So, we got to San Francisco with "flowers in our hair" and we planned to meet some "gentle people there." (thanks Scott McKenzie). We didn't meet any hippies, but heard they were there. We did, however, explore Pier 39, do a tour of a submarine from WWII, and ride the trolley cars. It was such a blast. We didn't want to just take a tour of the city on one of the regular bus tours, we wanted the real San Francisco experience. So, we got on the trolley at the start of the line where they turn them around and rode almost to the end. Brian and the kids were all standing on the outside holding on, I was sitting down because there wasn't enough room to stand. You should have seen Hannah's face when they started going up the first steep hill - she was right at the front so she got the best ride of all. Her expression changed a little however, when they started going down the first steep hill. I think it was a little scary. We got off in Union Square where our first stop was Victoria's Secret of course. Then we walked through Macy's - that was an entire experience in itself - just the sheer vastness of the store. After that we walked through China Town. That was an incredible experience for our country kids - swarms of people, cars and shops. We stopped in at a Dim Sum restaurant - we just wanted some egg rolls and a drink. This old Chinese woman came up to our table and was trying to get us to take all these different dishes. One thing I did recognize was chicken feet. Ewww. We tried to tell her we just wanted egg rolls. Finally someone else came along and helped us out. Then we headed back to the pier, picked up our truck and drove to the golden gate bridge, which we walked on. It was a great day. The next day we spent relaxing.
We spent the last 2 nights in Malibu. It was o.k. Our campsite had a great view of the ocean. We spent all day yesterday at Universal Studios. Another fun day. Today was a driving day. It wasn't a long distance, but with the crazy traffic it took a while.
AND I THOUGHT I SPLURGED ON MY SKETCHERS FROM THE OUTLET MALL. This view was totally shattered today when we walked down Rodeo Drive. Fancy. Let me just say, we didn't even try to walk into any of the stores. Then we stopped in Hollywood and looked at the stars. But by this time the heat had really started to take off so we just stopped for a while then headed off to the campsite. Tomorrow we start our Disneyland marathon. The kids are so excited.
I will try to post again in a few days. Talk to you all again soon.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Friday, July 6, 2007
AS PROMISED: WHEN MUFFLERS DON'T MUFFLE
I can imagine that you are thinking that our muffler has fallen off. Well, you are wrong, this isn't about our vehicle at all.
Imagine, if you will, people like us, from a place like Ross River, actually feeling like rednecks. That is exactly how we felt when we pulled into the campground at the Oregon Dunes. We had driven all day and we were tired and hungry. To put it mildly we were shocked when we pulled into the campground that we had reserved. I guess I should have know it would be like this. The place was filled with R.V.'s that all had more than a couple of ATV's parked outside them. People were decked out in full atv gear and they were revving their engines non-stop. Some of these people actually booked their campsite over a year in advance! Hannah's first observation was "there was this fat woman that rode her quad about 6 feet just to go to the bathroom!" I just had to laugh. That just about summed up the whole campsite - quads and motorbikes being driven wherever and whenever possible. As we were lying in bed listening to all the revving I could hear the guy next to us telling his friends about his accident. The first day of his holiday and he totalled his quad and was resting his stitched up leg while the rest of them were out having fun. Let's just say one night there was enough for us. We felt like real city slickers for a while there. Scary!
WHITE-KNUCKLES:
But that is not all, oh no, that is not all. The next day we went to the Oregon Caves - they were absolutely amazing. The drive up wasn't so amazing - incredibly windy road - about 5 miles worth of it and we were on the drop off side. I spent the time clutching the door, holding on for dear life. Josh wanted something and I could barely pry my fingers off the door to get it. The caves though were very cool.
Then we drove on to the northern end of the Redwood forest in California. It was Independence Day, so we thought we might just take in the fireworks, etc. We just never expected it to be so crazy. People were setting off fireworks in the middle of residential streets. There was a smoky haze over the whole city, the smell of fireworks was thick in the air. To top it all off, after we finally found a parking spot, we mosied on down to the park. Once there is was more mayhem. People were wandering around drunk with open cases of alcohol (a big no-no in Canada), and they had big fires in the middle of the beach. After a quick look around we decided that it really wasn't our cup of tea so we took the kids for ice cream and headed home.
That's all of my stories for now. You will have to wait to hear about the Trees of Mystery and Paul Bunyan until next time (Sonya, you should definitely stop there). I will also post some pictures when I get home, so you will get to relive it all again. Hope you are all having a fabulous vacation.
Imagine, if you will, people like us, from a place like Ross River, actually feeling like rednecks. That is exactly how we felt when we pulled into the campground at the Oregon Dunes. We had driven all day and we were tired and hungry. To put it mildly we were shocked when we pulled into the campground that we had reserved. I guess I should have know it would be like this. The place was filled with R.V.'s that all had more than a couple of ATV's parked outside them. People were decked out in full atv gear and they were revving their engines non-stop. Some of these people actually booked their campsite over a year in advance! Hannah's first observation was "there was this fat woman that rode her quad about 6 feet just to go to the bathroom!" I just had to laugh. That just about summed up the whole campsite - quads and motorbikes being driven wherever and whenever possible. As we were lying in bed listening to all the revving I could hear the guy next to us telling his friends about his accident. The first day of his holiday and he totalled his quad and was resting his stitched up leg while the rest of them were out having fun. Let's just say one night there was enough for us. We felt like real city slickers for a while there. Scary!
