AK's Adventures

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-15T19:19:00.000-08:00

2011 was a pretty good year for us. We moved from Lake Tahoe to Southern California. While we really miss the mountains, especially this time of year, we have really enjoyed spending more time with family and friends. AK is doing great and is excited to announce (to those who haven't heard yet) that he is expecting a baby brother (JB) April 7th, so 2012 should be a pretty interesting year.

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T12:25:00.000-08:00

We are thankful for:

Family,

Friends,

(who's flying that plane?)

God's Beauty,

and Yummy Food!

(if you want Mom's yummy Lemon Bacon Turkey Recipe, check it out here)

What are you thankful for?

The Great Reno Balloon Race

2011-11-18T08:19:00.000-08:00

Hot Air Balloons are Awesome!

This year we woke up REALLY early to hit up the festivities.

We saw the Glow Show (balloons lighting up in the dark).

The Dawn Patrol (balloons taking off in the dark). These five were really cool and travel all around the country doing their early morning show!

The sun comes up and even more balloons take off.

There were some pretty cool balloons this year (my favorite being Darth Vader and Smokey the Bear).

The third day of the race was on September 11, so they did a good memorial throughout the show.

That day every balloon flew with an American Flag to remember.

I can't wait for next year's races!!

Yosemite (Back to our September Adventures)

2011-11-13T20:16:00.000-08:00

It wasn't in the original plans, but being in the area we just couldn't pass up a couple of days in Yosemite! Plus, over travel buddy had never been there before, so we took the opportunity to show off some of our favorite easy to get to spots.

It's always fun to chill out on the falls,

and for Papa to show off his mountain man side.

The falls are always a bit slower in the fall, but still amazing;

Bridal Veil

Upper & Lower Yosemite Falls.

If you're ever hiking in the area, head into the big boulders just off the path (where allowed) it's amazing the temperature difference under the boulders, a good way to get out of the heat.

As we were heading to our campsite, just out of Yosemite, we took a back road, and ended up in a herd of cows being herded down the road by a bunch of cowboys. The picture doesn't quite do it justice (they were covering the road), but it was pretty cool.

And camping is always fun!

The next day we hit up Hetch Hetchy.

We hiked the 5 miles round trip to Wapama Falls. (I must admit I did pretty good hiking, especially if we sang songs while we hiked).

Wapama Falls has some falls great pools above the Reservoir. ("The Cool of the Pool"- a little Dr. Seuss).

It's a great place for a little lunch,

And Papa to cool off.

We love Yosemite!

Halloween Fun 2011

2011-11-04T11:10:00.000-07:00

We not only had a fun Halloween but a pretty fun week leading up to Halloween.

We made Jack-O-Lantern Cookies, Yum!

My cousin, Jennah, and I got to go to Bate's Nut Farm's Pumpkin Patch:

We saw animals,

(I'm trying to sound just like the noisy geese behind us)

We rode in the wheel barrel,

And picked out the best pumpkins, so much fun!

We went with an aeronautical theme this year with the pumpkins.

We couldn't find the candles the first night after we carved them,

and by the second night my airplane had really started to decompose

(I was really excited to watch the pumpkins decay this year, so I wasn't too bummed)!

We only got to light up the two, but they looked pretty cool.

I went trick-or-treating as a Panda Bear, but really didn't want to take pictures (what can I say).

The next morning inspecting the loot with Papa!!!

Oh and don't worry, we'll get back to the September vacation posts soon!

Oh How We Miss You, TAHOE!

2011-10-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

As we left the Rib Cook-Off in Reno (with a cooler full of ribs) we wanted to drive through the Lake Tahoe Area (our old home).

We decided to spend an hour or so at Lower Eagle Falls, just above Emerald Bay.

We threw rocks, and more rocks (my all time favorite past time).

And just enjoyed the beauty.

Three hours later, we still couldn't talk ourselves into leaving and decided to hike to Upper Eagle Falls.

The guys got a little wet, burrr cold.

Finally, 3 DAYS later we left that paradise and made it to Lodi to watch Papa, skydive!

Ribs, Ribs and more Ribs!!!

2011-10-12T12:01:00.000-07:00

Our September road trip started out at 4AM!

We left early and I couldn't sleep for the first few hours because I was too excited.

We made a few stops for bathroom breaks, Mom's morning sickness (yes mom is pregnant), and one really fun stop at the river.

While 4AM is a bit early to be up, it allowed us zero traffic and we even got to Reno's Best in the West Rib Cook-Off with plenty of time to dig in. Look at that truck full of ribs!

Over the next three days, we made 5 stops at the cook-off, tried just about every places' ribs

(not to mention fried pickles, turkey legs, yummy ice cream,

and fresh squeezed lemonade). The last day we left with a cooler bag full of ribs and a turkey leg, which lasted the next few days.

Delicious!!! We definitely ate way too much this week,

but it was a great way to start a road trip!

Summer ReCap

2011-10-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

While our post have been few and far between this summer, our activities have not, so we need some serious updating. This summer we:

Played with cousins,

Got a hair cut (I look like a boy again),

Celebrated birthdays with friends,

Went to Sea World,

Played with Grandpa and Grandma Denise,

Saw animals at the L.A. Zoo,

Played with Grammy,

Visited with Auntie Anna (Uncle Patrick was there too),

Played at the Beach,

Ate with Family,

If you've noticed in years past the month of September does not yet bring the dreaded return of a fixed school schedule. Because I'm only 3 we still get to have fun the month of September, and there are so many fun activities, so stay tuned as the fun has just begun!

"Take Me Out to the Ball Game"

2011-07-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

We have been a little MIA the last few months, but that's because summer is FUN!!!

RIght now summer is all about baseball.

We play baseball at home.

We go to baseball games,

games with family,

and more games with friends.

I especially love singing "Take me out to the ball game during the seventh inning stretch!

Have you had any fun baseball adventures this season?

Bowling

2011-05-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

I love bowling.

I was having somewhat of a grumpy day and Mom & Dad mentioned bowling and I was in heaven. (I'd been bowling once a long time ago, but all they had to do was mention it, and I was ready to go).

We had a great on the knee bowling technique. (Just ignore that gutter ball).

It worked alright, there was even a frame where I was beating both Mom & Dad!

As soon as the ball would connect with the pins I'd go running back to get the ball.

Now I want to go bowling all the time!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T22:46:00.000-07:00

We had a fun Easter this year!

Earlier in the week we dyed Easter Eggs,

they looked so good I wanted to eat them right away.

With packages from Grammy and Randy and from Grandpa and Mamaw, I made out with quite the loot.

Thanks everybody.

Today we had a very yummy Easter meal.

It was great. We hope you had a good one too!

Spring Arrived!

2011-04-10T22:38:00.000-07:00

Spring finally made its appearance!

After consistent highs in the low 30's we've had a week of temperatures in the high 50's (that may sound a little cold for our friends in Hawaii and southern California, but trust me, after a good winter 50's is jeans and t-shirt weather), so we had to get outside.

I love riding the gondola, so we took full advantage of our free passes! Thanks Papa!

We even met Papa and some friends on the top of the mountain for some lunch.

Wow there was still a lot of snow up there.

There was a lot of snow behind the house at the beginning of the week,

But by the end of the week we could even see the bikes, first time this winter.

I even did a little hiking with Papa this week,

We sure had a lot of fun in the sun!

Indoor Adventures

2011-03-28T09:16:00.000-07:00

With all of the snow storms over the last couple of weeks, we had to come up with some new exciting indoor adventures.

Pillow Tunnels:

Box Towers:

(With Mom's help I got to jump over the tower!)

Funny Faces:

We had a fun week!

Springtime?

2011-03-21T21:42:00.000-07:00

The news keeps saying that spring started yesterday.

I haven't seen it,

but that's ok were still having plenty off fun, ahh snowball!

Mom, I think my legs are stuck in the powder!

Happy Springtime, or more Winter!

Adventures in Sledding

2011-03-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

With all of the snow we've had this season, we've also had great sledding conditions.

Thanks to Grammy and Randy we have a great new sled!

Auntie Mem came to visit and so we just had to take her sledding.

Then Peyton and Jennah (my cousins) dropped by for a little sledding fun!

Having Peyton around made me brave and the two of us had so much fun sledding together.

We'd go so fast that Auntie Des or Mom would have to catch us.

Thanks Uncle Troy for hauling us up that hill.

It was so much fun that even the parents looked like little kids!

Hope you're having some good winter adventures!

