Adventures in the Past Few Months
Our calendar has been packed the past few months with short adventures and weekend trips, all flavored with a strong dose of short notice spontaneity and disorganization. With the project shutdown and layoff I felt the need to take advantage of every single day between the announcement of the project shutdown and the end of my notice period when I would be officially unemployed. It was such a whirlwind of last minute plans we even packed for trips that never happened!
Tahoe Northstar
Our adventures began with a last-minute trip to Tahoe Northstar. We booked our stay at 10 PM the night before leaving yet still managed to travel in style. I rented a Tesla Model Y to try out self-driving during the long (for us) trip up to the mountains. The car added some fun for me, though I’m not sure the kids noticed much difference. With no activities planned we mostly hung around and played outside near the condo. The highlight was building a snowman and the snowball fight that ensued on the walk back. Sharp shooter Megan managed to tag Jane right in the face but Jane was a great sport and didn’t even want to retaliate when offered the free shot on Megan! In the evening the kids put on a buddy puppet show using the open second story loft as their stage. We spent two nights in the comfortable condo before returning to San Jose.
Sequoia National Park
Next, we headed to Sequoia National Park for two nights. Our timing was perfect as the Wuksachi Lodge was slated to open for the summer season following their standard winter closure. I booked the room and we left 2 days later in the van. The forecast was calling for a major winter storm with 1-2 feet of snow predicted! This was going to be the green van’s first time in the mountains and first chance at snow. We obviously didn’t have snow chains but the many warnings online and on the highway eventually convinced us to stop just before the mountains for some, just in case. We had a great time with the eventual 18 inches of fresh snow received overnight. The simple walk to breakfast from the room was the highlight of the trip for me, as we spent about an hour tossing the kids as high as we could onto the drifts. A close second though was the beauty of that area. The snow stopped at about 6,000 feet and given the time of year, everything was so green and lush. Coupled with some clouds from the storm, it was a very beautiful drive through lush mountains.
Bike Packing to New Brighton State Beach
Megan and I even got to enjoy a kid free trip during this period. A visit from Grandma and Bop had been scheduled pre-layoff. While they stayed with the kids Megan and I headed off on our bikes to New Brighton for a short overnight. We prepped by driving two vehicles to Aptos a few days ahead, packing the van with most of our camping gear. We intended to skip riding with all our gear over the mountains and instead pick it up closer to the park. New Brighton is typically packed and a reservation is required, but they always allow those on bicycle tour to stay. Unfortunately, we neglected to put the BOB trailer in the van so I ended up trailing it for the ride anyway.
We took the VTA light rail from San Jose Diridon Station to Santa Teresa, to cut off some boring miles through the city and then rode Uvas Road out of town. After encountering some “private” roads we rerouted over Redwood Retreat road which was a challenging but scenic route over the Santa Cruz mountains to Watsonville. After six hours on the bike, we opportunistically hopped on a passing public bus for the last five miles, exhausted but happy. Once in town we were fortunate to camp overnight in the van after calling ahead and learning of some cancellations. It was lucky as the area reserved for bike tourers was literally underwater from all the recent rains.
Humboldt Redwoods State Park
For Megan’s 38th birthday, we planned a trip to Humboldt Redwoods State Park. While driving up the scenic Highway 1 the green van’s exhaust finally let loose at the junction to the resonator so we had thundering low frequency discomfort in the cabin with the engine at 2000 rpm. We stopped in a roadside town’s hardware store and I performed some emergency roadside repairs using wood stove caulk and fiberglass rope which actually worked great.
Back on the road we made it to camp in Gualala River Redwood Park where we encountered some unexpected guests – raccoons – who managed to get into the van’s locked pantry box through the cutout drawer handle and into our marshmallow bag! They apparently had a sweet tooth though as our other provisions were spared. Unlike the generally unplanned nature of these few months, our menu had been carefully crafted and all centered around a Dutch oven which, we forgot to pack in the van. Despite this, we still enjoyed fresh bread and a delicious paella later in the trip where we continued North to Humboldt State Park and experienced some great time in the Redwoods.
DISNEY CRUISE – SAN DIEGO TO MEXICO
As we neared the end of my time off the urgency to take full advantage of the time just grew and grew. Looking for more, I found a Disney Cruise leaving from San Diego; a 3 night sail to Mexico and back. To get to San Diego we also planned to take the Amtrak from San Luis Obispo down to San Diego on the Pacific Surfliner route. This trip was turning out great considering I’ve wanted to do this train route since I found out about it while in San Diego in 2016.
Everything had to come together quickly considering we were within 2 days of departure during all this. The kids had quite the surprise in store given we had kept them in the dark with respect to the cruise up to this point. With just 18 hours before needing to leave to get to SLO we were packed and once all the logistics were finalized and the timetables seemed to align, I went to buy the tickets… and saw the cruise was for 2025! BUST. Good thing we hadn’t told the kids yet!
