Thursday, July 26, 2018
California Summer 2018: San Francisco
By this time, Michael had used up his vacation time, so we checked into a hotel in San Francisco so Michael could pop into the Cisco office in San Jose while the boys and I played tourist for a few more days. We took a boat tour to see the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, checked out Chinatown, and mainly just walked a million miles (which is one of my favorite things to do).
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
California Summer 2018: Redwood National Park and Big Sur
We rented a cabin at the tippy top of a mountain in Redwood National Park so we could chill and hike for a couple of days.
I think in general that I am pretty good at taking landscape photos, but you don't even have to try in Big Sur. It's just that gorgeous.
We made a special point of stopping at Bixby Canyon Bridge so Michael and I could serenade the boys with Death Cab for Cutie. Also, I like this picture a lot because the scenery is so beautiful (combined with the angle of the shot) that it looks like the boys are standing in front of a green screen.
Then we drove through more of California's gorgeously diverse landscape...
...to drive Highway One along the coast. If anything warrants a good photo dump, it is the beautiful Pacific coast.
I think in general that I am pretty good at taking landscape photos, but you don't even have to try in Big Sur. It's just that gorgeous.
We made a special point of stopping at Bixby Canyon Bridge so Michael and I could serenade the boys with Death Cab for Cutie. Also, I like this picture a lot because the scenery is so beautiful (combined with the angle of the shot) that it looks like the boys are standing in front of a green screen.
Monday, July 23, 2018
California Summer 2018: Los Angeles
On the last morning of our stay at Josh's, Michael and I woke up and said, "Maybe we should go to Disney."
Neither of us are big amusement park fans, but we were in California, so why not?
First, we endured the L.A. traffic so Rylan could see the giant telescope...
...and Michael could side eye the Hollywood sign...
We checked into a hotel, where I spent the evening figuring out how to survive and master Disney. Apparently, I became too good of an expert: We arrived bright and early, rode all the rides (some multiple times), ate Dole Whips, and by early evening, we were like, "Welp, guess we're done."
Michael's lack of amusement at amusement parks partly stems from his tendency to get vertigo. He takes dramamine on plane rides and is the designated driver on road trips because he gets car sick in the passenger seat, so picture him on an amusement park ride. On Star Tours, to be exact - one of those motion simulator rides where you put on 3-D glasses and stare at a screen while sitting in a box that shakes, rattles, and rolls but doesn't actually move anywhere. 30 seconds into the ride, I glanced at Michael to see sweat pouring from his face. He was gripping the armrests like he was about to pass out, and then he started dry heaving. I really thought I was going to have to get the poor teenage ride operator to stop the ride and let us off, but Michael made it through without vomiting on everybody. After that, he was done with rides, though.
The next day, Michael decided to play some poker while the boys and I explored Venice Beach. I had planned to spend a couple of hours on the beach before heading to our next location, but Michael had a major goof-up during one poker game that 1) made us wait for hours in the parking lot of the casino while 2) some casino head honchos debated whether or not they should give Michael thousands of dollars, which 3) forced us to drive through the mountains in pitch black darkness on the edge of a cliff for hours and hours. Remember that time I almost ran out of gas in the middle of Texas and reported that "I have never been quite so stressed out in my entire life"? This was more stressful.
(Michael would have to explain the whole situation about what happened at the casino. It has something to do with poker rules, so I tuned out while he was explaining it to me...")
Neither of us are big amusement park fans, but we were in California, so why not?
First, we endured the L.A. traffic so Rylan could see the giant telescope...
...and Michael could side eye the Hollywood sign...
We checked into a hotel, where I spent the evening figuring out how to survive and master Disney. Apparently, I became too good of an expert: We arrived bright and early, rode all the rides (some multiple times), ate Dole Whips, and by early evening, we were like, "Welp, guess we're done."
Michael's lack of amusement at amusement parks partly stems from his tendency to get vertigo. He takes dramamine on plane rides and is the designated driver on road trips because he gets car sick in the passenger seat, so picture him on an amusement park ride. On Star Tours, to be exact - one of those motion simulator rides where you put on 3-D glasses and stare at a screen while sitting in a box that shakes, rattles, and rolls but doesn't actually move anywhere. 30 seconds into the ride, I glanced at Michael to see sweat pouring from his face. He was gripping the armrests like he was about to pass out, and then he started dry heaving. I really thought I was going to have to get the poor teenage ride operator to stop the ride and let us off, but Michael made it through without vomiting on everybody. After that, he was done with rides, though.
The next day, Michael decided to play some poker while the boys and I explored Venice Beach. I had planned to spend a couple of hours on the beach before heading to our next location, but Michael had a major goof-up during one poker game that 1) made us wait for hours in the parking lot of the casino while 2) some casino head honchos debated whether or not they should give Michael thousands of dollars, which 3) forced us to drive through the mountains in pitch black darkness on the edge of a cliff for hours and hours. Remember that time I almost ran out of gas in the middle of Texas and reported that "I have never been quite so stressed out in my entire life"? This was more stressful.