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-24T23:24:00.000-08:00

Hot Air Balloon Races

2010-12-17T23:29:00.000-08:00

September in Reno just kept getting better and better. One weekend they had The Great Reno Balloon Races. We awoke while it was still dark, and got to the field a first light, just as the first balloon lifted off of the ground. It was amazing to be standing in the field and watching all the balloons lift off all around us. Our good friend Roger came with us. Dad even got to help get a balloon off of the ground! My favorites were the Bumble Bees. It was a great morning. Next year we’ve already decided to go even earlier to see the Glow Show (when some take off in the dark). If you ever get the chance I highly recommend it.

Summer Baseball

2010-12-05T22:23:00.000-08:00

Summer has definitely ended as we are covered in snow, yippee, so I better finish up with our summer adventures, we still have a few more. The week we did the Rib Cook-off we stayed in Reno to check it out a bit. We’ve been sorely lacking in baseball game attendance lately so we hit up the Reno Aces (the Arizona Diamondback’s farm team). It was a lot of fun. Nice stadium, fun game, and tickets were only a couple of bucks each, I’m still free. I spent a lot of time making faces at the camera. All-in-all good baseball fun! I really love baseball, I like to practice pitching like Timmy Lincecum (don't worry I'm a Padres fan like my mom)!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T16:10:00.000-08:00

I am very thankful for:

My Family

Snow

Yummy Food

After dinner base jumping off of the fridge with Papa

And Naps!

Hope you had a great day!

Ribs, Yumm!

2010-11-22T07:44:00.000-08:00

Back to some of our summer fun. In early September, Reno hosts a rib cook-off, and not just any rib cook-off, but the Best in the West Rib Cook-Off at The Nugget. It was delicious. The event featured 24 different rib cookers from all over the United States. We stopped by the first day and tried a couple of different ribs and even ended with some delicious soft serve. Having only hit a couple of the different rib cookers we decided to come back the next day and once again ate until we were full. Even after two days at the event we hadn’t even tried half of the rib places, but we did take some ribs and a turkey leg (a BBQ cook-off is not complete without a turkey leg). It was a delicious couple of days. Mom’s favorite were: Carson City BBQ for Beef Ribs (their chicken was also pretty good) and Butch’s Smack Your Lips BBQ for Pork Ribs. Papa's already planning next years trip. Yumm!

Happy Halloween

2010-11-10T17:10:00.000-08:00

Better late then never. Hope you all had a Happy Halloween.

Mom and I had fun craving our pumpkin!

We Have Snow!!!

2010-11-08T11:59:00.000-08:00

Yeah!!! We are very excited to finally get snow! I can't wait for enough snow for skiing!

Don't worry there are still plenty more summer adventures for me to post about, they're on the way.

Summer Fun

2010-10-18T07:35:00.000-07:00

As I’ve mentioned before we’ve had great time just being outside this summer. One of my favorites is to ride our bikes to the park. I love the swings, the slides (by the end of the summer I was brave enough to go down the big slide all by myself), and just climbing over everything. I could play there all day.
I have also become quite the golf enthusiast this summer.

(Thanks to our friend Cory who hooked me up with my first set of clubs, thanks Cory!). So, we’ve taken up miniature golfing.

On two different occasions I got a hole in one. I’m serious,

which makes me better then Mom, hehe!

What did you do fun this summer?

Hot August Nights

2010-10-11T08:43:00.000-07:00

Every August Tahoe, along with Reno has Hot August Nights, which means there are some really cool cars to check out. We stopped by one night to take it all in. Those two were mom's favorites. Plus it’s just fun to all ride our bikes around in the summer. An of course we had to stop for some ice cream on the way home.

On the Water

2010-10-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

As you’ve probably noticed Lake Tahoe has plenty of summer fun! Some friends came to visit during the middle of the summer and we thought it was time to get out on the Lake. We took the Tahoe Queen right out of Ski Run Marina. The Tahoe Queen is a large Paddle Boat. It’s time period decorated, and even has a Mark Twain look alike telling stories along the way. It was really nice to be out on the lake, slightly breezy, but very sunny. Mom and Auntie Kris loved laying out on the top deck enjoying the view. The coolest part was going into Emerald Bay. It was fun to see this view of the bay. Casper and Milton had fun with us on the boat. I even got to help drive the big boat. We were out on the boat for about 2 ½ hours. It was a great day.

Tahoe Hiking

2010-09-27T07:49:00.000-07:00

Because we live in such a beautiful place we have spent a lot of time in the great outdoors hiking. Every time someone came to visit us we would take them hiking. Our most frequented hike was Eagle Falls. We’ve shared some of this hike before, but once the snow melts then we can hike all the way up to Eagle Lake (about 1.5 miles to the lake). It’s a fun adventure hike.
We also found a hike to the top of the Cascade Falls over looking Cascade Lake (a smaller private lake that is simply beautiful).

This one is probably about a mile long with some hills, but not too hard. It was fun to play along the top of the falls and the creek that created it, and to relax in that beauty. One day while Mom was off playing with friends, Dad and other friends (Fish & Casper) took me hiking to Spooner Lake. It’s another great little lake next to Tahoe. You can drive right up to it, and then there’s a walking path that will take us all the way around the lake. I got a bit tired, but it was fun.
And if you’re hiking around here in the summer, it’s necessary to stop at the Camp Richardson Ice Cream Parlor, delicious, inexpensive and huge scoops, can’t get any better than that!

Carnival

2010-09-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

Wow September’s almost over and I am way behind in updating, but guess what here it comes. We have not sat ideally by this summer, but have had many adventures.
We started out by attending the local carnival. Pretty small, but we had fun in the kiddy area.

Actually, I was a bit scared on most of the little rides, but I braved through it and love to look at the pictures.
We tried: the Ferris Wheel The Merry-Go-Round (there was a cute little girl in front of us that kept me happily distracted)
The Roller-Coaster And The Giant Slide.

Gotta love small town fun!

Horsetail Falls

2010-06-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

This year June turned out to be the perfect month for waterfalls, thanks to late spring storms. Right off of Hwy 50, just outside of the small town of Strawberry in the Eldorado National Forest is the trailhead to Horsetail Falls.
View Larger Map Park Services provides a parking lot, but there is a $5 parking fee. (Last year when we checked out this hike, we talked to one of the parking attendants and learned that while it's only a $5 parking fee, the fine for not paying the fee is $50-$75, just so you know.) The trail makes a loop up to the edge of Desolation Wilderness. If you stay to the right side of the trail (which is easy to follow if you look for the trail markers pinned to the trees) the path stays close to the water, with little waterfalls and rivers along the way, including Cascade Falls. Be carefull about going off of the trail, it does give some beautiful views of the water, but you never know what you might find along the way. Papa came less then a foot from stepping on this guy bathing in the sun. Thank goodness he seemed to be sleeping as this rattler never moved once. Whew- that sure got our hearts pumping. There are also some beautiful views of horsetail falls along the way. Once you get to the top of the loop trail you enter the Desolation Wilderness Forest, which requires a day use permit (which they provide right there). This part of the trail gets a bit more adventurous. There are a few streams to cross on makeshift fallen log bridges, but the trail can be a bit difficult to follow. Just follow the low trail, if you head up on the rocks, you eventually have to come down from the rocks and further along on the trail the more difficult it gets to get down from the rocks. At one part the low trail looks impassible due to water, but the water is just for a bit and there are usually stepping stones to keep you out of water. We had a great picnic lunch just below the waterfall. Of course I spent the whole lunch throwing rocks into the falls. There was so much water that the power was just amazing. The sunny weather made for a beautiful day, but there was a bit of a cold breeze which required at least a sweatshirt. We spent about three hours on the hike, but that included about an hour by the falls. The hike is 2.8 miles round trip. There is a way to get to the top of the falls and the lake above, but since there is no path that way and it requires scrambling over rocks, we haven't tried it, yet. I love waterfalls or 'totertalls' as I call the them, 'big totertalls.' There is also some really cool big rock formations. If you want to know a bit more about the hike, check out this site, it's quickly becoming our favorite site for planning waterfall trips. This hike is best in the late spring or early summer, as the waterfall gets smaller as the snowmelt ends during the summer. Yeah for 'big totertalls.'

More Yosemite!

2010-06-21T00:02:00.000-07:00

I've shared Yosemite with you all before, but there is so much to see and share. This is my third trip to Yosemite, and each time we've found a new adventure. We drove in along Highway 120 and down into the valley, which provided beautiful views of the roaring waterfalls. (Springtime is definitely the perfect time if you love waterfalls.) We stopped along Cascade Falls, and to get the view of Bridal Veil Falls. As we came into the valley we stopped at Bridal Veil Falls

(yes we've done this hike before, but it's quick and simply amazing to be that close to that much falling water). Don't forget your umbrella's.

