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California 2019

September - October 2019
September 2019 Read more
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  • TravelerCalifornia 2019

    We fly tomorrow!

    September 3, 2019 in Germany ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Tonight is our last night in Bremen. Tomorrow morning we fly to California (Bremen - Paris - San Francisco).

    Chris and I are busy packing all the things we need, especially for Theo, because his needs are less flexible than ours. If we forget anything, Walmart is our solution.

    We’re really unsure about how the flight will go (over 10 hours of travel time!), but I have my fingers crossed that it’ll be easier than expected. Probably not, though.

    Today Theo was really grumpy. Nein, nein, nein to everything. We had his friend, Anno, over for a play date, and that entertained him a little bit. Let’s hope our tiny dictator is in a better mood tomorrow morning. Chris and I both hope that the airplane makes him happy.

    I’ll be updating this blog as often as I can to keep friends & family in touch with what we’re doing. So far, this is our plan:

    San Francisco
    Sacramento
    Lake Tahoe
    Yosemite
    Santa Cruz
    Monterey
    LA (meeting the Celle people here)
    San Diego (Chris’ 30th bday!)

    After San Diego, Chris, Theo and I will travel further down south, but our plans aren’t concrete yet. We’re hoping to see Joshua Tree, Zion National Park, Utah and Arizona, but we’ll see what time permits.

    *our friends Lisa and Judith (also from Bremen) will be traveling with us for just over 2 weeks. They’re on the way to San Francisco as I type this, and we’ll see them when we arrive 💕    Read more

  • TravelerCalifornia 2019
    Day 2

    San Francisco Day 1

    September 5, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Today is Judith’s birthday and we decided to go to the Haight-Ashbury area to have a look. The weather today was great - sunny, but not too hot and the breeze was refreshing.

    We ate lunch at a place called Bacon Bacon. After lunch, Chris, Theo and I split up from Judith & Lisa so that they could go shopping without the added stress of a grumpy Theo.

    Theo didn’t sleep so much on the plane ride, so his Jetlag isn’t great. He’s both very sleepy and very easily irritated. He also peed through his diaper so Chris and I had to walk 40mins to a Target to buy a change of pants for him. We actually enjoyed the walk because the weather was so nice and we got to walk around and see the area a bit more. We didn’t do any shopping, except for stopping by a market and buying fruit. 2 mangoes for $5!

    We met Judith and Lisa again outside of the Golden Gate Park but we we’re too tired to actually walk around the park. Instead, we headed back to the Airbnb and went to the supermarket to get food for the next couple of days. Oakland is known for house and car theft, but I didn’t really realize how much that might be true until we finished shopping at the supermarket and the car next to us had been broken into. We were very lucky that our car stayed safe!    Read more

  • TravelerCalifornia 2019
    Day 3

    San Francisco Day 2

    September 6, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Yesterday was our last full day in San Francisco. Judith, Lisa and I went to the Mission District while Chris and Theo went on a “secret mission” without me.

    We saw some pretty cool, colorful murals in the Mission District. The California sunshine really helps bring out the colors in the city in a way that wouldn’t work in Germany, I think.

    When we met up with Chris again, we all went to Chinatown to eat some ramen. We went to a small place and were the first customers there. The service was really good and the food was tasty, although too much for us to finish.

    At the end of the day, we decided to drive through he Golden Gate Bridge and to several vista points to get a good view. By the time we got to the vista points, it was SO cold. Really great view, but a bit too windy for Judith and I. Chris and Lisa were happy to leave us in the car and run to the top of the “hill” in order to get the best view.

    Today we head to Sacramento, with a stop at Point Reyes first. Theo didn’t sleep well last night, so chris and I are really tired 😴    Read more

  • TravelerCalifornia 2019
    Day 4

    Leaving San Francisco

    September 7, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We left San Francisco by way of Point Reyes. The road was winding and I felt car sick, but the ocean view at the end was beautiful. Chris and I unfortunately did not get to see the highest point (Lisa and Judith did, however), because Theo didnt want to stay in the hiking backpack for too long.

    We left Point Reyes later than expected, so ended up having ‘In n Out’ burger for our late lunch/early dinner. Theo ate a whole mini cheeseburger on his own! He’s been eating quite a lot this trip and I have the feeling he’s grown a lot. Many service people we’ve met so far are so shocked at how tall he is for his age.

    We arrived in Sacramento at 8:30pm. We only stayed one night, but the Airbnb was really comfortable and clean and the hosts were very friendly :)

    We’ve now arrived at our cabin in South Lake Tahoe and the drive here was already so beautiful. At one stage we reached 7000ft above sea level. It’s quite cold here (18 degrees celsius), but we’re all really excited to go hiking and be in nature soon.    Read more

  • TravelerCalifornia 2019
    Day 6

    Lake Tahoe

    September 9, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Theo woke up at 6:30am - I guess he wakes up with the sun. The morning was hectic, trying to figure out what hikes would be possible with Theo and generally what to do with our day. We got into our cars at around 10:30am, and Theo fell asleep within 15mins.

    We drove up towards Emerald Bay, and there we found a tiny creek where Theo could put his feet in. It made me so happy to see him enjoy himself. It was also very sunny there, so we were able to tan a little bit.

    Lisa and Judith then left us to go on a separate hike that would’ve been too difficult for Theo. Instead, Chris, Theo and i did another tiny walk down towards a viewing point for Emerald Bay and then went to have lunch. We ate Mexican food and it was reaaaally tasty. Theo like the burrito salad more than the tacos.

