Topic: Most AWESOME vacation ever!

[Cheesemaker]

Well, I'm finally getting around to this!  As some of you may know we had a vacation planned for July 20th - 30th!  We left here at 5:30 am and the temp was 45*, and we headed to California.  Our plans were to be in Kingsburg in one day.  Well, many stops later, including 5 stops due to our 22 month old daughter barfing, gas and food, we got there @ 10:30pm.  After Dean(4THEWKN) giving directions to his house due to road construction having some roads closed.  And the temp was 110*.  Of course the hottest week of the year we go to California!  Friday I got ready to go on our rockcrawling trip, my first one!  Bruce (66 landcruiser), Carlos and John (rubicon) and Dean & I in his toyota p/u, headed up towards the four lane.  Originally we wanted to do the dusy trail, but due to it still closed, we ended up doing a night run into Strawberry Lake, and then into Coyote lake saturday!  The night run was AWESOME!  It was so frickin cool!  And I've never experienced it so dark at night before!  I couldn't see my hand in front of my face.  It was cool to see the trail out in the daylight!  The trail in Coyote was cool, and one spot Dean tried to give a ride of my life!  I looked at him and said, "If I hadn't gone to the bathroom earlier, I would have done it then!"  He laughed at me!  Come to find out we had damaged the rear d-line, which we would find out on sunday!  Coyote lake was awesome, the water was warmer than the pool the kids swim in at home!  We did a little RC wheeling, beer drinking, fixing a rubicon (yes we had to help a Jeep), and fighting off the mosquitos!  Holy crap they were big!  I usually have NO problems with them, but OFF! spray was my friend!  We got into a little rain and thunder storm too!  Sunday it was time to head out!  Dean looked at me and asked how to use my video camera and said I was driving!  Did I hear you right DEAN?  Yes!  COOL!  So I drove most of the way out, except for the really tight stuff, but I didn't want to be the one to dent his truck!  And I got 33 minutes of video of me driving, the guys at work thought it was cool!  And then there were cows, I come from a an area where cows belong behind fences, and here are these cows up here @ 9000 ' elevation!  We head down and find out about the d-line!  We take it off and start down in front wheel drive, when we hear this noise and Dean goes, "crap I've forgot to fix the front D-line!"  He reassured me were fine!  OK!  We get about 10-15 miles from home when he hears something, and decides to pull over and the front axle locks up!!  Well, that was fun stop!  We get towed home!  in the 110* heat, with no A/C.  Well, we lost the pinion gear and/or bearing!  Dean is upposed to be sending me carnage pics!  Monday we headed to Disneyland.  It had been 28 years since I was there, and 10 for my wife!  It was 109* in D-land on monday!  We spendt 3 days there, it was hot , but it was really cool!  I can't wait to go back, don't tell my wife that I said that!  Not until the credit card gets paid off!  We enjoyed it, bought the mouse ears and I got my Grumpy shirt/hat!  Went back to Kingsburg wednesday night.  Thursday went to Yosemite, got to see the Giant Sequoia's, and ventured into the heart of the park!  We were slowed by road construction, and alot of traffic on the way.  We didn't get to see the big rocks!  Due to the time and road construction.  Really wanted to stop by Marlin's but we were running out of time!  That and my kids and wife were getting kinda cranky!  Friday we left Kingsburg for Redding, my wife grew up there, and we had a cousin we wanted to visit with.  Oh and the wife wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese!  And visited Mt Shasta mall, were she used to work at!  We left saturday and hooked up with some friends in Medford, and went to Crater Lake!  It was beautiful, and we got to play in the snow!  And saw all the fires in the distant!  We finally got home saturday night at 11:30pm.  It was a nice cold 54*.  It was our first family vacation, it was awesome.  We did 2513 miles round trip and we had fun!  I can't wait till we do it again!  Here's the pics!






I'll post more pics later if I find any!  I wish I load a clip of the video!  Thank you!

[DTB]

wow im corss-eyed after reading that now. looks like fun though. that picture of the lake is gorgeous 

[notajeep]

You look kinda short there next to Mickey......

[79coyotefrg]

dang man, email me a 800x600   size version of that lake pic

[Rocksurfer]

Did any of those crazy directions I gave you help out when you got down here?

[Lady Di]

Great writeup but I guess no one told you about paragraphs!

[Cheesemaker [OP]]

Thanks, as for no paragraphs, I was in a hurry.  I've been really busy since I've gotten back home.  I've been helping my step-mom out alot since dad's passing!  She doesn't drive, her son (well, put it this way if he were to fall off a large cliff, I wouldn't go for help!) is a loser, but she still thinks he's a good son, her daughter lives out of town, and my sister had a hatred for her.  So, I'm stuck with being the good kid in this situation.  Before, dad would help out when he was feeling good, so I wasn't doing all the work, now I'm doing everything (yard care and house maintenance) for my step-mom and all the things I have to do here at our house too!  All before I go to work.  Lately, I get home and crash halfway thru a beer!  79coyote I will send ya some pictures of Crater Lake, it is the deepest lake in N. America.  The Island in the pic is Wizard Island and it has a volcanic crater in the top of it.  It takes 2 hours to drive all the way around the crater.  We did a small portion of it!
Thanks

[Cheesemaker [OP]]

dang man, email me a 800x600   size version of that lake pic

I sent ya two pics, they were sized a little smaller than you asked for.  If ya want them a little bigger I'll get my wife to do it, she's better at figuring that out.  She puts all my pics into photobucket for me cause I can't figure it out!  Ryan-

[Lady Di]

Thanks, as for no paragraphs, I was in a hurry.  I've been really busy since I've gotten back home.  I've been helping my step-mom out alot since dad's passing!  She doesn't drive, her son (well, put it this way if he were to fall off a large cliff, I wouldn't go for help!) is a loser, but she still thinks he's a good son, her daughter lives out of town, and my sister had a hatred for her.  So, I'm stuck with being the good kid in this situation.  Before, dad would help out when he was feeling good, so I wasn't doing all the work, now I'm doing everything (yard care and house maintenance) for my step-mom and all the things I have to do here at our house too!  All before I go to work.  Lately, I get home and crash halfway thru a beer!  79coyote I will send ya some pictures of Crater Lake, it is the deepest lake in N. America.  The Island in the pic is Wizard Island and it has a volcanic crater in the top of it.  It takes 2 hours to drive all the way around the crater.  We did a small portion of it!
Thanks

  i was only bustin' yer chops about the paragraphs, sounded like a great time and sounds like you really need the opportunity to get away.
MORE PICS!

[Cheesemaker [OP]]

That's Dean, 4THEWKN way out in the lake, DOWN MrsWilly!

[Cheesemaker [OP]]

Did any of those crazy directions I gave you help out when you got down here?

I just followed Dean's wife LaDawna, that crazy driver!    We just went straight down 99E into I-5 over the grape, and stayed on I-5 until we took one exit that dumped us off right in front of D-land!  Thanks!