Next we headed down the road to the Vernal Falls Trail head. The Vernal Falls Hike is a three mile hike, but gains about 1,000 feet in elevation (including 600 steps on the granite stairway to get to the top of the falls) which makes it a bit strenuous. It was amazing. The first 1.5 miles takes you to the bridge at the bottom of the falls,

while it is mostly uphill, it's on a path and is definitely doable. After checking out the great view from the bottom we headed to the top. Thankfully a kind couple descending passed their poncho onto us, because you definitely get wet.

The water coming off of the falls and the breeze creates a constant mist. This part of the hike is definitely strenuous, but a lot of fun, with an awesome view to stand on the top of the falls. We had a nice snack at the fast flowing pools above the falls before we headed down. Between Mom and Dad I sure had a nice (yet wet) ride.

Thanks Mom and Dad!

Oh and don't worry, even with all the outdoor adventures I still found some time to read (right in the mud;).

After a good nights sleep we decided to check out Cherry Lake, which is just outside Yosemite. The 24 mile road down to the lake was beautiful

and even shared its wildlife. We got to Cherry Lake, but wanted to explore a bit more. We took an unmarked dirt road, hoping it would lead us to a neighboring lake. After a long but fun bumpy road we made it back into Yosemite National Park to a trail head parking area

and decided on a quick hike. Less then a mile down the path brought us to a great picnic spot at Lake Eleanor. It was nice and peaceful down on the lake,

but the amazing roaring dam was what really captured the day for us. So, powerful, it was great to walk across it. Yosemite is a must. Hopefully, we'll be able to check it out again next year, if not sooner. Happy adventuring!

Summer Time?

2010-06-14T23:22:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went exploring. Our final destination was Yosemite, but we decided to make the drive down just as much of an adventure as the destination. Highway 4 starts (or ends) in Stockton, CA, and ends (or starts) at highway 395 close to the Nevada border and travels through the Sierra Mountains in the El Dorado and Stanislaus National Forests.
View Larger Map

The road is closed in the winter, but with it being June, and practically summer, we'd thought we'd give it a try. The road was definitely open, but our late snow fall (within the last two weeks) made for some beautiful winter landscapes. First, we found an awesome river and waterfall, just off of the main road.

Ebbetts Pass, the portion over the top of the mountain, made for some exciting driving with 6 foot snowbanks on one side of the road and the cliffs edge on the other. Not to mention the still frozen lakes. The overcast weather and almost deserted roads set the perfect mood for an almost winter drive. It was amazing that within an hour or so we went from winter, to summer. If you want to take a beautiful scenic drive Highway 4 should definitely make your list. Learn a bit more here.

Happy Driving!

Adventures in Skydiving

2010-06-08T22:55:00.000-07:00

As summer is here I thought I'd share what I'll be doing almost every weekend this summer: hanging out at the Drop Zone and watching Papa skydive. It is one of my favorite places. (I spend most weeks talking about skydiving and airplanes). Let me share the airplanes with you. My favorite is the DC-3 (this one no longer flies, but it's still my favorite, I love to go touch the wings). This is the King Air (I get to practice jumping out of it, while it's on the ground of course). The one Papa jumps out of most often is the Twin Otter. (And yes, my parents are very proud that I can name each one of them.) I love to help Papa before his jumps by helping him do gear checks on his parachutes and encourage his tandem students to, "Have a good jump!"

My favorite part is when Papa lands. I yell "flare, flare, flare, Papa," as he comes in for a landing, and then as soon as all the parachutes are down I get to run out and meet Papa.

So, if you're in Northern California any weekend this summer (and are ready for some fun) stop by the Lodi Airport (just off of Hwy 99 about 30minutes south of Sacramento), or go ahead and stop by here to find a Drop Zone near you.

Springtime!

2010-05-11T22:16:00.000-07:00

Yeah Spring is here, and spring in the mountains means water, and boy is it beautiful. Last weekend Auntie Mem came to visit me (and my mom, but mostly me). We took her out to Emerald Bay (see post below for more Emerald Bay).

With all that the snow melting Lower Eagle Falls was really flowing. It was fun to play in, but a bit cold.

With less snow on the ground, we did a little hike behind the bay up to the higher Eagle Falls. There was even a fun little bridge to cross right over the falls. We got to see wildlife, they were after the cracker crumbs I'd dropped. Thanks Auntie Mem that was a fun weekend. We've also started driving down the mountain a lot, and there is so much to see right now. Right along Highway 50 (heading towards Sacramento) there are beautiful flowing waterfalls all along the road and the river is flowing fast. We even did a little off roading to what use to be an old bridge and played down by the river. Dad and I sure loved throwing rocks into the river. On our way back up the mountain we took Highway 88 for a different view. There was a beautiful view of Bear River Reservoir and just across the Highway were many little waterfalls finding paths down the rocks. As we climbed higher into the mountains it felt less like spring and more like winter, especially looking at the still frozen snow covered lakes.

Boy is it beautiful!

Emerald Bay

2010-03-31T21:22:00.000-07:00

Last week we had some warm sunny days (50 degrees, nice), so we took the opportunity to do some exploring. I've showed you pictures of Emerald Bay in the summer, but the snow adds another layer of adventure and beauty that must be shared.I sure had fun throwing rocks and playing in the melting snow.

Lower Eagle falls was especially beautiful!

So, we decided to have a closer look.What a beautiful day!
Springtime adventures, here we come!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T06:16:00.000-08:00

Adventures in Skiing

2010-02-05T11:06:00.000-08:00

Before I decide whether I'm a boarder or a skier (or both) I might as well try out both. So adventures in skiing! We found these fun little skis on e-bay and I don't even have to wear those terribly tight boots. We tried them out first in the house Then in the snow on the driveway. Then up to the slopes. We live pretty close so we take the free bus up to the lifts. That's me waiting for the bus. We tried out the ski school slope. Easy so up we go. I got to ride on the chair lift. That was fun, there is so much to see. Even on the beginner lift there is a beautiful view of the lake. Mom skied with me, and Dad was my personal photographer.

You gotta love it when the photographer eats it at the end. Check out the family on the mountain. After a long hour or two on the mountain, time to get back on the bus for the 5 minute ride home. Whew, I am tired. Guess what, I love skiing. I get my boots on all by myself, grab my skis and say, "SKI" "SNOOOW."

Maybe we'll see you up on the slopes!

Adventures in Snow Boarding

2010-01-29T15:28:00.000-08:00

So I might be just a bit to small to shred in deep powder, but I'm still getting some board time thanks to Dad! First we get all hooked up, then up to the hill. We just used the student hill, for a short fun ride.

Look at that style. I loved it, and included my best motor sound effect the entire ride.

Check out one of our rides, we're the little dot right in the middle!

Have fun shredding it up this season!

Adventures in Sledding

2010-01-22T10:00:00.000-08:00

I still like snow! One of my new snow adventures has been sledding. The first week of snow, we headed out to find a hill, with our trusty thrift store disk. Oh course we first had to test out the sled in the driveway. Then, we found a little hill to get us started and mom and I had some fun. After we got more snow, we headed for the professional hill. At least the professional hill that us shorties are allowed to go on.

We had to pay $5 for an hour, so not sure if we'd do that hill again, but it sure was fun. We've found some new free hills that look pretty good, so come and join us.

Lake Tahoe Views

2010-01-15T11:22:00.000-08:00

So we've shared Lake Tahoe with you all before, but there's always more adventure to find. With the snow, Lake Tahoe has taken on a whole new adventure. We started by taking the Heavenly Gondola (or the 'dola' as I like to call it) to the top of the mountain. The ride up is amazingly beautiful! It is a little expensive just to take a ride up, but it is included with a Heavenly day or season pass. Plus at the top there is sledding hills, food, and ski runs. Almost to the top we got out to check out the view from the observation deck. Beautiful! It's very awe inspiring. What are your favorite winter views?

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T18:10:00.001-08:00

SNOW!!

2009-12-01T09:30:00.000-08:00

Yeah snow! I was barley old enough to realize all that white stuff was snow the first time I saw it (back at the post So. Cal. Mountains in June) but now I'm big and I like snow. The week before Thanksgiving we got our first snow storm at our new home. I got all bundled up, snow pants, snow jacket, boots, a hat and even mittens, and out to the snow we went. Really it was just the parking lot in front of our place, but it was sure fun. I made snow balls. I showed mom the snow all over my mittens. I even tried to crawl in the snow. Too bad the Thanksgiving week brought temperatures in the 50s so most of the snow melted, but no worries there will be more to come. Which means more snow adventures. Yipee!

