Day 11 - Fisherman's Wharf

Today we took a ferry across the bay from Vallejo to San Francisco. That was way more fun than driving over there. These are commuter ferrys so they are really big - they hold about 350 people. It started out freezing in the morning, then got a bit warmer mid afternoon, and by early afternoon we were freezing again. That wind off the ocean can be quite cold.

It takes about an hour to get all the way across on this huge double decker ferry.

The view as we came into San Francisco.

Pier 39, where we spent most of the day. It's a little bit of a "tourist trap" with mostly souvenier shops and eating places, but there were some fun things to do, too. We had fun looking at things. And of course, spending some money. This is the first time on our whole vacation that we bought any souveniers, and we went to town.

We hit up a farmer's market that had the biggest strawberries I have ever seen. It's hard to tell from this picture, but they were about the size of a golf ball. And SOOOOO yummy. Their size wasn't the only thing that was big - the price was horrible. $9.00 a pound. I was wondering if they came all the way from Mongolia or something. Actually, we passed many strawberry fields yesterday. Seems like they would be cheaper, but I guess that's what you get when you buy them on the pier. We only bought 5 - one for each of us.

By the way, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!! We have been married 17 years today. 17 YEARS!?!?! Are you kidding!?!?! I am getting old. This is how we celebrated our anniversary - feeding each other giant strawberries dipped in chocolate in front of our children. How's that for exciting? But on a more romantic note, we came to Pier 39 when we were on our honeymoon 17 years ago. We went to Yellowstone first, then to the bay area for a reception with Dean's family. While we were here we rode the ferry over to the pier for a day! We really didn't plan to be here for our anniversary, but it worked out nicely.

Notice the sunburn on my arms and neck? Why is it that sunburn hurts WAY MORE the next day? I am really hurting tonight. (Do you feel sorry for me yet? Come on, give me some sympathy).

We left the pier to go catch our ferry, but we got their late and it was crowded. We figured we would have a better chance if we waited for the next fairy, so we went down Fisherman's Wharf a little. We got to actually go down into this submarine. Hats off to those navy boys - I don't know how on earth they can live down in one of those things for long. I couldn't stand 20 minutes! Tight quarters for sure. The kids thought it was very cool, but Jarod was really worried that since we missed the ferry we were going to have to ride the sub back to the hotel. He was a little nervous about that.
When we rode the ferry back home, we thought it would be fun to sit out on the deck. When we have ridden tour boats around Jackson Lake, everyone rushes to get "the good seats" out on deck, so we couldn't believe our good fortune when nobody took those seats. Didn't take us long to figure out why. Sitting on deck in a nice leisure lake cruise is nice, but sitting on deck on a huge boat going 60 miles an hour is a different story. It was COLD and WET. We kept offering to take the kids back inside, but they loved it. By the time we got back to shore, Lindsie was literally dripping. Too fun.

Day 10 - Santa Cruz Beach/Boardwak

Has it really been ten days already! Boy time flies! Today we spent the entire day at Santa Cruz Beach. I have one word for you - SUNBURN!!! I took sunscreen, but didn't think to put it on until we started to feel the burn. OOPS! But we had a GREAT day, especially the kids.

For anyone who hasn't seen one, this is a beach/boardwalk. At first the kids wanted to jump on all the rides. It didn't take long for them to decide that the ocean is a ride all by itself! We had fun walking up and down the boardwalk, though. This is the first beach we went to that actually had people on it. Didn't bother the kids at all. In fact, Jarod made several new friends.

Heading out to the beach.

Mom and her sandcastles again. This time I bought a bucket and shovel.

Jarod has no fear. He just heads right out into the ocean and lets the waves overtake him! Sometimes he scared me to death, but he just loved it.

Look at these cute kids boogey boarding! You'd think they were raised on the ocean how fast they picked this up.

Even Jarod boarded a little, with some help from daddy!

Day 9 - Monterey Bay

Today we decided to drive a little further down the coast and see Monterey Bay. Dean wanted to go to Pebble Beach at Monterey Bay and do some golfing, but oh well. We went to the Monterey Aquarium and then walked down Cannery Row to check out some shops. We even walked away without buying anything (except some candy!). The aquarium was awesome. We saw a ton of fish and other sea animals and even got to touch some.

What do you see in there Jarod?

This is my daughter, kissing a sea cucumber. Only Lindsie!!!

Nemo and Dori are in here somewhere!!

This is where we ate lunch. Can't beat that view! We got the last available table and it just happened to be right in the corner by the big windows. The table even came equipped with binoculars for looking out over the ocean. Behind DJ's head you can see some rocks. There were 6 huge seals sunning on the rocks. It was fun to watch them compete with birds for space on the rocks. (The seals won, hands down).

I could sit and watch the jelly fish all day. Something calming about watching them float along. They had a huge jellyfish display from the big ones you see here, to teeny tiny ones that had to be viewed through a magnifying window, to clear ones that you almost couldn't see.

There was also a HUGE tank with sharks and tuna the size of Jarod. We couldn't get any good pictures because the room was dark and the flash just reflected off the glass.

Remember when I said the only thing we bought was some candy? We found this "little" candy store where the kids went nuts. How do you even choose?!?!? Look at DJ's face at this make-your-own-candy machine. Can you guess what he chose? Dean and I love salt water taffy, so we thought that would be a fun treat to buy at the bay. We got in the car and opened it up, only to discover that it was made at Taffy Town . . . . in Salt Lake City!!! We came a long way to buy taffy made 10 minutes from home!

On the way down and back up the coast we stopped at several beaches. The kids just can't get enough of chasing waves in and out of shore. One beach we hit up on the way back had these guys. They were kite surfing (I guess that's what you call it??) There were about 20 of them out there just hanging on these kite thingy's and riding the surf. We sat and watched them for quite awhile. It was cool to watch. They sometimes got some serious air.

