Landscapes and Macros

These are just a few of my favorite shots from our trip. You can see more in the posts below.

Me Too!

Great trip! Good to be home, though.  I don't think God could have designed a better "Welcome Home" mat than the views on East I-70 in Colorado.

Crater Lake

What better way to finish our time with Bergerons than a trip to Crater Lake together.  If you haven't been, you must.  The water is clear down to 200ft, giving it that brilliant sapphire color. Stunning!

The Smell of Independence - Happy Fourth of July!

We had so much fun this Fourth.  Some of Brian's squadron families had us all over to their 80 acre abode for dinner, target shooting and a bonfire that turned into a marshmallow nuking contest (don't they always?).  PJ's been itching to get the girls and I out to the range.  I have to admit it was fun, but a little humbling to be schooled by the little girls in their pretty spring dresses and hairbows! PJ started us out little, but by the end of the night I had made it to the shotgun.

Oregon!

You know your friends are like family when they will open the door to their beautiful, clean home to  your stinky, tired camping bodies after just getting home from an exhausting week long trip themselves ONE HOUR PRIOR!! AND do it with the traditional uprorious, gleeful manner of bear hugs.  This is the beauty of the Bergeron family! We love our Bergerons!  We had another blessed week full of perfectly home-brewed beer, heavenly smoked whatever we thought to put on the smoker (pizza, spareribs, brisket), and more great memories to stash in our Mendicki/Bergeron file.

Crescent City

We stopped by Crescent City for lunch before we crossed the California/Oregon border.  There's a neat little lighthouse there PJ and I visited on our honeymoon and wanted to show the girls.  The ramp up to it is actually submerged when the tide comes in, so there are several tidepools to explore.  Another fun stop for families.  Unfortunately, the lighthouse itself was closed to visitors that day, but the scenery was beautiful nonetheless.

Hobbits Among the Ents

Our second and last day of camping was in the Humbolt Redwoods, another state park we can recommend.  We chose the Albee Creek Campground, a five mile detour off the Avenue of the Giants.  The road was tight, curvy and rough in most spots, but our reward was sleeping under a grove of old and second growth sequoia.  Again, the restrooms and showers were very nice!

Sunset State Beach

After our time with Gillhams, it was time to book it up north to get to Klamath Falls, Oregon.  Our first stop was Sunset State Beach, a quiet, serene beach south of the more popular New Brighton.  The campground sat nestled up to acres of strawberry fields on the cliffs overlooking the beach, with very easy access to the water, wonderfully clean restrooms and showers ( I know - a state campground!). I can heartily recommend this campground.  It is obviously named Sunset State Beach because of its   premier views of the sunset (duh).   This is especially true if you get in the South Campground.  Our site backed up to a hill with an even more spectacular view.  And just as dusk falls, the bats come out for their hunt.  It's pretty cool.

Good Friends

Good friends are hard to come by, but somehow God gave us the mother load!  PJ gets to see Gillhams whenever he's out in CA.  If he's really lucky, he might get to help out on the latest remodeling project. I don't mean that sarcastically either. He LOVES to break out the tools and work with a good friend. They had never met any of our girls, however.  So when they invited all of us to stay with them, we couldn't resist.  The minute we pulled in the driveway, our kids were off and running without even being introduced, and we didn't see them until the dinner bell rang.  We had a blessed week together playing, eating, worshiping, and laughing into the night.  Thanks, Gillhams!  Love you, and are SO thankful to count you as friends!

Avila Beach

There's just too much fun to be had at a giant sandbox.

Pismo Beach

When I was little, my family would take our dune buggy and head up to Pismo.  It's changed a lot since then, but still a perfect place to do those things every kid should have a chance to do:  play in the sand, find the perfect whole sand dollar, chase the birds, pick that ever sticky sand wedgie, and grab a bowl of some AMAZING clam chowder at Splash Cafe.