Oregon!

Well I suppose its finally time to stop shirking my duties as blog co-author and get a few words in to set the record straight. Let me start with that. Regardless of what you may have been told to this point:
1- Despite my newfound earthy appearance and relaxed stance on personal hygiene, I am not "smokin the reefer". However, I will say that the "medical Marajuana" market in CA seems alive and well - as evidenced by the dude tokin up a fat joint amongst all the hikers in Yosemite. I ushered my children quickly past the scene of the crime as they loudly inquired about what the funny smell was. Super parent rides again...
I know this is supposed to be an Oregon post, but this pic is one of my favorites from the quest thus far. PB&J with an incredible view.
By the way, in case you were wondering, California is awesome. The sheer breadth of landscape variety is astounding. The weather is fantastic. However it turns out that being awesome attracts people. WAAAAAYYYYYYY too many people. And already we've fallen far below awesome again.
Alaska, how I long for you.






2-There are few things that go better with cheese than a fine California wine. Except maybe ice cream. Tillamook Mudslide with an extra scoop of caramel pecan praline to be precise. I don't even know what praline means. Perhaps it is french for "delicious". In any case, the Tillamook Cheese Factory in Tillamook, Oregon was one of the best stops on this epic RV odyssey. Cheese curds and full fat ice cream. I nearly blacked out. MmmmmmmmmmmmAAaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuugggggggggggggggghhhh....


3- In all seroiusness, some OR pics.
This is the view from our campsite on the OR coast. Ridiculous, right? I can't believe we pulled the RV in almost on the beach. Nice work by my girl to find such an amazing spot.












To the right is the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. Still operational. Great spot to spy a passing grey whale, see some harbor seals, or gawk at a passing hundred and twenty brown pelicans.


















Fogarty Creek State Park. Oregon has one of the most impressive state park systems I've seen. We scrambled on the rocks at low tide as the waves crashed in the surf. Even the sled do is smiling.











Another pic of the OR coastline. "Beautiful" doesn't even come close.





















This is a travel stop along the Columbia River Gorge east of Portland. After a fantastic visit with Don and Char Chase (such gracious hosts!) we headed out east toward Montana. We stopped at Arlington OR to make some sammies and play on the playground to burn some energy. But the local ducks were as much entertainment as anything else my little cherubs could see.



4-Finally, this beard looks damn sharp. Attractive even. I get many comments. Favorable comments. Indeed...

The Redwoods

The Redwoods of California

What magnificent forests! These trees are amazing. If ever you need a reminder about how small you are in the world, stand amidst these treasures. The girls didn't grasp the grandeur of these tress, but we did. Our campground was surrounded by them. We didn't really need to leave to enjoy them.

Maddie with her "walking stick"

We also enjoyed some coastal fun while in Cresent City. There is a nice aquarium with a spunky little sea lion, shark petting, interactive tide pool (you can touch the stuff). Madison was very touchy-feely, but Reagan wouldn't pet the sharks.

Lighthouse at Crescent City, only accessible during low tide

Travel to the Redwoods

Our next destination was north on highway 101 through Mendicino wine country, partially on the California Coast, and the Redwoods. It was a beautiful diverse drive. We did stop at a tourist attraction of a house made out of one Redwood log which the girls thought was really cool. I think they wanted to bring it home for a playhouse. It was about the size of the RV, so not really an option to bring it home.
We arrived at Crescent City, CA and are staying at a beautiful RV Resort nestled amidst the Redwoods. It is beautiful and had a large playground about 15 paces from our site which is very popular with two little girls.
Our first day we went into the town and walked the pier to view the lighthouse. The tide was coming in, so we couldn't walk to the light house. It is on a small island that is accessible via walking path during low tide. We then went to an aquarium which was awesome. We really weren't expecting too much for such a small town, but were really impressed. They had a wonderful live demonstration on sea lions and seals, shark petting, a rare cow shark in their tank, a tide pool for touching starfish and other sea creatures, and several different shark species. Reagan wouldn't pet the shark, but Madison did. They also played with the starfish in the tide pool. We then went to lunch on the bay and watched the sea lions on the docks.
The girls spent the rest of the day, on the playground of course

The Log House and the 16ft tall carved bear on our drive

Mark is getting quite creative with the fire building!

