Monday, April 21, 2008

Photos and videos now on Flickr

I've uploaded and posted all of the photographs and videos that Danielle and I took during our trip.

The "Collection" is organized by date, so you can follow our adventure in the order in which it took place. You can access the Collection by clicking here.

Or, if you'd like a more random sampling or a slideshow of all the photos and videos together, click on the Flickr mosaic to the right.

Thanks to everyone who kept up with our journey. We hope you enjoy the photos and videos.

-Mark

Sunday, April 20, 2008

We just passed a sign that said "Narrow Tunnel." Just what we wanted to see...

One last pass across the Golden Gate Bridge...

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Our Round Trip

We are wrapping up our tour of California at the same place we started: the Petaluma KOA campsite. The people here are friendly and courteous and couldn't make for a better stay. Of course, if the petting zoo didn't reak of manure, that might be nice... Otherwise, it's got four stars in my rating system.

I thought folks might enjoy seeing just where our trip has taken us, so I've provided a "terrain view" map:


View Larger Map

BEARDWATCH - Day 10 - Apparently some people out there--I won't name any names (DARLENE)--have been disappointed with my beard growth documentary. All I can say is it must have something with the air in California...

Friday, April 18, 2008

Pics from Yosemite

Here's a sampling of the massive volume of photographs we snapped while in Yosemite today. More later when I have the time and bandwidth to upload them all.






Thursday, April 17, 2008

Made it to Yosemite

We've made it to our campsite near Yosemite. We are at about 2800 feet elevation. Tomorrow we're taking a shuttle into Yosemite Park for a look around. I should have plenty more pictures to share at that time.

Unfortunately there is absolutely NO cell phone service here. So I will be unable to post pics "real time" from my cell as I've been doing. All of our adoring fans will have to wait...

Maybe that will drive up our ratings.

-Mark

Another travel day

Today we are leaving behind Disneyland, the Happiest Place On Earth. I suspect they are so happy because they can charge five bucks for a lollipop...

We had a great time at Disney. We accomplished the Primary Objective--the boys met Mickey Mouse. We accomplished the Secondary Objective--the boys rode all of the best rides. And we accomplished the Tertiary Objective--I found myself an authentic Indiana Jones fedora.

Today we slept in late--7:00 am--and got ready at a leisurely pace. Poppi and I have down to an unexact science the deployment of this forty-foot vessel, up until the point that something goes wrong, usually something new that we have never had to deal with before. We were ready to disembark today in only a couple of hours. The boys did not seem too sad to leave Disneyland behind, but the adults agree that Jack and Owen will have to return sometime later in their youth when they'll have clearer memories of the experience. Jack slept through the Nemo submarine ride after all...

We are driving out of Los Angeles, currently, finding the traffic (and environmental pollutants) less abundant. We did not get to see much of L.A. proper, but from what I could tell they have many freeways.

We are now on our way to our penultimate destination,

BEARDWATCH - Day 8 - Indiana Jones style

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Indiana Owen

All the guys in front of Cinderella's Castle

Aboard the Nemo submarine ride...

Waiting in line for the Finding Nemo submarine ride.

Indiana Jack!

BUZZ!
Darth Vader. He's gonna getcha.

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Four letters: J-E-D-I

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French fry snack following the Haunted Mansion.

"Doom Buggy?" Sounds good for a couple of three year-olds...

I can SMELL the adventure!

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BEARDWATCH - Day 7 - On the trolley to Disneyland
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Slide-Outs rule.

Everyone likes riding on the living room when it slides out...

Pyramid Lake


This was an area north of Santa Clarita called Pyramid Lake. You can see why. There's a pyramid-shaped outcropping on the other side of the water. It is, of course, much more impressive in person. But this picture turned out pretty well.
There were warning signs all over this road saying "5% Grade" and "Slow Trucks."

I remind you that we were in a 24,000 lb. vehicle.

And the brakes squeaked.

The boys's first encounter with a Game Boy. I'm proud to say they're naturals.

We stopped off at a fruit stand to get some strawberries.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Either we angered a tribe of evil gypsies or God has a horrible sense of humor. Because by some sick twist of fate we ended up driving through Los Angeles at 5:30 pm--prime time rush hour. They don't make a scotch strong enough to improve this situation...

Driving through the California hills.

Lunch at Love's truckstop. The boys are getting trucker hats.

BEARDWATCH - Day 6

Today is a travel day. We left Santa Cruz around 8:45 am Pacific Time, and we'll be driving south for about 6 hours. The boys have settled in with a movie and snacks. More later.

Monday, April 14, 2008

BEARDWATCH - Day 5

At Manresa Beach, just a short walk from our campground.

Owen's campfire story

I took this video at the old campsite in Petaluma (before we came here to Santa Cruz). Owen is an avid storyteller, and here he is regaling everyone with an entertaining--if not entirely cohesive--campfire story...