2009-11-26T12:56:00.000-08:00

Reno Air Races 2009

2009-11-14T15:18:00.000-08:00

Being near the area we just couldn’t miss a chance to see the Reno Air Races, so here is take two. (If you remember we saw the races in 2008, if you missed it check it out in Dec. 2008). Now being a bit bigger I enjoyed everything a bit more. Just outside the airport, this huge hot air balloon was giving short tethered rides. We didn’t take a ride, but it was sure fun to watch all that fire. We checked out the static exhibits (all the planes staying on the ground). Mom’s favorite was the 1950s aero car. Dad liked this old car. (I know cars at an air show, but they were pretty cool). On the subject of cars, the US Airforce showed off their rocket car.

Flames and a cool looking car, wow!

We even got to see the Blue Angeles do a practice run, which got cute short due to a technical problem. My first time seeing the Blue Angeles was still pretty cool.

We even ran into a friend from Texas, Hi Eddie!

The races were awesome as always. We really liked the Jet class races, because they are big and loud. It was definitely a day full of fun. If you missed the races this year you’ll have to wait until 2010, but it should be well worth it. For more info, check out:http://www.airrace.org/indexJS.php .

Hey I think I got bigger!

2009-10-31T11:01:00.000-07:00

New Lake Hogan

2009-10-27T20:47:00.000-07:00

I know I mentioned my Birthday a bit back, but what I forgot to mention was all the fun we had during the day. We went back out to New Lake Hogan.
View Larger Map A nice Lake in the foothills of Northern California. Our friend Cory brought out his ski boat, and we went for a ride. I really like riding in boats, the bouncing around and hum of the engine is so relaxing that I even got a good nap in. But this time, I did more than just nap. Dad got in a great ride on the wake board and on skis, Mom can still single ski (it took her a few tries to get up, and I just didn’t like it when she would fall down, so I needed a big kiss when she was all done), we had a nice picnic lunch and got to swim around in the water. Then we broke out the big fun, the TUBE! Dad got in some good rides, and some good tumbles. Cory had fun, and Mom even got out there. After my nap, Dad and I even gave it a try. After just waking up, I wasn’t so sure about it. However, I did like driving the boat. It was a fun adventure when Dad tried to grab a quite large dead fish, but it was a bit to slippery. We even got to see a beautiful sunset. Perfect summer Birthday on the Lake. Thanks for all the fun Cory! Do you have a favorite lake you like to play on?

Mount Diablo

2009-10-20T21:48:00.000-07:00

On our last trip to San Francisco to watch a baseball game, we took a side road (surprise, surprise) and happened upon Mount Diablo. You can find it on purpose by taking North Gate Road east of the Highway 680.
View Larger MapIt’s a beautiful, winding, drive up the mountain to the visitors center. We went and stood on the tip top of the mountain. There are great views (especially if you bring binoculars) and a very informative visitor’s center. Even beautiful wildflowers. There is a lot to do you here, with hiking trails, bicycle routes, and camp sites. It was a great find. If you want more information about Mount Diablo, check out:http://www.mdia.org/.

Big Adventures in a Little Plane

2009-10-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, my Dad is a skydiver, so we've spent most of the summer at a Drop Zone (skydiving center) in Northern California. I love it! I spend every weekend looking at airplanes, helicopters, ultra lites, and of course parachutes & skydivers. What could be better?

My own plane ride, that's what! (For full disclosure- I have been on a plane once beofre, but that was in one of theose big commercial jets, so uneventful I didn't even know I was on a plane.) But at the end of the summer Mom, Dad & I got to go on a plane ride in a little Cessna 182. It's a plane used by skydivers, so there is only one seat for the pilot. We got to sit on the nicely padded floo, which has seatbelts sticking through the carpet. I must admit after we took off and saw the ground getting further and further away, I showed a slight bit of concern, but happily spent the rest of the flight curiously taking it all in. The loud plane noise, the view (little & big houses, grape vines, and lakes) out the window, and the fun bumpy ride.
After a ten minute tour around the area, we landed safetly back at the airport. I think I realized a bit more what had just happened after we landed, and I got outside. Then I realized we had just been up in the plane, and smiled. Oh, and I can even say "airplane," and "helicopter"- which is more of a "hetopter." I'm still working on parachute, right now it just comes out as "para," silly tounge.

A special thanks to Pilot Randy for the awsome flight, and a huge thank you to Bill & Cathy for the use of the plane.

So if you want a big adventure in a little plane, or even better a plane ride + a free fall + a parachute ride (which Mom & Dad highly recommend), then check out your nearest parachute center. In Northern California, I recommend, http://www.parachutecenter.com/ and for other places you can always find a good Drop Zone through,http://www.uspa.org/FindaDZ.aspx. Have Fun!!

Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park

2009-09-20T22:12:00.000-07:00

Our springtime fun continued with a trip into Sequoia National Park, in California. It's nicknamed the land of the giants.
View Larger MapWe entered through Highway 180 coming from the Fresno area. Our first stop was to see one of the giants, General Grant Tree, which is a national shrine commemorating those American’s who lost their lives in war and the national Christmas tree. Along a 1/3 mile hike through the Sequoia forest we got to see many cool historical points, like this tree called the Fallen Monarch, which we learned has been used as a stable, shelter and even a saloon. About half way around the hike we got to General Grant Tree, the 3rd largest tree by volume in the world. WOW! (It's so big we couldn't even get the whole thing in one picutre.) It is 268 feet tall, and is 40 feet in diameter at its base. The whole hike is filled with giant trees, and interesting facts.
An AK adventure wouldn’t be complete without some off roading. So while we new the road down to Kings Canyon was closed we found this other detour to take. The road gave us a great view of Kings Canyon from above as well as we discovered a beautiful mountain lake called Hume Lake. According to our map there are 2 ways back to the main road in Sequoia park, the road we took, and the one with this sign. Of course we took the road with the sign, at least for a while. Our trusty Rover got us over a few good snow patches with only a bit of light sliding, (Dad loves to make Mom a bit nervous), but finally the snow stopped our adventure. By our calculations we were less then a mile from our destination. A little frustrating but fun none the less, especially going back over all the harrowing spots. It was a beautiful road along side a river.
We continued down the Generals Hwy, and stopped to see the largest tree by volume, The General Sherman tree. It measures 1487 cubic meters, and is 275 feet tall. To get to the tree there is a ½ mile descending walk. Going down isn’t that bad, but going back up that ½ mile is a bit taxing, especially since you’re already at 7000 feet in altitude. Tip if you keep driving past the main entrance there is a handicap parking area where you can pick up and drop off people and not have to do the strenuous hike.
Our favorite part of the park was continuing along the Generals Highway on the way out of the park towards the Ash Mountain Entrance. The road is descending, long and winding with plenty of switchbacks. As you descend you get an amazing view of the valley below, and the river heading into Lake Kaweah, absolutely beautiful. The old road even let you drive through a rock, now you can only walk it.
This is a place we definitely have to visit again. The caves in King’s Canyon sound especially exciting, during a summer trip there. If you want to learn more about Kings’ Canyon and Sequoia National Park, and plan your own trip, check out: http://www.nps.gov/SEKI/index.htm

Camping on the King’s River

2009-09-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

After our Yosemite trip, we took a drive down to Kings river, just past Pine Flat’s Dam. We found a nice little camping spot just off the river and even went back to the little market for hot dogs and s’more fixings.
We checked out the river and explored a bit before setting up camp.
Mom & Dad put up our little tent. Nice and comfy.

Check out all that fire wood. Dad is the fire king!He hacked up half a fallen tree (literally) with a blunt hatchet, to provide plenty of wood for the evening. Go mountain man Dad. And what a fantastic fire it was. It was so much fun to watch that I couldn’t even go to sleep. Every time mom would lay me down I would wake right back up. I don’t want to miss the party. Plus the s’mores were pretty good. We even had enough wood for a nice little fire in the morning.
Yeah for camping!

Springtime in Yosemite

2009-08-18T16:20:00.000-07:00

If you recall, or if you don't then take a lookhttp://aks-adventures.blogspot.com/2009/01/yosemite.html. Last fall we took a trip up to Yosemite! We really wanted to see it with all of the waterfalls in full flow, so this past spring we hit it up again. Just amazing.

