I’m out in Boston for work this week, so Charlotte gets to take the kids camping instead of me. Looks like a great couple of days for camping in beautiful Big Basin. I have no idea why Nick has tied Monica up with the chair. Car camping with a tent cabin makes for some really great meals.
It may be foggy out there today, but that can’t dampen the enthusiasm of this crowd.
A short hike and some tubing fun before hitting the road back to Santa Cruz. A quick stop at Donner State Park before continuing on our journey. Now it’s just up and over Donner Pass before getting back on the highway. I’m really glad we took this detour, the view is unbelievable. Now this would be quite the bike climb, though the downhill looks very scary.
Lots of activities planned for today while we’re at Lake Tahoe. I brought the bike along for a ride around the lake. I get out early to beat the traffic and the heat to enjoy all 73 miles and just over 4 hours of riding. Meanwhile Gabe and Ari find plenty of sticks and rocks to play with in the back. Charlotte, Paul, Anat, and Stephanie go for what looks like a beautiful hike. ...
We’re headed up to the Twissleman’s place in Lake Tahoe for the weekend. Paula, Anat, and Stephanie have been coming up here regularly for many years with their families. We’re so happy they invited us to join them. After a long car trip with a fun stop at the Jelly Belly factory, it’s time for dinner. Unfortunately the service is horrible at the restaurant and we only manage to get out of here after two and a half hours. It sure is a nice view while we wait though. ...
Today we took the kids for a hike in the Redwoods with a nice stop at the river.I think Monica is convinced she’s an otter. Gabe enjoys painting himself using the river rocks.
Charlotte has been taking the kids to the beach every Wednesday afternoon as part of a neighborhood get together while the kids are out of school. They all really look forward to the trip and a chance to play in the water. Seems like it’s also a good opportunity to play in the sand as well.
We haven’t made it out fishing all season, but today Gabe and I are fixing that problem. Ed sets us up with the best boat on the wharf and a few special gadgets to help in our search for fish. A few shots around our fine ship. While Gabe focuses on the job of catching the big one. Gabe didn’t have a lot of luck with that fish head. The otters sure had the right idea though. And the final tally was one rock fish and a whole pile of small flat fish. Looking forward to our next trip. ...
My idea of a great day is a big bike ride followed by a family outing to the beach. After a New York style breakfast of bagels and lox, we pick up a rental wetsuit and board for Nick and head down to Rio Del Mar. I really wanted to get Charlotte out in the water too, but my main goal was showing Nick what he’s been missing. Needless to say he’s totally hooked now, and we’re shopping for yet another wetsuit. ...
Today we headed down to Watsonville to check out the Gizdich Ranch. After a few treats at the ranch, we stopped at their berry fields to see what looked good. We filled up on a pile of olallieberries, and stuffed ourselves while we picked. Charlotte will be making a pie later tonight that everyone is really looking forward to.