Bloggings, Travel

Heading to Yosemite

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We woke up around 5:45 again. We had breakfast and then Kelsey, Jared, Don and I took a Waymo to the Hertz. Getting our cars was super easy and fast. Then we started heading to Rush Creek Resort. The drive getting out of the city was fine. We made a couple of stops along the way. We stopped at a brewery called Around The Horn in Groveland. Groveland was about 30 minutes from Rush Creek. The brewery was good. I had nachos, Don had a salad, and Lucas had Mac and cheese. We also picked up some beer. We got to Rush Creek around 3:30 and were able to check in. The place was awesome looking. Our room overlooked the pool. We got ready and went down to the pool. They also had a pool sized hot tub. After the pool we tried to go to the restaurant/tavern but it was booked. The hostess told us we could order at the bar and sit outside. So we did that and it was ok. After dinner we went to bed.

I was happy that the drive from San Francisco to Yosemite was not bad at all. I was so anxious about the mountain driving but there was really only 20 minutes of driving very close to cliff edges.

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Alcatraz

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We got up and moving around 5:45 today. There’s no sleeping in here! Then we were out walking around 8 to go to Pier 33 for our Alcatraz tour.

When we first got to Alcatraz, we listened to a ranger talk a bit. This is when Lucas and I learned that one of the last living ex-prisoners was going to be here at Alcatraz today signing his book. Lucas was very excited and wanted to see him. We showed Lucas the movie Escape From Alcatraz a few months back. So he knew the story and was very excited to see things. He recognized things from the movie. It was really cool. He was really into the audio tour. At the end he found a magnet and Christmas ornament that he wanted. As we were heading back down from the prison Lucas said “this is the best day ever!”

We made it down to the bookstore and we bought the ex-prisoner’s book and the man signed it. Lucas was a little nervous and afterwards he said he was nervous because he was a bad guy.

We made it just in time for the ferry and we got back to San Francisco around 1. Then we walked to Wipeout Bar and had lunch. It was pretty good. We then decided we would meet up with Mark at Fort Mason Park. We walked there and saw things along the way like break dancers, a visitor center, and Ghirardelli. We found Mark at the park and he had strawberries and sour dough bread he got from the farmer’s market. Lucas had a perfect tree to climb in and Adeline enjoyed pulling grass. Then Mark came back to our hotel and played chess with Lucas. We all hung out and ordered food. Dad and I walked over to the pizza place and I got sushi. Then we found a liquor store to get some beer. It was nice to see Mark. Tomorrow we get the cars and drive to Yosemite.

Bloggings, Travel

Muir Woods

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Today was my dad’s birthday. And we got to go to one of the places he wanted to see the most, Muir Woods. Lucas was up around 5 am. We ate breakfast at the hotel at 6:30. Then we all walked over to Fisherman’s Wharf to get our 9am tour with Dylan’s Tours.

We set up a guided tour to Muir Woods to see the Redwood Trees. Our bus tour started with a little tour around San Francisco. I really didn’t expect that, so that was pretty cool. Dylan drove to Chinatown and showed us some stuff. Then he showed us some very expensive houses and let us walk a couple blocks to look at them. He drove by the house from Mrs. Doubtfire and the house from Full House (even though tour buses are not allowed to drive by it). Then he made a 15 minute stop so we could take pictures by the Golden Gate Bridge. I really thought the bus would just go straight to Muir Woods so this was a nice surprise.

We got to Muir Woods around 10:50 and we had to meet back at the bus at 12:20. The trees were awesome. The walk was easy and fun. We made it to the Cathedral then we turned around. Lucas worked on his junior park ranger book and earned his badge. The woods were really awesome; I have never seen trees like that. On the drive back we had the option of being dropped off in Sausalito or taking the bus back.

We decided to get off and have lunch. We had lunch at Napa Valley Burgers. It was very good but very expensive. After lunch we walked over to the ferry terminal to buy tickets for the 3:10 ferry. While waiting Lucas played on rocks near the water and looked at crabs. Then he played in a fountain. We had asked Dylan where the ferry from Sausalito would drop us off and it sounded like it would be close to Fisherman’s Wharf. But on the ferry Don and I discovered it was actually going to be much further away from our hotel than Fisherman’s Wharf.

This stressed me out because we were supposed to meet my cousin Mark for dinner at 6. When we got to the ferry station in San Francisco it was already approaching 4. We had wanted to stop by the hotel to get a banana bread that my Aunt Patti had made for Mark, but then my mom decided let’s just go over to the park with the Painted Ladies before dinner.

So, we figured out the bus and made our way to Alamo Park. Our bus driver was very friendly. Mark met us at the park. After walking a bit and seeing the Painted ladies Mark told us we should take a Waymo to dinner. A Waymo is a self-driving car. So Lucas, Don, and I got one and my parents and Mark got another. Kelsey, Jared, and Adeline took an Uber because we were unsure about the rules for kids in Waymos. The Waymo was pretty cool and a super smooth ride. Lucas loved it.

We ate at Boiling Hot Pot. It was a really cool experience for everyone. It was good to see Mark. After dinner Mark came back to our hotel and he was able to get some banana bread. So it all worked out! He even was able to play chess with Lucas.

Bloggings, Travel

First Day In San Francisco

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Yesterday was Lucas’s last day of school. He rode his bike there. When I picked him up he wanted to ride around the playground with his friend Matti a few times. I can’t believe he’s done with kindergarten. When we got back to the house my parents were there. We went to dinner at The Ivy, which used to be The Piggery. It was pretty good. Then we got ready for bed and watched the cubs for a bit. They were losing bad but somehow made a miraculous comeback in the bottom of the 9th.

