Here is Veena on the way to the hotel breakfast... her breakfast along with our lunches and treats for the day were always packed in that black bag in the front the night before. We borrowed this BOB stroller from our friend (Thanks Monica!). We loved the ease of pushing it and we definitely needed it on the terrain we were walking on, but the storage underneath was smaller than most of our other strollers. So our "Food Bag" was usually stored in the front of the stroller.
The kids did great in the car! Usually when we hit the road Veena took her first nap of the day and the bigger girls read books. A few times Sariah fell asleep with Veena. If they started talking too much, we just threw snacks at them. Worked like a charm.
The great thing about getting up early is that we were never in a rush. So, when we saw something cool on the road we stopped.
John Muir...
Bear Carving...
On our way up to Sequoia National Park, we saw signs for "Dolls Nest." It seemed to be a business, so we decided to check it out. It turned out to be someone's house, so we rang the doorbell. Two old ladies came to the door in their pajamas and let us in. They had a business in their home and they had what seemed like thousands of little "Nesting Dolls." I didn't take any pictures because I figured we had intruded enough (the business didn't open till a few hours later), but this is what they look like...
We also didn't buy any because they were way too expensive, but it was pretty cool to see all the different kinds that they had. They said that they imported most from Russia.
After a few minutes we let the old ladies get back to getting ready for the day and we continued our trek to Sequoia National Park.
The drive didn't feel bad at all from Visalia and we made really good time. What also made everything easier was that I did tons and tons of research prior to our trip. I had everything laid out including best places to park, the best order to see things and unique stops that maybe the common traveler wouldn't know about.
We stopped for an obligatory photo at the entrance to the park...
The next stop was just a few feet away, Tunnel Rock. Most people wouldn't know this but Tunnel Rock was the original entrance to Sequoia National park. You can even see marks from cars on the ceiling of the rock from cars that were too big to easily fit through.
One of the things that I had read about was that you should use Bear Boxes for any food item you may have in your car as well as toiletries. Apparently bears will break into your car even in the daytime. I made sure that the duffel bag that our food was in would fit in a bear box. But when we got there, there were no bear boxes in sight! So, we left everything in the car and hoped for the best. Luckily, no bears broke in. Im sure if my buddies from trip advisor see this, they will be nodding their heads in dismay.
This was the tree by where we parked....
It was Veena's 9month birthday so I asked Daniel to sit her by the tree. She didn't seemed to like it much.
More parking lot photos...
On the agenda first was a trek up Moro Rock. We got to ride the bus there, and the girls absolutely loved the bus ride. It was probably one of the highlights of their day.
Mistake number 1 of the trip. Attempting to climb Moro rock with three kids.
Moro Rock is a granite rock dome formation. There are 400 steps that lead to the top where you are promised stunning views of the park.
This is what the top apparently looks like...
This is what the stairs look like...
Now before you judge, people online were saying that it was possible with kids. The plan was to carry Veena in the carrier, and each of us hold onto a kid's hand. Sounds like an okay plan right? Well Veena screamed bloody murder from the moment with put her in the Ergo. Tried front carry and back carry. It didn't matter. Seriously, it sounded as if we were torturing her. I figured, once I get moving it will be A-ok. Once I get moving, she will do great I said. Nope. She screamed the entire way (well, as far as we got) and the entire way back. Actually she screamed until the moment that I got her out of that thing. I estimate that we made it about half way up. Maybe we would have been able to power through it if noone else was on the mountain. But see those stairs in the pic? Well on those stairs is where we intersect with people trying to go past us, people trying to get down AND people stalled because they are afraid of heights and aren't sure they themselves will make it up. Trying intersecting with all those people with a screaming baby in the carrier. Bad, bad idea. I admit when I am wrong. Trust me though, one day we will be back. And we will make all three kids go up that mountain. And somehow we will make sure to embarrass the crap out of them. Payback.
Everyone was much happier once we were back down.
Little Stinker.
Next stop was the Crescent Meadow walk to see more scenery and Tharp's Log.
The girls were absolutely troopers with the walking. This ended up being a pretty long walk, and they managed to only complain a little bit at the end. It was so nice being out in nature!
On our walk we came across a bench that many people had etched their name in. So, we of course had to do the same. While Daniel was doing this, Sariah unexpectedly hit him over the head with the stick that she was holding. I inappropriately laughed my ass off upon seeing this. Three months later, I am still laughing my ass off as I write this. Daniel, on the other hand, wasn't so happy.
In case you were wondering where he got the knife from, Daniel was carrying one in case we came across any wild life that tried to attack us. Luckily he only had to use his knife to etch our family name into this bench.
We found it! Tharp's log! Its a cabin used as shelter for early pioneers. Very cool!
Next we got to walk through an actual tree, the Fallen Goliath.
General Sherman is the biggest tree on the planet! Pretty cool. The only thing I didn't like about this part was the crowds. Being deep into the forest was more my type of thing, away from everyone else, admiring the beauty of these gorgeous trees. We didn't stay in this area too much longer, and instead ventured out a bit for another walk.
The weather was perfect the entire time; it was the weather I wish we could have all the time. Warm enough that we didn't need to bundle up at all!
There is something about wide open nature and kids that makes everyone feel free...
Dadda found termites!!
So cool to actually be able to drive through a tree!
Driving through the tree was our last stop before hitting the road to get back to the hotel.
The drive to Fresno seemed long this time. I think having to go out through Kings Canyon on windy roads made the trip seem long. We checked in to the La Quinta Inn & Suites Fresno Northwest. This was the only hotel we stayed at for 2 nights the entire trip. We got there and it seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere, but the hotel itself seemed nice. Since we got there around 5pm or so we decided to go to dinner first since we only had snacks for lunch. We went to Marie Callenders where kids ate free! We also found a Costco Gas station along the way, where gas was cheap for the time, under $3.50! Score!!! We got back to the pool pretty early, so we tried Round 3 of trying to get Veena in the pool for the first time.
She made it! Veena's first time in a swimming pool. We think she liked it.
And what kind of night would it be without a little iPad before bed? Saying yes to pretty much everything on vacation was pretty fun for us and them.
Day 3, thats a wrap!
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