Day 29 – Newport Calfornia! (July 11th)

Doug and Katy headed off early to their big-kid jobs. Lauren and I woke up late and headed to the beach.

Day 28 – July 10th

From Santa Barbara we were headed south to Newport Beach to visit my good buddy Doug and his wife Katy.

Day 27 – Second day in beautiful Santa Barbara (July 9th)

Tuesday morning Lauren and I dressed and hoped in the car. Lauren had been highly recommended a visit to Carpenteria, just a few miles south of SB. Not knowing exactly where in Carpenteria we should go we got off at the first exit that had a sign advertising "Beach Access".

Day 26 – On to Santa Barbara (July 8th)

We were slow to get moving Monday morning. Lazily enjoying our last few hours on the vineyard seemed too good to pass up (even if that meant we'd never make it to the Firestone Brewery in Paso-dang!) We stopped at an amazing multi-generational deli before heading south and picked up a couple fresh-made cold cuts for the road.

Day 24 and 25 - Into Wine Country (Again)

We got an early start out of Kings Canyon and headed West back towards Fresno.  As much as we were hoping to avoid going through Fresno again, it was the most direct route to get us back towards the coast.

Day 23 - Exploring Sequoia National Park

Thursday morning Dan took over breakfast duty and made delicious egg sandwiches.

Day 22 - Happy 4th of July! (Day 2 at Kings Canyon)

The next morning we woke up early to drive to Cedar Grove.  After the debauchery of the previous night, we decided to go check out the campgrounds over there and consider moving if they were good.  We had only paid for one night so we had until noon before we had to commit to another night.

Day 21 - One Campground to Another (Yosemite to Kings Canyon)

We woke up a little sad knowing it was our last day in Yosemite.  We had so much more of the park we wanted to see and our campsite at Crane Flat was one of our favorites.  But we were also looking forward to visiting nearby Sequoia and Kings Canyon Parks and doing some more camping.

Day 20 - You-So-Mighty! (YNP 3 of 3)

Lauren and I got up early as planed on July 2nd, ate a quick breakfast, packed a lunch, and headed back into the valley. We whizzed past the pull out point where tourists catching their first glimpse of Half Dome recklessly yanked the wheel to the side of the road, and arrived at the the Vernal Falls Trail Head in no time!

Day 19 - Yosemite National (Amusement) Park (YNP 2 of 3)

Before I jump into day two of Yosemite I want to throw a little disclaimer out there...

Day 18 - Arriving at Yosemite National Park (YNP 1 of 3)

On Sunday June 30th Lauren and I enjoyed a delish breakfast at Panera with the Stockton Haire's and hit the road. With Yosemite on the horizon the excitement was palpable!

Day 16 (June 28th) - The Drive from Hell but then fun times with the family!

Dan and I decided to check out downtown San Francisco before leaving for Stockton, so we woke up early and took the BART in with Anna. She headed to her office and we headed for Chinatown. Apparently we woke up too early because nothing was open yet but we still got a feeling of what the area was like.

Day 15 - Another beautiful day in the Bay!

Anna and Neil both had to work on Thursday but being the great host that she is, Anna made sure to load up or Thursday "must do" list for the day! We started with

Day 14 - Hello San Francisco!

Lauren and I woke up (relatively) early the morning of June 26th, packed up the trusty Subaru, and headed south for San Francisco.