I edited out the duplicates and the extraneous shots of children sleeping or beautiful tree trunks. So if you want to enjoy our vacation photos, the slideshow is 15 minutes.
http://youtu.be/Yb66cIVkHaw
We started here in Fort Worth, TX. Our first night was spent in Childress, TX. Then on to New Mexico and Arizona. Lots of driving and night two and three were in Williams, Arizona. We lucked out and were upgraded at the Motel 6. Unfortunately the penthouse of the Motel 6 had a broken air conditioning and no coffee or even kleenex. We were still grateful we scored the nicest room in that hotel.
We spent a day at the Grand Canyon and then headed to California. We stayed in Mammoth Lakes, CA, which is apparently a ski resort town. Thanks to Priceline.com, accommodations were just as cheap as the Motel 6, but so much nicer. The next day we drove to Yosemite.
Yosemite was beautiful and we were all surprised at the enormity and majesty of the park. We drove for two hours inside the park to get to our destination at the waterfall. Hiking was much easier there than at the Grand Canyon because of shade trees and lower temperatures. The kids waded in lower falls and we all looked for bears in the trees. Due to wildfires during the last few years, some of the trees had burn marks, but life was sprouting from the places of destruction.
The next day we drove to the Redwood forest, which was our ultimate destination. We spent a day exploring trees that were bigger than our car. We even drove through one.
The next day we drove to San Rafael with a stop to see the Pacific Ocean. It was very cold, but both kids were impervious and put on swimsuits anyway. Adam put on his suit and got in the water to supervise/act like a kid himself. I had to stay dry to take photos....(also, I can live without getting in the cold water.)
The next day we drove into San Francisco and met up with one of my lifelong best friends, Anabelle Garay. Anabelle was a bridesmaid at our wedding and is also Claire's godmother. It was fun to see her at home in California and explore some of the sites with her as a personal tour guide. We rode a streetcar, saw Ghiradelli Square, and even drove down Lombard Street. We also found an excellent used bookstore.
After a day in San Fran, we headed home. The first night was spent in a small city in California, just two hours away from San Francisco. The next day we stopped to see the Hollywood sign and get stuck in Los Angeles traffic. We made it to Tuscon that night. The next day we drove and drove and drove with only stops for bathroom, gas, and lunch. We made it home at 3:45 a.m. the next morning.
Memories I want to savor of the trip: Paul reading books so fast we had to keep buying more, the kids sworn in as Park Rangers at three parks, Adam's excellent driving on all the mountain roads, the cold ocean water, and trees bigger than our car. Also, the hilarious situations that packing animal masks provided us.
We were lucky to see so many breath-taking views in one trip. I only read three books because most of the time I was just soaking in all the natural beauty surrounding us. I am so grateful.