One of our favorite spots in the park is Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, it doesn't get the notoriety of Yosemite Valley, which makes it a bit more peaceful with less people. When you get up to the dam you can see the waterfalls on the other side of the reservoir, so this time we decided that a hike was in order. I got packed around by mom and dad, so I really didn't mind a couple mile hike, I even took a couple of naps. There was a great progression of waterfalls along the trail, from the 'small' stream coming down the mountain, to the larger flow flooding the trail, which is where mom almost stepped on a water snake twice. And finally to the big daddy that we saw from the other side of the reservoir. The park had kindly built these great bridges, so you could get right up and over the falls, but that wasn't good enough for us. SO, we scaled down one and had a nice little picnic under the bridge. It was hard to hear anything from the roar of the water, but it was fun putting my feet in, even though it was freezing. The waterfall provided a great cool down after a nice hike. My springtime Yosemite tip: Bring an umbrella, even if there is no rain in the forecast, 1st it keeps you in the shade on the long, sunny hikes, and 2nd it provides a great breaker from all the waterfall spray. (Don't worry you can still get wet, but it just helps control the degree to which you get wet, light spray or soaked through).

The most adventurous part of the hike came on the hike back. Mom was walking in front and Dad was carrying me, when all the sudden mom stopped, stepped back and stammered her words until she could get our "It's a bear." No more then 10 yards in front of us, hiding behind a rock was quite a large brown bear. Our noise spooked him a bit, so he took off, but he took off up the trail, the direction we needed to go. We gave him a bit of a head start and then slowly continued along the trail, all the while Mom trying to make as much noise as possible. Mom & Dad couldn't remember what you're suppose to do around a bear (yes we know make noise, and DON'T run away), but was it make eye contact, or don't make eye contact, walk away fast, slow, with our backs turned or stare at it. But at least this conversation generated a good amount of noise. About a 100 yards up right in the middle of the trail, we found a large pile of bear dropping, what appeared (from our very untrained eyes) to be quite fresh. Needless to say that didn't put our minds at ease. Just a bit further up the trail as we approached a pond boarding the trail, we heard a splash and saw the tail end of that very same bear jump out of the pond and climb onto the rocks behind it. Then he just stared at us as we cautiously continued on the trail. We were glad to get in front of him, but the staring was a little unnerving. Of course Dad took the opportunity to get a good picture of him. Then he ever so slowly started traversing the rocks heading toward us. That was enough for us, so we calming yet quickly (not running) continued on the trail. By the time we got back to the car we were all exhausted, but ecstatic about the amazing hike, and the very curious bear. I wasn't scared of that bear one bit, probably because I slept through the whole encounter.

The next day we hit up Yosemite Valley and checked out some of the great waterfall. We couldn't help but check out some of the falls on the way into the Valley. After yesterdays adventure we couldn't just look over the bridge but had to climb down it. Bridalveil falls was pounding, it was hard to get a picture without getting soaked. Once again, umbrellas rule. People gave us weird looks on the way up, but wished they'd had one on the way back down. We also saw Yosemite Falls. It is such an amazing difference between fall and spring.

This time we took the southern route (Hwy 41) out of the Valley towards Fresno. There was a group of deer grazing in a pasture on our way out of the park. Perfect way to end the day. (Not to mention the comfy hotel bed and yummy food down the road in Oakhurst.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-07-12T17:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to ME! Yeah, I have already had 1 year of adventures, can you believe it. My parents can't believe how fast it has gone by. I've done so much already, but don't worry there are plenty of adventures still to be had.

Here's my year in review:

Newborn

1 Week

2 Weeks

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

1st Halloween

4 Months

5 Months

1st Christmas

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months

10 Months

11 Months

One Year OldIf you can't tell, I like cake. Mom you want a bite!
Now that I'm 1 can I drive? Dad give me the keys!

Baseball Season

2009-07-06T21:35:00.000-07:00

It’s baseball season, well it has been for a while. And I hope you’re enjoying it as much as I am. And like Orlando Hudson (the Dodger player who hit for the cycle on opening day at Dodger Stadium) I have hit my own cycle. I have now been to every major league MLB ballpark in the State of California. Ok that’s only 5 parks, but hey I’m not even one yet.

My first game was at Petco park. Go Padres! (Yes, I know they’re having a rough season, but mom is no fair weather fan, so Go Padres).

Next I made it to opening day a Dodger Stadium. Boy that was quite a circus, but oh so entertaining.

We went to an Angel’s game in Anaheim to avoid sitting in traffic on the 5 Freeway. Very good trade off.

Next up to Oakland for an A’s game at The Coliseum. Can’t beat the $2 tickets and $1 hot dogs on Wednesdays. After going back to Petco and Dodger stadium a few more times,
I finally made it to a Giant’s game at AT&T Park in San Francisco. I really do enjoy being at games.

I even learned how to clap watching all the other fans!

Here are some fun pics from the games:

Mmmmm! Mom what is this, it sure looks yummy! Early season games are still a bit chilly!
Where did that ball go?Ohh, so content!
Thanks Uncle Giden for all the Dodger fun!
Ferry Ride to Petco from Coronado Island.

Petco Park on a warmer day.
Check out the nice seats by our favorite bartender Duncan.
Ola Papa!
The Giants even have a Trolly to play on, beep beep.

After game tailgating!

I still got a lot of Parks to go. Where's your favorite place to watch Baseball?

Air & Space Museums

2009-06-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

I like things that fly and make lots of noise. So we went to check out a couple of museums about flying.
At San Diego's Balboa Park is the San Diego Air & Space Museum.

It was pretty cool. They did have the Star Trek section, but we didn't want to pay a lot extra for it, so we skipped it (sorry George). There are lots of neat things to look at, even a really old Apollo Space Shuttle. Some of the planes had cool designs. Ahhh this plane is going to eat me. Mom can't you read it says danger. I even got to fly, or at least pretend. Can I be Superman? (I know he flies and all, but what's up with a poster of Superman at an Air & Space Museum)? They even have a plane just my size. Overall, pretty cool!

We also checked out Air & Space Museum at March Airfield. If you’ve driven up Hwy 215 in So. Cal., then you’ve probably driven by it a bunch, but we finally stopped to check it out. There are some cool things to check out inside the hanger

(watch out my turn to fly) and a whole bunch more cool planes outside the hanger. Plus some interesting history about the area. Not the biggest museum, but definitely worth checking out if you like planes and other flying objects.

So. Cal. Mountains

2009-06-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

When you think of Southern California most people don't think of mountains, they think of beaches, but suprisingly there are mountains. Nothing too masive, but certainly some enjoyable spots.

For a unique view of Los Angeles check out Angeles Crest in Angeles National Forest. Take Hwy 2 into the mountains. You get up above the clouds and smog and it's quite a different view. The city actually looks nice from up here (especially if you pretend the smog is fog)! (Can you see all the little buildings on the right.)

There some hiking and other adventures to be had up here too. For adventures other then just the view, you may need a permit or pass, so be sure to check out this website before you go: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/angeles/.

Oh and while your in the area if your shors or leather goods need some repair check out my Papik (Grandpa's) shoe shop. He'll fix it all up for you. It's at: 4121 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite J, California 91214.

East from LA you hit San Bernardino National Forest.
View Larger Map There are many different ways to get there. From Hemet take the 74 East, from Banning take the 243 South, or from Palm Springs take the 74 West. Up in the mountains there's usually some pretty nice views of the area below. In the middle of the Forest there is the cute, little, mountain town of Idyllwild. Nice shops and eateries, and parks to go hiking from. We checked it out last March, so there was still some snow on the ground. Just a bit of playing in the snow. (Thanks Uncle Chris & Auntie Erin for the jacket, it kept me nice and toasty warm).

We also checked out Lake Hemet. It looked pretty nice, but a little cold and windy to get in just yet, maybe the summer would be nice. We only lasted long enough to take the picture. For more info. on this area, check out: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sanbernardino/.

There are other mountains in the area. Even ones that you can ski or board on. So when you're exploring So. Cal. don't forget the mountains, especailly in the winter when the beach is too cold anyways! "Are we there yet?"

Unpause!!

2009-06-04T13:19:00.000-07:00

Finally back up and posting. We’re still enjoying more adventures, but mom finally sat down and posted some of the old ones. Thanks mom! Some of the posts are from adventures more then a few months ago (so I’m not really that small anymore).
Oh, and I really like avocado!

Central California Coast

2009-06-04T12:18:00.000-07:00

Driving down Hwy 101 isamazing- from the giant Redwoods, to the beautiful beaches. While driving through the Central Coast here are a few places I’d recommend (and a whole bunch more that I still haven't seen) that you should check out. The drive down the coast really is beautiful. The views.The beaches. The sunsets. It’s best to take you time and smell the roses (or the salt water).
In Santa Cruz, take some time at the Municipal Wharf.

