Family Vacation, Road Trip Style - Part 2

Leaving Fairfield, I put everyone in nice outfits. On the way to Tahoe there is this beautiful river and I desperately wanted a great family picture. So, everyone was dressed, not allowed to eat or touch anything and we were on our way. When we pulled off the road, I didn't remember the mountain being quite as steep. I talked my kids into climbing down, which was hard to convince Colton, and just kept reassuring them that they would be fine. Then, in my flip flop, I took a step. Just one, because then I rolled the rest of the way down the hill. I was fortunate enough to only break my flip flop in the process and to have a hubby awesome enough to take pictures of me on the way down for my memories.

We did get a picture at the bottom. Not exactly like the one I had hoped for, but it's a picture.

The next day we rented a boat. We have been to Lake Tahoe three times and never wanted to spend the money, but this year we decided to go for it. It was a really neat experience. All of the things that we see year after year from bike rides and hikes were all at a different perspective. And the boys loved driving the boat. Their favorite part though was when James forgot to turn his hat around and got the boat up to 40mph and it went flying off into the lake. They used the hook and on the second time around, got his hat out of the lake.

The rest of Tahoe was relaxing and fun. We rented bikes, we took hikes, we played goofy golf, and we swam a lot. It is so beautiful there. You can really see God's artwork as you watch the sun set over the lake. Of all the places I have traveled, I am pretty sure it is one of my favorite. It ranks right up there with Disneyland for all the complete opposite reasons. :)

On our way home from Lake Tahoe we decided to go to Carlsbad for a couple of days. About two years ago we had some friends move close to the Anaheim area so we planned to meet up with them for dinner on the way down. Well, it was a Friday and we hit the outer edge of Los Angeles at 4:00pm. We only had 38 miles to get to their house. We were hoping. We were praying. We were moving a 2mph. In two hours we moved a grand total of eight miles. I could have walked it faster! Once we got there it was great though. The kids played like they had seen each other the day before and it was great to visit with John and Tina.

In Carlsbad the only thing on our agenda was the beach and we accomplished it. The weather was perfect. The sand felt so good under my feet. The waves were gorgeous and even though we ended up going farther out than planned and getting soaked in regular clothes, it was a treat to play in the ocean.

Overall, it was a great vacation. 2100+ miles in 11 days. We still liked each other when we got home. Nobody got hurt. All nine loads of laundry are done. Pictures turned out fairly well. I really do love my family and I am fortunate to have the experiences with them that I do.