California Adventures

Guess what we have been up to?! We just spent 10 days in California and had a terrific time. We began our adventure in Northern California and then traveled down to the southern part for the later part of our trip. It was so special to see family that we haven't seen in awhile in addition to all the fun things that California had to entertain us with!

Michelle, Brian's sister, and I headed to San Luis Obispo early on the morning of June 24th with all four kids via airplane. The kids were excited and ready to go despite awakening at 4:30 am. The plane ride went very smoothly and we were greeted at the airport by Grandma Sharon (Brian's mom), Aunt Barb and Gigi (Great Grandma). It was so nice to feel the California sunshine when we stepped off the airplane. Our first dilemma occurred when we went to pick up the mini-van we had reserved. Well, there wasn't a mini van for us nor was there anything that would hold all six of us except for a 12 passenger van--so we had to settle for "the bus" to get us from place to place during the first part of our trip. We were a little irritated but didn't let this damper our vacation. Michelle's non-serious question to the salesman was classic, "Will this van beep when we back up?". The salesman enjoyed her sense of humor. Needless to say the vehicle brought us many laughs and the kids could each have their own seat if they wanted!

Our first afternoon was spent enjoying the sunshine during a picnic lunch in Aunt Barb's backyard. The kids loved the chance to run around after sitting for so long on the airplane. We settled in and made our selves at home.



The next morning we headed to Avila Beach for a day of sandy fun. The air was brisk and cool and the water freezing but this did not stop the older three kids from having the time of their life. They dug and built things in the sand, ran from the waves (and small bees at lunch time), played on a nearby playground, and got very dirty. This was the first time that Aubrey and Chase really experienced the beach. The last time they were on the beach they were only months old so they didn't get to play much at that time.


Abigail spent the morning trying to nap and was finally willing to sit on a blanket during the afternoon when the sun started to peek through the clouds and the air became warm enough to actually be in your swimsuit. She did not explore in the sand even with shoes on!

On Thursday we all headed down the Pier near Avila Beach and enjoyed many things you just don't see in Kansas. We enjoyed lunch at a restaurant at the end of the pier. The tables were glass and you could see down in the water below. The kids thought that was pretty neat. The fresh seafood was fantastic!

The older kids held onto Aunt Barb and Gigi tight as they walked down the pier. They were a little leary of walking on something where they could see the water below. Along the walk they were able to see fresh lobster, crabs, and other sea life alive in buckets.

At one point a boat returned from an early morning fishing trip and we were able to watch them unload the catch of the day. The fish were taken from a bucket filled with ocean water, put in smaller buckets, weighed, put in another container with water, and then taken to the market to sell. The fish had to be alive so any that were dead were discarded. It was a fun thing to watch.

That afternoon Michelle, the kids and I loaded up in "the bus" and headed to L.A. which was about 4 hours away. Halway through the trip we thought it would be fun to take a walk along the beach so we got off on "Santa Claus Lane" (I'm not joking--that was the name of the exit), walked in the sand, and finished our trip to L.A. That evening Brian joined us for the rest of the California vacation.