Honey, I'm Home!

Honey, I'm home and I had a hard day
Pour me a cold one and oh, by the way
Rub my feet, gimme something to eat
Fix me up my favorite treat
Honey, I'm back, my head's killing me
I need to relax and watch TV
Get off the phone-give the dog a bone
Hey! Hey! Honey, I'm home!
~Shania Twain, Honey I'm Home~

We rolled into the garage at Barefoot Manor at 5:15am. We walked into a blessedly clean (if somewhat stuffy) house and proceeded to pile suitcases, coolers, and bags of souvenirs on every available surface as we fought to each be the first in the shower after 39 hours on the road.

It was heaven.

Oh, we all cried when we left Grandpa D and Grandma J in CA. Leaving their house was so hard, knowing that we probably wouldn't see them for another whole year. But coming home was wonderful.

Mighty Cat came running, and hasn't stopped loving us for a moment since we walked in the door. Loop, my dear friend, came to keep her company regularly while we were gone, but Mighty Cat missed her humans.

What a great feeling.

I am sitting now on my wonderful bed with my wonderful pillows, my favorite relaxation CD playing in the background and some spicy-sweet incense burning to cover the musty absent smell that the house developed while closed up and empty for 2 1/2 weeks.

I am so thankful we had a safe trip both to and from CA. I am so grateful that we were able to see and do so many amazing things. I am so happy we have such loving, fun family we were able to visit. I am so tickled to be home.

My daylilies (ugly orange ditch-lilies) are blooming. The flower beds are in good shape. I haven't gone out to look at the veggie patch yet, but that is on the list.

I am home, and I plan on enjoying it to the fullest!

Mama, I'm Coming Home

Today is the day we leave CA and head back towards MN.

I am anxious to sleep in my own bed, cuddle with Mighty Cat, and play in my own dirt, and yet....

I don't wanna go.

I am going to miss Grandma J and Grandpa D so much.

Big Sprout told me the other day that she isn't sure she is ready to go home, either. She is going to miss the family she has gotten to know and love out here on the West Coast.

*sigh*

There is still so much to do. We have to clean out the truck, pack our things, stop at the store and fill our cooler (we try to save $$ by avoiding eating out while on the road) and fill the gas tank before we can leave.

It is 8am, and I am up. Everyone else in the house is sleeping, and I am up checking the maps one last time. I am fretting over forgetting something important. I am fussing over how long it will take us to make the drive.

I am trying to avoid thinking about how much I am going to miss it here.

I think, instead, I will focus on how nice it will be to drive on flat roads. I will focus on how much I have missed the familiar sounds and sights of MN. I will focus on how much I like having water everywhere. I will think about the nice, clean house I will be returning to, and seeing my folks again. I will keep busy.

And I will go home.

Yosemite, Take 2

I took the Sprouts back to Yosemite while Mr. Barefoot spent time fishing with his Dad. While they were immersing themselves in some serious male-bonding type activities, the girls and I did our own bonding.

Of course, mostly I just wanted to bond some raw steaks to the Sprouts and kick them out of the car at one of the "Warning: Mountain Lion Sightings In Area" signs!

Just kidding. They were pesty, but not quite that bad.

We saw the Giant Sequoias.

Yeah, they really are that big. Can you believe it???




Lake Tenaya. Beautiful. See how clear the water is? Amazing!



We saw bear! Mr. Barefoot is so jealous. They were amazing.

It was a pretty amazing day. Little Sprout gave me trouble at every turn (not wanting to walk, needing to pee the minute we left someplace with restrooms, etc), but I was the big gal in charge, so I got to go where I wanted!

We tooled around the park, rode the shuttle bus in the Valley, and wandered a bit on the short trails.

It was a full day, and I am ready for bed. In two days, we head back to our beloved MN. It will be so nice to be somewhere flat and familiar again!

Salvaging A Bad Day

We got started late to Yosemite.

On a weekend.

It took us about 30+ minutes just to get through the line to pay our fee and ENTER the park.