(Michael would have to explain the whole situation about what happened at the casino. It has something to do with poker rules, so I tuned out while he was explaining it to me...")
Sunday, July 22, 2018
California Summer 2018: San Diego
After Kentucky, we made a quick pitstop at home to reunite with Michael before catching a flight to California to see my brother. Typically on our epic summer travels, we load up my little Camry, but since Michael would be with us the whole trip and since driving out to California would make the trip too long, we decided to fly to San Diego and rent an SUV. The boys were in heaven about both decisions. First plane ride for all three of them, and sooo much more leg room in the rental car.
Of course, the first thing to do in California is take a trip to the beach. I really love these photos I took of my boys with Josh's crazy daughter Violet in the background.
Rylan and his cousin Tessa are best buds for life.
Josh looks like a crazy person when he goes to the beach - definitely doesn't look like he lives in San Diego!
We also took a fairy ride over to Coronado Island and spent the afternoon moseying around. The same day was some kind of Comic-Con, so traffic was insane. We spent forever trying to find a place to park, and then we definitely got our steps in that day.
And Eli and his doppelgänger Henry plotted to take over the world.
Of course, the first thing to do in California is take a trip to the beach. I really love these photos I took of my boys with Josh's crazy daughter Violet in the background.
Rylan and his cousin Tessa are best buds for life.
Josh looks like a crazy person when he goes to the beach - definitely doesn't look like he lives in San Diego!
We also took a fairy ride over to Coronado Island and spent the afternoon moseying around. The same day was some kind of Comic-Con, so traffic was insane. We spent forever trying to find a place to park, and then we definitely got our steps in that day.
And Eli and his doppelgänger Henry plotted to take over the world.
Saturday, July 7, 2018
Kentucky 2018
At the end of June, we began our annual epic summer odyssey, starting with a visit to my parents' house in Kentucky. We went back to the splash fountain in Bowling Green, which always warrants a good photo dump:
We also got together with Becky and her kids for a fun day at Beech Bend, an amusement park near my parents' house that I'd never been to. The rides were mostly the kind you'd find at a pop-up fair (Scrambler, swings, Gravatron, etc.), but they have a stellar water park that I'd definitely go back for.
We also got together with Becky and her kids for a fun day at Beech Bend, an amusement park near my parents' house that I'd never been to. The rides were mostly the kind you'd find at a pop-up fair (Scrambler, swings, Gravatron, etc.), but they have a stellar water park that I'd definitely go back for.
Sunday, July 1, 2018
Quick trip to DC
While Cole and Eli were at scout camp, Michael, Rylan, and I took a trip to Monticello. This was a trip 30 years in the making. When I was in elementary school, I developed a hero worship for Thomas Jefferson that continued for many, many years. At some point, I started to become disillusioned by Jefferson's full history, and then a few years ago, we had a full falling out. It was actually pretty devastating in a way that would seem really weird to most people. Hero worship = bad idea.
Even though I've lived within a few hours drive from Monticello for the past ten years, I've kind of been pretending it wasn't there, but since they opened up the Sally Hemings exhibit this year, it was time to go. Plus, Rylan hadn't been back to DC since we moved away, so we decided to take a little road trip, tour Monticello, and do some touristy things in DC.
The whole trip was lovely. Rylan is a great traveling companion who likes doing all of the touristy things that I like to do. After Monticello, we checked into a hotel in Virginia and then spent the next couple of days riding the metro, watching pandas, and walking the mall.
The part of the trip that Rylan still talks about is when we ordered froyo and chili fries at a little restaurant across the street from the zoo, and they forgot all about our chili fries, burned them, and had to give us a free order. Because of this, Rylan highly recommends the little restaurant across the street from the zoo.
The highlight of the trip for me was enjoying the city life. I love being able to walk everywhere.
Even though I've lived within a few hours drive from Monticello for the past ten years, I've kind of been pretending it wasn't there, but since they opened up the Sally Hemings exhibit this year, it was time to go. Plus, Rylan hadn't been back to DC since we moved away, so we decided to take a little road trip, tour Monticello, and do some touristy things in DC.
The whole trip was lovely. Rylan is a great traveling companion who likes doing all of the touristy things that I like to do. After Monticello, we checked into a hotel in Virginia and then spent the next couple of days riding the metro, watching pandas, and walking the mall.
The part of the trip that Rylan still talks about is when we ordered froyo and chili fries at a little restaurant across the street from the zoo, and they forgot all about our chili fries, burned them, and had to give us a free order. Because of this, Rylan highly recommends the little restaurant across the street from the zoo.
The highlight of the trip for me was enjoying the city life. I love being able to walk everywhere.
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