There's a great little resturant, that's been there forever. It's owned and operated by the Stagnaro family. Just inside the front door are some great pictures that tell a bit of the history, if you want to know more the man behind the counter knows all the interesting little facts.

We even got to see some sunbathing sea lions. It's pretty cool that they can get all the way up on those struts.
In Monterey Bay you shouldn’t pass up the aquarium. There are some many different kinds of animals under the sea. This is a great place to get up close to some and even touch a few. I was most enthralled by the jelly fish that seem to glow as they float through the water. Down the coast, just past San Simeon we spent the day at Hearst’s Castle. The Castle is up on a hill, so the view down to the ocean is just beautiful! The guided tour is well worth it as you get to see the grounds and some of the rooms, and you get some back story as well. You even get to see the pools (yep plural, there are two: 1 outside and 1 inside).
Dad takes a pretty cool, artistic sunglasses shots don't you think! Do you think they’d let me take a little dip? There is very intricate details throughout, especially in the gigantic dinning room. They even have there own movie theater, not to mention they’re own runway. Overall a pretty cool place. While this is a coastal tour, we did go inland just a bit to check out the cute dutch style town of Solvang. Lots of cute decorated building. There are lots of little shops, but more importantly lots of little resturants with very yummie food.

Back on the coast we hit up Santa Barbara. And of course we hit up the pier.

You just got to stop by when there’s a pier. They have good food, cool animals, and lots of things to look at. Here we even took the water taxi across the bay. Of course we couldn’t pass up on some ice cream. It’s even a great place to watch the sunset!
Well that’s my quick tour of the central California coastline. There’s so much more to see, we’ll just have to check it our again. What’s your favorite thing to see here?

Pause

2009-04-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the pause in posts. We're off traveling once again and on more adventures. As soon as we pause for just a bit, you'll get to read about more adventures! Happy Easter!

Adventures in the Redwoods- Part 3

2009-03-16T20:18:00.000-07:00

Finally, the final installment of adventures in the Redwoods. So a trip to the Redwoods is not complete without checking out the Avenue of Giants through Humboldt Redwoods State Park.
View Larger Map When leaving Eureka, head south on the 101 Hwy. Just before Pepperwood take the Avenue of Giants road, which is the old Hwy 101. A 31 mile route that follows along Hwy 101, but displays the beautiful scenery of the redwoods and introduces you to the small historic timber towns. Shortly after entering the Avenue you can pick up a pamphlet (donation recommended) that gives detailed information at numbered points along the drive. The day started with taking a side dirt road leading to a river winding through the trees(any idea what that ladder looking thing is up in the tree- I wonder?)

and a pretty cool bridge (a road trip just isn't complete without a bit of off road driving).

A bit further down the avenue is the Founders Grove, with a easy .6 mile loop walk that I highly recommend. The founders tree (346.1 feet high and 40 feet circumference), is magnificent to stand under. These trees are just amazing; from gazing up at their magnificent height to looking around at what use to be that high, or crawling inside what should no longer be standing. Even taking Dad's not so short, short cut was awe inspiring.
The Redwood adventure really isn't complete without driving through a tree. Check out Shrine Drive-Thru tree. For $4 (at least at that time) you can drive through a tree and check out the Redwood Tree houses. To plan your adventure through the Avenue of Giants and Humboldt Redwoods State Park, I recommend: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=425.
That officially concludes this adventure through the California Redwoods. If, by chance, you happen to be near Garberville, CA (near the Southern end of the Avenue of Giants) and need to get back to the Trinity National Forest area I recommend: Alderpoint Rd to Ruth-Zenia Rd to Mad River Road to Hwy 36 to Route 3, which heads right to Hwy 299. Long and windy, but quite the peaceful views

Redwood Forest- Part 2

2009-02-24T10:36:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be an ant, so small in a world that is so big? This adventure makes you feel like a little ant, in a big huge world (probably more so when you're only 2 feet tall as it is). We started the day in Kalamath and came across the biggest ox there is. It was Blue & Paul Bunyan at the Trees of Mystery. You can check out the giant Paul Bunyan (can you see me on his foot)and his Ox Blue, along with a wilderness trail and sky trail. The trails have a fee, so we just got an ice cream at the museum and got some pictures with Paul and Blue. I feel so small. Check it out at: http://www.treesofmystery.net/. Even Paul's hand cart is huge.

The drive up (or down) the coast, is amazing. You never know what you're going to find. Though not as big as Blue, these Moose were still amazing to check out, especially because they were calmly grazing right off of the Hwy in someone's yard. Cool!!!

As we were driving we wonder how those large cliff rocks (that once again made me feel like an ant) came to sit out in the ocean. Well a quick pit stop at a rest stop provided the answer. If you can't read the small writing, it says in essence: as the tectonic plates collide, 150 million years of sediment on the sea floor are shaved off and faulted upward to become rocks and cliffs. Pretty cool if you ask me.

And finally the view of Crescent City!We didn't spend much time there, but did drive out to St. Georges point, mostly to stay near the ocean. The point is a great place to take a walk by the ocean. It seems the locals agree as many seemed to take their morning walks along those trails.

Next off to the Jedidiah Smith Redwoods. As usual we decided to take some back road of off Hwy 199. After passing many hiking trail heads we found the perfect spot for a picnic right next to this beautiful river. (Perfect shot of our car for a commercial, don't you think, anyone from Land Rover reading this?)

After a quick, but peaceful hike through the gigantic trees (which once again made me feel as small as an ant) we headed back down the coast. Maybe next time we'll keep heading North, but for now back down to Eureka. The perfect end to the day came with a stop at the beach to watch the sunset, not to mention the jacuzzi at the hotel in Eureka.

Redwood Forest- Part 1

2009-02-21T13:07:00.000-08:00

Our next adventure took us to the coast of Northern California. For three days we explored the coast and the beautiful Redwood Forests that surround it.
View Larger MapInstead of starting our tour from the top or the bottom (which would have made sense) we started from the middle. Early one morning, not so long ago, we left the warm beds in the Trinity Area and headed west. But as you've probably noticed, we can't just take the easy route (you miss way to much), so we found some back roads. If your interested and have the time this is the road I recommend:

Coming from Redding take the Hwy 299 along the Trinity River to Willow Creek.
Continue following the river up Hwy 96 to Weitchpec.
Start up Hwy 169, but turn left shortly and cross Martins Ferry Bridge to Bald Hills Road.
Bald Hills Road goes straight into the backside of the Redwoods.
View Larger Map

What a beautiful drive: from the small towns and rivers off of the Highways, to the bridges and gorges, to the beautiful foliage and views up into the mountain, and the erie fog as you approach the coast. It does take sometime, but the journey is half the adventure!
Right off Bald Hills road we made our first stop to view the majesty of the gigantic redwoods at Lady Bird Johnson Grove. Here there is a one mile loop trail, with great informational plaques and brochures, we just took a quick look, but still loved the peaceful calm that surrounds the area.

Bald Hills Road ends into Hwy 101. We stopped just south for a quick lunch in Orick, and then headed into the Redwoods. There are hiking trails and side roads throughout. For those drivers out there, I recommend taking Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway through Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. There is a great little visitors center with informative displays and free maps! (Check it out at: http://www.nps.gov/redw/. Throughout Prairie Creek there are plenty of hiking trails, many that head to the coast. But this time we took the drive. Now if you want a bit more adventure, your car can handle it, and you've still got some daylight left, then take the Coastal Drive off of the scenic parkway. It loops up and meets with Hwy 101 after some good, narrow dirt roads. We started our drive a bit late and lost all light about half way through. When the fog rolls in and the visibility goes down to a few feet, it becomes the perfect setting for a horror story. (We could hear the ocean, but only saw blackness.) But no horror here, just some adventurous driving. (We did do the drive again the next morning to check out the beautiful coastal view)!We made it to Kalamath that night and settled down at the Ravenwood A Motel, http://www.ravenwoodmotel.com/. With charmingly decorated rooms, friendly, informative owners, a comforting environment, and good prices we highly recommend this great motel.

That's all we could fit into one day, so stop by later this week to read about Part 2 of our Redwood Adventure!

