Trip to Caldwell, Seattle, Oregon Coast and into California

Our trip began with a stop in Boise to see Tom and Joan's beautiful new home in the Hidden Springs area. They have a lovely view of the foothills! We then made a stop at Steve Smith's home for a short visit. Then on to Caldwell to John and Cindy's house. That evening we went to dinner at a wonderful Mexican restaurant in nearby Nampa and had a chance to catch up with them and their lives post mission. The next day, John and Cindy made us a delicious breakfast with bacon, eggs and pancakes. After that, Hal and I went to visit Karen Young (Hal's office manager and dear friend). For dinner that night, Rhonda had invited  us to her home for a gathering that included our friends - Greg and Stephanie Mayes. It was wonderful to see them again and catch up on their lives as we hadn't seen them in a very long time. Greg served in the Stake Presidency with Hal and Stephanie served on the School Board with me so we had a lot to talk about. The time was not nearly long enough!

Rhonda is a gourmet cook and had made a really delicious dinner! We had turkey prepared with an onion gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots and yummy homemade bread. Stephanie brought dessert, which was a moist, flavorful gingerbread. It was a great evening with awesome food, family and friends!

SEATTLE

Jessica and Adam moved to Seattle in August for Adam 's new job with Amazon. They lived in company housing for a month while they found and bought a home. They had just been in their new home for 1 week when we came to visit. 

Adam and Jessica's cute new home!
They are in the Magnolia area and about 15 minutes from where Adam works in downtown Seattle.
That evening we went to dinner at a great seafood restaurant on the wharf. 

Hal had king crab legs and there were more than he could eat - so he shared with Adam who was happy to help him out!

I had yummy halibut and Jessica enjoyed her seafood pasta dish. Liam and Gigi had mac and cheese.

The next day we went downtown and met Adam for lunch and also made a stop in Amazon Spheres. These three glass domes are filled with interesting and rare plants and serve as an employee lounge and workspace. Many Amazon employees and their guests bring their lunch here to enjoy the surroundings as they eat and take a break.

On Sunday we attended church with Adam and Jessica and the kids and then enjoyed a delicious Sunday dinner that Jessica made for us! We just relaxed and hung out with the family that day.

We did take pictures of the kids in front of their home.

Of course Grandpa had to play fun games with the kids!

Trip with Bob and Susan - Oregon Coast, Redwoods, Yosemite and Lake Tahoe

The next morning, we picked up Bob and Susan at the airport in Seattle, and  continued our trip as we headed for the Oregon coast. Our first stop was for lunch at Norma's Seafood and Steak in Seaside, Oregon. They have some of the very best clam chowder we have ever eaten. Their other seafood dishes are also delicious. 

Bob clowning around!

After lunch, we drove down the coast with a stop in Canon Beach to look at some of the cute shops there.

As we left Canon Beach and turned a corner, we came upon this small herd of elk. We live in Elk Ridge and had not seen elk up this close before!

We stopped in Neskowin and walked down to near the water's edge to take a few pictures and stretch our legs.

We also made a short stop in Depoe Bay.

Then we drove on to Newport, Oregon and met our dear friends, Mary and Lloyd Royer. Hal served in the same mission as Lloyd (Northern States Mission -headquartered in Chicago, Illinois) when they were young men.Then years later they joined us in Russia to serve as a senior couple on our second mission there. They are wonderful people and we love to see them every chance we get. They live in La Grande, but were staying at their time share condo in Newport, so we made plans to meet them there for dinner at one of their favorite restaurants. We once again enjoyed a great seafood dinner (we just can't get enough fresh seafood!) and then we went to their condo for dessert and a chance to visit. It was a great evening being with friends!

The next morning we left and headed down the coast with a stop in Yachat's. It was a rainy day but we still had beautiful views of the ocean!

Then on to Shore Acres State Park

Once the grand estate of pioneer timber baron Louis Simpson, Shore Acres features lushly planted gardens with plants and flowers from all over the world. Something is in bloom almost every day of the year and we were not disappointed!

We walked through the Oriental gardens and followed the paths to see this lovely area of the park.

 On our way again, we drove past cranberry bogs near Bandon, Oregon. These were really interesting to see. We continued on into California and spent the night in Crescent city.

The next morning we headed for the California Redwoods.

First we stopped in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. 

 

After we left Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, we drove by some beautiful coastal scenery on our way to Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

Humboldt Redwoods State Park

These giant redwoods are massive and amazing!

Then we drove on to see Drive-Thru Tree Park.

Our car made it thru!

A hollowed and burned out redwood log

Drive-Thru Tree Park also had a large display of  carved wooden animals, birds and even Mr. and Mrs. Sasquatch!

Mr. and Mrs. Sasquatch

After we had seen some of the redwood parks, we drove to Petaluma where we spent the night. 

 That evening for dinner, we ate in an Italian restaurant - Sugo's Trattoria and had some yummy pasta. We parked our car near the sign pictured above - which tells you a little about Bob who is a chocolate connoisseur!

Sugo's Trattoria

We left the next morning and drove through the gorgeous Napa Valley wine country. 

 

We stopped for lunch at IN-N-OUT for hamburgers and milkshakes. This was Bob and Susan's first time eating there. After lunch we continued our drive
toward Yosemite National Park. 

We arrived in Mariposa(which is just outside the park) in the late afternoon where we planned to stay that night.
Mariposa is an old mining town and has lots of vintage buildings throughout the small town.

Mariposa was hosting their annual car show so we saw and heard lots of older cars that had souped up engines. At 6:00 pm a parade of all the cars formed and cruised down the main street. It was noisy but fun to see how the older cars had been turned into hot rod cars

The next morning we left early and drove into Yosemite Park.

The rock formations and waterfalls are impressive!

El Capitan is awesome rising to 7,573 ft. elevation! Bob and Hal are also pretty awesome!

 
We stopped at the visitor's center and looked at some displays and watched some short films about the park.

We ate lunch in the Yosemite Park Food Court and then left the Visitor's Center area and made our way through the busy, busy traffic that had gathered by then, and began our drive through the park and on to Lake Tahoe.

The scenery was really beautiful with trees, lakes and mountains.

Of course we had to stop and take pictures!

After we left Yosemite Park, we traveled through the Groveland and Lee Vining areas with lovely scenery and views all along our way.

 

Near Lee Vining, we passed Mono Lake with its unique rock formations. This lake is a saline soda lake in Mono County.

  

Then we began the climb up to Lake Tahoe.

We spent the night in South Lake Tahoe and the next morning we attended church. After church, we took a scenic drive to get some closer views of the beautiful lake and surroundings.

Overlooking Emerald Bay State Park

Lovely gold and yellow tree  framed by green pines near Tahoe City

Squaw Valley Ski Resort where the 1960 Winter Olympic Games were held.

The Truckee River
We continued our drive on to Reno where we spent our last night. The next morning we took Bob and Susan to the airport and they flew home and we continued our drive back to Elk Ridge.
This was a great trip that gave us time to see our family and enjoy being with friends!!