After a somewhat restful night at our campsite, our next stop is Pfeiffer beach. It’s a long narrow road down to the beach, but it’s quite the location. Gabe certainly enjoys climbing on all the rocks. A hike up a path in the cliffs rewards us with some great views.

The boys and I are off for a camping trip to Big Sur before summer vacation comes to an end. We enjoyed a great hike at Andrew Molera park. The rocky beach reminded us of some of the beaches in Upper Michigan.

The fabulous meals continue this morning with a few wildlife guests wanting to crash the party. We have no shortage of awesome trees on the California coast.

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.