There was no parking.

Anywhere.

At all.

Ugh.

Finally, FINALLY we found a place to pull off and let the kids eat. It was at the bottom of El Capitan. We watched a raven and a squirrel,and had some birds (I don't remember what they were right now) beg for Cheetos.

I would beg for Cheetos. Who can blame them?

We decided to take one last troll around Yosemite Valley to see if we could find a place to park and see some of the sights.

We found a space at the base of Bridal Veil Falls Trail.

We saw Bridal Veil.

It was breathtaking.

And wet.

Little Sprout hated being wet. She insisted on riding in the stroller.

Mr. Barefoot wasn't feeling well, so we headed out of the park.

I will be returning with the Sprouts on Monday while he is out fishing with his Dad.

Thank goodness our pass is good for 7 days.

The Best Day. Ever.

We were up at 5am this morning.

I can hear you all gasping in horror already. ;) Why, Barefoot! you are all saying Why in the world would you be up at such an ungodly hour on your vacation, of all times!

The answer, my friends, is simple. We had a long drive ahead of us, and we were intent on avoiding as much of the dreaded Bay Area traffic as possible.

The next question is, of course, why in the world we would ruin a perfectly good vacation by heading down the the Bay Area. I have two words for you folks: Coastal Redwoods.

I don't even have words for the amazing experience I had at Muir Woods National Monument. First you have the ferns. Oh, golly, the ferns. Gigantic, lush, beautiful, amazing ferns! Then there are the mosses. It seemed there were countless different kinds of mosses growing on the trees, rocks, and ground. I was in heaven.


The crowning glory is, of course, the coastal redwood trees. There are no words in this language sufficient to convey the absolute majesty and glory of these incredible trees. It was a dream come true to walk among these giants, touch them, see the light as it filtered through their canopy so far above.




It brought tears to my eyes, quite literally. The air was filled with a spicy-sweet scent that I couldn't identify, but that soothed every raw nerve I had after a 2+ hour drive through nasty, dirty cities.
After just a few minutes, I was ready to send the Sprouts back to the car. Seriously. They were running off, yelling, and generally being pesty. They finally settled down after a mile or so of walking, and I was able to listen to the sounds of the forest.

It was magic.

For lunch, we left the Redwood Grove and headed down to Muir Beach. It was our first time to the Pacific Ocean (the Sprout's first time to any ocean), and it was the perfect place for a picnic.

Immediately after eating, the Sprouts and I took off our shoes and socks and headed into the waves.


Both Sprouts ended up soaking wet, but they loved every second of it. They played tag with the waves, chasing them out and then running from them as each wave came in.



Little Sprout ended up wet all the way to her armpits, which was very unfortunate for her Pull-Up. Seriously.


I laughed just as hard as the Sprouts each time the icy water came up over my Barefoot little toes. It was perfect. A cool breeze off the water kept the sun from being too hot, and the beach wasn't so crowded that we couldn't enjoy ourselves.


The only black spot in the whole day was the trip home, which was plagued by that above-mentioned traffic.

Ugh. Bay Area traffic is the absolute WORST! It took us over an hour to go 7 miles. I am so not kidding.

Still, we made it back to the house in time to fill up on leftover homemade gumbo and french bread before showering and collapsing in bed.

Honestly? It was the Best. Day. Ever.

At least until tomorrow, when we head over to Yosemite. ;)

California Wonders

No photos today, so all you dial-up users can breathe a sigh of relief.

We have been in CA for 3 full days now. Days that have been full of naps and food. Days where the Sprouts have had fun and been homesick all at the same time. Days when Mr. Barefoot has been happier than I see him at any other time of the year.

I am loving CA. Yesterday, we went to Columbia. They have a cute little village that is set up like a living museum of the gold rush days. The Sprouts, Mr. Barefoot, and Grandpa D had a blast panning for gold. We wandered around for a while, picking up a few souvenirs and getting ice cream before finding some lunch at a FABULOUS cafe in Sonora and then heading back to the house.