    After we had lunch, we went to a quiet beach called Pope Beach. It cost $10 entry fee, and we were only there for 1 hour, but I reaaaally wanted to go for a swim. The water was surprisingly much, much warmer than we had expected. It was cold, but still manageable. Theo really loved playing with the sand and water too, and it really filled my heart with joy to see him by the water. It was too cold for him though, and now we’re a bit worried that he might get sick. Somehow, we’ll manage.

    Before heading home, we all tried to go crawdad fishing (a type of local crayfish) but we’re very, ver unsuccessful. We were looking forward to having home cooked seafood, but instead we’re eating eggs with toast.. which is not so bad 🤷🏽‍♀️

    Chris and I get the feeling that Theo’s mood is affected a lot by the change in routine. He’s often having to sit in the car or wait inside a store and it seems that the lack of physical activity is really making him grumpy and impatient. We plan on trying to cater to his physical needs more so that he feels more normal again.

    Tomorrow we drive to Yosemite national park, and it’s a 5 hour drive. We likely won’t have any reception there, so I’ll update the blog once we’re in Santa Cruz.    Read more

  • TravelerCalifornia 2019
    1
    Day 7

    Arriving in Yosemite

    September 10, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    We left our Lake Tahoe cabin 10:30am and went to a playground for Theo so that he could move his body a bit before another long drive. The playground was really cool and relaxing for everyone and afterwards, Theo fell asleep in the car for almost 2 hours, which was really good.

    We had a stop in a small town called Jackson to buy some supplies for our camping trip in Yosemite. Lisa and I went to Walmart and Chris and Theo went to another playground. It took so long to do everything, that we didn’t leave Jackson until 6pm and arrived in Yosemite after the sun went down. It was a bit chaotic trying to set up our tents and entertain a very tired Theo, but we managed in the end. He fell asleep really quickly, which was a relief for Chris and I because we were both very tired.

    Unfortunately the weather was so much colder than we had expected - about 1-2 degrees at night. Judith was feeling sick and tried to book a cabin, but was unsuccessful and had to sleep in the car instead. The rest of us tried sleeping in our tents and although it was cold, I think it went really well. Theo woke up around 6am, which wasn’t so bad considering how cold it was.    Read more

  • TravelerCalifornia 2019
    1
    Day 8

    A day in Yosemite

    September 11, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Our first night in Yosemite was freezing, we all wore several layers in anticipation for 1-2 degree temperatures. In the end, we survived and were rewarded with beautiful Yosemite campground sunshine weaving through the tall pine trees that surrounded us.

    Chris started the morning fire with Theo and boiled eggs for everyone. We ate a big breakfast so that we’d have energy enough to explore Yosemite. Chris and I would leave with Theo to visit Tunnel view and Mirror Lake while Lisa would do the big El Capitan hike.

    I fell asleep on the drive down to Yosemite valley and was awoken by Chris pointing out the view of El Capitan and half dome. Both are so impressive to look at, photos really don’t do them justice!

    We decided to let Theo do the Mirror Lake hike with us without his buggy, hoping that the physical activity would help tire him out.. which it did. Mirror Lake Loop Trail is the easiest hike that Yosemite offers - it’s family friendly and wheelchair friendly and is a round hike of approximately 3.7km. Chris and I were so proud of Theo for finishing the hike! We made a LOT of breaks in between so it probably took us about 2-3 hours to complete.

    We got back to camp 5mins after Lisa and immediately started making food because we were all so hungry. We ate a lot of food and Theo fell asleep really easily again. Such a successful, fun day and the evening temperatures were warmer than the night before too 👍🏽    Read more

  • TravelerCalifornia 2019
    1
    Day 9

    Santa Cruz

    September 12, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We arrived here yesterday afternoon and it was unbelievably hot - a full 10 degrees difference between here and Yosemite. Because of the heat, we headed straight to the beach and threw ourselves into the ocean. The cold water was incredibly satisfying and Theo was both excited and terrified at the strength and roar of the ocean waves. We stayed long enough to watch the sunset and also watched the moon rise above the lighthouse further left of us.

    Once Theo was in bed, we ate seafood for dinner and went to bed, freshly showered and rejuvenated.    Read more

  • TravelerCalifornia 2019
    Day 11

    Gilroy for the night

    September 14, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We’re awake and refreshed from our night stay in Gilroy! We couldn’t find further (affordable) accommodation last minute in Santa Cruz so we decided to stay one night in a hotel in Gilroy because camping wasn’t an option for Theo (who is just now recovering from a small fever).

    Fun fact: Gilroy is also known as Garlic city because they have garlic plantations/farms in the area so everrrrything smells so strongly of fresh garlic bread

    Today we drive to Carmel by the Sea and tomorrow we go to Monterey. We’re staying in an Airbnb in Salinas which is a 20min drive from those two places and much cheaper than staying in Monterey.

    I really enjoyed Santa Cruz. Being by the ocean is so relaxing and really helped lift my mood. Theo loves it too! Yesterday we drove to some forest with redwood trees but unfortunately didn’t get to explore because Theo had his fever and was not in a good mood. We gave him some medicine and decided to drive to capitola village instead. He seemed to be happy in Capitola village which was right by the ocean and full of bright colors and lively music. There was a wine festival on that we were unaware of so it was quite crowded, but not an issue for us.

    We looked at a lot of stalls of local art and a lot of it was VERY cool that it’s such a pity we can’t bring it all back to Germany.    Read more

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