Monthly Archives: June 2026

Bloggings, Travel

Cubs vs Giants in San Francisco

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This morning we had a bit of lazy morning, but we were still up around 6:30. Lucas and I went to the general store to get a couple of sandwiches. We all had to pack up to go back to San Francisco. While Don was packing, we went to the zipline and Lucas did that for a while. Papa, Gigi, Kelsey, Jared, and Adeline showed up.

Around 8:45 we set off in the cars. This time Gigi rode with us. The drive went well. We stopped in Dublin at a brewery for lunch. It was ok, I’m unable to remember the name right now. Lucas was into watching Canada in the world cup on TV. From here we were about an hour from San Francisco. We gassed up the car, unloaded our luggage at the Comfort Inn By the Bay again, and returned the cars. Don, Lucas, and I got the same room! 307.

We hung out. Lucas and I played chess and had a slice of pizza for a snack. Kelsey, Jared, my dad, Lucas and I were going to Oracle Park to see the cubs face the giants. Mom and Adeline were staying back at the hotel, and Don also stayed behind. He ended up checking out Chinatown.

Oracle Park was awesome. We sat in the 300-level, right behind home plate. So we had a great view and could see out to the water. Lucas and I walked the whole stadium to take pictures. The cubs actually pulled out a win. Micheal Busch hit a homerun into the bay. We were lucky to be in a pocket of cubs fans. It was fun to get loud with them and celebrate. We all brought our W Flags and we were pumped to fly them. After the game they had a fireworks show to celebrate Pride. The show was great. We didn’t get back to the hotel until almost 11pm. Lucas was exhausted.

Lucas had some memorable quotes at this game like “That’s rare.” He said it a few times whenever the Cubs did something good. Most notably Suzuki. “Suzuki had a rare double. That’s rare.” The Cubs have been in a bit of slump lately so he has probably heard me going off about them, but it was fun to have a win. During the 9th he said, “Let’s cook these babies!”.

Our last day in San Francisco Lucas slept until 7:30. Then we all went to Chestnut Diner. We went for a walk up Lombard Street to see the curvy road. It was a crazy walk. Then around 10:45am we headed to the airport with my parents. Kelsey, Jared, and Adeline stayed to explore Chinatown because their flight was much later. We all enjoyed SFO. It was a super nice airport.

Bloggings, Travel

Lazy Resort Day

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Last night there were high winds and storms in Chicago. We lost power overnight. Sofia checked on Cassandra twice. So far it looks like things are ok.

This morning we had a lazier start. We all did our own things. We went to Lucky Bucks Cafe for breakfast. Then we took some pictures at lookouts. Then we stopped at a general store/gas station for souvenirs. The gas station didn’t have power, so we went back to the resort. Lucas wanted to try out the zip lines here, so we did. I even did it. Lucas tried the climbing wall but it was too hard. I wanted to do a trail on the resort property, but it was so hot! So by 11 we were in the pool with papa and gigi. The big hot tub was drained for maintenance, and the smaller one was only warm. I wonder if this had to do with the power outages.

By noonish we were all at the pool. I got chicken fingers for Lucas from the tavern, and I had the poke bowl. Don went back to the general store. He got more beer. In the meantime, I had snuck some modelos down to the pool and filled cups. I had to be sneaky and had to use a bottle opener. We also got a beer from the pool bar. Then we signed up for the taco dinner they were going to have at the pool. We swam until about 4:45 then we went up to get ready for dinner. The taco dinner was pretty good, but the sun was so hot. After dinner Lucas and Don went to the game room. Mom and dad learned that a big tree limb was down in their yard and they had no power. Some bad storms went thru Paxton.

Bloggings, Travel

Yosemite Valley Floor Tour

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Today was the Yosemite Valley Floor Tram Tour. We had to be at the park by 9:30 to pick up tickets for our 10 am tour. Unfortunately, Kelsey had been feeling sick overnight so she could not come.

Parking had me a bit worried the past couple weeks because I heard how difficult parking had become. We were lucky yesterday so today we left even earlier. We left at 7 and got to Yosemite falls parking a bit before 8. We ate breakfast at Base Camp in the Yosemite Valley Lodge. It was just basic breakfast, but it was quick and easy and not too expensive. After breakfast we attempted to find the Cook Meadow Loop Trail but we couldn’t. Lucas had fun climbing on some rocks for a bit.

We had to get back to the lodge to start our tour. The tour was great. Our guide was a young woman from Springfield, IL! I highly recommend anyone coming to Yosemite to do the tour. It was nice to learn about the history and be driven around to see the park highlights. We got some great pictures. After the tour we checked out the gift shop. Then we had some lunch at base camp. I was impressed with the chicken teriyaki bowl. Lucas had chicken fingers that were good also. Jared decided it would be best to take Adeline back to the resort and my mom was tired, so she went back also. My dad, Don, Lucas, and I walked back to shuttle stop 6.

We found the Cook Meadow Loop Trail, but we decided to go over to a bridge that went over the Merced River. People were swimming and rafting. The water was freezing! I took off my shoes to feel it. Lucas and Don spent a lot of time in the water. Lucas was making stuff in the sand.

After a while it was time to head back. On our drive back to the resort, we made a stop to look at the dead looking trees at one of the lookouts. The trees looked like they had been burnt in a fire.

When we got back to the resort we went swimming. Then we had a combo of leftovers and things from the general store for dinner. After Lucas went to bed, I met Kelsey over at my mom and dad’s room to have a beer. After that it was about 9:30. I walked to the car to get something. The stars looked so pretty. I was a bit freaked out at every noise I heard since there’s a sign on the resort window that said more large animals have been spotted at the resort recently.

Bloggings, Travel

First Day At Yosemite

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Today we woke up around 5:45 and went to the general store at Rush Creek. We picked up a bunch of breakfast sandwiches and coffee. Then we hit the road to Yosemite. Rush creek is only a mile from the Big Flat Oak Entrance. It was about a 45 minute drive to the Lower Falls parking lot. The drive was beautiful. We found a really tight parking spot. There was a good amount of parking there when we got there around 8:30. The first thing we did was the Lower Yosemite Falls Trail and I’m glad we did. It was really cool and paved the whole way, so it’s easy if you need to take a stroller. Then we took the shuttle to Curry Village for food. We had the pizza and it was delicious, just like everyone was saying online. After that we took the shuttle to Mirror Lake. I thought the trail was paved but we got on the wrong one. It was slightly rugged, but we did it. My sister, Jared, and Adeline ended up going back to the resort. My dad took a fall and that was pretty scary, but he was ok. Lucas was so tired after the hike. We took the shuttle back to our car and we dropped mom and dad off at the resort. We picked up food for everyone at Lucky Buck Cafe. It was a small restaurant about 15 minutes from the resort. The food was pretty good and a lot cheaper than eating at the resort. After dinner we went to the pool for a bit. Then we went to bed.

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.