WHITE-KNUCKLES:
But that is not all, oh no, that is not all. The next day we went to the Oregon Caves - they were absolutely amazing. The drive up wasn't so amazing - incredibly windy road - about 5 miles worth of it and we were on the drop off side. I spent the time clutching the door, holding on for dear life. Josh wanted something and I could barely pry my fingers off the door to get it. The caves though were very cool.
Then we drove on to the northern end of the Redwood forest in California. It was Independence Day, so we thought we might just take in the fireworks, etc. We just never expected it to be so crazy. People were setting off fireworks in the middle of residential streets. There was a smoky haze over the whole city, the smell of fireworks was thick in the air. To top it all off, after we finally found a parking spot, we mosied on down to the park. Once there is was more mayhem. People were wandering around drunk with open cases of alcohol (a big no-no in Canada), and they had big fires in the middle of the beach. After a quick look around we decided that it really wasn't our cup of tea so we took the kids for ice cream and headed home.
That's all of my stories for now. You will have to wait to hear about the Trees of Mystery and Paul Bunyan until next time (Sonya, you should definitely stop there). I will also post some pictures when I get home, so you will get to relive it all again. Hope you are all having a fabulous vacation.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
OUR HOLIDAY THUS FAR...
Hello everyone. Well, this is turning out to be an eventful holiday. Here is a quick run down:
Day 1: We started out the day in Penticton with a visit to Midas. I had some trouble with the brakes overheating while we were in Kelowna, so we stopped to get them fixed. Our one hour stopped turned into 6 hours and approx $425 per person. It turned out the brakes needed a complete overhaul. Better to be safe than sorry.
Day 3: We were at Willipa Bay, Washington. We toured around the ocean, playing in the water. Then we bought some fresh oysters and cooked them. They were absolutely delicious.
Day 5: We were on our way to the Oregon Dunes so we stopped at the Tilamook Cheese Factory. It was such a blast. The kids were excited because they got to try some free cheese samples. One would think they were actually paying for everything themselves.
I would like to entitle today's post "When Mufflers Don't Muffle." Actually at this point someone is waiting for the computer so you will have to wait until later to hear more. Mwa ha ha.
Day 1: We started out the day in Penticton with a visit to Midas. I had some trouble with the brakes overheating while we were in Kelowna, so we stopped to get them fixed. Our one hour stopped turned into 6 hours and approx $425 per person. It turned out the brakes needed a complete overhaul. Better to be safe than sorry.
Day 3: We were at Willipa Bay, Washington. We toured around the ocean, playing in the water. Then we bought some fresh oysters and cooked them. They were absolutely delicious.
Day 5: We were on our way to the Oregon Dunes so we stopped at the Tilamook Cheese Factory. It was such a blast. The kids were excited because they got to try some free cheese samples. One would think they were actually paying for everything themselves.
I would like to entitle today's post "When Mufflers Don't Muffle." Actually at this point someone is waiting for the computer so you will have to wait until later to hear more. Mwa ha ha.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
KEEPING IN TOUCH
Just a little note to let everyone know that we are having a great holiday. The weather has been somewhat lousy, but on the plus side, no one has had heatstroke yet. We had a quick visit with my sister and her family in Burns Lake which was busy, but fun. Then we headed off to Kamloops for a couple of days. Again very busy. Life is pretty hectic when you are working hard to beat Sonya at a couple of games. Settlers and golf just to name a couple. LOL. We are currently in Kelowna and will head out for the States tomorrow. Hopefully they will let Brian in! We have been having a great time here too. Last night my brother and his wife and son came for supper, along with Jeremy. It is always great to visit with everyone. I will try to keep in some sort of contact over the next month, but no promises. Hope everyone has a great July.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Grade 10 grad
Today was Naomi's big day. Since our school only goes up to grade 10 we have a little celebration for them. There are only 4 grads this year:
They were spoiled too. They got a very nice pen set from the school, the Kaska teachers made each of them a pack sack, and the Dena council (native band) gave them each $150. Naomi was so shy about being in front of everyone that all her pictures ended up being her walking away. But I did get this one of her and one of her best friends, Victoria. They plan on rooming together next year in Whitehorse.
One of our fellow teachers was trying out our new camera and took this picture of Brian and I.
As usual, my kids proved that they take after me. They walked away with a ton of awards. They all received an award for Kaska language (and numerous compliments about how great they are). They all also received the academic award for their grade, which they really had to work for this year. Quite something for Josh who is actually a year ahead. Hannah also received an attendance award. She had the second best attendance in the whole school. She received a camera/printer set.
Afterwards the teachers went to the restaurant for lunch. We had chicken, etc (believe me you don't want a picture.lol) and there was pie for dessert. It was so funny because they have all seen that I have lost weight. One of the teachers was watching me and exclaimed, "Ann's having dessert!" It was kind of embarrassing, but after that other women got up and got some pie too. I didn't even know I was being watched so closely. Maybe I will inspire someone.
So, now I've said all that - we are off on holidays tomorrow. I will try to post something, but no guarantees. I might just leave you hanging until the middle of August. Keep checking though because you never know. Have a great summer, I know I will down in California.
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