Lassen National Park

2009-02-08T14:52:00.000-08:00

If you're ready for a back road exploration of some beautiful countryside, come on an adventure of Lassen National Forest in Northern California.
View Larger Map Coming from Redding, take Old Hwy 44 east straight to the entrance of Lassen Volcanic National Park. Due to our poor planning (we made this trip in early November) the main road through Lassen had already been closed for the winter thanks to some early snow the week before. But have no fear, there is still an adventure to be had. Even though we couldn't take the whole road, we did go as far as Manzita Lake. We had a nice pit stop at a small river to check out the scenery. Ahhh beautiful, but a bit chilly. There was still snow patches on the side of the road. If you want to plan your trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park be sure to check out: http://www.nps.gov/lavo/ to see if the road is open.
To continue on our adventure we continued East on Hwy 44. Had a quick lunch around Old Station, continued following Hwy 44, until we cut south on Mooney Rd. Heading east on Hwy 36,we came to Lake Almanor. The water level seamed low, but it was still beautiful. After exploring the area around the north side of the Lake, we headed into Chester. We found a colorful, yummy diner and a hotel to spend the night. If you want to plan your trip to Chester, check out: http://www.chester-lakealmanor.com/

Some of our favorite adventures take place to and from our destination. We wanted to end up back in Redding, but where's the adventure in taking the main road, or worse going back the way we came, so we took out our trusty map and found some back roads heading generally our direction. [If your up for the ride, and preferably have 4 wheel drive, (especially this time of the year), then follow our back road find.] As you leave Chester heading east on Hwy 44, take Hwy 89 South. A few miles down turn off the main road onto Humbug Rd. (the names weren't on our old map, but the roads were there) and shortly thereafter head right on Humbolt Rd. A quick conversation with a hunter leaving the forest, who assured us that this would eventually meet up with a main road (and recommending that we had a spare tire), we felt good about our choice of back roads. This turned out to be some beautiful driving through Lassen National Forest. This road takes you through a peaceful meadow, by old ranch barns, and up to the top of the snowy summit. Just before we hit the main road we stopped at a rural campground just outside of Butte Meadows, to play along the river. Mom & Dad even braved the slippery logs.

What an adventure. It's amazing all of the different terrain and foliage you can see in one day. If you want to check out more about Lassen National Forest, check out: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/lassen/. Have you had any good back road adventures?

Auburn Bridge

2009-01-27T20:02:00.000-08:00

In the gold country of Northern California lies the quaint historic town of Auburn California.
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The easy way to get there is to take Hwy 80 from Sacramento or Lake Tahoe, but if you really want to experience gold country and all the small towns along the once lively rivers take old Hwy 49 straight into Auburn. There are a lot of old historic buildings in Auburn, so it is a great place to do some exploring before a bite to eat at any number of yummy looking restaurants.
We started the day with a late breakfast at a little hole in the wall Mexican/American eatery. Mom & Dad both thought it was delicious. The great part about eating a late breakfast was we were the only ones in the place. 1st class service. To learn more about the town of Auburn, however I don't recommend the virtual tour as it froze my webpage, check out: http://www.auburn-ca.com/. After we filled our bellies, we headed out to our actual destination the Auburn Bridge on Foresthill Road. What is commonly known as the Auburn Bridge is actually called the Foresthill Bridge. 730 feet above the American River's North Fork is quite the view and a favorite among base jumpers. Photo credit to Howard Gold

Maybe someday I'll be big enough to try.

I highly recommend taking the walk across the bridge, especially since there is a nice pedestrian pathway. When you're done exploring the top of the bridge, take Hwy 49 to Old Foresthill Rd, to the base of the bridge (or if you're a base jumper there is a quicker way down, hehe). There is tons to do down in the Auburn State Recreation Area. We decided to explore the area with a light hike. There's a great path that goes right to the base of the bridge. It looks even bigger from down there. There are hikes all over the sides of the ravine, if you really want to get a workout in.

If you want more info on recreation in the area, check out:http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=502.

We also went down to the river. It was a bit cold in the late fall, so we skipped rocks and played on the shore. Dad even got a rock skipped from one side to the other! In the summer, this would be a great spot for a dip in the river to cool off. So if you're in the area I highly recommend checking out Auburn and the bridge. If not and you want to learn more, check out: http://www.placercountyhistoricalsociety.org/Histories/Bridge.htm and for a detailed history of what almost was check out: http://www.foothill.net/~andreaj/Bridge.htm. Are there any cool bridges in your area?

Apple Hill

2009-01-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

Yummy Apples! On a short day trip in Northern California we explored Apple Hill. Located off of Hwy 50, between Sacramento, and South Lake Tahoe, in the towns of Placerville and Camino, are the Apple Hill orchards. From early September through November, and some places even December, harvest and share their delicious treats. Many of the growers belong to the Apple Hill Growers Association. With their website http://www.applehill.com/ of maps and information it is very easy to plan your trip to Apple Hill.

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But with no planning, just a desire for apple pie late last October, we decided to go for it.

Our first find was Plubell's Family Orchard. As we parked we saw and elderly gentleman packing his car trunk full of gallons of apple cider. It seemed a little excessive, until we got a free taste at the entrance to the store. Wow, delicious, or at least my parents claim, as I was still to small to have any. Needless to say we left with a gallon to take home, along with some fresh picked apples.

After a calming drive through the countryside around some of the orchards, following the Apple Hill logo signs, we found High Hill Ranch. This was quite the place. This seemed to be the one stop shopping spot if you only have time for a quick Apple Hill adventure. (Everyone else seemed to think so also, as it was the busiest place we saw all day). It's even where the reporters from Good Day Sacramento had pie. (Check it out at: http://cbs13.com/video/?cid=14 ).There was a large bakery and restaurant, where we got some apple pie to take home, a great food stop and fruit stand and many other small shops for food or handcrafted items. They even had a giant pumpkin to sit on. It's all around a grassy hill, with a large pond, where you can eat as you watch the fish and ducks. I wanted to be bigger so I could roll down that grassy hill. Someday soon!

On the other side of the pond, was the best stop, the Fudge Factory Farm. Yummy!! We recommend the Double Dark Chocolate fudge, but it all looked delicious.

Our Apple Hill adventure took place at the end of October, during the middle of the week. Therefore, not all of the orchards were open. While it was quieter, and nice to enjoy without large crowds, it did appear that on the weekends more orchards were open, and there would be a lot more to do (shopping, games, hay rides, etc.) on the weekends. Dates and times for each of the orchards are available at: http://www.applehill.com/site/growers.html. We only reported on a few on the orchards and bakeries, but that was only due to time constraints and lack of room in our stomachs. We loved everything we sampled, and next time we'll have to check out other places.

Apple Hill has so much to offer, peaches, plums, cherries and other summer fruit are available in the summer, apples in the fall, pumpkins just before Halloween and even Christmas Trees in December. So if you're in the area, I highly recommend checking it out.

Yosemite

2009-01-12T15:29:00.000-08:00

Since the holidays are over, it's time to get back to the real adventures. We need to go back a few months so you don't miss out on some great adventures.
So a bit back, when I was small (because I'm so big now), we had a 3-day adventure to Yosemite National Park in Yosemite, CA. Wow, what a beautiful place.

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We drove into Yosemite National Park on Hwy 120, through the Big Oak Flat Entrance, and headed straight down to Yosemite Valley.

Our first stop was Bridalveil Falls. After a very short walk, we reached the base of the falls. Now remember we took this trip during October, the dry season, so the falls were just a trickle of their springtime flow, but amazing still the same. They are so tall! We could feel the spray with that little water, I can't imagine how wet I could get if it was full force.

Next we moved further into the valley. There is so much to explore in the valley, so we hit the big stuff.

We checked out half dome and did a nice hike to Yosemite Falls. Once again just a trickle of it's normal flow. We'll have to go back in the spring to see the change.

To see the view from above, we drove up to the top of Glacier Point. Half Dome looked amazing from this vantage point, especially as it was getting close to sunset. Glacier Point is a great place to see the Valley below. We also got to see deer, a mama & a baby.

That was quite a full day! We decided to stay outside the park in a hotel just of Hwy 120. We thought about camping in the Valley, but decided with me along we all needed a little more luxury (or at least a hot spa for mom & dad to rest their feet it). It turned out to be a pretty good decision. We found out the next morning that there was a rock slide at the campground in the Valley and everyone had to be evacuated from the site at 7am that morning. No one was hurt, but there were some close calls.

The next morning we headed up to the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir entrance. The Reservoir is such a beautiful color blue, and it has a great big Dam. It was cool to look at the river below. There was also a tunnel in the mountain that led to all the very long hikes. We just checked out the tunnel, and the butterflies playing in the entrance of the tunnel.

Next up on our tour is Tioga Pass. We drove back down to the Big Flat Oak Entrance to the park and this time turned onto the Tioga pass. There is so much to see & explore on that stretch of road. Every time I got fussy from being stuck in the car, there was a new place to get out and explore.

