I'd rather be road tripping

I think that the Finns have the right idea - a summer holiday.  A true holiday that lasts a month long, meaning a month's vacation from work, a month spent with your immediate family.

I had never vacationed in that sense before.  We usually squeeze a long weekend trip in here and there, but have never gone anywhere for more than a week.

Enter our 2013 two week long summer road trip
(I think we need another trip this fall to make up the other 2 weeks).

We didn't see a soul that we already knew on our vacation.  While I love visiting out-of-state family and friends on vacation, I also love the quality family time and sense of adventure you get when you go someplace new.

Sibling Love

Okay, I take that back about not seeing a soul we knew.  We met my sister and her boys for the first three days of our trip.  But, we were exploring and adventuring together, so it still counts as a true vacation.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Now that I am home, I just can't get my brain to realize that our vacation is over.  My mind is back in the Giant Forest and sitting in the quiet, absolute darkness of Boyden Cavern. I don't really want to stand in front of the kitchen sink, or fold laundry in my living room.

I want to be back here, feeling the spray of tall water falls, and watching the sun set over the lake:

Yosemite National Park and nearby Bass Lake

It was a marvelous 2 weeks, which made for a difficult transition back into the everyday home routine, but we managed; our brains are now back in summer home life.  I think.
I guess I better go figure out what's for dinner.
At least I have a refrigerator; although I'm not sure that I'd take that over being here:

San Francisco and Monterey

If you're ever in San Francisco, check out the Golden Gate Park and Muir Woods.  They're amazing!  And the Monterey Bay Aquarium is the coolest place to bring your family!  We saw a hammerhead and a great white shark!  

Okay, what was I doing again?  Planning our next trip? Oh, that's right, I was figuring out what to make for dinner.