The Chances

Another Memorial Day vacation has come and gone. I was hoping to post some video from the trip, but it's taking too long to upload. I'll edit this post later this evening when it completes.

In the meantime, I'll share a few photos. The kids had an awesome time, so did my wife and I. Dani, our 13-year-old niece, came with us, but was too busy being 13 to really enjoy herself. Eventually she did, though.

How happy were the kids? Check out Jenny.


For some reason Gregory kept wanting to hammer a particular redwood tree. I think it's because there was a rusty nail in the tree.


It's always great fun seeing the kids enjoying themselves.


On Sunday, my plan was to hike up to Grasshopper Peak via the Johnson Camp Trail. This would have been part of my training both for Half Dome and for the Tahoe Rim Trail, but a half-mile in, I ran into a State Park sign that said the trail was closed. Back at Albee Creek Campground, they didn't have any idea why it would be closed. The person at the gate said that there had been a bear sighted a few days ago, but didn't think it would still be closed. Back at the Visitor Center, they had no clue but were going to ask the ranger. The next morning I happened to see the ranger come in, and he said it was a mistake. The trail had been open all along, but someone forgot to take the sign down!

In the end, though, it was for the best. Rather than driving up north on Monday, we did it on Sunday, leaving more time on Monday to drive home. We were able to get home early instead of in the middle of the night, which is always nice.

So northward, we went up to Klamath to see Paul Bunyon & Babe at the Trees of Mystery. Yes, that's Gregory & Jenny on his foot.


Gregory kept punching Babe's manhood. Gotta love a 5-year-old.


On the way back, after much rejoicing on the part of the kids, we went to the beach. Clam Beach is just north of Eureka.


Jenny loved walking in the sand, and kept saying, "Warrrrrm!"


Gregory was pretty happy about it as well.


Even Dani got in on the situation; she wanted to find some good seashells. Unfortunately, because this is a pretty popular beach, all she found were broken ones.


I don't know if you remember me posting about this back a few years ago, but I had taken a cute shot of Gregory on the beach back in 2003. It was unintentional, but I got a similar shot this time.


He was a little bit too excited, which brings us to the fun part of the story. Back when I was 6 or 7, my parents took my sister and I to the coast, to the beach. I doubt it was this same beach, but my mom kept telling me to be careful, that I might fall. Being the age I was, I was more interested in fun than paying attention, and made the mistake of turning my back on the water. You know what happened next. Well, guess what happened to Gregory?

Here he is just prior to the event. Notice, he's facing me.


When it happened, he was caught by one wave that made him land on his butt. He got up and tried to steady himself, only to be hit by a second wave that put him flat on his face. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of him falling. I do, however, have one of the aftermath.


That put an end to the fun. Jenny threw a giant fit, but there was no way we could have kept Gregory out in the cold. Dani was unhappy as well.

After Gregory was cleaned up and we were getting ready to leave, we got to watch the sunset. I like this one. I have no idea who the person is.


We ended with the obligatory "look how we've grown" picture. We have a whole set of these now.


We had plenty of fun. Video to come!