Ramona, CA was on the agenda for Christmas this year, or so we thought...
A little tradition the Ashtons (my family) have every Christmas is that if you hear an extremely loud bell ringing a week or so before Christmas you know fun is about to be had. At the sound of the bell, everyone in the house goes coo coo for coco puffs and runs themselves as fast as they can to the Christmas tree and gets to choose one present to open early. We always try and hint to my dad by strategically placing the bell in places my dad will clearly see it. Well, we flew our 2 girls and ourselves out to sunny San Diego and a few days before Christmas found ourselves among the triumphant bell ringing. Sadie was a little scared because that thing is loud. Anyway, we all opened a present and then my parents said that they had a little surprise for us. My mom pulled out a large black bag and handed each of us a backpack and told us to pack light and be ready by 9AM the next morning. We were also given umbrellas and ponchos and told to bring warm clothing. A surprise trip was on the agenda. I should have known!! The last 2 Christmases were surprise Christmas Vacations. Ever since the house burned down they decided to make Christmas memories by going on trips. I didn't think it was going to be every year so I really had NO idea. So this is how our surprise went:
When we loaded up into the car to leave, I honestly thought we were flying somewhere because of the tips they gave us of only having a carry-on (methought it was so we didn't have to pay for checked bags).
Well, we didn't find ourselves at the airport but the train station instead. Speculations started flying of the whereabouts of the surprise. And we took off, riding the rails toward the great unknown.
Up the coast of California we went. There were parts of the trip where the train goes along the ocean and it truly was so beautiful. Trains are the way to go, I tell you. California is so beautiful and you don't get to see the whole coast driving on the freeway or flying in the sky. Also, if you have kids it's great because you have lots of room to walk around and keep them occupied (and lots of aunts and grandparents to help). It was such a fun way to travel. We played games, talked, laughed, relaxed, slept, watched movies and had a ton of fun.
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| (relaxing on the train- kids playing with aunties and grandma) |
Well, after 6 hours on the railroad, our first stop was...
San Luis Obispo
I have lived in CA most of my life and had never been past Ojai (which is by Ventura). We had always heard a ton about San Luis Obispo from my dad because that is where he went to college and spent a lot of his younger years. We spent the night there and then the next day rented a huge 15 passenger van. We started driving a bit and stopped to enjoy beautiful Morro Bay...
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(everyone but Jay who is on a church mission)
A few other stops and we found ourselves at...
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Hearst Castle!
Hearst castle was spectacular to say the least. I have always enjoyed touring homes, but I think this one was the most extravagant. See for yourself.
After the grand tour we drove one of the prettiest drives ever up highway 1 (the Pacific Coast Highway). Breathtaking! We spent the night in Monterrey and the next morning we found ourselves here...
SAN FRANCISCO- we love you!
(Lombard Street- our van was too big to drive down so we walked it)
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| (Fisherman's Wharf) |
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(Pier 39)
We took a little boat cruise around the Golden Gate and Alcatraz |
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| (Alcatraz) |
After San Francisco we drove up the coast even further up to the Redwoods
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| (the sisters on Christmas eve) |
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| (Sadie in her new ballet outfit from Santa on Christmas morning) |
We found a lovely spot to have a picnic and talk to Jay in Mexico
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Bird meeting. Be there.
Took a walk through these gigantic beasts... truly magnificent monarchs of the forest.
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We decided to drive up to Oregon for Christmas dinner since we were so close. After Christmas we went back down to SF again and walked the bridge. That is when we had our little bird incident as shown in the movie.
(Full House- we are fans. Mary Kate and Ashley we love you!!!!!!!! Wooooooooooo!!)
(back in SD)
Came back to fun stockings...
What a trip! Thanks mom and dad for the fun memories.
7 comments:
Ashley,
SO good to see pictures of your family! Tell them I love them. Oh, and when I saw that full house picture, the first thing that came into my head was "Ahh ahhh ah ahhhhhhh" like the theme song. xoxoxxx
What a FUN, FUN trip! I ADORE San Fran. Did you eat a sourdough breadbowl with soup on The Pier? Our family loves San Luis Obispo too; we've been camping at Morro Bay. Glad you took so many pics to document your Christmas adventure :)
Looks like SO much fun! What a great trip your parents planned. We toured Hearst Castle - isn't it amazing?!!
Oooohhh! I can't believe you guys were here while we weren't! Poor timing! Glad to see you had a great SF vacation! And it looks like you had some nice weather to boot. Isn't the bay area beautiful????? loved all the pics!
Wow! How much fun! We did that trip, but drove the 1. Isn't it gorgeous!? I think I'll try the train next time. That does sound way better than a car or plane! I can't believe you've never been up north before. I think you guys should come visit us and do SF again! Miss you!
Hey you were right by us. We are just a short 10 min drive from San Luis....looks like you had a fun trip...and can't believe you had never been to SLO...it is beautiful...you would love it hear. :) it's the best of CA...great weather and small town feel.
I agree with Nicole it really is the best of Caly!!! I hate that we were in Utah when you were here:-( Hey what happen to Sadie's blanket?
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