Sunday, April 13, 2008

You CAN leave comments, you know

I want to note for some of our less Internet savvy readers that you can, in fact, leave messages and comments regarding any of these posts, pictures, and videos.

For whichever post/pic/video you wish to comment on, just click on that posts "0 Comments" link--found at the bottom of the post--and enter your message. I would love to hear your feedback.

Goodnight. Again. For real. Seriously. Go away. I'm going to bed now.

-Mark

Where the hell are we?

Yesterday saw 70+ visitors to this blog, which is astounding, considering I myself only know 23 people total. This caused in me a realization that many of you dear readers may not be familiar with our journey. So let me allow you a recap of where we were, where we have been, and where we are.

We left Houston on Friday, April 11 and flew into San Francisco International Airport. If you've never flown into SFIA, the experience can best be summed up in the words of my three year-old son Jack: "Daddy, are we going to land in the water?" There is no evidence of a runway until you feel the tires actually touch hard ground. Until then, it's just bay.

From the airport we were directed, as you'll recall from an earlier post, to Muir Woods, and from there to Stinson Beach. You can see the route we took here:


View Larger Map

I used the "terrain view" on purpose here. Notice north of the Golden Gate bridge the severely angular terrain. Notice, too, that we're in a vehicle that is forty feet long and weights 24,000 pounds. (Don't believe me? Check out the vehicle's specs here, noting that we are in the forty-foot model.)

Following our harrowing journey through the hellish cliffs, we were directed in Stinson Beach to Samuel P. Taylor State Park, only 9.8 miles as the Google Map flies. At Samuel P. Taylor Park we found warm and friendly park rangers, beautiful scenery, and encouraging amenities. We also found that no vehilce over 35 feet could be admitted to the park.

It was then that we were directed to the lovely town of Petaluma, California and, more importantly, to the welcoming oasis that is the Petaluma, KOA campgrounds. I can't say enough nice things about the people or the facilities at this campground. We were welcomed, encouraged, consoled... One of the staff--Melissa, I believe, was her name--even went so far to map out the rest of our journey for us. It was a phenomenal experience given the earlier experiences of the day.

We spent Friday and Saturday nights in Petaluma. We made some friends. The boys came to calling many people our neighbors, which everyone enjoyed.

This morning we left Petaluma and travelled south to Santa Cruz, where we are currently situated:


View Larger Map

Tomorrow we're planning to take in some more beaches and perhaps make it to Monterrey to visit the aquarium. For now, however, it's my bedtime. Happy to catch everyone up on our journey. Look forward to more pics and videos to come!

-Mark

MORE MARSHMALLOWS!!!

This balloon buried in the sand makes like a trampoline. It's awesome! For those familiar with Camp Longhorn, it's like The Blob buried in the sand.

LITTLE BOY FEET!

BEARDWATCH - Day 4

GIANT PINECONES!!!

This is our new campsite in Santa Cruz. More on this later. Needless to say it's a serious upgrade...

Saturday, April 12, 2008

MARSHMALLOWS!

BEARDWATCH - Day 3 - Still no shaving. I feel rugged.

It's California. I had to get a tattoo. What can I say?

Travelling across the Golden Gate

No, we did not see any protestors. But we did see a gigantic bird poop on the windshield, which you may notice...

Jack's thoughts on the plane ride

While on the airplane yesterday I interviewed Jack about how he was coping with flying...

Jack and Owen at Stinson Beach

The previously referenced RV Drive of Death was not without its rewards. At the end we found Stinson Beach, a nice, private little beach bordered on all sides by very tall hills. This was the boys FIRST EVER experience with a real beach and with the ocean. Enjoy the clip.

The RV drive of death

We managed to leave Houston quite smoothly. The flight was great, the landing was great, and the boys both loved the takeoff/landing experience. They both took naps on the plane. (I took a scotch on the rocks.)

We were picked up at the airport by a representative of the RV rental company. He showed us the ins and outs of RV operation. And when he asked where we'd like to go, we gave him a vague idea.

"You want the Muir Woods," he said. "A straight shot across the Golden Gate bridge that way."

Sounded great! And we'd get to see the historic Golden Gate bridge.

What the guy failed to tell us was that after the historic bridge crossing...we'd be taking a TEN-MILE JOURNEY OF DEATH!

Sheer cliffs dropping off into ravines, narrow roadways, speeding traffic and cyclists...and sheer cliffs dropping off into ravines. There were insane inclines and climbs. Danielle admitted that she thought we were all going to die. My opinion was not so uncertain. I KNEW we were all going to die.

My warmest and most respectable regards go to my father-in-law, Chris, for navigating the treacherous terrain. It was his first time driving an RV, and he was doing so in some of the most intimidating countryside in the country.

Needless to say, we won't be doing that again.

-Mark
Apparently Jack can speak donkey...

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Owen on the roller slide

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Jack enkoying the KOA playground.

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Breakfast in the RV