164: day 4..our states capitol

We said good-bye to train 14 and headed south. We stopped in Redding at the Sundial Bridge and got our token picture and smashed penny {I think I got over 20 pennies this trip}. Then it was on to Sacramento. The scenery was now brown, dead and hot! We're not on the coast any longer :(

It was 95 degrees when we pulled into Sacramento! Miserable..but it did not stop us.  We headed down to Historic Old Sacramento and walked the streets. This trip was a bit of an extension of Jayden's 4th grade school year.  We were going to many of the places he learned about and studied in California history.  I believe the greatest learning happens when you can actually visit the places you read about and see them in context!

After a very hot and lethargic walk down old town, we drove past the state capitol building. If it weren't so hot, we would have walked around, but it was stifling so we headed back to the hotel to go swimming! Picked up some Jamba Juice for dinner and called it a night!

163: day 3..best lodge yet!

Crescent City Lighthouse..the view from in front of our hotel

As we were leaving Crescent City, the boys spied this awesome park and begged me to pull over. I thought it would help them get out some energy for the drive, so I obliged. They got there weapons and had a war. It was a pretty amazing park, especially for a war. Today we would be heading more eastern and leaving the coast. We made our way into Oregon via Hwy 199 and got to see all the randomness of the mountain people of Oregon.  One such sight was a burl shop: A burl (American English) or bur or burr (used in all non-US English speaking countries) is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner.

Interesting  people..interesting art

The one thing I loved about Oregon was the fact that they pump your gas!  It takes you back to the days of full service..

We were only in Oregon for a short while, just long enough to catch Interstate 5. Then it was South bound from there.  We stayed the night in Dunsmuir at this charming railroad resort. It was a place I found on the internet and it was the boys' absolutely most favorite spot! The novelty of sleeping in an old train cart wasn't just for the young..I thought it was pretty dang cool. We drove into the town of Mt. Shasta to watch Madagascar 3..which was hilarious.  One of only a few franchises that the movies just keep getting better. The only negative aspect of sleeping in the train car was deciding who got the top bunk! It was pure drama.  We drew names probably 3 times, and in the end, it was Jayden's crying that got him on the top! I hate rewarding negative behavior, but we were so wiped out and had no more fight in us!

162: road trip day 2

This is me sucking in as much as I could...slow and steady!

Day 2 started off with a nice campers breakfast at Denny's! I may have slept in a tent, but I wasn't about to get out a camp stove and truly ruff it! After breakfast we went down to glass beach.  It was formerly a dump site about 5o years ago. Since that time, all the glass that had been deposited there has broken and continues to tumble onto the shore. It's pretty cool to see all the glass mixed in with the rocks. It entertained Jayden for a long time! He was picking out a few favorites while the other boys climb rocks. Next it was on through the Redwood forest. The trees were absolutely majestic! I took at least 5o pictures of just trees..I narrowed it down for the blog. We even attempted, successfully, driving through a 2,400 year old tree in my beast. We touched a couple times but we didn't scratch the paint. We were very slow and steady. We took the scenic highway: Avenue of the Giants. It was beyond cool..we pulled the car over a few times and the boys just ran through the groves of trees {and may have even taken a potty break on a few of them}. We drove, quickly, through the town of Eureka. Skyler has been saying for years that he wants to live there someday, so I had to drive him through it. I believe he has changed his mind.  The only thing worth seeing was the Carson mansion..but I did find a penny smashing machine!

We continued our drive up the coast. We found this giant Paul Bunyan statue at the Trees of Mystery {about 20 miles south of Crescent City}. We decided to call it a night in Crescent City..one of the last towns before the Oregon border. 

161: let the road trip begin!!

I'm serious about the road trip! My traveling is not for the faint of heart. I pack so much into one day, it makes you wonder if the day didn't have more than 24 hours...and just because I had my boys, on my own, don't think I let up! 

We dropped Jim off at the airport Saturday night. As he put it, he needed to get back to work to pay for my adventures. He also had to speak in church.

We started off around 9:30 a.m. We left San Jose and headed to San Francisco. I wish we could have planned this day not on a weekend, but that's not how it worked out. We drove down Lombard street, then headed over to the painted ladies: aka: the full house houses. Navigating the streets in San Francisco can be tricky and we got lost a few times, but lost in a big city just means you stumble across something else that is interesting and fun. We parked the car and took a ride on a trolley car. Of course, the X-shot made an appearance! It was a warm day for San Francisco so there were people out everywhere, enjoying this beautiful day! I don't enjoy crowds..

