Posted in Family Trips
Sometimes,
you just gotta get out and smell the Ponderosa Pines! 
Yesterday, we went
with my sister Jen and her family to do the "tourist loop" at Rocky
Mountain National Park. In their pre-children days, Jen and
Brian, considered themselves "too cool" (their words) to do such pansy
sight-seeing hikes, preferring to spend their time rock-climbing.
Their two kids have slowed them down considerably in some aspects, but for living at a slower pace, they sure are more tired!
The preparation for a day trip to the mountains involving two families
is formidable. We worked to make lunch and gather some supplies
the night before, but even with rising at daybreak with the nursing
babies, we did not hit the road until 8:00 am.
Because Jen and
Brian drove cross-country with their kids to Colorado, they picked a
day later in the week to make the trip to the mountains.
Yesterday happened to be the most overcast and rainy day of the week,
but God blessed us with a beautiful outing.
We started
our sight-seeing on the placid trail around Sprague Lake. When
walking or "hiking" with children, one rarely travels in a linear
fashion down the trail. The kids make many rabbit tracks off the
path to climb boulders or fallen trees, to throw rocks in the lake or
streams (or pebbles, or dirt, or even large sticks), or to make their
parents nervous when checking out the views near steep cliffs.
After eating our lunch at a picnic table in the drizzling rain, we sat
in the parking lot at the trailhead for Bear Lake in a downpour.
The rain chased us out of the park for an interlude at a rock shop in
town. To my sister, Loey: Reason #329 why you and your
family NEED to make a trip to visit us ~ there are really cool rocks in Colorado, whether you find them lying around the Rocky Mountains or sorted and displayed in rock shops.
We returned to Bear Lake after the rain where we especially enjoyed the
emerging fall colors. To cap off our time at the park, the
trail to Alberta Falls beckoned and we accepted the challenge. At
one point, Seb entertained us and fellow travellers with a loud,
repetitive rendition of some favorite song while riding on his daddy's
shoulders.
As evening arrived, we realized that we needed to
feed the troops and head home. A local pizza joint supplied the
refreshment and we drove home after dark. In the van, Evan,
Matthew and Sophie listed off the wide variety of beautiful sights and
flora and fauna that they enjoyed during the day. I pointed out
that while the rocks, trees, plants and animals all glorified God by
their very existence, only the people made in His image could
appreciate and enjoy His marvelous handiwork, giving thanks to Him.
Also overheard in the van:
Evan ~ "There is one kind of nail that you don't want to hit... a thumbnail!"
Sophie ~ "I want some wa. I just love to drink wa. I also want some duh. Duh is my favorite."
Matthew ~ "SSSSOOOOOOOPPPPPPHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEeeeeeeee!!!!!"
(Sophie is into abbreviating. In case you didn't
understand: "wa" is water and "Duh" is Dove chocolate to the
great annoyance of Matthew, and well, just about anyone after awhile!)
Brian, Jen, Seb and Oren at Sprague Lake
Click on the picture if you'd like to view a slideshow of our trip pictures.
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Posted in Family Trips
On Saturday, James and I decided to ignore all the things around the house and yard that we could possibly get done and make a short day trip into the mountains. We chose to drive to Indian Peaks, arriving at lunch time. Eyeing the dreary, overcast sky, we wondered if we'd be spending our time in the van, avoiding a downpour, but we decided to risk it and pay the entry fee.
Click on the pictures if you'd like to view them in a larger size:
Brainard Lake
An Appealing Boulder
Eating Lunch Under Cover
Thankfully, the kids thought to put umbrellas in the van! We started our "hike," which was more like a saunter around the lake, while it sprinkled.
Child-sized "Islands"
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CLICK HERE to view the entries and pictures about our July 2005 trip to Ouray, CO. Unfortunately, there are off-topic entries at the top of the page and I don't know how to link to one particular spot. The first entry, July 19, is towards the bottom of the page and the succeeding entries are above it through July 25.
