We tried something new today. We took the boys (and Bailey) to a baseball game.

It was a lot louder than I remember, but Brendan seemed to be handling it. He was nervous.

We did have “nosebleed” seats

Then they started to sing the anthem. After this picture, Brendan totally lost it. He was terrified and Bill had to take him out. Brendan is really sensitive about singing and this singing was so so loud and off key. It was just too much.

If I had remembered to bring the little foam earplugs, Trevor would have probably liked it a little more. As it was, it was too loud for him too.

We left our seats and visited the playground. Trevor wanted to stay all day, there were lots of kids.

Brendan was pretty clear about what he wanted

He had to sit with Bailey for a while so that we could get Trevor out

He felt better quickly once we were away from the noise

Thanks, Bailey, for being our family photographer!

It is funny the places that you run in to people that you know. By some weird chance, we saw some old friends and faithful blog readers while leaving the park. It was good to see you Dave and Martie!

It was just too much 🙂 😀

Bailey took us out to lunch and we spent the rest of the afternoon at a quiet playground. The weather was completely unseasonal, the high was only 78 degrees and windy. We wish that it would stay like that a while, but we are expecting triple digit temps by Thursday.

Home!

We took two days to make the trip home, hoping to relax and explore and not spend so many hours in the car. It didn’t quite work out like I had imagined, but it was an interesting adventure.

First we found this tourist trap called “Murray Family Farms”. Our timing seemed pretty good, we drove up as 10 school bus loads of children were leaving. We had a bite to eat and then paid to enter “the farm”.

With all the crowds in a mass exit, we got the big air pillow bounce thing all to ourselves. Too bad Brendan was scared. Trevor loved it. (so did I!)

They had a big ugly ant, a very poor petting zoo, a broken down play area, and lots of birds in cages.

Brendan liked this weird chicken.

He reminded me of a muppet

We bought a basket to “pick your own” strawberries. I wanted the experience more than we needed more berries, but sadly the plants were all but picked clean. It was a lot of work to find any ripe berries.

It was a gorgeous day, but getting hotter

The vast seas of windmills on I-10 are a sight to see. Brendan was amazed, he says, “Mommy! Look all the treadmills!!”

We aimed to stay at the Salton Sea for the night, and we found an RV park on “the shore”. Salton Sea is stinky and yucky.

This section was like a quicksand of crushed coral with a big stench. It is a very interesting area, now we can say we’ve checked it off our list.

I wanted to visit the “Mud pots” but we determined that it was not safe enough for the boys. We also were looking forward to the International Banana Museum. The boys couldn’t stop talking about it. Alas, the sole employee was on his way to see the birth of a new grandchild and the place was closed for the week. Good thing we called ahead!

From the sea, we found a cool road “shortcut” back to the I-10. The landscape was pretty awesome. Driving right along the San Andreas fault meant that there were some seriously crooked mountains.

Shortly after getting back on the highway, we stopped at the General Patton Memorial Museum.

Trevor ran right out of his shoe, Brendan was putting it back on for him

As we made the final leg home, Trevor said we needed to go to 2, 5, 7, 10 more museums first. They are still talking about the banana museum.

Upon arrival, we discovered that it had rained while we were gone. The boys were all about the puddles.

All they wanted to do tonight was go back in to the camper! We hope they both get a good solid night of sleep!

Some important things to note:

We left the ventilator at home!!
Brendan only needed oxygen the days that we were at 6000+ feet of elevation. He rocked it the rest of the trip!
No car sickness except for the wiggly road. 16 miles of narrow roads, 130 curves and 12 switchbacks with steep drops. Can’t blame him!
Last but not least, we need to give a shout out to our friends that watched the house and took good care of Eins while we were gone. Thanks much Steve and Johnathon!

Today we covered a little more area in Sequoia and made the 25 mile extra drive to tour Kings Canyon.

I thought we would have more time to do the “Big Trees Trail” again today, but the weather didn’t agree with me. So here is a picture I left out yesterday thinking I would get better ones today.

The tree in the background between Trevor and Bill is the General Sherman Tree. It is the largest living tree on the planet, measured in total wood volume of the trunk. (The tree is neither the tallest, widest nor oldest)

On this vacation, the boys have taught me that throwing rocks in to a body of water is the epitome of relaxation and fun.

There is a beautiful waterfall behind all these giant rocks, but you have to boulder hop to get there – not for toddlers!

Moro rock decided that it would hide today

It got foggier as the day went on, and the temperature dropped to the low 40’s!

We visited the General Grant tree, originally thought to be the largest until the trees were accurately measured. 🙂

Another kind of tunnel log – you could walk through the length of the fallen hollow tree. It was very crowded though.

We warmed up in the restaurant and hit the road. Down at “base camp” by the river, it was 70 degrees. We threw more rocks in the water and got some tired boys to bed!