Picking up where I left off...
Thursday morning when we got up I was a little worried about how I was going to feel that day. My back was hurting and my stomach didn't feel great either. But I decided to do everything I could to get it to calm down (in addition to a blessing the previous night) and by the time we left I felt good. We got on the road to San Francisco. But before leaving I had to take a picture of this little food shack that made me laugh.
On the road to San Francisco, we saw a sign for another drive-through tree. We decided to stop and this one looked a lot more like we were all envisioning. We had a blast here because there was another log that was hollow and I could stand up inside it. I got a great picture of me and all the kids and Aaron decided to climb on top of it. I even got brave and climbed up. I'm afraid of heights so this was a big thing for me.
We visited the gift shop for a bit and got back on the road. It was a 4 hour drive to San Francisco from Garberville and we wanted to be able to eat lunch on Fisherman's Wharf. When we got to the bridge we noticed that it got a bit colder than we were getting used to. It had been so hot the last few days that we were all sweating by the time we got loaded each morning. The temperature said it was 64 and it was foggy. Many of us didn't bring jackets and were now regretting it. We found a place to park, walked to the Wharf and found a place for lunch. We picked a place that looked like it would have decent options for everyone which ended up being a place called Tarantino's. We just picked and we lucked out. This place was great! We had a great view of the fishing boats on the Wharf and the food was great.
When we left the restaurant we discovered it had gotten significantly colder than when we went in. We headed to Ghirardelli Square and luckily found some nice, inexpensive hoodies on our way. Nearly everyone bought one in a variety of colors and styles. We were now much more comfortable. One thing that I remembered about Ghirardelli Square from when I went years ago was the fun fountain. Amanda and Ranna went a few months ago and said it was under construction. I was hoping that the construction was done so we could all see it.
After Ghirardelli Square, we headed to Pier 39 to see the sea lions and to get some ice cream. There is of course a lot more to do at Pier 39 than these things, but we didn't really have the time. Unfortunately, it is the off season for the sea lions and there was only a handful there. I was so bummed because that was one of my favorite things last time I was there. So, we grabbed some ice cream and headed back to the vehicles. We decided we didn't want to drive down Lombard St. but we at least wanted to see it. So we drove by it and then headed out of town. It took us 2 hours to get to the Bay Bridge, traffic was a mess! When we finally got to the bridge, we discovered it was because they were doing construction and it went down to one lane. Hello, who thought this would be a good idea? While in traffic we got separated, and long story short version, we all decided to just meet at the Oakland Temple. These grounds are so pretty and I love the walkway on top of the temple with all of the foliage. We took a group picture in front of the Christus in the visitor's center and headed to the hotel. It was something we all needed to end the day.
Friday we headed into Sacramento. Seth needed to take some things and pick up some things from the mission office and so we all drove to Old Sacramento and we decided that Seth and my parents would go take care of that while the rest of us wandered around. We pretty much headed straight to the train museum. Zack was a big driving force behind this one because he LOVES Thomas and all his friends. He can name them all. Just as we were finishing up there we found out that the mission office wasn't even open and wouldn't be until about 2:00. Seth was so bummed because he wanted to see the museum and missed it for nothing.
By this time I was really dragging. I was not feeling well at all and had absolutely no energy. When we met up with my parents, my dad mentioned that my mom was concerned that she had strep. I started thinking...yup, those are the symptoms I was experiencing. We found a gorgeous place for lunch and we ate in the courtyard. Again, some place we just found and lucked out. The kids had room to move and play without disturbing other patrons and from what I'm told, the food was amazing. I didn't have enough of an appetite so I ordered the cheapest salad I could because I could see wasting money on something I wasn't going to enjoy just because I didn't feel well. I would love to go back and try it another time, not to mention there was so much of Old Sacramento we still did not see.
By this time I was really dragging. I was not feeling well at all and had absolutely no energy. When we met up with my parents, my dad mentioned that my mom was concerned that she had strep. I started thinking...yup, those are the symptoms I was experiencing. We found a gorgeous place for lunch and we ate in the courtyard. Again, some place we just found and lucked out. The kids had room to move and play without disturbing other patrons and from what I'm told, the food was amazing. I didn't have enough of an appetite so I ordered the cheapest salad I could because I could see wasting money on something I wasn't going to enjoy just because I didn't feel well. I would love to go back and try it another time, not to mention there was so much of Old Sacramento we still did not see.
After Old Sacramento, we headed to the Sacramento Temple. This is a newer and smaller temple, but the grounds were amazing! It is close to a waste plant and it was cool to see where the temple grounds started and the difference in the vegetation. Ranna and I decided that it was dark and spooky versus bright and happy. They also have a park area with bathrooms, drinking fountains, sand pits and benches as part of the grounds.
At this point, we separated. People in my parent's van (me included) headed to the mission office and the other vehicles headed to Lake Tahoe. Not too much exciting to report at this point, but by the time we made it to Tahoe I was feeling better. They beauty of pain reliever! We didn't stay long, because it was getting late and the young kids had already been playing for about an hour and were basically done. They did have a lot of fun though.
We headed to our final hotel in Carson City and luckily it was only a half hour away. Some people went swimming and dinner kept getting later and later. By the time people were ready to go my energy was gone, so I just went to bed. Saturday we got up and got on the road a little later than the other days, but we didn't have any stops planned. We just headed home and by this time Britta and I were very anxious to make it home to see our sweethearts. At one of the rest stops we found a Native American couple who had set up a bunch of jewelry for sale. We all had fun looking and several of us bought something. Other than that, our long road home was pretty uneventful. I felt somewhat icky but mostly okay for most of the trip and boy was I glad to make it home and sleep in my own bed.
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