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Posted in Family Trips
I copied the following account of our 2004 trip to San Fran from my former blog and am reposting it here to have this memory filed under my "Family Trips" category. Our vacation photos are in my photo album linked in the sidebar. If you click on the last page of the photo album and work your way through previous pages (1 photo per page), you can view the pictures that are specifically of San Francisco. (Two can be viewed in this entry.)San Francisco Trip
James had business in San Francisco January 20-23, and we decided to make a family trip out of it, including the weekend prior as well as the MLK holiday.
We had a rather rocky start to the trip due to sickness and a hanging bag which remained hanging in our closet at home. Our first San Francisco experience was spent shopping in Mervyn's as James had no clothes other than what was on his backnot an impressive first impression of San Francisco for the kids, but it got better!
On two different occasions we visited Fisherman's Wharf. We toured some historical ships. We took a Bay Cruise. We savored clam chowder and crab. We laughed at the sea lions, some frolicking near the pier bothering the sleeping wet "gunnysacks" piled atop one another. At frequent intervals, hoarse barking erupted and fierce posturing led to pushing battles which ended with a sea lion losing his place on the stack. They were real animals.
The kids particularly enjoyed some street performers. Sophie took a shine to the "Silver Guys": men who had spray-painted themselves and their clothes silver from head to toe. They stood stock still until a passerby dropped a coin into their cup which set them into robot-like gyrations. The first Silver Guy we encountered would shake hands, speak in a strange hissing voice, remove his sunglasses to reveal eerie silver-contact covered eyes, draw a fake gun, and pose for any desired pictures. Sophie cried when the rest of us wanted to move on to see the sea lions again. She was thrilled when we ran across another Silver Guy later who had candy as part of his act!
Speaking of candy, we tasted the best chocolate EVER from the shop Chocolate Heaven at Pier 39. We snacked on chocolate-covered dried blueberries, strawberries and apricots. It is a good thing we don't have that store at home.
We also listened to a steel drum band. James came in the house the Saturday after we returned home to inform me that the kids were out front, beating on tin cans, with a paper cup labeled "Tips" strategically placed in front of them.
On the Lord's Day, we worshiped at the closest Orthodox Presbyterian church to our motel. We were surprised to find that they use the same Psalm books that we have and sing Psalms acapella. Following the service, the members graciously invited us to eat with them at their fellowship meal. We enjoyed talking with different folks and marveled at the way Christian community and a like precious faith makes the world seem to be a smaller place. "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!" (Ps. 133:1)
One of the members, Pam M., invited the kids and me to visit her family's horse ranch. On Thursday, I drove our rented mini-van with the kids over the Golden Gate bridge and on the freeway to her ranch. She and her daughter, Suzy, teach horse-back riding lessons to kids. Suzy rode with Sophie while Pam taught the boys some about horses (see M's letter). Suzy rode with Matthew while Evan rode a horse all by himself (a very docile horse, mind you). Later, even Matthew and Sophie had a chance to ride solo. I got a kick out of seeing the delight in their eyes and comparing their small bodies to the massive horse. The kids felt useful while helping to curry some of the horses and feed them hay. Pam gave them "hay rides" in a wheelbarrow.
The M's had us over for dinner that evening at their house by the bay. James took a ferry across to join us after work. We enjoyed getting to know the family a little. Suzy had just finished school in Colorado to become a certified horse trainer. Stephen, Pam's son, recently went on a missions trip to Uganda and he shared his slides with us. We didn't get to meet Pam's husband, Ray, because he was working and the other two kids were at Covenant College. We were impressed and blessed by the Ms' ready hospitality in the middle of their busy schedule.
The kids and I also enjoyed outings to the Legion of Honor art museum, the botanical gardens, a Dutch windmill replica (especially fitting as Evan just finished the book The Wheel on the School set in the Netherlands) and the ocean. We experienced a year's worth of field trips!
This week the kids have been pretending to be cable cars and trolleys personified. Another time, Matthew was pretending to pack to move to San Francisco... I think they enjoyed the trip. Matthew informs me that "next time" we have to go and see the giant redwoods.
We're thankful to God that we were able to incorporate James' work trip with a family vacation and for His provision of safety in travel.