On to Cali

If you ever have the chance to drive I-5 thru Oregon and California, DO IT!! If you do not have a good reason then just make one up. We did! Here it is:

E-man, Marcy, and their 5 kids are living in Central Cal for the summer doing work for Choice Books. Choice already has a team and connections here and E-man's job is to collect more accounts. Or something like that. Whatever the reason, move to California if you get the invitation.

The timing seemed perfect. We were already going to Oregon, and the men wanted to take a biking trip this summer so why not drive on down and shack up with the Stoltzfuses. And why not invite more people? Chad and friend Sam came too. More on that later.....
The drive was spectacular, even inspite of the small car. Here's Mt. Shasta, Northern CA.Two reasons to get out and play; if you traveled all day and if you and your friends are staying in a small apartment. Go climb a gym set!! The kids and grown-ups had lots of fun in the playground out behind the house.Marcy and family were such good sports in fitting us into their small sparsely furnished place. We were here for fun and fellowship ( and biking) not for 5-star accommodations. And they'd only arrived a few days before us, so we knew not to expect alot. They came in a mini-van and by plane, and we were by plane, so you know we had very little. I promised her we'd go to Goodwill if we needed more bedding,etc. but we didn't buy a thing. Dave and i now know we can share a pillow if necessary. At home we're so picky about having the right one, and ours are almost identical, but that's what i love about vacation, "be content with what you can pack in a suitcase". Just for the record tho, i don't enjoy camping. That's a different kettle of fish.
The kids got somebody's money's worth outta the pool. The college kids had gone home for the summer, so we were usually the only ones here.
First outing.......the men biked to Napa Valley and 1/2 a day later Marcy and I drove down to meet them, load 'em up, and take 'em out for a nice dinner. Gorgeous area!!
Wow! That's a lot of wine, eh?
We had a lovely evening together. I think we planned next year's bike trip. Our kids are mostly trained and grown-up (ish) so hopefully our fun as couples is just in the beginning stages. Oh, wait.....there's Dylan to deal with. Oh, well, surely someone will take care of him.

Gearing up for the big one! These two and Chad and Sam are heading for Yosemite National Park. They plan to ride for 2 days. I can't remember how many miles they rode, but it took us (ladies, 9 kids and 2 vans,) 4 plus hours to get there.
We caught E-man and Dave in the park on the side of the mountain. We found Chad and Sam a long time ago and had them in the car with us.We were very glad to rescue our men from such ridiculous biking. They were running on empty and appeared happy to see us,too. After they fueled up we were ready to see the sights. Less than a minute of driving ( going uphill,remember)we started down the other side, but we will not speak of it again!

The four girls.......
....the four boys....................and Brooke.

Brooke falls kinda in-between when we two families are together, but the big girls were very kind with including her at times and she can keep up with the boys pretty well most times. They,too were nice to her. Dylan loved her!

Finally we see 'something'. I was tired of driving thru the trees for so long. It was an awesome sight when we got to the heart of the park.
This country's tallest falls. Yosemite was on my bucket list. Check.

Yellowstone is still on my list. So is New Mexico.......
Closer. Same falls. Amazing fact: this water all but dries up and is only a trickle by August.I'm adding this picture just to prove that Chad was indeed with us. He and Sam flew out to CA just to bike with the guys. They stayed elsewhere and did some sightseeing besides biking. Here we are picking up the packs (weight) that he'd discarded on his journey earlier this day.

It was a LONG day, but one worth remembering.
On to San Fran, a 2 hour drive. Last year when we crossed over here it was dark and raining. I was not able to get a picture then, so i was happy to come back. Today it is foggy, duh!, but not so bad. We explored this old army fort thingy.....
....and then we grabbed a few pictures in the wind.
Dave and the kids walked across while i drove and waited for them. And waited....and later learned that it's 3 miles long! No wonder it took them an hour. That and the fact that they watched boats and really checked out the whole structure. I can tell by the pictures.
It's a beautiful red bridge. Here's a few facts i read:

Building the Golden Gate Bridge

The now-familiar art deco design and International Red color were chosen, and construction began in 1933. The Golden Gate Bridge project was completed in 1937, a prominent date in San Francisco history. Strauss was a pioneer in building safety, making history with innovations including hard hats and daily sobriety tests. The Bay Bridge (which was being built at the same time) lost 24 lives while the Golden Gate Bridge lost only 12, an outstanding accomplishment in an era when one man was killed on most construction projects for every million spent. ( and this project cost $35 million, so quite an accomplishment indeed! ~Lil)

So now that we've crossed over the bridge, we found lunch and Tyrell. E-man was working in San Fran today, brought Ty with him, but now handed him over to us. Josiah sure enjoys alittle boy company.
Brookie's kids meal came in a car!!

We drove on Filbert, the steepest street. So steep that the sidewalks are in steps!!
So so cool! You gotta go there. Or just watch Princess Diaries.
We drove down Lombard Street and got to the crookedest part. I never knew anything like it existed. Now i do and you do too!
Pier 39. Fisherman's Wharf. Remember Atonement Child?
Busy busy place.
Loved it!
The sea lions took over a section here. So the people gave up and made it an attraction.
I loved watching them and they were doing nothing but sleeping. Imagine how much fun i'dda had if they'd been awake. It takes very little to keep me happy.Back in Davis......we loved walking toward downtown for coffee, shopping, or treats. I've never ever seen a biking town like this one! This is at a busy intersection, but bikers and walkers get to go first.
Our teenagers
Sugarplum is the coolest place. You choose your own flavors of frozen custard and then you pick your toppings,too.
I did say toppings, right. Imagine that!
Our last evening here. What a great time we've had.
Thank-you so much E-man, Marcy, Vic, Val, EJ, Ty, and Dylan for hosting us. We had a lovely time and you did a super job of putting up with us and fitting us into your home. Where to next?! We only need a week's notice.