Lake Tahoe - Round Two

 From Yosemite we went back to Lake Tahoe so my parents could see the beauty of it as well. Our first stop was to go tubing down the Truckee River. It was really more of a floating experience, but we had a great time doing. Kids, Titus and Beau even got a nice swim in!

On one of our days there, Dad and Beau went for a hike up a nearby mountain while mom and I took the kiddos to the "beach". I put that in quotes because it was really a rock bed leading up to the lake. Not really comfortable ground for laying around. But the water was crystal clear...and cold! 

Yosemite and My Parents!

 We left Lake Tahoe headed for Yosemite where we were meeting my parents who had flown in from NC. Yosemite was the only reservation we had on the books when we left our home in March to head west and we had been waiting eagerly for this one! Unfortunately, due to a scheduling issue we only stayed in Yosemite one night instead of three as we had originally hoped, but we made the best of it! After miles and miles of an extremely windy road from the Lake Tahoe area to Yosemite we were greeted by my parents who had already arrived, having driven in from Las Vegas. Excitement was all around! What a great way to be greeted at a new site! 

As always, the Lord has great plans and provides for us what we need when we need it. Upon arrival into Yosemite one of the tires on the trailer had gone flat from a nail and when we opened the door to the camper the barn door to the bedroom had completely fallen/broken off. Without my dad being there, all of the "fixing" would have been on Beau to do alone, but four hands is always better than two in situations like these. We were extremely thankful. 

With our one night in Yosemite we certainly wanted to make the most of it. We did the famous drive through Yosemite Valley to see Half Dome and El Capitan and then went for a hike to Mirror Lake where the kids got to swim and we had a picnic. 

Lake Tahoe visit #1 - Emerald Bay

 We left Mike's house headed for Lake Tahoe. I honestly had always wondered what the big deal was with this lake and was it going to live up to it's reputation? I can't speak to it's full reputation, but I can tell you that the water is crystal clear and so many different shades of blue, green, teal, etc. The view of the lake with the tall pines surrounding it and the rocks on the bottom make it majestic and peaceful.

Our first stop at Lake Tahoe was Emerald Bay. This was highly recommended as a great state park to visit on the lake. We made the drive and arrived to find absolutely NO PARKING. When we found a spot along the side of this windy road, we were about a mile or more from the state park and about a mile in elevation. That meant a hike down to the state park via a service road, which...you guessed it, meant a hike up on the way out. Side note: grade was 7%. It was a bruiser! The kids cried the second half of the mile all of the way until the end. Whew!

But the park itself was beautiful and the kids had a blast getting to swim, make friends and play in the sand. 

Mike and Melissa's

 We left Napa and were welcomed at Beau's boss' house just outside of Roseville, CA. Months ago when we left on this adventure Beau told his boss we were coming to see him. At some point along the way (I think it was New Mexico) they were talking and Beau gave him a general date on when we'd be there and his boss was surprised! Surprised we were still at it. Surprised that we were serious in saying we were coming all the way to the west coast. Surprised we would be there sooner than we thought. We felt like Cousin Eddie showing up at his house. "We're here!" 

They were incredibly hospitable and insisted we stay in the house. Their kind daughter gave up her room for us. And their sweet dog, who was like a bear, embraced us. Did you know Newfoundlands are simply bred to save people from the water? This is Luca. Caroline would jump in their pool and Luca would jump in after her, swim towards her and if she could get a stick around his neck, she could climb onto his back and use the stick as a handle and Luca would take her out of the water. You can imagine that it was quite a phenomenon and one we had to try over and over!

Mike and Melissa were sweet to take us out on the boat at the nearby lake. The kids had a blast tubing with their daughter, Lennon.

We had an incredible time relaxing, taking hikes, swimming, boating, and generally getting to know this wonderful family in such a great way! 

On to Napa!

After leaving what seemed like one of the worst RV parks we'd ever stayed in, we headed to the great part of California to take part in some pure-tee California wine! Napa Valley was calling us! Thankfully we arrived to a wonderful campground with trees and one that was super clean and right in the heart of Napa Valley. Napa welcomed us the weather in the high 70's, which was a nice reprieve from the sweltering heat of southern California. Naturally, while there, we took part in a couple of wine tastings. I had found a few places that were kid friendly and dog friendly. First of which was Alpha Omega Winery. Seriously one of the better Chardonnays I've had.

Naturally, one winery would have been a waste of our location so we hit up another...in a castle!

And the view was spectacular!

Last part of Napa, which was definitely the kid's favorite was the Jelly Belly Bean Factory. A highlight for us all!

Sequoia NP

 Sequoia has by far been one of my favorite trees. There's so something so comforting to me to be around such large trees. It gives a sense of safety and peace to among trees that have been around for thousands of years, have grown and grown, withstood fires and wind and because the tree around them is standing, they too continue to stand. It's majestic and quite frankly it smells really nice.

I hope you're getting a good idea of how large these trees truly are. General Sherman (not pictured) is the largest tree in the world and it's right here in Sequoia NP. Later you'll hear about more Sequoia trees in Redwoods National Park (different breed of sequoias mind you).

It just so happened that while in Sequoia we celebrated the kiddos' completion of Kindergarten!!! Oh we had to celebrate...with cake! 1st grade here we come!

And remember that discussion on laundry? This is a perfect example of a really bad laundry experience. RV park says there are laundry facilities. Kathryn takes her two loads to the laundry facility. There are four washers; two are in working order. (Thankfully that was enough for us.) Kathryn finishes washes and wants to dry to find that while two of the drawers are marked as out of order, the other should also be marked because they are, in fact, out of order. And then the below has to take place. We looked like Sandford & Son or the Clampetts (before they moved to the Beverly Hills).

Nevada - Trip into Death Valley

 While in Nevada, Beau and Bill took the kiddos into California to see Death Valley while I worked. 

                                                                        And it was hot!

This is continually mentioned as one of Caroline's favorite places she's visited because she tasted the salt of Death Valley. She and Beau picked up a big piece right from the ground and licked it. Salty!