Ashley's Birthday

Ashley turned 12 on June 5th. It's hard to believe I have a twelve year old. She is such a blessing to me in her help with the younger children, assistance in the kitchen, etc. She is a delightful young lady who is also growing in her walk with the Lord. I am looking forward to watching her grow and mature in the years to come.

In the past year Ashley has read and watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy. For her birthday she asked for some Lord of the Rings action figures (to display on her desk) and the soundtracks to the movies. She also received some books, a drawing book, a box of her favorite candy and some hand made gifts from her siblings. Her meal request was chicken enchilada soup and marble (vanilla and chocolate) cheesecake.

A Visit from Friends

Our dear friends Michael and Carolyn Simpson and their son Josiah came to visit earlier this month. We thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them...it just ended too soon. We felt like a little bit of Kingsport came to visit. Now if we could just get some more friends to come visit... (hint, hint)!

On Saturday night we took them to Laguna Beach to watch the sunset. This is one of our favorite things to do with guests, as we only get to see the sun rise on the east coast.

Going...

Going...

Gone

We all enjoyed a day at Disneyland on Monday. It was very hot, but otherwise we had a great time. Josiah and Kathryn (both 2 and 1/2 years old) did well and even met up with some favorite characters. We also saw Tigger, but he wouldn't stop bouncing long enough for me to get a good picture.

Pacific Coast Highway

If you ever have the opportunity to drive US 1 from Morrow Bay to Monterey, I highly recommend it. The coastal views are breathtaking. It took a lot longer to get home, but it was well worth it. I was afraid the children would soon tire of the view, (especially since we spent about 30 hours in the car together on this trip) but they didn't. The ocean was a brilliant deep blue, unlike the grey-blue I usually see on the east coast. Enjoy the beauty of our Lord's creation!

I told Brian I was going to title this picture "The Old Man and the Sea". :-)

17-Mile Drive

17-Mile Drive is located near Monterey, CA. It is a scenic drive near several exclusive golf courses including the famed Pebble Beach. It was overcast while we were there, so the scenery wasn't as nice as it might have been on a sunny day. Several of the viewpoints were closed due to the sea lions pupping. I read on-line that the scenery at 17-mile drive pales in comparison to views further down the Pacific Coast Highway. Now that I've seen both, I would agree.

Point Joe is an area where the water is very turbulent due to submerged rocks. The picture doesn't' show it well but there were waves breaking in all directions. The area is named for a Chinese man who once sold wares in the area.

Can you tell this rock is covered with sea lions and sea otters? We could also see them frolicking in the water at the base of the rock.

Muir Woods

Muir Woods, a Giant Redwood forest, is located 15 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge. This stop was not a part of our original itinerary. Brian's project manager suggested it to us. We are thankful he did as it was our favorite stop in San Francisco.

Brian is at the base of this tree.

I had to take this picture. During our entire trip this is the only time Kathryn wanted Brian to hold her hand. It lasted for about 2 minutes.

Standing inside the trunk of a Giant Redwood

San Francisco

We spent the third day of our vacation driving to and touring San Francisco. As we crossed the Oakland Bay, Bridge Brian told the children the cars headed the other direction were underneath us. As we drove out of the city later that evening, I couldn't help thinking about the earthquake that caused the upper level to partially collapse onto the lower level.


Our first destination was Lombard Street. It is referred to as "the crookedest street in the world" with its 8 switchbacks. The picture I took as we drove down didn't give an accurate portrayal, so instead I'm posting a hilly street. We learned cable cars were invented after Andrew Smith Hallidie witnessed horses stumbling while trying to pull horsecars up the hilly streets.

We drove across the Golden Gate Bridge and then went to Muir Woods. We enjoyed Muir Woods so much that I'm going to give it a separate post.

We spent Thursday at Fisherman's Wharf. There we took a boat tour of San Francisco Bay. We had the option of wearing headphones for a narrated tour. I was impressed that the boys listened intently the whole time. Among the sites we saw were Alcatraz Island and Angel Island (the Ellis Island of the west coast). The picture above is of Alcatraz.

After our tour we stopped by Boudin's for some San Francisco-style sourdough bread. Most of the children liked it. We then ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. We heard elephants stampede and saw gorillas thump their chests. We even experienced a thunderstorm without getting wet. After lunch we walked down Pier 39 to see the sea lions. They were loud and quite smelly!

Yosemite National Park Part III

After leaving Glacier Point, we drove to the southern most part of the park to visit the Giant Sequoias at Mariposa Grove. Giant Sequoias are the largest living thing. Coastal Redwoods are taller but due to the width of the Giant Sequoia's trunk and branches their bulk is greater.


Here the children are standing in front of the remaining root structure of a Giant Sequoia that fell over 300 years ago.

Will standing inside the remains of a Giant Sequoia stump.

This is the Grizzly Giant. Can you see the people at the base? It is 210 feet tall and believed to be around 2,000 years old. It is the oldest tree in the Mariposa Grove.

The Joyner clan tries to encircle a Giant Sequoia. They were only able to reach about 2/3 of the way around.