Enjoying the pier

Lighthouse by the pier

View at the pier

At the Aquarium

Seals we watched while at lunch

Fun on the playground!

Sonoma County

Sonoma County, CA

One of my favorite days so far, wine tasting! The countryside was beautiful with meticulously maintained vineyards on rolling hills. We stopped at two vineyards, Kendall-Jackson and Francis Ford Coppola. We chose these because we were told they were the most family friendly, and they were very friendly. The grounds were beautiful with flowers, wild strawberries, and of course vineyards.
The first stop was Kendall-Jackson where the girls picked wild strawberries and got balloons. The second stop was the Francis Ford Coppola winery which has been open for only one year. There was movie memorabilia from Coppola's directed movies including the desk from The Godfather and the Tucker from The Tucker. We had a wonderful outdoor lunch over looking the vineyards during harvest season. The girls were juice tasting while we were wine tasting. This was a beautiful property that is very family focused. They have many family events on the weekends, have a pool, and gift shop with toys. We were pleasantly surprised by this place. Oh, and we liked the wine, too!

Picking wild strawberries

Garden at the Kendall-Jackson Winery

Me at the Kendall-Jackson Winery, photo by Reagan

Kendall-Jackson

Lunch at Francis Ford Coppola Winery

Another lunch picture

Desk from the Godfather on display at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery

The Tucker from the movie "The Tucker"

San Francisco

San Francisco

The fog posed a bit of trouble for us to see the Golden Gate Bridge today, but we did drive it and could see parts of it throughout the day. It was amazing to see how the fog hovered over the bridge. The rest of the city was clear toward the late afternoon, except for the bridge. Our first stop was the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which turned out to be a bit of a bust. We couldn't see anything due to the fog, and there was road construction delaying our travels. We did see some historical military sites and saw some people surfing.
We then crossed the notorious bridge and could see it well while driving over it, paid our $6 toll and headed to Fisherman's Warf.
The big green machine, affectionately known as sprout, is not meant for big city driving. We barely fit in the parking garage and the streets are quite narrow in downtown SF.
We had lunch on the pier, then boarded the ferry for Alcatraz. The girls loved the boat ride! We walked around Alcatraz, still unable to really get a good view of the famous bridge. The weather was awesome, minus the fog, and it was a great tour of Alcatraz. Madison slept on my back while Reagan, Mark and I took the audio tour. Reagan followed along for the entire 45 minute tour! We were amazed. She only told me once that she was ready to be done. I'm not sure it was 4 year old content or language, but she followed right along.
After our tour, we walked along Fisherman's Warf and headed back over the bridge we couldn't see.

Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, the best view of it all day!

That bridge is back there somewhere!

Girls hanging out on the pier.

Riding the ferry to Alcatraz Island.


If the fog lifted, you would see the Golden Gate Bridge in the background...



Stairs on Alcatraz. I just thought they looked cool.


Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz


In a cell enjoying the audio tour.

Girls on the Agave Trail, no tequila shots or margaritas available, they're just enjoying the day!

Ferry ride back to SF.

Yosemite National Park Day Two

Our second day at Yosemite was also filled with hiking and amazing views, but we had to spend a little more time driving. We worked on distracting Reagan from her car sickness and got through the day without her proving she was sick. We started with a short hike to Bridalveil Fall, then drove up to Glacier Point for great views of the valley, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, Mirror Lake, Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls. I now understand why Ansel Adams spent most of his career in this place. It is beautiful.

At Bridalveil Fall, but you wouldn't know that unless I told you. Good smiles, though!

Bridalveil Fall with Daddy.

Bridalveil Fall

Hanging out by the stream during our hike.

more hanging out

Enjoying our hike to Bridalveil Fall.

Stone bridge along path, just looked neat.

View from Glacier Point, half dome on left, Nevada Falls on right.

Girls enjoying lunch while looking at half dome.

Enjoying the outdoors!

Glacier Point




Half Dome

Future rock climbers!
Sometimes the atmosphere is so awesome, you just have to do a handstand.