Valley of Fire National Park in Nevada was a nice surprise. Dale had mentioned it but it wasn't high on the list until we found ourselves in Nevada and making very good time toward California. It was gorgeous, fun to photograph and hot! Yes, it was one of the very few times when the temperatures felt uncomfortably hot on vacation but it was Nevada in June!
Ashley and Travis are expecting a baby at the end of December. That means that I get to be a grandma!! I am beyond thrilled. I am super excited and I am feeling incredibly blessed. I have been praying for this baby for years and now we are just five months away from meeting the little one. I am also thrilled for Ashley and Travis to start their own incredible journey as parents! This is most definitely a new chapter in my life which is very welcome! My family is growing!! (This plaque was a gift from a co-worker when I first announced the news.)
It wasn't a beach vacation but we did get to enjoy the coastline of California. I even got my feet wet a couple of times. In Monterey a wave caught us both off guard and we got more wet than planned. It's a good thing that Dale had an extra pair of tennis shoes along.
We took several scenic drives and enjoyed the roads and the views. We spent some time on Highway 1 and visited a few little "artsy granola towns." We shopped at an art gallery that had fresh produce on the porch and bought a yummy peanut butter cookie at Bovine Bakery. It was a leisurely part of the trip.
I so enjoy summer pool weekends! I go to the pool to exercises most days but its lots more fun when friends or family join me for sun and water fun. Jill and I got the pool to ourselves for almost three hours on Friday evening and a couple of hours on Saturday for a pool side lunch and lots of water time. A little shopping, lots of knitting and a little wine make a very fun weekend.
I really love San Francisco! It was a great city to visit. I have too many photos and we did as much as possible while there. We rode the cable cars, visited Lombard Street and spent lots of time on Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf. I have decided not to include photos of everything!
The boat ride to Sausalito was wonderful. I loved being on the water and enjoyed the change of pace and scenery in Sausalito.
Alcatraz is very intriguing and has a strong presence in the bay. Everyone we talked to recommended the tour so we took the boat over for a visit on a very rainy day. It was well worth the time and money. The rain and gloom actually added something to the experience.
Chinatown was a must. We didn't stay long because we were heading to a San Francisco Giants game but we did stay long enough to pop into a Chinese bakery and try something that was very unique. It's a good thing that we only got one!
The "painted ladies" was one of our photo destinations and it was fun to wander the park and even meet one of the neighbors. We also went to Golden Gate Park and Palace of Fine Arts. There were so many things to see, experience and photograph! It was a busy portion of the vacation and a favorite destination. 
Lake Tahoe was gorgeous! We stopped by shortly after we entered Nevada. It was hard to find public access but we did find a nice spot to get some photos and enjoy the view.
The crystal clear water was amazing and I loved getting my feet into the water after climbing down some rocks. It's the best part of visiting the water!
We visited Lake Tahoe on the way back home from our California trip but we did see a few other lakes on the way to California. They are pictured below.
June Lake
Mono Lake
Salt Lake
Yosemite National Park was amazing. Tioga Pass opened for the season just the day before we arrived so we were fortunate to be able to drive through. The snow was refreshing and the park was gorgeous.
When we stopped for gasoline right before heading into Tioga pass the young man working told me that this was the perfect time of the year to visit because the "water would be rockin." He was right! The water falls were powerful and full. I am so glad that we took the time to add Yosemite to our trip.
This chuckwalla terrified me by lurking around at the door of the women's restroom at a National Park in Nevada. When I left the restroom, he skittered just in front of me which startled me to the point that I made an involuntary sound, maybe a shriek but not quite a scream. This was NOT my favorite wildlife sighting on vacation!
I had looked forward to experiencing wine country, Napa and Sonoma Valleys. It was a gorgeous Saturday and lots of people must have felt the same way. Maybe it's because it was the day before the nascar race which takes place in Sonoma County, but there were lots of people and a constant chain of cars on the roads.
After a visit to a very popular winery that was packed with people, we did find this quiet little winery and enjoyed a more peaceful visit. I got to have my glass of wine and we were able to relax and soak up the scenery. We cut the visit short after we had experienced enough traffic. Wine Country is beautiful. I am glad that we got to visit, but it was a bit too busy for me on this fine Saturday afternoon in June.
While Dale photographed a waterfall at Yosemite I climbed the rocks to get closer to the stream of cold mountain water. Sitting on the rocks with my feet in the water and the sound of crashing waterfall I found myself feeling overwhelmed by the amazing presence of God. The water was loud enough that nobody could hear me singing, "Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the works thy hand hath made. . . Then sings my soul, my savior God to thee, How great thou art, how great thou art." It was an incredible spiritual moment for me. I am in "awesome wonder!"
If every vacation has at least one cheesy photo, this is it. Dale is pointing out Mount Whitney, the highest summit in the contiguous United States. Although there is snow on the mountain tops we were in dessert temperatures. This was one of the very few times we were above 90 degrees, but since we were close to Death Valley, it's not a surprise. I was thrilled that we had more mild temperatures for almost all of our trip.
Food is always a fun part of vacation exploration. We didn't do lots of planning or research this time but found some great food. We at at some very nice places. . . even had cloth napkins but nothing tasted better than the fruits and nuts that we purchased at little roadside stands. These were the best cherries ever and they were just $1 a pound! With the pistachios they were great car food.
We found the cherries very near Gilroy California, Garlic Capital of the World! It was a super fun stop. The smell of garlic as we pulled into town was intense enough to make us want to explore more. We had a great time tasting and buying at the The Garlic Shoppe too. It's so fun to get off the interstate!
We got to AT&T ball park in San Francisco and found GILROY GARLIC FRIES! We had to have them and they were yummy. Amazing garlic flavor but it's probably a good thing that we shared.
Yummy!! Fish at Fisherman's Wharf was amazing and loved the prices and character of the place.
I have knitted dozens of prayer shawls over the last 10-12 years but this last one took more than five years! I made lots of them during my St. John years but this particular prayer shawl was on the needles when I moved to Des Moines. I didn't knit much for a while and then I got started with other fun projects. Occasionally I would go back to my prayer shawl when I needed a mindless project for my knitting evenings with Kymm. Last night I finished this as we sat in a coffee shop for our Sit & Knit. I will donate it to hospice because we utilize them there also. More vacation photos coming soon!
Utah was surprisingly beautiful. It was one of the very few states that neither Dale nor I had visited much. I may have ridden through the state with my parents during our 1971 road trip to California but I have never been there as an adult. People had told us not to expect much, especially when we took the southern route across the state on our way west, but we saw incredible sights.
The shot below is from Zion National Park. The canyons were impressive but the noon day sun does steal some of the color. On the way home we drove a more northerly route and saw Salt Lake and visited Salt Lake City. I put my feet in the water but barely. The shoreline was not a pleasant experience but obviously the flies like it lots.
Colorado National Monument was amazing! It was my first visit to that part of the state and I was very impressed. We spent lots of time looking through our camera lenses but also tried to remember to just look and enjoy. It was glorious to be in that space and it wasn't hot!
Below are a couple of photos from the Rockie Mountains, an area of Colorado that is much more familiar to me. It was beautiful as usual. I absolutely love the crisp clear air and the incredible scenery. I could easily spend an entire vacation in Colorado again but we were on the move toward California so we only spent a bit over a day in Colorado. I will return again!
It was another fun filled family Fourth of July for the Wreghitts! We always take the group photo. A few people had left and a few had not yet arrived but we got a quick shot. We all missed Randy but it was good to gather together, eat, talk and laugh as a family.