Big Sprout and I went up the mountain today and went walking near one of the reservoirs. It was beautiful and so fun to spend time alone with my big girl. We get so little time together without Little Sprout, and I know she misses it. I had to laugh at her, though, because she wanted to run up the trail - read: mountain - and she got very frustrated when she didn't make it very far before having to rest. Poor thing! She can't understand why, being MN born and bred, she can't run up and down the mountains the same way she runs up and down the hills at home.

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing normal, homey things. Big Sprout spent hours with her Gramma J, who she met for the first time when we arrived here in CA. I was shocked and pleased to see how quickly she has warmed up to her new Gramma. I headed into town and picked up groceries, making my Chicken Stir Fry recipe for supper.

Mostly, things are pretty uneventful. Yosemite is planned for Saturday, and tomorrow we are planning to visit more family down in the Bay area.

Stay tuned....

Day 3: The Arrival!

After leaving Yellowstone (around 7:30pm), we headed West and South through Idaho and Nevada on the way to CA. I can't tell you much about either state, as I was either sleeping or driving through the dark for most of it.

I (again) pulled into a rest stop around 4:30am. After a little over an hour of rest, we all woke and headed off for the final leg of our trip. There was a nice view from the rest stop




After what seemed like hours and hours of driving, we finally reached Sonora Pass in CA. It was an amazing and nerve wracking drive! There were several signs posting warnings about 26% grade as we were climbing the mountain.


It was seriously beautiful, no matter how steep the road or frightening the drop-off.



There was still a lot of snow up at the top of the pass... at least 6 feet in places! We saw folks skiing and snowmobiling through the mountains, right along side folks on motorcycles. It was wild!


We did finally make it over the mountains, and to my FIL's place. We were so glad to get out of the truck and unload all our stuff! It was wonderful to know that we didn't have to cram ourselves into that confined space again for 10 whole days!

I think we all slept about 11 hours that night. It was a long, exhausting trip, but so worth it!

Stay tuned for more Adventures From CA, 2010!

Yellowstone - Day 2, Part 2: East Entrance

Finally, 2.5 hours after we originally planned on being in Yellowstone, we reached the East Entrance to the park. A really nice gentleman offered to take a picture of the whole family while we all shivered in the cold and rain.

Little Sprout spotted the first wildlife (a moose). I was too slow with the camera to catch that, but between Mr. Barefoot's superior braking skills and my quick camera, I was able to get this photo of an elk.

There was plenty of snow on the ground yet, and with the rain to further swell the streams there were waterfalls everywhere. I swear it was one of the most lushly beautiful sights I have ever seen in my life.

The best wildlife sighting of the day were a pair of buffalo that had absolutely no fear of humans or their vehicles. This one walked up through a picnic area straight towards me. I quickly jumped into the car, and it walked past my door so close that I could have reached out and touched it! Just a half mile up the road, Mr. Barefoot had a similar experience with another buffalo that was walking down the center of the road.

Barefoot and the Sprouts at the Continental Divide marker. Thanks, Mr. Barefoot, for turning around to get this one!

While we were waiting for Old Faithful to erupt, this cute little relative of the chipmunk (still have to look up what this guy is) posed so cutely for a photo.

Mr. Barefoot and the Sprouts with Old Faithful in the background...

Old Faithful

A parting gift from the park wildlife was this large herd of buffalo that crossed the road right in front of our car. There were several calves with the group, and they didn't seem to mind at all that we crazy humans were hanging out our windows in attempts to get decent photos.

This meadow was completely full of buffalo. We piled out of the Barefoot Vehicle, wrapped ourselves in blankets, and watched this large herd as they worked their way across a meadow by the river. Little Sprout was entranced, and Big Sprout was grinning ear to ear. There were probably a dozen calves with this group, and it was so fun to watch them run and play!
We left the West Entrance to the park around 7pm, after seeing only about half of the park. We were all sorry we didn't have more time to sight see, but we knew we had a long ways to go before we reached California. Mr. Barefoot and I are considering the possibility of maybe driving through again on the way back, so perhaps you will all see more of our adventures in Yellowstone!

