Smooth Sailing

Time for some smooth sailing down the Sacramento river.  Mom and Dad came with us and it was fun!

 

 

 

 

 

Where the two rivers meet…One of four places in the world where the line is so visible and never changes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer of Fun

So the kids and I were sitting around one day, with just a month until my new job which would prevent me from doing fun things during the week, and we decided to make a trip to Great America, otherwise and always known to me as “Marriott’s” Great America.  The kids had never been there, and I used to go there many many times during summers when I was a teenager.  It was time to pass the experience onto my kids, plus we had two free tickets getting ready to expire.  Wasn’t going to let those go to waste!

Now, amusement parks seem to be bigger and funner and more exciting I think when you are a teenager, and when you haven’t gone there several times a week (Six Flags for us).

Let’s just say that we were all impressed!  Now that Cedar Fair bought Great America, it’s been upgraded and it’s going strong!  Marriott’s Great America was GREAT.. and the Marriott corporation did a great job with their first amusement park when it opened for the bicentennial in 1976.  After a while, they sold it and the city tried running it, unsuccessfully, then another buyer came along and tried to run it, unsuccessfully, then Paramount came along and tried to run it…unsuccessfully – rides always breaking down, dirty park, etc…then finally a few years ago Cedar Fair who also owns Cedar Point and now Knott’s Berry Farm came along and turned it around…finally!

It brought back GREAT memories, and some of the rides are still there that I went on as a teenager.  We had a great time!  And would definitely like to go back!  Those of you who back back in the day, do you remember the little shop by the Whizzer (now gone) where you could get a cold mug of A&W Rootbeer for 5 cents?  That was awesome!  (Trivia:  Alice and Willard Marriott invented A&W Rootbeer)

 

The icon of Great America is the two story merry-go-round right when you enter, along with the reflection pond.

 

 

 

 

This little ditty didn’t look like much and we only went on it because it was a short line, but wow, it surprised us!  It was very FUN  spinning around as it glides back and forth on a small track, and you sit facing out.

 

 

 

 

 

These old time cars are still there!  I think I rode in number 37 when I was little! 

 

 

 

 

 

Several owners ago, they took out the Sky Whirl and put in this instead:  A small grassy area that nobody uses because there is no shade.

NOW:

 

And what it used to look like:

 

 

 

And here is a great shot of Willard’s Whizzer (one of the simplest but best coasters – long gone now) with the Sky Whirl in the background:

 

RIP Williard’s Whizzer:

 

 

Orlean’s Orbit – yep…rode that one over and over and over and over when I was a teenager.  Another deceptively looking ride. You think would be boring, as it spins around, but then it goes vertical.  No seat belts, no harnesses, no restraints…just good ole centrifugal force that keeps you in your seats.

 

 

 

 

Fiddler’s Fling (now renamed) that we went on over and over and over as kids, while my parents watched.  Yep, I sat out too, as I watched Jacob and Hannah go on it.

 

 

 

 

 

The newest ride which was completed this year is GoldStriker, the tallest and fastest wooden coaster around.  Wow, does it run SMOOTH and FFFAASSSTTTT!  We couldn’t even catch our breath the entire run!  Clocking in at 55 mph, that’s pretty fast for a wooden coaster.  Lines were short and we went on it several times. It was definitely our favorite!

 

We had a GREAT time at "(Marriott’s) Great America and it was fun introducing my kids to one of my favorite amusement parks when I was a teenager.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yosemite–Finally!

 

We’ve only lived in California now for almost 10 years, and you know when you live near something, you typically never go, because it’s there..close..and you’ll go someday. You have a lot of time to go.

Yeah, that’s like Yosemite.  People come from all across the world, and plan their trips for at least a YEAR in advance – snapping up campsites in minutes for next year.. and it’s only 3 1/2-4 hours away from us and we’ve never been.

Well, we put it down on our “To-Do” list for this summer.  After seeing that there were no campsites left for the entire summer, we had decided that WHEN we go, whenever that would be, that we would be camping in the walk-in area.  They reserve about 50% of a certain campsite, kind of far away from the actual valley, that are first come first serve tent only sites.  They open at 10am and the line has already formed by 8am, meaning if you don’t get there by 8, you most likely won’t get a site.  That didn’t sound very fun to risk it, even though it’s only $5 a night.

One Thursday morning, we decided to check the website again to see if anything had opened up to reserve, since people change and cancel their reservations often.  What was this?  In the entire Yosemite Valley, ONE tent or RV site was available.  And it was in a close campground!  And it was bordered by open space – nobody behind it (except bears).

Here is how the conversation went between Shelley and I:

HURRY! Click RESERVE!  And it’s only $14!  Hurry!  What? The computer is frozen?  Quick!  Look it up on your phone!  Get the iPad turned on!  You have to go to work?  BE LATE! Just get a device open!  I AM rebooting the computer right now!  I know!  I don’t remember the website!  Oh, my phone is slow!  What? The iPad can’t get on the internet?? Oh yeah, that’s because I blocked it so the kids wouldn’t be on it.  Oh, shoot.. I can’t unblock it until the computer reboots!  Oh, I bet the campsite is already taken.

 

…………. 5 minutes later the computer is back up.

 

HURRY! Click RESERVE!  It’s still there! 

 

<<<<<<  CLICK >>>>>>>>>        “Thank you for your reservation….”

 

We got it!  Hmmm.. I guess we’re going to Yosemite tomorrow.

 

So in a rush, we had to find where the tent was, and plan our trip. 

 

It was awesome.

 

Why did we wait so long to go? 

 

We borrowed a bike rack to try out and took our bikes, saving a ton of money from having to rent bikes there. 

 

It’s a beautiful place and the pics don’t really do it justice.  It’s so very strange how this HUGE valley of granite is just sitting there in the middle of nothing all around it.  It was all created by glaciers and the actual camping areas are in the middle of the valley.  We didn’t really get a good idea of the overall place until we saw a model of the whole area. Then it made more sense.

 

We biked, hiked, star gazed, and had a great time.  We heard more non-English conversations than we did English.  TONS of visitors from Europe.  I guess they don’t have forests over there or something.

 

Jacob and Hannah said they wanted to go again, under one condition. That we did it as a whole family – with Meghan and Marissa.  We really missed having them with us!!!  Next time we would stay longer and go earlier in the year.  All the waterfalls were either dry or just a trickle.

 

Moral of the story..  if you live close to something, and you say you will go there someday, do it sooner than later!

 

 

Vernal Falls almost dry

 

View

 

View from top of Glacier Point