ride back to the camper, while Doug, Hailey and I all listed to Jeff Foxworthy on the radio. 

It was a nice park, I wish we had time to see more of it, this will defiantly be one Doug and I return to in our retirement. 

Sequoia National Park

We drove to Sequoia National Park today.  We had quite a scare on Route 5, a truck that was carrying tractor tailor tires, lost two on them on the highway and they flew into us. Thankfully, no one was hurt but the Suburban did sustain some minor damage.and so did the cargo tray.

When we finally made it to the park, it was amazing to see the giant sequoia trees. I have read about them in books, seen numerous photos and videos of them, but until I actually stood in front of the largest tree world, you have no idea how big, "big" can be.

We made it to the park about an hour before the visitors center would close, so we went directly to the center to learn about the park.  The girls were able to get their souvenirs and then off we went to the various looks outs up the mountain.  Thankfully, Doug took pity on me and drove up the mountain.  The views were breathtaking, and it was amazing to literally watch the environment change as we got higher and higher. We made it to the hiking area that lead us to "General Sherman" the largest tree (by volume).  Sadly, my back did NOT like the steepness of the hike, so Doug being the awesome husband that he is offered to hike back up to the car and come and get me.  I am very thankful for that!!!!

We then ate dinner a the John Muir Lodge, where we ate outside and got to view some deer grazing.  It was so nice and peaceful.  We ended our evening back at the campground, we had NO hookups at this site so I was very worried out not having air conditioning.  Luckily it was cool enough and we were all able to sleep comfortably.

Sight Seeing

Today we were complete tourists!  We started out going to the California Science Center to see Space Shuttle Endeavor.  Doug totally geeked out, as were the rest of us!!!  They had capsules for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo Missions there as well, along with a real external fuel tank for the shuttle, the last on in assistance.  They plan to build an exhibit over the next 3 years to house the complete shuttle in it's launch position.

After we left there we were all very hungry so we  drove to LA  and ate at El Cholo.  They had the most amazing Mexican food I have ever had.  The manager was surprised to hear that we were traveling from Maryland, and sent us complimentary table made guacamole.  It was so good!

Once we stuffed ourselves, we drove to see the Hollywood sign.  It was not fun traveling up the twisty, turney, narrow streets to get a good view.  I feel really bad for those people who live there, they have tourists all day long trying to navigate through their neighborhood to get a picture of the sign (like us, and the many others we saw doing the same thing).

Then we drove to the Hollywood Walk of fame, past the  Mann's Chinese Theater, through Beverly Hills, and ended up at Venice Beach.  That is where Doug finally got to put his feet in the Pacific Ocean,  Something he has wanted to do since he was 14 years old, when his family came out west but ran out of time.  He even filled a bottle of sand to bring home with us.  I am sure I can figure out something crafty to make for him.    I will say that it was cool being in the Pacific Ocean (especially since just 2 months ago we were in the Atlantic Ocean), but in my opinion, Ocean City is nicer than Venice Beach. It is cleaner and has a much better atmosphere.  Driving in LA is NOT fun at all either, too many aggressive drivers who have no idea how to use a  turn signal or obey traffic lights.  I would not want to drive through the city in a Suburban again if I did not have too.

Once the sun had set we headed back to the camper.  We made a stop at a Walmart to re-stock so we can head to our next destination tomorrow.

I am exhausted, and the camera is in the car so I will post pictures tomorrow or whenever we have good WiFi.

Disneyland

Today was AWESOME!  We had the best day today!!  It started off in Tomorrow Land with a ride on Hyper Space Mountain, which is even more awesome now that it is all based on Star Wars.  Then we did a few other rides in that part of the park.  While we were walking around I pointed out to Maddie that there were Storm Troopers and she went over to get a picture with them.  One asked her for her ID and she said that she did not have one, so they both kidnapped her, they walked her over to a corner of the park, Doug was in a store when this happened, and he looked out and saw Maddie being escorted by 2 Storm Troopers so he came running out to watch.  The next thing I knew we had a crowed of people videotaping and taking pictures of her.  It was awesome!  Eventually one of them "released" her.  It was awesome, and she LOVED it!  Then we were talking to one of the cast members about how much Maddie loves Star Wars, and she arranged for us to get a VIP meeting with Chewbacca.  We did not have to wait in line, Chewy came over and hugged each of us and then we had our picture taken.  It was amazing.  We also got a photo with Boba Fet .

We pretty much got to ride most of the rides that we wanted, a few we had to skip because the lines were too long. We did get a fast pass for the Indiana Jones ride, which saved us a good half and hour wait.  That ride was pretty cool. The It's A Small World Ride here is much nicer than the one at Magic Kingdom. The castle outside is much more elaborate and in some of the counties they have  Disney Characters singing along with the children.  Sleeping Beauty's castle is beautiful, but so small in comparison to Cinderella's in magic Kingdom.

 We got to see both the mid day parade and the light parade. We tried to view the fireworks bit is was so crowded that we ended up walking in circles in a 4 person human chain non-stop as they went off so we could see them.  We were all singing along with the music that they played. It was definatley something we will always remember.

After fireworks we went back to Tomorrow Land to finish up some shopping, including making a custom light saber for Doug.  Both Hailey and Maddie helped design it.  So now he has a "Ravens" purple light saber for his Man Cave!

It was a wonderful day, but we are so tired and our feet hurt.  It was amazing.  Even though Disneyland is smaller than Magic Kingdom, I personally liked it much better.  It not only has a "retro" atmosphere, but was more laid back and it was easier to navigate.

It is late, I am exhausted and we have another busy day planned for tomorrow so I am going to bed!

California Here We Come!

We made it to the west coast! We traveled through mountains and deserts and enjoyed the scenery (until I fell asleep ).  Doug safely drove over 6 hours to Anaheim Harbor RV park, which is a glorified parking lot with hook ups for the camper, but is only 4 minutes from Disneyland.  After we got set up and settled we decided to go into Downtown Disney to do some shopping and have dinner.  It was a wonderful way to spend the evening.  We bought some souvenirs and gifts for a few close friends, and Maddie bought her back to school outfit, a R2D2 Dress (I love my nerdy girl).  Hailey had fun playing Poke'mon GO and watching other people play it too!  We had a great time people watching and listening to the live music.  We went to dinner at The Jazz Kitchen , which was all decked out in New Orleans style!  The food was incredible, and Doug had the mist awesome Bloody Mary ever!!!!  It was made with Maple Bourbon and had bacon!!!!  Downtown Disney in California is much more low key than Orlando but it is very nice and definitely has that "Special Disney Charm."
Now we are relaxing and preparing for tomorrow.  I can't wait to spend the day in Disneyland!