It took the kids and I about 8 hours to drive from our house to Uncle Rhett's home. The kids played the first day and we relaxed and recovered from the drive. The next morning we got up and drove 45 minutes to the Fresno Zoo.
The kids loved touching the stingrays. In fact, I think it was the highlight of their day, even though Luke was really afraid to touch any of them for the first 15 minutes.
We headed back to Rhett's house and had dinner.
The following morning we woke up early and headed out to the California Coast. It takes a couple of hours to get there from Rhett's house. We stopped at In & Out Burger for lunch, then went straight to the Avila Beach. It was so beautiful. Cold, but beautiful.
The kids played on the beach, swam in the cold ocean water, explored tide pools with Marie and Rhett, and flew a kite.
We were so exhausted from all the fun on the beach. For dinner, Rhett recommended a place that's famous for their clam chowder, so we headed to Pismo Beach to check it out. It was a chilly day so the soup was wonderful (even though it was crowded there).
After dinner we drove up the coast to San Simeon, CA to stay at the Morgan Hotel. This was a picture of our drive. It was so beautiful!!! That's Rhett's truck ahead of us.
When we got to the hotel, Mia swam in the outdoor pool that night, and I swear it was about 60 degrees outside. And the water was COLD. I couldn't believe it.
The next morning we woke up and I took this cute picture. It took about 20 takes to get this one.
We had reservations to have a tour of the Hearst Castle. The kids were great and it was really worth seeing. We drove to the visitors center and watched a short film about the castle history, then we took a bus ride up the mountain to the castle.
The view of the ocean from the castle was spectacular.
Luke and Ella were exhausted from all the touring and fell asleep on the bus ride back down the mountain. So adorable!!! Luke is always taking care of his little sister.
We got back to our vehicles and went to the beach one more time to check out all the seals living there. I can't believe how many congregate together.
It's always windy at the beach!!!
Then we drove back to Uncle Rhett's house. When we visit Hanford we love to go to Superior Dairy in the heart of the town. They make yummy ice cream and every time I'm in the park across the street from the dairy I ALWAYS think of Back to the Future. It looks just like the town in that movie!
Mia ordered two scoops. It was like a half gallon of ice cream!
The following morning we decided to go the other direction, up to Sequoia National Forest to see some of the world's largest trees.
You really need to see them in person to appreciate the size of them. And what I found interesting was the way they feel. They're almost like an animal. They have a furry trunk and the bark is spongy. So strange!
General Sherman is the largest tree (by volume) in the world.
And it was really cool for the kids to play in the snow.
Tree Tunnel
We headed back to Rhett's house after this long day of exploring. The next morning we had a mini Easter egg hunt before the kids and I headed home. We loved spending time with Uncle Rhett and Aunt Marie and Austin and Olivia. I'm hoping we can go back next year and explore other great places with them.
