Celebrating milestone birthdays gives us an excuse to do something a bit out of the norm, to go ahead and splurge a little because it’s always good to celebrate life. My mother-in-law celebrated her (mumble, mumble)th birthday by renting a house in Healdsburg right on the Russian River and kindly invited all of us family … More Russian River and Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve
Auburn, CA has been our favorite half way stop from the Bay Area to Lake Tahoe and beyond. From their Shell gas station, Ikeda’s market, Holiday Inn Express, In-N-Out, and awesome location we’ve already deduced that Auburn is pretty great. Auburn is one of the last places to stop before the drive through the Tahoe … More Exploring California’s Gold Rush Country
The clouds decided to pay us a visit on our second day in Spokane (WA), but with no rain in the forecast we were excited to do some more exploring outdoors. After my daughter left us to be with her volleyball team, my hubby and I jumped in the rental car and went in search … More Riverside State Park – Bowl and Pitcher
Last weekend we had one of our most unlucky travel experiences ever. We were headed to Spokane, Washington for another of my daughter’s volleyball tournaments, the Pacific Northwest Qualifier. I have to admit, when I first heard about the location, I had to look up where it was. Everyone warned us that getting to Spokane … More Spokane, Washington Weekend
Road triiiiip! I am so excited for our next road trip, but inevitably when we plan one in the large state of California, we usually have to log a large amount of miles. Did you know there are 9 National Parks, 19 National Forests, 3 National Historic Sites, 3 National Recreation Areas, 1 National Seashore, … More California Road Trip Stops
A few weeks ago, I got that notice from WordPress. The one that everyone who blogs using WordPress has gotten or will get once they reach their one year mark (“Happy Anniversary with WordPress.com!”). A bloggiversary as some call it, a great reminder to reflect on your year of blogging and be appreciative of your … More How It All Began…
When a trail is described as “one of the top bike trails in the nation,””world-renowned,” or the “jewel of Sacramento” I just have to check it out for myself. The Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail (also called the American River Parkway) located in the Sacramento area is a paved 32-mile trail that parallels the American River … More Sunset Bike Ride on the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail
A recent weekend had us traveling to Denver, Colorado to attend a volleyball tournament for my daughter. This was my first time in Denver, and I was excited to explore “the Mile High City” (Denver is one mile above sea level) between volleyball matches. We flew in to Denver on a Friday night to get … More Downtown Denver, Colorado
With the kind of unstable weather we’re having in California, you may have to get a little creative when planning an outing. Finding places to explore that are somewhat near “shelter,” so that if the rain suddenly starts Niagara-falling, you can find somewhere to run-like-heck and go on with your day. My parents were joining … More Napa Valley Day Trip For the Whole Family
We love to be active and enjoy the outdoors, but hiking is not necessarily the activity of choice when we get together with grandparents. No problem, there are plenty of outdoor activities we can all enjoy. One of our favorite excursions that we took with my in-laws was a trip to San Simeon on the central … More Hearst Castle, a California State Historical Monument
I know it’s kind of early to be thinking about Thanksgiving. I mean, we still have our holiday memories still lingering around in our heads. But, if I may, I wanted to plant a tiny seed, an idea to file away for the future. How about celebrating Thanksgiving at the Grand Canyon with your family? … More How About Celebrating Thanksgiving at the Grand Canyon?
We finally had gorgeous, “I can’t believe this is January!” weather this past weekend and we couldn’t get out the door fast enough to enjoy the outdoors by doing some hiking just south of San Francisco. We were going to meet up with some friends on Sunday, so it was fortuitous that the weather was perfect … More SF Bay Area Hike with Waterfall and Coastal Views
I’m always looking for recipes that I can make on our induction stove in our campervan to add variety to our usual camping foods. Gyoza, Japanese-style potstickers, cook up wonderfully on a cast iron pan on the induction stove and although it’s definitely not your typical camping fare, my family loves them. Gyoza does take a little … More Gyoza Anywhere
Here, in the Bay Area we are having some wet, stormy weather. Some of us even experienced a blackout or two and flooding on our roads. Not too bad, but it’s keeping us on our toes. As my family and I sat in our candlelit, electricity-less house last week watching the rain pelt the deck, … More North Lake Tahoe Winter Activities
Happy 2017! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season full of special times with family and friends. Love this time of year! Although we spent an inordinate amount of time binge watching movies, playing video games, practicing volleyball (ok, only my daughter!) and sleeping in, we had the opportunity to spend some time in Tokyo, … More Christmas Time in Tokyo
