Why is it that I feel I need to take a vacation to recover from my vacation??? : ) We drove down to Vallejo to Six Flags with Matthew and Kathryn. It took about 9.5 hours with stops (had to make a few extra ones for the pregnant lady!). Once we got to sunny California, the plan was for me to lay by the pool and read/relax/sleep most of the day, then spent a good few hours at the park with the group. So we check in at our hotel, and guess what? The SEASONAL pool, which is only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day is being cleaned on the 4 days that we are staying there. Hello! How about you clean it the other 9 months it is not in use??? So after throwing a fit (the pool was the reason I picked that hotel!) we got a free room so Mike and I had our own with Matthew and Kathryn next door. It wasn't as good as the pool obviously, but it was at least something.
Six Flags was very neat. Of course the first day it was 94 degrees and I thought I was going to die for the 4 hours I was there. Poor Mike had to practically drag me around. I got to sit alot and wait for them to ride rides...joy! Or not. : )
The park has a ton of animals, almost like a zoo, so I did get to wander some and look at the beautiful animals and watch some shows.
Shouka the Killer Whale
The rides there were absolutely awesome! Mike, Matthew and Kathryn loved them! There were actually two rides that scared Mike, which is saying a lot for them! It was definitely a great park for the older kids. Tons of roller coasters and fast rides.
Kathryn is on the left, 2nd one up from the bottom.
This ride was insane. You go up one side and twist and then back up the other side.
This was a water ride, obviously. Matthew figured out the first time, after getting drenched, that there were water guns on the side of the ride that you could use to soak the passengers, so the second time Kathryn wanted to go, he opted out, and stood on the side and drenched Mike! It was pretty funny to hear Mike scream 'Matthewwwwww, you're dead meat!' from the ride.
The second night actually cooled off to about 65 by 7pm and Kathryn insisted on going on this water ride, which of course got her soaking wet so she froze the rest of the time.
Then we drove into San Francisco on Thursday and took a cable car around town a bit.
We walked along Fisherman's Wharf, got some sourdough bread, let Matthew eat at In-n-Out Burger, his one request of the trip, got some pics, and headed out that afternoon.
Alcatraz
Of course it was really foggy, so we didn't get to see the Golden Gate Bridge very well.
We then drove up Hwy 101 and stopped in the Redwoods and got some pictures and admired some trees.
This tree was huge, but I figured I was a close second, so I turned sideways to see how I compared next to the tree.
Seriously, these things are huge!!!
We then drove up to Eureka where we stayed at an awesome hotel, with a heated pool, and got a great view of the cute little town. I'd love to go back and explore. This was a mansion along the water.
We then continued up 101 on Friday morning (by this point I was sick of the car and my back was killing me!) and got to see this huge herd of elk just wandering along the road. There were about 35 head and Mike was in heaven!
We got home at about 8:30pm Friday night, and I am STILL trying to recover! : ) We had a great time though.
This was her first night home
She is a very alert baby
This is my awesome doctor and my dad right after she was born. This was my doctor's last delivery.
The proud grandpa
Very proud big brothers
I am absolutely in love with my new baby girl. What a miracle she is!
