Family Vacation

(In-N-Out, Redding,CA)

2 weeks ago we went on a family road trip to Tahoe and Yosemite! This was Hazels first long car trip so we decided it was time to face her carseat forward. She wasn't as amazed as I thought she would be, but she was definitely not as fussy as she was on our Seattle trip. My favorite times was when she would nap though :)

The first night we stayed in Redding, CA. That was a rough night, because Hazy was not used to the pack n play crib and she was just not liking the hotel I guess. We ended up taking turns driving her around and eventually she passed out of exhaustion, and so did we!

The next morning we started our drive to Tahoe. We went through Lassen Volcanic Monument, but I missed most of the drive through it because I had horrible sinus pressure and just reclined my seat to try and sleep. The rest of the drive was very scenic, we watched the sun set on Lake Tahoe as we ate pizza for dinner. It was dark by the time we got to our hotel. Hazel had another rough night.


(South Lake Tahoe)

We stayed in Tahoe for one week at the Marriott Timber Lodge. It was a nice hotel, had a heated pool and 4 hot tubs, which we used each night! During the days we would drive around to scenic places and take pictures of the beautiful fall foliage. My favorite place that we saw was Emerald Bay. We saw the sun set one night there and it was totally my colors - pinks, blues and purples, fading in to dark blues.

One day we went to Mono Lake and spent some time at the visitor center and we even walked on this nice boardwalk down to the lake's edge to see the "tufas" (salt formations).



(Lily Lake, South Lake Tahoe)

I brought my spinning wheel along and used almost every night for an hour, I even finished 2 skeins of yarn! I used my wheel more than I worked on all the knitting I brought. I had a chance to visit the one yarn store in town (Wool Tree) and spent an hour chatting with the people in the shop and knitting a bit.


(Tunnel View, Yosemite NP)

On our way home we stayed one night in Yosemite's Curry Village. Our "room" was a tiny cabin that had 1 double and 2 twin beds, inuslated canvas walls and a heater. Can't say it was the best night ever, since the 3 of us squeezed onto a double bed, and Hazy got the prime sleeping space (the middle, with both of us hanging on the edge of either side). The whole place is covered in "Be Bear Aware" signs and making sure all food and toiletry items are stowed in the bear boxes. We didn't see any bears, but they neglected to warn us about mice! We had a mouse that chewed through a bag of chips, a granola bar and couple other things.

I have been wanting to go to Yosemite for years now to re-visit the place my family went camping every year when I was little. Unfortunately it was cloudy and rainy for the two days we were there. This was the first time I had not seen Half Dome! That's ok, we had fun hiking in the Tuolomne Meadows and checking out the Visitor Center and Village Store. On the drive out we took the road up to the Hetch Hetchy Dam. The weather there was not too bad and we could see all across the lake. I bet this place was so pretty before they dammed it up. It was supposed to be like the Yosemite Valley.

We stayed in Redding on the way home again, and by then Hazel was used to the pack n play so the night was easier on us. The next day we drove home in a huge rainstorm. We stopped in Ashland for lunch and for a walking break, that happened to include a Starbucks and Yarn Shop :) A few nice things came home with me! Our final stop was in Salem for dinner with Owen's brothers and then finally we made it home!