Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.
John Muir
John Muir
My sister, Tiffany had her baby Aleksander in late October. We were all waiting on pins and needles until we got the "good to go" call to come visit. About two weeks before Thanksgiving it was all systems go and we started looking into airfare. About this same time we realized airfare is not the best and all the good fun about getting groped was not my idea of a good time (RUBBISH you say? I know...) As Josh and I discussed the logistics of a flight driving down US60 we were passed by a Cruise America RV (this is how dreams are made people, pay attention) and yes. LIGHTBULB!
I immediately googled (handy iPhone) renting an RV. And...our roadtrip was born. A few extra vacation days added on to Thanksgiving, some National Park visitations planned (yes we do still have that friendly competition to see who can get the most Park Passport stamps going) and of course - main goal of "see baby" and VOILA a vacation was born.
We penned an itenerary:
- Joshua Tree
- Sequoia National Park
- Yosemite National Park
- Thanksgiving in the Bay Area with Baby
- Back Down through Monterrey, Big Sur
- Hearst Castle
- Santa Barbara
- Santa Maria
- Home
Sounded perfect! Josh had never been to most of the places on the list and it had been a long time for me so we were EXCITED. Not to mention - we were bringing the dogs. So yes, this would be an interesting vacation indeed!
About a day before we set off on our voyage we received word of big, REALLY big storms coming through California (some winter eh Cali) and after discussing it with my sis, consulting my handy dandy weather sites, National Park road sites, etc. It was determined we would probably die if we went our original plan. No worries, we are pretty fly by the seat of our pants (hey it's ADVENTURE) and we merely reversed our route. UP the coast first, down the mountains. More on that later.
Day 1: Santa Barbara, Hearst Castle, Seals, Big Sur and Hw1 1 to Emeryville
So off we went. We made it to Santa Barbara night one and camped on the BEACH there - a beach aptly called El Capitan. It was a BEAUTIFUL evening and we all slept cozy in the RV. Woke up that morning and ran along this great path they have on the cliffs....ahhh what a perfect start to vacay. Cooked in the RV and headed up the coast to San Simeon, Josh wanted to see Hearst Castle!
And SEE Hearst Castle We did:
I think Josh really enjoyed all of the naked statues the most because there sure are alot of photos of them...
So Hearst Castle was a hit! We ended up eating high atop a bluff and heading up Highway 1 right after our tour. I saw a sign while we were driving and remembered them mentioning something about an Elephant Seal estuary (that is probably not the right word at all). So we stopped, of course! It was awesome and we stayed a very long time. Apparently the seals were just starting to come on land for the breeding season and babies would be born around Feb. I would LOVE to go back and see the babies! :) The dogs were so confused by the seals. :p
Here's a short video of the seals, they were HUUUGE!
So we continued on. I drove Hwy 1 and wow, that was not the best idea in an RV but it was a BLAST! Super curvy and narrow. We stopped in Big Sur (beautiful) and also in Monterrey. Our goal was to be in Emeryville (baby town) by the evening and we made it about 9PM! GOAL!
Day 2/3: BABY!!!
We were up pretty early day two, anxious to meet the little guy. When it was time we had no problem finding parking (yes in the RV) near my sisters place and we headed over!
We spent the next day and a half learning all we could about the little guy! They even let Josh and I watch him for about an hour!!! He was so cute and small and loved to just look around. I cannot wait until I get to see him again. Another nice treat was Dan's parents. They arrived in the afternoon and we got to catch up. I absolutely adore them and it was fun to chat. Apparently "Aunt" in Polish is Ciocia, and it is pronounced similar to "ChaCha" so, somehow, in my infinite desire to learn how to pronounce things in Polish and be a part of their traditions...I became "Aunt ChaCha." Ay. We had a GREAT time and cannot wait for many more visits with my lil nephew!
We had to mosy on to stay on track with our itenerary if we were going to get to Yosemite. So we headed out Wednesday afternoon. :(
Day 4: Yosemite
We were off to make the campground so that we would have hookups near the park. With all of the weather they had gotten we NEEDED hookups with the RV or we (it) would freeze. We made good time and parked just outside the northwest entrance. Brr it was cold and there was a little bit of snow at the campground. Thank goodness my sister and her husband Dan loaned us their snow clothes or we would have FROZEN! We figured the little dusting would be beautiful in Yosemite. Ha, little dusting...
We woke up in the morning and had breakfast in the RV, took the dogs for a walk around the RV park and to the petting Zoo. Yeah...there were llamas. OKaaaay. We then loaded up for YOSEMITE!! It was about an hour from the park entrance, it got a snowier and snowier as we gained elevation (funny how that works) as we approached the entrance it wasn't too bad, but as we flashed our annual pass the ranger asked "you carrying chains?" "Nope" "Can't let you in, chains REQUIRED today." Ummm, chains are not allowed on rented RV's. We couldn't turn back though, we had come all this way! The ranger informed us that a man would arrive in about 20 minutes that would be selling chains if we wanted to wait, any 'town' was about an hours drive. Shoot, we were going to wait. Void all warranty, rental agreement, insurance, whatever this was YOSEMITE!!! Man arrives...chains - YOSEMITE here we come!!!
“If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” – Katharine Hepburn
Little snow
Chains required
Lot more snow ;)
So worth it!
The day consisted of us walking the paths throughout the park with the dogs. We just parked somewhere and walked...all over. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. And dogs were allowed on these paths, but with all the snow we pretty much could let them go EVERYWHERE. It was like we had this place of awe inspiring, unimaginable beauty all to ourselves, it was surreal and I had to blink a few times to get my brain to register that it was REAL.
We ran in meadows, hiked to waterfalls, built snowmen, dug snow caves, crossed frozen lakes and rivers.... It was one of the best days of my entire life. And as the day drew to a close we put the pups in the RV and headed to the lodge for Thanksgiving dinner. A fog descended upon the valley...and we stopped to just take it all in.
Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.
John Muir
John Muir
Day 5: Joshua Tree
We left Yosemite late that evening, after and AMAZING Thanksgiving meal. We ended up staying in nowheresville Central CA. We realized with our Yosemite jaunt Sequoia would be a trip for another time. With it being at an even HIGHER elevation it just would not be safe or wise at this point, and in a rented RV. We were also out of time, the RV had to be back by Saturday. So we decided we would be driving straight back with only time for a few hours trip through J-Tree to get a look-see. It was a long haul but we made it. It was afternoon and we stayed an played on the rocks long enough for my hands to get torn up, for me to realize how rusty I am at climbing (and how much I miss it) and for us to plan a return trip! I did not realize how much I would like it or how enchanting I would find those rocks. Easy trip for us Phoenicians, who's in? :)
