Reece Hates the Zoo

Dean and I were very excited to visit the San Diego Zoo. We really loved the idea of taking Reece, and showing him all of the cool animals.

But unfortunately, Reece did  not care for the zoo. Dean and I enjoyed it at least!

Most of these photos do not need an explanation... 

Snake actually got some interest

Tour Thru Tree

During our drive we kept seeing signs for “Tour Thru Tree” and found that pretty confusing.  I kept thinking that they forgot the “S” on their signs.

After “Trees of Mystery” we drove on to the small town of Kalamath. That morning we carefully looked at maps online to figure out where to go, and where to stay. But when we got to Kalamath things went a bit crazy. The first campground we picked to stay in was closed! There was no mention of that on their website, or on the sign pointing to it, but no big deal. We used our truck navigation system to find another one, just a couple miles away. Deserted. So with sunset quickly approaching we found another one. Also closed. And up for sale. So we drove around the little town, looking for somewhere else. We hit a dead end road, and had to do an Austin Powers turn. We finally got turned around, and decided to head back up the highway to the “Trees of Mystery” area, where we had seen a couple of open RV parks. But right before we go to the highway, Dean spotted another place and it was actually open. It was called the Campers Corral, which sounded a little cutsie for my taste. But it was actually great, wide open grassy fields, and beautiful trees. There was a very friendly guy who drove up on his 4 wheeler and told us to make ourselves at home. He suggested a few things to do in the area, including the Tour Thru Tree. Even the internet had a great connection.  

After a nice evening of Netflix and a good night sleep we decided to check out the town of Kalamath and the Tour Thru Tree.  At the gate we found a sign that said they were away, but trusted us to pay our $5. Of course we did, and continued driving up the path. Where we found a live Redwood tree, with the middle carved out, so you could drive through.

Keeping in mind that our truck is brand new, and only had about 2000km on it, we decided to give it a try anyway.

Dean is clearly very excited that his truck made it through without a scratch!

Although driving through the tree was actually pretty fun, it wasn’t an all day activity. We hit the town next, but it was basically a store and casino, with a Holiday Inn attached. And it was starting to rain. Although we’d planned to spend another night we quickly decided to move on down the road.

San Francisco

Dean and I were excited to be returning to San Francisco. We’d been a few years before, but it was during the winter.

We stayed in an RV park across the bay from the city. We were lucky enough to find a place within walking distance of the ferry, which would take us straight to Fisherman’s Wharf. When we left in the morning, we realized we hadn't checked the ferry schedule, and of course managed to miss it by 15 minutes. So we had almost 2 hours to wait.  

We were able to see a sign for a Farmer’s Market, so we decided to check that out. We were pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful market, filled with yoga pant wearing mamas and their yuppie babies. So obviously we fit right in. There was a fantastic bakery where I ate about 8000 calories worth of pastry. 

No, I didn't eat both of those. 

Although I could have. 

And kinda wanted to.

Our major plan for the day was to go for a bike ride over the Golden Gate bridge. We were able to rent bikes, including a trailer for Reece. I was a bit nervous, since I can't remember the last time I rode a bike.

Turns out the cliche "It's like riding a bike" is true!

Pretending I’m sporty.

Taking a break from riding. 

Reece is in full speed ahead mode, head tucked down.

Pure joy!

Reece making our favourite face “The Donald Trump”

There was a lovely family sitting next to us who offered to "trade" photos. We were thrilled, as most of our family photos are taken by us. The father was super kind, and worked hard to get Reece to laugh. 

Our family Christmas card picture.

We didn't actually make it all the way over the bridge. Or even close to it. Reece just didn't care for the trailer, so we decided to call it a day. A small part of me was relieved, because although I'm not afraid of heights, the idea of the bridge make me a little nervous. And I knew I'd never make it up the hill to get there.

We headed back to Fisherman's Wharf for dinner. I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but the food was great, and the little guy seemed to enjoy himself.

Reece minding his manners at a fancy restaurant on the wharf.

Lemon!

Heading home on the ferry. 

Reece really enjoyed waving to everyone he met, and being the center of attention. 

Trees of Mystery!!

Trees of Mystery

Yes, that’s really what this tourist attraction is called.

One of the things I was most excited to see in Northern California was the giant Redwood trees. Having done almost zero research though we actually had no idea where they would be, or when exactly we would find them. The names of the national parks gave us a good hint though.

We decided to stop at the “Trees of Mystery” attraction, so that we wouldn’t miss them, just in case. We were greeted by a gigantic Paul Bunion and his Ox. If you look closely, you will see Reece and I standing next to Paul. The next photo shows Dean, just hanging out.

 

The walking tour started out cheesey, and really didn’t get much better. They had informative signs, which were helpful, and buttons you could press for an audio explaination, and some truly terrible piped in music. A little bit lame, but the trees were   BIG. HUGE. We took a quick ride on the tram to the  of the mountain. There was a small part of me that was scared to take my little baby up something that could fall.

On the walk back down we encounterd a lot of chain saw carvings that were pretty impressive.  Reece took the opportunity to hang out with a few of them.

Although this is one of Dean’s favourite photos I just cringe. I do not normally dress my baby in sweat pants! I’d just like to make that clear.

Avenue of Giants

As we drove down the highway we would see signs for the “Avenue of Giants”. We decided to pull off and see what that was all about. It is a truly beautiful road, surrounded by the biggest trees you have ever seen. After a few minutes of driving we pulled off to go for a little walk.

I set up the camera to try to get a few family photos. We also enjoyed letting Reece meet the trees and make friends.

First Time at the Beach!

To say that Reece enjoyed the beach would be an understatement. We stopped at a place by the side of the road for lunch, and found an awesome beach. It was somewhere on the Oregon Coast, on a beautiful sunny day. 

Deciding that fun was more important than laundry, we just put Reece down and let him go. These pictures really don't need any other description. But you can have one anyway.

Head down, crawling on a mission.

 Clearly Reece has gotten an idea into his head, as you will see below.

 And the verdict is....

 Sand is not for eating!

 This is possibly one of my favourite pictures of Reece. 

Yes, there are pants under all of that sand. 

We took them off him at the beach, and rinsed them off in a tide pool. 

I think his first time at the beach was a huge success. We're really looking forward to actually getting to warmer weather where he can play on the beach and swim in the ocean. 

(I'm also looking forward to not having to pack up my home and drive every day )