We took our vacation in Northern California during the peak of the pandemic - when everything was closed, restaurants were offering take-out only and no one was really venturing out. It was planned about 2 months prior and we were planning to visit my sister in Sacramento who we havent seen for a long time. BUT with obvious reasons that I won't talk about here, that didnt happen.
Nonetheless, after driving 2100+ miles, everyone had the best time and these photos were only a glimpse of our memorable trip of 2021.
Our first stop was the Sequoia park. We arrived around 8PM and learned that the Wukasachi Lodge was closed due to a covid outbreak or short staffing issue. We booked a night at the Comfort Inn which still had vacancy and all of us checked in after our dinner at the Pizza Factory.
That night, Amber didnt have an appetite and just wasnt herself. She did manage to eat a few bites of the pizza but the rest of the night, she was complaining about her tummy ache. In the middle of the night, she threw up and thank goodness she fully recovered by the morning. We didnt know what it was but maybe it was just the long car ride going up to the mountain.
We started early the next morning and entered the Sequoia Park. It was quiet, serene and just amazing to be next to these giant Sequoia trees.
Next stop was Yosemite Park. We drove another 3-4 hours from Sequoia to Yosemite and arrived an hour before the park was getting dark. There were a lot of cars lining up to enter the park. We went straight to one of the most popular sights and hiked only a little bit before we had to go because the trail was closing at 5PM. We did see a moose/elk walking along the trail with us and the kids had fun just being with nature.
That night, we drove across town and went to stay at Dunsmuir. We stayed at a little cabin which was so quiet and the boys had the best time playing the nintendo Mario Brothers. The girls also had fun going up and down the stairs and sleeping in the childrens room.
The next morning we went Ice Skating with the kids right next to our cabin. We were one of the first group to enter when it first opened. I didnt know how to ice skate so Scott was on ice with Adam and Alice.
From there on, we stopped by a very popular bakery and got coffee, croissants, and cookies before we went straight into Sacramento Zoo. We spent a few hours at the zoo and drove to Chico to stay for the night.
Here, Amber finally got the macaroni and cheese that she has been asking for.
Airbnb at Chico. We went to Walmart that night and got Thai Food for dinner.
The next morning, we drove to Lassen and almost froze our toes off!
The nap after each hike/trail was very refreshing.
That night - we stayed at the Railroad Hotel Resort. The reviews for their breakfast were really good..except we got there on the day that the kitchen was closed.
We explored into Mt. Shasta the next morning and ate at a really nice coffee shop. I still remember the croissant sandwich! We drove straight into Lava Beds and the trip there was really quite and we were really at the northern tip of California, just miles away from Oregon.
This cave visit was really my favorite. It was so quiet and it was just amazing going underground and into the caves. We didnt see any bats because they were hibernating.
After Lava Rock, we made a big U and passed Oregon to go into the Redwoods. We stayed at Crestline at an Airbnb that was owned by a chinese family. It was big, a lot of rooms and we also just ate japanese food at a parking lot in Oregon. We arrived at the house pretty late in the rain. The kids took a warm shower and went straight to bed. After a load of laundry, we all went to bed for an early start to our final hike!
We went to the Tree of Mystery first which was so much fun. The entire park was so quiet, we were really one of the 3 families there. We were walking through the park with a slight drizzle which didnt bother any of us. The trees helped to cover most of the rain.
We were to 2 trails and enjoyed our instant noodles at the picnic tables. Then we drove down to Petaluma and stayed at a Parisien bed and breakfast. I got a room and also an airstream which the kids loved. Amber and I stayed in the room and the bed was so comfortable! The place served crepes for breakfast which was also very good!
We made a stop to see Amber's friend - Camilla and also Scott's cousins before we head back home.
We stopped by San Jose to pick up the best banh mi for lunch!
The only accident we had was Amber hit her eye at the corner of a counter at the gas station. She left with a black eye and it stayed for almost 3-4 weeks. Besides that, we went back home and spent Thanksgiving at home because we were not allowed to gather with anyone outside of the household and also everyone was scared of us because we found out that Jennifer had Covid. We got some food from Joyce and also got some to go from Lin's Club. It was nice to be home after the long car ride.
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