There was a great little lake (actually it's more of a large pond) that we stopped at for a picnic snack. Then on to Olmsted Point. It was fun to climb on those big rock slabs. (Don't worry I left the climbing up to mom & dad and I just got packed around for the ride). It's also a great view of the back of the Valley. (Yosemite is amazingly big).

Tenaya Lake was another great place for a rest stop. What a beautiful lake.

Tuolumne Meadows was another nice place for a break. It looks like a great place for hiking, when I bigger and I don't have to be packed around.
Our final stop in the park was Saddlebag Lake. Down a long dirt road there is a small lake, with a cool old wood dam.

We took the pass straight through Yosemite to Mono Lake and the small town of Lee Vining. We stopped for an early dinner, which included a great chocolate milk shake. (At least my head thought it was great)!Note to those fellow explorers. When driving up Hwy 395 from Yosemite, get gas where you can. There are plenty of small towns, but that is what they are, small towns. Not all of them had gas stations. We were forced to pay way too much, because we tried to wait for a cheaper place and passed the first station. By the time we found another place, we were so excited that we hadn't run out of gas, that we didn't mind paying.

It was a very quick whirlwind tour of Yosemite, but it was still amazing. When I'm bigger we'll have to go back and see more. Especially during the late spring when the falls should be flowing. I highly recommend checking it out!So when you're ready to plan your trip to Yosemite check out: http://www.nps.gov/yose/, we also liked http://www.yosemitepark.com/ to get info on places to stay.

Happy New Year

2009-01-04T09:03:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!! New Years Eve was a quiet night. We did watch the ball drop on TV, but thanks to time zones, we actually watched it drop at 9pm our time. I had to save my energy for the adventure to come on News Year Day.

My first New Years was all about the Rose Bowl. We got into Pasadena, CA, met up with some friends, and got to the parking lot (i.e.- the golf course that everyone parks all over) just in time for some tailgating. We tried to make into the stadium, only to be turned away. Guess why... they wanted little old me to have a ticket. Can you believe it, not even 6 months old, and strapped to my mom, and they want me to pay $145 dollars to enter the Rose Bowl.
My rant to the Rose Bowl People: You've got to be kidding, not only can I not even sit in my own seat, but from that distance the game is just a blur of color I can't focus on. I'm stuck on one of my parents the entire time. I don't even use the bathrooms! So, I know you're trying to milk as much money as you can from us football loving fans, but have a heart. Let us little ones in for free!

So after the shock won off, and a bit of finagling by my parents, a kind gate supervisor let me in with out a ticket. Thank you kind supervisor!

The game was great, loud and exciting. USC did romp on Penn State, but there were plenty of fans on both sides cheering until the end. I did take a quick nap during the game, but I still entertained all the USC fans around us. There is so much fun food there. I got to try a little bit of frozen lemonade, and yes, mom shared her cotton candy, but just a bit.

There was so much to look at the whole day. There were some great hits and plays by the teams. A real cool bomber that flew over during the national anthem. And the bands were sure fun to listen to. Plus football fans are endless entertainment themselves. (Well maybe not these fans, but most of them).
At the end of the game, you have to get one of the hot dogs for sale, just outside the gate. Delicious, or at least they smelled the way, mom wouldn't let me have a bite. Something about not having teeth. I learned leaving a football game is quite a process. I recommend continuing the tailgating until the crowds clear. And if you go to the Rose Bowl, or any game there you need to stop by Tommy's Burgers afterwards for some great, greasy, chili burgers. A perfect top off. My first football game turned out to be quite the adventure!

I hope you have a Happy New Year!

Christmas Fun

2008-12-28T21:47:00.000-08:00

Wow Christmas came and went too fast. But as usual it was quite the adventure! This Christmas was all about family. I got to spend time with many different members of my extended family and even meet some new ones. We had lots of fun together.

We opened lots of presents.We ate lots of food, or at least my parents did. (I did get to taste a few things). I can't wait until I can eat everything!But my favorite thing about Christmas, at least for now, is all the lights. I love starring at the lights on the Christmas trees. Thanks Grammie and Auntie for having beautiful lighting on your trees.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas or holiday also!
Check back next week for more traveling adventures.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-23T08:44:00.000-08:00

Photo By: Howard Gold

My next adventure is upcoming with my very first Christmas.
I sure am excited!

I already got to see some Christmas lights on Christmas Tree Lane (in Alta Dena, CA) and on Honolulu Blvd (in Glendale, CA). So if you are near Los Angeles, CA check out the lights here or check them out in your neighborhood!
I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Lake Camanche Reservoir

2008-12-15T10:42:00.001-08:00

This adventure started out as a nice afternoon at the Lake, and turned into quite the adventure. In the gold country of northern California there are lots of rivers and lakes. In between Hwy 88 and Hwy 12 we found Lake Camanche Reservoir.

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There is a lot to do on the Lake: fishing, boating, water-skiing, and plenty of other water adventures! There is also a lot to do off of the Lake. It looks like it used to be a lot bigger, but that the water has gone down over time. This isn't so bad, because it leaves a lot of sand dunes to play on before you get down to the water.So before our picnic we decide to take the 4x4 truck on a little drive around the Lake. We were doing pretty good driving around, but before we knew it the sand got deeper and deeper and finally we got stuck. Oppps!

After numerous attempts to get ourselves unstuck, we decided we needed a bit of help. So mom and I, in our trusty off-road stroller took a nice hike through the sand back to the ranger station. An hour & $150 dollars later, a bright yellow & purple tow truck arrived to pull us out. Yippee!

We still had a nice picnic overlooking the lake and the marine, it was just a bit delayed. So if you get the chance to check out Lake Camanche watch out for the sand, even in your 4x4!
You can see more about Lake Camanche at: http://camanche.uslakes.info/ or http://www.camancherecreation.com/
Check out your local area, there's probably somewhere close where you can have your own adventure.

Reno Air Races

2008-12-03T18:25:00.000-08:00

Earlier this year I got to see all kinds of cool airplanes at the Reno Air Races, in Reno, NV. We went the first day, and got to see most of the fun with a smaller crowd and at a lower price (the good thing about being little is that I'm free)!

All day long different types of aircraft were racing head-to-head! Those were some pretty gutsy pilots to be flying that fast with that many other planes in the air. (Mom wonders if they do that with helicopters:)

In between the races there was tons to do! We checked out the cool stationary airplanes. They had really old ones from WWII

and newer ones that go very fast!

I also got to watch bigger kids play on all kinds of cool toys, like jumpy houses and rock walls. Someday I'll be big enough to do that too! But I did get to check out a pretty fun looking motorcycle. Yumm Jelly Belly! I think my car seat might just fit in that side car.

There was also lots of food that smelled really good! (Mom of course got cotton candy.) There was also the biggest BBQ I think I'll ever seen. Mmmm just looking at it makes me hungry.

Even though I slept most of the day it was still a very cool adventure. I may not be big enough to fly a plane yet, but maybe dad will let me drive the car home.
For more information on the Reno Air Races, check out: http://www.airrace.org/

Lake Tahoe

2008-11-28T10:54:00.000-08:00

My first adventure was to Lake Tahoe, CA. What a beautiful place. There is so much to do. There were boats on the lake, but the water was a little cold for me, so we stuck to the land.

My favorite thing is to drive around the lake. Roads go around the whole lake and make for a beautiful day drive. Check out a map here:

http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&q=map+lake+tahoe&ll=39.100126,-120.028725&spn=0.469985,1.230469&z=10

There are great places to stop and have a picnic in South Tahoe, right off Hwy 50. It's also fun to take the elevator to the top of one of the big hotels in South Tahoe and see the view from there.

The most beautiful place to stop is off of Hwy 89 just above Emerald Bay. The water there is a beautiful color.

Lake Tahoe is beautiful year around, but during the winter some of the roads are closed due to snow. Late summer was a perfect time to escape the heat in the valley and enjoy the fresh mountain air. So next time you're in Northern CA or NV take the day and explore Lake Tahoe. You can find more info here to help plan your trip:).http://www.visitinglaketahoe.com/

Hope you enjoy and see you next week for a new adventure!

Welcome

2008-11-28T09:53:00.000-08:00

Welcome to AK's Adventures! Is it difficult for you to get out and travel? Have you always wanted to see the world around you, but just don't have the chance? Or do you want new ideas on where to go and things to do, that may be in your own backyard. Well come join me, AK, on my adventures. (I've traveled more then most adults.) Each week (or almost each week) I'll go on a new adventure, some large, some small, all exciting. So come join me on my adventures and get a new appreciation for the world around us!