Kelsey, Jared, and Adeline were staying the night in Austin because they are flying out of there tomorrow. Adeline had a tough time sleeping in her tent they brought, and they eventually had to get a pack N play. Hopefully she sleeps better for the rest of the trip.

We woke up around 4:30 am. Lucas watched the cubs highlights with Papa and Gigi. Then we made our way to O’Hare at 5:30. The airport was crowded! By the time we made it thru we only had about 50 minutes to eat. So we went to the food court. Our flight was delayed by 20 minutes because of air traffic control in SFO. When we eventually boarded we were on the runway for probably an hour. Lucas was so tired and cranky. He couldn’t get comfortable to sleep. When the plane took off, he finally got to sleep.

The plane ride was ok but it felt long. Lucas slept for maybe 40 minutes. Once we got off the flight, we easily got a taxi to our hotel, Comfort Inn By The Bay. Kelsey, Jared, and Adeline had been here for a couple of hours already, so we met up with them. We were really hungry, so we went to a Pizzeria across the street called Chico’s. It was pretty good.

Then we walked over to Fisherman’s Wharf. The walk felt long but we made some stops and we were tired. We made our way over to Pier 39 and saw the sea lions. There were so many of them. Then we looked at some shops. Adeline and Lucas rode the carousel. Then Lucas and I watched a short magic show. I was holding a balloon sword that Lucas got and one of the balloons popped. It made me jump and say, “oh my gosh!” the magician stopped and said, “are you ok?” 😂😂

We ate dinner at Pier Market Seafood Restaurant. It was pretty good. Lucas and I had fish and chips. Don had clam chowder. Of course we had calamari. Then we made the trek back to the hotel. We made it back around 7 and got Lucas to bed. He did very good for waking up at 4:30 am, having a 40 minute nap, and gaining 2 hours.

11/21/25 I got the day off last minute today. As I was about to walk out the door Becky texted me and said I could be off. Later Lucas and I were sitting at the dining room table and we heard a big bang and he was like “what’s that noise” and I said “that’s someone hitting a car, a car accident” so there was a fender bender in front of our house. It was the highlight of the morning. Lucas went into Don’s room, (he was on a work call) and said “there was a car accident outside!” people on the call were like “oh no I hope it’s ok”

Bloggings, Travel

Southern Illinois Treehouse and Hiking

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Lucas had a three day weekend so we decided to try out Timber Ridge Treehouse in Southern Illinois. This meant we had a 5.5 hour drive on Friday. We stopped at Yoder’s Kitchen for lunch on the way down. I don’t ever remember going but it’s an Amish buffet and it was pretty good. Lucas said it was one of the best lunches he had ever had.

Before checking into our treehouse we did the Garden of the Gods Observation Trail. I had done this trail a couple times when I was younger. It’s a whole different story when you have a kid. I was so nervous with Lucas jumping around on rocks. The trail is beautiful and it is unbelievable that you’re in Illinois.

After the trail we checked into our house. It was pretty cool. The upstairs bedrooms of the treehouse were a bit challenging because you had to take a ladder up and the ceiling was very low. Lucas really liked it. Two cats showed up to our treehouse and they were very friendly. For dinner I made grilled cheese and tomato soup. After dinner Don and Lucas made a fire and Lucas had a smore.

The next day we woke up early and made breakfast. Then we headed down to Cave in Rock. I had also been here before with my parents. It’s a cave in the side of the cliffs on the shore of the Ohio River. Lucas loved it. He thought it was so cool. After the cave Don had found a gemstone store he wanted to check out but it was closed. We didn’t know what to do to, but Don found a mineral museum in Kentucky. We had to take the ferry across the river to get to it, but the ferry was free. I can’t remember ever taking my car on a ferry but it was pretty cool. The Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum was neat. There were a lot of rocks to see. After checking it out we went to eat at Candy’s Kitchen. We all had cheeseburgers. It was pretty good.

On the way back to Illinois Lucas fell asleep and he missed the car ferry. But we took him to another trail called Rim Rock National Recreation Trail. The trail was pretty cool. There is a upper trail and lower trail. The trails used to connect with a staircase but the stairs were out. We started with the upper but then quickly decided to do the lower because everything I read said that was better. It was very cool. There were narrow passages between giant rocks. We got to the point were the stairs used to be and had to turn around. I asked Lucas if he wanted to do another trail but he said no, which I thought was weird. Then he told me had to poop. We had at least a 15-20 minute walk back to the car and restrooms at this trail were the worst we have encountered on this trip. We got back as quick as we could and made our way for the bathroom. When we opened the door a bunch of bugs flew out and Lucas said he would wait until we got back to the treehouse.

Luckily, we made it back. It was late afternoon, Don and Lucas wanted to gather wood for the fire. During this Lucas stepped right into what I believe was poison ivy so I made him shower and I soaped him up. Here’s to hoping he doesn’t, and none of us, get poison ivy. We checked out the pavilion at the treehouse resort, it had bags, frisbee golf, tetherball, and horseshoes. We decided to stay in again for dinner and I made more grilled cheese and soup. The fire Lucas and Don made tonight was better and we all enjoyed a smore.

On Sunday we woke up early again and made breakfast. We did a good job of eating a lot of the food we brought. We decided to do the Indian Point Trail. We saw some backpackers coming out of the trail and we found where they camped. This trail was short and pretty good, but I think the first two we did were better. On the way home we stopped at diner for brunch. Then Lucas slept for the majority of the ride home. I think it was a pretty successful trip.



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