Our Vacation - Lake Tahoe and Yosemite

At 6 am on the 18th of June, we took the supposedly 8 hour drive up to Lake Tahoe. During the way, we stopped off at Sequoia National Forest and took in the breath-taking views and giant trees.

We had to detour for quite some time, so the trip took a total of 12 hours, not including our stops. I think it was worth it including the forest into our journey.

When we (finally) arrived in Tahoe, we settled in for a bit, played some battleships and did some grocery shopping, and grabbed some KFC for dinner.

The next day, we did the big drive around the lake, which included shopping, visiting of the film locations of Bonanza, the 'Ponderosa' and a scenic view of Lake Tahoe from a gondola ride.

The day after we headed to Virginia City, NV, which was 1 hour 20 minutes from where we were staying in Lake Tahoe. Nestled on top of a hill, a small town with a huge history. We had so much fun, including taking an underground mine tour. We returned back to Tahoe, especially with one happy dad, who completed his 'California License Plate' collection.

The next day was a rest day. We went for a little stroll alongside the Truckee River, and then later, taking a tiki-tour around Squaw Valley before heading to McDonald's to catch up on a few emails.

Squaw Valley hosted the 1960 Olympic Games.

The next day, we drove a little under 6 hours to Yosemite National Park. What an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G sight that was!

Shortly after arriving at the Housekeeping camp, we went swimming in the ice cold lake with a few friends and returned to camp, before dinner, to play some games like cops and robbers and telephone (Chinese Whispers) 

Later that night, we had a campfire which included s'more-making!

After breakfast the next day, each family headed out either on bike or by shuttle, to complete the Amazing Race around Yosemite. We had so many laughs by completing each task, whether it was photo-taking, drawing, jotting down information or completing difficult extra credit answers, we returned back to camp around lunch time. We had our lunch and then took a bike ride around the housekeeping camp and played some games. After dinner that night, we started another bonfire and made more s'mores.

The next day, after breakfast, a few of us and our friends took a shuttle to Curry Village and Yosemite Village. We did some shopping and some exploring, including a trip to the Yosemite Village Museum. When we returned, we had lunch, and then took the shuttle to Lower Yosemite Falls. It was great fun. We took pictures and explored around a ton of huge rocks, and then climbed up all the dangerous rocks to get a close view of the falls. It was a slow and dangerous procedure, but in the end it was worth it. We returned in time for dinner, and following a bike ride, games and s'more-making.

The day after was a more relaxed. We went our separate ways on bike rides, just before lunch, and after lunch a few of us took a trip to Curry Village to use the pool. We had some fun there, and then walked back to Housekeeping. After dinner we went on more bike rides, played more games, and made more s'mores.

The following day, we played some games around the camp whilst packing up. We had some breakfast, packed up more, and then went home. Overall, we had such an amazing time!

Holiday!

On the 3rd of June we travelled up to Las Vegas. It took us four hours to drive there, but once we got there we met up with the Burlings who were accompanying us for that portion of the trip.

We walked around most of the hotel lobbies and stores for several hours that night.

We went to a huge candy store with supersized candy! With supersized prices too. 

About the first photo, no, my dad does not have a third hand, that was just someone photobombing! :)

The next day, we drove an hour to the Hoover Dam, and it was such an awesome sight to see!

 

We then travelled 4 hours to Sedona, AZ. There wasn't much to see until we got there. Dry, sandy deserts and cacti. When we arrived in Sedona, we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon in the resort we were staying at. It was so enjoyable sitting outside in the mild weather, with an amazing view of Sedona's many red rocks. After we had rested for a few hours, we headed out to a block of shops close by. There was anything from gift shops to restaurants to quirky little stores and tour booths. We decided to have dinner at a great restaurant, and a window view to see more of Sedona's rocks. Including the "Snoopy" rock, which is a rock that people think looks like Snoopy laying down.

The next day, we travelled approximately 30 miles to a ghost town, Jerome. It a small town with small shops and a big history! We visited the jail which had mostly slid off the hill, and the hotel, which back then was a hospital and asylum. 

A very old Pepsi-cola machine outside one of the stores in Jerome, and raccoon hats in another store!

In the afternoon, we travelled 20 miles to Red Rock State Park, and swam in the creek. I believe it's Oak Creek. It was so much fun, and we we ended up losing a couple pairs of jandals, but a few bruises later (poor Maddy) we retrieved them. The rocks were covered in algae so it made it very hard to maintain your balance. 

The next day, we left early for the 2 hour trip to the Grand Canyon. It was definitely worth the while, considering its one of the 'Seven Wonders of the World.' It was a little freaky, as some of the areas we walked through were not barriered at the edge. An accident waiting to happen! Overall, it was such a neat experience! 

On the way home, we stopped off in Flagstaff at the Cracker Barrel restaurant for lunch. Everyone had raved about, so we thought we'd try it. It was really nice, and inexpensive, not to mention the store. That was full of... well, stuff! We ended up going home with a few bags, that's for sure.

That afternoon, we had a relaxed afternoon in the heated saltwater pool in our resort. 

The next day we journeyed the 8 hour trip home. It was definitely worth the trip.

Magic Mountain!

Yesterday I went to magic mountain with one of my old small group leaders. We spent the afternoon/late evening there. There weren't many people at the park which was awesome! We rode (in this order) : Drop of Doom, Goliath, Colossus, Batman, Viper, Revolution, Buccaneer Ship, Goliath again, Drop of Doom again, and then Colossus again twice. After that we went to Chick-Fil-a for milkshakes.

Vasquez Rocks

Yesterday, we went to Vasquez Rocks. It is about a 20 minute drive away from where we live.
We enjoyed climbing the rocks, and taking in the view. We ended up getting lost, but we eventually could find our car!

Family night!

Every Thursday night we go out to get menchies frozen yoghurt and then we come home and watch a movie and have hot chocolate and/or some lollies or something sweet. Tonight we went to menchies and we are just about to watch a movie.

Magic Mountain

On the 18th of February was Presidents Day so it was a public holiday. We left to go to magic mountain with our friends around 10:00 am. It was not busy, neither was it quiet so we had to wait around 20-45 minutes per ride which is not bad. We got on a few rides before lunch, and then we sat outside the park and had
tacos and burritos and cokes from del taco since all the food at the park is expensive. We then re-entered the park and rode several more rides until 6, when it closed.

Various things!

hey everyone, i apologise for not blogging recently. Alot has been going on, so im gonna update you all as best as I can in this post.

Magic Mountain(over several visits)

^ fright Fest where colossus goes backwards

Moving!

last month we move to a different place. This one is bigger and better than our old one, except it doesnt have a pool. I like it because it is closer to our cousins house and it is gated. I dont have any photos to put up, but i may add some soon! We have alot of great neighbours.

Our last weeks visit to magic mountain