ROAD TRIP 2011

This year's trip was all planned and we were ready to head on up to Washington and visit the Christensens.  The night before we were planning to leave, it was decided that the road trip might need to be cancelled, due to finances.  The car was all packed and we couldn't cancel our first hotel in Sacramento, SO, mommy and the kids headed off for a 4 day adventure to....????  Well, we started in Sacramento....Saturday April 2nd, we left Nana & Papa's and drove up the I-5 to our first hotel (Best Western Sandman).  We got there around dinner time and decided to head into Old Sacramento for food, since it was just around the corner.

Annabelle's

 We found this great All-You-Can-Eat Italian Place and the kids were in Heaven!  All the pizza, pasta, mac n' cheese, and salad you could want!  Then it was off to the candy shop to get some dessert and my parking validated.

We had a fun time but we were beat from the drive, so we headed back to the hotel for a movie.  While the kids were watching "Transformers", I began to plan the rest of the trip.  Thank Goodness for modern technology!  I pulled up a map of the area and saw that Yosemite wasn't too far away.  I had never been there....so why not?  Let's Go!

DAY 1:

(Sacramento - Sonora)

Sunday, April 3rd  - Our day started with a yummy FREE breakfast at the hotel.  After our tummies were full, we headed back to Old Sacramento for a day full of fun!  We hit up the Railroad Museum first and then we had a quick lunch before taking a little trip along the Sacramento River on a train.  We spent the next couple of hours walking through the town.  We got an old fashioned picture done and visited the Wells Fargo Museum.  The boys did some shooting in a shooting gallery and then we finished our visit with an ice cream treat and a carriage ride through the town. 

Railroad Museum

I turned it black and white-Can you find Luke, Cali & Gav?

Our Carriage

The perfect way to end the day!

After our Carriage Ride, it was off to the car.  I have a new found love and respect for our GPS (aka 'Kerrin my computer wife').  I just typed in the address of the Best Western in Sonora and off we went!  We drove through some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen.  Our favorite spots were Copperopolis and Lake Tulloch.  The beauty blew me away!  Sonora is a beautiful little mountain town, just northwest of Yosemite.  We enjoyed dinner at the hotel restaurant and then watched "Tron" in the hotel room.  It was a great first day!

Day 2:

(Sonora - Yosemite - Tulare)

We were up early and headed over to the restaurant for a FREE "Grand Slam-Style" Breakfast!  It was so yummy delicious!  Then the adventure began!  I plugged in the address for Yosemite National Park and off we went again.  "Kerrin" took us through some beautiful landscapes once again and we made it to the NW entrance around 10:00 AM.  We hopped out and were so excited to find SNOW!  The best part was that it wasn't even cold outside...but there was lots of snow to play around in.  Most of our day though, was spent in the car.  Well, kind of anyway.  I pulled over at every little pull-out to take pictures.  I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the place.  I also found out that I LOVE waterfalls.  I had to stop and take a picture of every single one!  The kids loved that (hee hee)!  

Can you see half dome?

Beautiful river valley and bridal veil fall

I wanted to get a closer look at the falls, so we did park and hike up to the bottom of Bridal Veil Fall.  

so pretty!

It was cold up there!  And we got all wet!

We got out a couple of more times to run around and play.  We did hike up to the visitors center and had a nice lunch.  And then, the kids were pretty much done.  I stopped a couple of more times for pictures and then we left the park.  I want to go back and stay longer some day!

Goodbye Yosemite!  We will miss you!

I wasn't sure where to go next... just wanted to get as far south as possible.  So we drove until I got tired.  That was in Tulare (not a very pretty place).  We found a Best Western that was nice and after dinner at Sonic, we all passed out hard!

Day 3:

(Tulare - Cambria - Simi)

I didn't want our trip to end just yet.  I also did not want to drive through the Central Valley again either-SO, with "Kerrin"'s help, we drove over some pretty farm country and through the pretty hills of Paso Robles to Cambria.  This is where I want to live someday.  We have driven through it before, but never really got out and seen the sights.  Today we did!

Moonstone Beach

the cliffs

Someday, this will be my front yard.

We ended up playing in Cambria for a couple of hours and then proceeded to drive the PCH back to Nana & Papa's house in Simi.  I love the scenery so much more this way, but do not like the traffic.  Our trip was over!  We had done so many wonderful things and seen so many amazing places...but we missed our hard working daddy.  It was time to go home........or so we thought...

Day 4:

(DISNEYLAND - HOME!)

Yep...We went to Disneyland!  Why not?  We have passes and it's on our way home!  It was very crowded, but the weather was great and my kids are such pros.  They love being there no matter what!  And, we also ran into our cousins later in the day, so that made it so much more special!  The one thing that we had to do though, was get Brody to the Jedi Training Academy.  Gavin did it when he was 5, Luke did it when he was 5, and now that Brody is 5-it was time!  Thanks to his siblings pointing at him to get picked- HE GOT PICKED!!!

HE FOUGHT DARTH VADER!!!!!

This was a great end to a great trip.  I'm so glad that we still could go and do an adventure. We are so grateful to our daddy for letting us go.  But we missed him badly!!!  We were very happy to come home and be with him again.  

THANK YOU!

If you want to see all 200+ pictures from the trip...Click Here.