We made our way over the bridge and into San Rafael to check out the mission that Jayden did his 4th grade report on. After a quick picture, we were back on the road and headed up the coast to Fort Bragg. The coast drive is winding, but breathtaking! After a few hour drive, we made it to Fort Bragg and set up our camp. I stumbled across this campsite on the internet and it was gorgeous! Steps from the beach.  It was clean and not crowded. The boys loved running along the wooden boardwalk they had to the rocks and tide pools. The sunset was stunning and was a perfect cap to a very long, but fun day!

160: a perfect day for a wedding

Besides my nieces graduation, one of the main reasons we made the trip up to San Jose was for the sealing of one of my dear, sweet Laurels from Los Gatos ward.  I have kept in contact with Sarah since we left Los Gatos 9 years ago. I was elated when I received her wedding invitation with a special invitation to attend her sealing! I wouldn't miss it for the world! It was a perfect day for a wedding! Beautiful blue skies made, I'm sure, for some wonderful pictures.  Sarah looked so beautiful and so very happy! She was one of my main babysitters when Skyler was little! It was fun seeing some old friends from the ward at her reception and catching up! 

159: a gorgeous santa cruz day

{Mike & I}

We woke up Friday morning and the weather forecast said it was going to be 80 degrees in Santa Cruz..that decided our day! First stop was to visit my brother, who I hadn't seen in a couple years.  We stopped in and visited with him at work and then headed over the mountain to Santa Cruz! It was a gloriously sunny day! We strolled the boardwalk, went on a few rides, walked the pier and visited the seals, then relaxed on the sand! It was a perfect day! The boys fell asleep immediately upon getting back to our hotel..No, we didn't pick up a homeless person, though the feet in this picture would say differently! Those belong to Skyler and I was utterly disgusted when I saw them! He was sound asleep, but I so wanted to wash them..I didn't, I just took a picture instead. 

158: ashley graduates

Our niece Ashley graduated from High School today! She is the oldest grandchild on Jim's side. We left Temecula at 4:00 a.m. to make it to her graduation in San Jose at 4:00 p.m. And so began our summer 2012 road trip!

157: dismissed...again!

With a little effort, your ticket can get dismissed too! It's got to be the legal genes! No traffic school, no fine, no points on my record, no increase in my insurance!  It was worth a couple hours of my time researching!
{3rd ticket, 3rd dismissal}

156: vote

Exercising my constitutional right! It's primary time!

155: back to the gym

 After a month break (due to my mole procedure), it's time to hit the gym again! It's like starting all over! 

154: house is rented!

We met with our new tenants today and signed the rental agreement! What a burden to have lifted off my plate right now. I  was a bit of a stress case. I have so many plans this summer and re-renting our home was not one of them. But that's the price you pay to have an investment! I have more important things to do..like plan my roadtrip! We will be taking off on Thursday morning for San Jose! I'm excited to just get out of town for awhile. I really don't have a lot planned out! We're just going to drive and stop along the way! Redwoods..here we come!

153: mud run/piano recital

Another busy Saturday for the Geddie Family! Jim started his day off early. He and some buddies ran the Camp Pendleton Mud Run. I was lucky to get the pictures I did..men, for some reason, don't feel compelled to take pictures at every event..crazy, I know! They did awesome coming in 11th out of 480 teams!

Skyler had a piano recital. He begged not to go because he hadn't practiced enough and didn't really know his song. No way! I've been hounding and hounding him to practice and he ignores it. There was no way I was going to let him get out of something he knew was coming up and that he chose not to worry about. He probably practiced a months worth in just an afternoon.  He wasn't prepared as he should have been, but he pulled through it! I thought it sounded pretty good.  He even walked away with a few little trophies for the year!

152: ryders growing like a 'weed'

Ryder and his buddy Patrick! They were both weeds in the 1st grade performance of "How Does Your Garden Grow?" They did the weed rap and all of a sudden, Ryder broke into a break dancing routine! In typical Ryder fashion, others followed suit and joined in! Ryder definitely adds the spontaneity to life!