Month: July 2012

Day 19: Lassen Volcanic National Park to Seattle, WA | Total Drive Time: 13 hours | Total Distance: 700 miles

I’ll be the first to admit that it was an insane drive home. But after being on the road for 19 days and over 3,000 miles there is an urge to return back home when you’re already heading that way. It was a long drive, but we pulled into our drive way around 9pm and to the first trickle of rain we had experienced since leaving.

The 19 days on the road were awesome! We explored wonderful parts of California. Enjoyed countless hours with my mom, brother Mark and brother Mike and his family, as well as many friends along the way. We showed our children some of our life before they were part of it. There were many memories made that will be talked about for years.

Days 17, 18: Lassen Volcanic National Park | Total Drive Time: 7 hours | Total Distance: 375 miles

We’re back ‘home’! We called this wonderful area home from 2002 to 2004 when we lived at the park headquarters in Mineral. I worked for the Park as a wildland firefighter and Laura taught at the local elementary schools. Since 2004 we visited once in late 2005 and hadn’t been back since.

We were excited to bring our kids to this wonderful National Park. It’s a hidden gem in the National Park System, and we like it that way. Less crowds means more opportunity to explore the park in solitude.

Days 14, 15, 16: San Jose to South Lake Tahoe | Total Drive Time: 4 hours | Total Distance: 190 miles

The last time the Holt brothers camped together was May 2006. There were no kids at the time and we spent Memorial Day weekend at Yosemite National Park. This trip had the addition of four children, which always kept us on our toes.

Our short three days at South Lake Tahoe’s Camp Richardson were filled with family time, s’mores, bike riding, beach time, fishing, watching bats in the evening, riding the trolley, and lots of imaginary play around the campground.

Days 12, 13: San Jose, CA | Total Drive Time: 0 hours | Total Distance: 0 miles

Our couple days in San Jose were spent celebrating birthdays and relaxing.

Ethan celebrated his 5th Birthday and Laura her 33rd Birthday with my family. We BBQ’d, swam, ate cake and finished off with the pinata. To Ethan’s surprise he received his first bicycle and loved it! All the kids rode their bikes before the evening was over.

Days 9, 10: Catalina Island | Total Drive Time: 0 hours | Total Distance: 0 miles

Our visit to Catalina Island was relaxing and low key (except the part where we thought my Grandma gave the condo to someone else for the week and we were suppose to leave a day early…but it was a mistake, so we unpacked our bags again). After visiting for a few decades we don’t have a lot of new activities that we plan. We have a routine that we enjoy.

This visit was about showing Autumn and Ethan the simple fun activities to do in Avalon. We spent a lot of time at the beach where they built sand castles and played in the water. We spent Thursday morning walking to the Casino. It’s a great location to view scuba divers, see the Avalon skyline, and take in ocean views. I thoroughly enjoy it out there. On Friday we took the kids for a drive in the golf cart. We headed to Wrigley’s Mansion where there are more wonderful views of Avalon and the surrounding area. A visit in never complete with a stop at the arcade (skeeball anyone?) and a soft serve ice cream cone.