A few days of fun..

San Francisco

We spent 3 days in San Francisco just touring around.  Doing all the normal touristy stuff.  We went to Firsherman’s warf and were able to see several street performers. The kids really enjoyed the Michael Jackson look alike who was dancing to all the well known Michael Jackson songs.  We also got to see the Sea Lions basking in the sun.  One afternoon we took an open air bus tour through the city.  It was beautiful.  The Victorian Style houses add so much character to the city.  We continued to wonder where are their yards??  How do they play??  The tour ended at the Golden Gate Bridge where we were fortunate enough to walk across the bridge.  The view over across the bay was breathtaking.  The water was a vibrant blue dotted with white sails from many sail boats. 

We also took a boat tour of the bay out under the Golden Gate  Bridge and back around the infamous Alcatraz.  We were fascinated to learn about the “prison island”.

Then, we went to the San Francisco Aquarium.  At the aquarium, we saw a moray eel, starfish, tetra, 2 kinds of jellyfish, anchovies, some polka dotted fish, a bass, an octopus,   tiger shark, rays, and a nurse shark.  My top three were the polka dotted fish, the bass, and the moray eel!!!  The polka dotted fish was an orangey red colored fish with white polka dots.  He had a big black eye and a spiny looking fin.  The bass was a real angry fish.  (At least you would think so if you looked at him).  He’s about 2 ft. tall, 1 ft. wide and is like a navy blue fish with a huuuuuuuge mouth and his skin looks like rough leather.  Finally, the moray eel.  The moray eel has scaly snake looking skin with blue eyes and a golden-brown belly.  He has small bright blue eyes and he hardly ever moves.  The eel is probably 3 ft. long.   We actually got to pet the small sharks and rays.  It was fun!!

                 -Erin

Victorian Houses in the City

Golden Gate

Alcatraz Island

Sea Lions at Fisherman's Wharf

Robot Man

Camp Site Beside the Pacific

Lake Tahoe

We went skiing when we passed through Lake Tahoe.  I was not good at first.  It was the first time I ever skied.  Then, I got the hang of it and I was really good.  I was able to go down the big hill. Erin and I went with daddy.  It was scarry.  I wasn’t good at going straight down big hills.  I crashed many times, but got down the hill in one piece.  Mom was glad that I was safe.  I like skiing but next time not down a big straight hill!!

The lake was really pretty.  When I went up the big hill I had a good view of it.  It was blue and was very calm.  There was a big snowy hill behind the lake with white snow covered trees.  The hills looked very pretty and the water was even prettier.

Erica

Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon was formed long ago when the sand was compressed to form rock. Through erosion they formed spires called hoodoos.  We have pictures of them below.  The park itself stands at 9000 ft in elevation and there was snow on the way but not at the main part of the park.  Bryce Canyon got its name from an early Mormon settler by the name of Ebenezer Bryce. It became a national park on September 15 1928. 

                We took a trail down into Bryce canyon.  It was pretty scary because there were no rails protecting us from slipping over the steep cliffs, and it didn’t make it much better when Alan and John had to play the closest to the edge game.  Anyway it was a pretty fun time at Bryce canyon.

-          Andrew

Pictures Camping on the Beach in Los Angeles

Yosemite National Park - Andrew Carleton

Today we went to Yosemite National Park.  There were some gorgeous waterfalls coming from the ice cold tops of the mountains which were about 8000 ft high and they that also had snow all over.   We were I think 7000 ft up, and it was freezing cold and it didn’t make it much better that I was sick. (I think it was because I haven’t played soccer in so long).  We were able to see El Capitan and Half Dome (which we have pictures of below) that were extremely tall granite cliffs.  These tall cliffs still leave scientists questioning how they came to be.  They were stunning.

We read before going that the weather changes rapidly.  When we arrived we were in shorts and a sweatshirt.  When we stepped out of the RV we had to put on long pants and jackets. Then, on the way back to our camp site it started to snow really hard.  They are expecting a huge snow storm there tonight.  Glad we are back at our camp site.  That is about it at Yosemite. 

                O’yeah Daws Barcelona is going to whoop Chelsea in the Champion’s League.

Lambert Dome

Waterfall from El Capitan

Half Dome

Sequoia National Park - Erin Leigh Carleton

Yesterday we visited Sequoia National Park. There is one tree there that is 40 ft. in diameter; its name is General Grant. General Grant is one of the biggest trees in the world. The trunk of the tree is 40 feet in Diameter.  It is as tall as a 27 story building.  The top of the tree is dead and now does not grow any higher it just grows wider.  The giant Sequoias range in age from 2000 to 3000 years old!!  There was also a sequoia that had fallen and you could walk through it (see picture below). It was so big it was actually a path-way. The pine cones there were also big. They were the size of a football. I kept like 6 of them!!!

There was also snow about 2 feet deep in places, but it was nice because it was still warm enough to wear shorts.

View driving in.

Pathway tree

Pathway tree

Snow on sides of road

General Sherman Tree Largest tree in the world.