Summer Vacation

Our Summer Vacation this year was a drive up the Pacific Coast highway from Newport Beach to San Francisco and then over to Lake Tahoe. It was a wonderful trip with beautiful scenery, good food, good company, and A LOT of time in the car (Russ' GPS tracked us at 40 hours in the car).

What we liked about our vacation:

Trent
- Going on vacation
- Watching movies in the car
- Swimming in the pools
- Keira being silly at the pool
- Digging for clams at Pismo Beach
- Cable Car ride at Squaw Valley (near Lake Tahoe)

Ryan
- Playing with Keira
- Cable Car ride
- Swimming in the pools

Mom
- Watching Trent make friends at all the pools and beaches
- Watching Ryan be a good friend and brother to Keira
- Pier 39 and the Harbor Bay cruise in San Francisco
- Keira seeing the Ocean for the first time
- Womack's BBQ in South Lake Tahoe

Dad
- Using his new GPS
- The scenery along Pacific Coast Highway
- BLT's at Dana Point Harbor with Jeff, Jen and Lexi
- Womack's BBQ in South Lake Tahoe

I am going to give a daily itinerary for our own family history.

Day 1: Saturday, July 11, 2009
- Drove to California
- Stopped at the Addidas store in the outlet malls at Cabazon, CA for some new running shoes
- Ate and Pat & Oscar's in Newport
- Swam in Jeff and Jen's pool

Day 2: Sunday, July 12, 2009
- Went to Sacrament Mtg. at the chapel across from the Newport Beach LDS Temple
- Had a picnic of BLT's on marble rye at Dana Point Harbor
- Trent and Ryan rode their scooters around the Harbor while Keira took a nap
- Saw crabs in the water by the boat slips
- Went to Yogurtland for some frozen yogurt
- Went swimming and ate Pat & Oscar's left-overs for dinner

Day 3: Monday, July 13, 2009
- Packed up and cleaned Jeff and Jen's apt. (Thanks for the hospitality!)
- Drove to San Luis Obispo by way of Pacific Coast Highway
- Hit lots of traffic in LA
- Ate lunch on the beach along the highway
- Got to our hotel, unloaded our stuff and went to Pismo Beach to play and dig clams
- Ate at a restaurant by the Pier (Trent got the clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl that he had been wanting and Dad and Ryan had shrimp and chips)

Day 4: Tuesday, July 14, 2009
- Ate breakfast at Pismo beach (O.J., nutrigrain bars and pop tarts)
- Played at the ocean (it was chilly!)
- Drove to San Franciso via Pacific Coast Highway with a detour through Santa Barbara
- Ate at Black Bear Diner somewhere along the way
- Arrived at San Francisco Marriott at 11 pm

Day 5: Wednesday, July 15, 2009
- Ate breakfast (muffins, danishes, hot chocolate) at a cafe near our hotel
- Rode the F-line to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39
- Aquarium of the Bay
- Bay Cruise Adventure under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz (It was COLD!)
- Ate Pretzels for lunch and bought some salt water taffy
- Rode the Trolley back to our hotel
- Walked around looking for a place to eat
- Ate at Tad's Steakhouse
- Dad and the boys went swimming after dinner
- Mom wished she could have participated in all the shopping available

Day 6: Thursday, July 16, 2009
- We all slept in until 10:15 am (Darn hotel curtains! I hate sleeping in that late)
- Ate breakfast at Tad's Steakhouse
- Packed up and loaded the car
- Drove through China Town and over the Golden Gate Bridge on our way out of San Francisco
- Arrived at South Lake Tahoe, CA
- Unpacked and settled into our villa at Marriott's Timberlodge (we started a load of laundry right away)
- Dad and the kids went swimming while Mom went grocery shopping
- Trent and Ryan loved the pool and the four hot tubs and sat in each one
- Ate microwave pizza for dinner
- Fell asleep watching a movie

Day 7: Friday, July 17, 2009
- Ate cereal for breakfast
- Mom got to go running all the way to Nevada (The state line was a block from our Hotel)
- Left to go hiking thinking we would be back for lunch
- Hiked one mile down to Emerald Bay
- Took a tour of Vikingsholm
- Dad and boys hiked to Eagle Falls
- Hiked the (steep) mile back up to our car
- Ate snacks for lunch
- Rode the Cable Car in Sqaw Valley up to high camp
- Played on the play ground at High Camp where the 1960 Winter Olympics were held
- Drove back to the hotel along Lake Tahoe's coast line
- Swam at the hotel
- Ate at Womack's BBQ (The BEST BBQ we have ever eaten!)
- Fell asleep watching movies

Day 8: Saturday, July 18, 2009
- Mom got to go running again
- Cinnamon rolls and O.J. for breakfast
- Went to Marriott's private beach at Lake Tahoe and played
- Snacked on grapes, crackers and string cheese for lunch
- Swam at the hotel pool
- Ate Baja Fresh for dinner
- Mom and Keira walked around the city looking sight-seeing and looking for souvenirs
- Did some laundry and packed our bags

Day 9: Sunday, July 19, 2009
- Woke up at 4:30 am and left the hotel at 6:00 am
- Ate bagels and cream cheese in the car for breakfast (not recommended)
- Ate lunch at a questionable Subway in Ridgecrest
- Ate dinner at an even more questionable Denny's in Blythe, CA
- Hit a monsoon storm as we drive into PHX (beautiful!)
- Arrived home at 10:00 pm (almost to the minute that the GPS predicted)