Stay tuned for The Arrival: Day 3

Yellowstone - Day 2, Part 1: The NorthEast Entrance

Everyone felt great after a night spent in a real bed, and after helping ourselves to the hotel provided breakfast, we headed off on the first fun day of our vacation. This was the day we were to spend in Yellowstone National Park!

We were beyond excited as we left the hotel and started out for the Northeast Entrance of Yellowstone. I had planned that we would go over Beartooth Pass, visit my favorite city of all time ~ Silver Gate ~ and then spend the day going slowly through the park. Mr. Barefoot was kind enough to pull over and let me take pictures when I saw this beautiful creek running through the bottom of the valley. Or maybe he just wanted a few minutes peace from my "ooohs" and "aahhhhhs". Whadda you think?

We started up Beartooth Pass, and I almost started to regret my choice. The grade was steep, the road was curvy, and I was just sure that we were going to plunge to our death at any moment. Mr. Barefoot was cool as a cucumber, though, and soon we reached the overlook near the top of the mountain. It was raining (again), but that was fine when we realised we could look down on a rainbow! If you look really carefully, you can see it in this pic.


The Sprouts were happy to be out of the car again, and we decided to walk all the way out on the overlook.
I got lots of great pictures on the mountain.....


.....but Little Sprout was cold and didn't want her picture taken. Little stinker!
We got all the way to the top of the mountain (where it was raining too hard to take pictures) only to find the gates closed! We had gone all that way, only to find that we needed to turn around and find another entrance to the park. I don't know what disappointed me more: not being able to share my favorite city of all time with my family, or losing over 2 hours of "park time" in travelling to another entrance.

Mr. Barefoot's enthusiasm was undiminished, though, and he kept up a happy chatter as we headed off to the East Entrance of Yellowstone.

Stay tuned for Day 2, Part 2!

The Trip Out - Day 1

We started late in the evening, after Big Sprout returned from her first ever visit to Valleyfair. A wonderful gal at work loaned us her portable DVD player, so we set the Sprouts up with Avatar and headed out of town.

I tried to nap in the car while Mr. Barefoot drove, but with the excitement/nervousness of leaving home and the lack of possible comfortable positions in the car, I was still wide awake when we reached the North Dakota border and it was time for me to take over behind the wheel.

I drove as long as I could, making it until sometime around 3:30am. I finally pulled into a rest area off the highway, snuggled into my seat, and was asleep within seconds.

When we woke around 6:30am, this was the view that greeted us.

Without realising it, I had pulled into the scenic overlook at Theodore Roosevelt National Park!

We all got out of the car to stretch our legs, and I took pictures. It was cold and raining, and after being in the car nearly 12 hours, I don't think any of us were at our best, but it was really cool to see one of the great natural beauties of North America.



We continued to walk around the rest area when Mr. Barefoot noticed something moving over by the covered picnic area. Lo and behold! There was an American Buffalo grazing right up by the tables!

Even cooler, there was another Bison on the other side of the driveway heading out of the rest area. We were able to get a couple of really good shots without making them mad as we drove past.

Soon we crossed into Montana, Mr. Barefoot took over driving, and we continued our journey across the country.

After a few hours, the Sprouts were getting restless. We stopped in a little do-nothing town and found a park for them to play in. They ran off some energy for about half an hour before we got back in the car on our way to Billings, MT.

We got to Billings around noon. We couldn't check into the hotel room until 2pm, so we decided to find a park and have a picnic while we waited. The Sprouts were very happy to have a place to stretch their muscles! Little Sprout may not look it, but she was having a blast.

After lunch and a break from the road, we checked into the hotel. I think we were all asleep by 7:30pm, and woke around 7am. Refreshed from a night spent in a real bed, we helped ourselves to the continental breakfast and packed up the truck, ready for a day spent in Yellowstone National Park.

Stay tuned for Day 2!!