Yosemite National Park – Curry Village
Despite being only three hours away, since coming to California we had only visited Yosemite Valley twice in the past. With spring snowmelt arriving and significant recent rains we assumed the waterfalls would be pumping. While planning I was initially disappointed by the fact that there were zero available campsites. Happily though two nights were available in Curry Village, which is a big installation of wall tents permanently installed right in the Valley. Curry Village ended up being a great, albeit crowded and noisy place to stay, and I think the kids had a blast.
The waterfalls were in fact pumping and we spent our time riding our bikes around the valley trails and enjoying the views. Curry Village doesn’t allow cooking or food in the tents so we cooked our meals out of the van at various locations around the valley which were picked for prime views. The kids did great on their bikes and when we took a break from riding to walk over to the lower falls both went crazy in the spray. On our day of departure I woke at 5 to do a hike to Columbia Rock on the Upper Yosemite Falls trail and Megan got a run through the Valley on our way out.
Father’s Day at the Inn at the Presidio
Father’s Day was celebrated at one of my favorite places, and in a manner consistent with the last minute style of these recent months. We had long known about ‘Bicycle Sundays’ at Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir, having seen large group rides from highway 280. Unfortunately, for some still unknown reason ‘Bicycle Sunday’ was not enforced on Father’s Day and when we arrived the road was open to cars, but, with traffic being light and many bikers still out for the day we still did the ride and had a great time.
Jane has been using hand brakes for a long time now, but Max enabled the skill just in the last few months so now our riding is only restricted by leg endurance as opposed to topography. The kids both did great on the long gradual downhills and got a ‘boost’ on the climbs. At our halfway point while playing at the Pulgas Water Temple I decided to book my favorite suite at the Presidio. We had brought along a change of clothes just in case and our stay at the hotel was fantastic as usual. We met a nice family during the evening wine and cheese around the fire pit and had sushi delivered for dinner. Max and Jane even did a solo hike up the Ecology Trail in the eucalyptus grove behind the hotel. Our evening at Crissy Field, playing on the beach and watching the sunset over the Golden Gate Bridge with the kids was unforgettable. Bedtime be damned!
Uvas County Park
A mid-week holiday for Juneteenth saw us camping overnight at Uvas County Park. Morning swims in Swanson Creek holes and an afternoon drive through Watsonville marked our day. Low on gas, we stopped in Gilroy for fuel and Subway, and grabbed tamales from a seller in the parking lot. Capitola beach was packed due to the junior lifeguards program and the holiday but we enjoyed it nonetheless. We stayed late for a concert by ‘Pacific Roots’ at Esplanade Park bandstand and enjoyed Pizza My Heart on the beach.
Mount Tamilpias Cabins
(Technically this occurred after I resumed work at the end of May.)
I had unsuccessfully attempted to get a cabin reservation at Mount Tamalpias for about 3 or 4 years. However, during a normal morning attempt I noticed a multi-day cancellation only a few days away. I booked immediately.
We spent 3 days in the picturesque cabin area, watching the pelicans and whales in the bay from the cliff side perch. The isolated area has a great beach and generally we had a very relaxing time. It was worth all the effort booking over the years and I hope to make another visit in the future.
A funny anecdote: I bought Jane a tamagotchi shortly before the trip. The beach below the cabin has a large areas where the water comes in very shallow, but it is pocked with deeper holes on the shore side near rocks where the currents swirl. Jane running full tilt with tamagotchi in hand suddenly diverted away from the shallow ocean side to the shore side and promptly fell into one of these holes. Tamagotchis do not survive submersion in salt water.
Day Trips
Orange Orchard
Jane’s preschool took a field trip to an 80-acre orange orchard in the middle of San Jose. The sprawling orchard was owned by the family of her classmate and we spent a few hours wandering the fields all while picking and eating some great fruit.
Earth Day Vive Calle
Earth Day was celebrated by biking with Robert and Kara at Vive Calle. At one of the routes endpoints they had a giant (~15′ diameter) inflated earth which was tethered to the ground on a short rope. Jane and Max were among dozens of other kids getting flattened running in front of the sphere Indian Jones style for a good 30 minutes.
Cal Academy of Sciences
We took a day trip up to SF to visit to the Cal Academy of Sciences. It was our first trip inside. The multistory tropical rainforest growing inside a greenhouse reminded us all of our recent time in Costa Rica. They even had the big blue butterfly! Jane and I saw a short show in the planetarium, while Megan and Max watched the fish and other exhibits.
Strawberry Picking and Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
One of my favorite activities near the coast is picking fresh strawberries at the coastal farms. We visited Swanton Berry Farm with Ana and Ivan, and their kids, Gabby and Oscar. The taste of a perfectly ripe strawberry, warm from the sun with the coast as your backdrop is unmatched by anything you can buy in the store. After getting a record 8 pounds of berries we continued the day with fun at the Santa Cruz beach and boardwalk, where Jane and I rode the giant Pirate Ship swing. We had lunch together on the sand before parting.
I Bought a motorcycle
I bought this a few weeks after the project shutdown. It was a good time to ride:)
*This post was drafted as notes during and shortly after the period ~2/20-5/31 but was completed 1/5/2025