Last night and tonight we are staying in a place called Half Moon Bay. It's a cute little town between San Francisco and Monterey. We really like this hotel and wish we were staying longer! But tomorrow it's time to move on. Only a few days left to see everything! Tomorrow we go to Santa Cruz Beach/Boardwalk and then change hotels for the next two nights. We are thinking we will go to Fisherman's Wharf on Saturday (hopefully we can deal with the weekend crowds!) and then on Sunday go see where Daddy grew up before heading towards home. We are having a blast, but getting tired and ready to be back in our own beds!

Day 7-8 Redwood Forest and Golden Gate

First, a little disclaimer. We took hundreds of pictures in the Redwood Forest and just couldn't quite capture on camera what we could see with our eyes. The majesty of these trees is just incredible. Not only are the trees big around, the are very tall. As we walked through the forest, we could only rarely glimpse the sky. Not much sun peaks through. Despite the lack of sunshine, the ground is covered with green, mostly ferns. It is also a very quiet place - very peaceful. It was easy to understand that our Heavenly Father created such beauty to let us know that he is there. We could have spent all day there. Even as we drove down the highway, the trees were so huge it was like driving with an imense wall of trees on either side.

Heading into Stout Grove.


Can you see Lindsie in there?



If a giant tree falls in a forest, does anybody hear it? This is the bottom of the tree.

A giant playground.

Tree huggers.


You can only see about 1/4 the way up this tree.


Oh no!The dreaded orange cones! I can't believe they grow those here, too! We ran into more than our share as we headed down the coast toward the bay. We drove for about 5 hours, leaving the beauty behind us and approaching the chaos that is California. We did finally see blue sky for the first time on our trip - until the fog on the bay rolled in!

Looking out across the bay. The city you can see is San Fransciso. You can see the fog rolling in over the city.


The Golden Gate Bridge. We drove across the bridge on our way to the hotel we are staying at tonight further down the coast. See the big ship going under the bridge?

Tomorrow - - -who knows?!?!?

Day 6 - WOW

This is where I had to blog in Oregon: The house we stayed at didn't have internet, but if I went up the hill and sat on this log, I could piggyback on a nearby unsecure internet to do my blogging! Kind of funny. It only worked the first day. When I went back up there the next day, the signal was too weak and I couldn't connect.

First I have to say that our host here in Oregon has been so great. He set up some really fun activities for our family - things I'm sure we wouldn't have been able to do otherwise and probably will never do again. We are very grateful for his kindness.

Today he got us up early for a fishing trip on the lake right out the back door. Sadly, no fish were caught. But it was fun anyway!

When we got back from fishing, he had a surprise for us. His friend, who owns a small prop plane, had agreed to take us up over the ocean (and by "us" I mean "them." My feet stayed firmly planted on the ground!).

They had some awesome views of the ocean and the beach.

The best part - Lindsie and DJ got to actually fly the plane (you see why I stayed on the ground!)

This video shows DJ turning the plane.

This video is during take-off when Lindsie was at the helm (the pilot handled take off/landing).

After the plane ride, we thought we had done it all. But, wait, there was more! We got to take some ATV's out on the sand dunes. That was great fun! I even drove one BY MYSELF with Jarod as my passenger. It took me awhile to get the hang of it - I kept crashing into the bushes. But once I got the feel for the machine I was off. Lindsie is old enough to drive one by herself. After flying a plane and driving an ATV, she thinks she is ready for a driver's license (heaven help us).

While Lindsie had her turn on the ATV's, Dean, DJ, Jarod and I played on the beach. The boys jumped right in the water. It was way too cold for me. I was content to just hang out on the beach and make sand castles. Just a tip - don't make a sand castle too close to the water when the tide is coming in. My castle didn't last long! I am a day behind on posting because we couldn't connect yesterday, but it is late and I am too tired to post anymore. Today we drove down the coast into California. We saw some incredible things. Stay tuned . . . .

Day 5 - Oregon Coast

Today we spent the day driving up the coast and seeing the sights. We went to the sea lion caves and even saw a whale swimming off shore! We hiked to a forest that opened up into Hobbit Beach and walked over to a lighthouse. We are VERY tired. Time for bed!! We watched this racoon eat his dinner right outside the window while we ate our dinner. He wasn't afraid of us one bit.

We saw this lighthouse from across the cove, then drove over and hiked up to it.

There's no better sunset than over the ocean.

We drove up to cape perpetua - the highest point on the west coast. It was an awesome view.

The ocean sure is beautiful in Oregon. Pine trees just suddenly turn into ocean!

The kids found lots of sea shells and even a couple star fish on the beach.

Couldn't keep Jarod out of the water - even fully clothed! It was so cold, I can't believe how wet he got.

See lion caves. I've never seen sea lions except on TV. They sure make a lot of noise.

Tomorrow - sand dunes!!

We are stopping for a bite to eat in Eugene at a restaurant that has internet access so figured I'd blog quick. What an incredible day today. We saw some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. I can't believe how green everything is here. I don't know if I have ever seen so many trees. It feels like a rainforest. We took 112 pictures today. I'll try to pick a few good ones. The first falls we stopped at - horsetail falls.

This is multnomah falls. It falls into one pool, then runs over into a second fall. Together they make the second tallest waterfall in America. We hiked up to that bridge. Really neat.

Trees like this everywhere. Moss grows on all the trees. It looks so cool.

Beautiful girl, beautiful place.

This was our favorite waterfall - Latourell Falls. It dropped straight down without even hitting the cliff. It looks like it is coming out of the top of a heart shaped rock!

Aren't we cute!?!

It was a cloudy day, but the view of the river was incredible.