Zombie Apocalypse

The main reason Erica came to visit was for this Zombie Run on Pebble Beach.

She, Justin and Owen did the 5k.

The rest of us did the 2k.

Drew and Auggie wanted nothing to do with the make-up.

At the starting line (which was also the finish line), Drew was DETERMINED to get first.

 And he honestly would've had it, if he didn't miss the turning point.

He ended up in 4th.

Sally was nervous about the run, but she took off and left Auggie and me to face the zombies alone.

And found Malia along the way.

We ended up finishing toward the end of the pack together.

Running is definitely not my thing.

The 5kers loved their super hilly course.

Owen ended up 2nd in his age group and beat Justin by 2 minutes.

The earned medal.

And the free one.

Drew was pretty torn up about his error on the course all day long.

At the end of the 5k race, there was a steep hill that they had to re-visit after the crowd was gone.

This run was tied in with a preparedness fair "in case of a zombie apocalypse."

We came home with lots of swag, including solar/hand-crank flashlights,

which came in handy the next day when we (and 55,000+ others in the area) were without power.

We had church in the dark and were sent home early.

Yosemite

We are crazy and did Yosemite in one day.

Left our house a little after 6am.

Drove through a lot of rain and got nervous about a day of wet hiking.

But we thoroughly enjoyed the super picturesque leaves falling thanks to the rain.

Just before we made it to a Half Dome viewpoint (5 hours after leaving home), the rain cleared up.

Yay!

But it was FREEZING.

And we were NOT prepared for that weather.

Please enjoy a multitude of Half Dome pictures:

Erica flew in the night before.

Continued our journey to Glacier Point.

Loved the short trails and even more amazing views of Half Dome.

And that the weather decided to get lovely.

Errin was originally going to head home the day before,

but extended her trip a day when she heard about our Yosemite plans with Erica.

Happy they stayed, made it more fun for our kids.

Drove back down the mountain and after coming out of this tunnel:

We were greeted with this view:

The smoke is from a controlled burn.

We wouldn't get very far down the road before finding somewhere else along to stop.

The kids loved playing in the water at Swinging Bridge (that did not swing).

I spy Erica.

Justin rigged Auggie's shorts so he could wade in the water.

Wading of course turned into being completely wet.

Oh hi white Justin (who gave up his shirt for his shivering son).

10/15

We ended our day at the visitor's center in the valley and concluded one day is definitely not enough.

Time to go camping.

Fall Break

10/11

Errin & kids got here and somehow we always end up at Lover's Point.

Monday we went nonstop in San Francisco.

First up: old military bunkers in the Marin Headlands.

10/12

And Point Bonita Lighthouse:

We had already walked so much and everyone was tired, but we had to experience the bridge.

It was so loud and windy but worth it.

We walked maybe 1/3 of the bridge (the entire thing is 1.7 miles long).

On the way back, Auggie fell asleep on my shoulder and it was painful.

After a delicious dinner in the ghetto at La Taqueria, we got ice cream and visited Dolores Park.

Boys' Rankings

#1 - Bi-Rite

#2 - Dolores Park (playing their made up tennis ball game)

#3 - Fort Barry Bunkers

#4 - Golden Gate Bridge

#5 - Point Bonita Lighthouse

#6 - La Taqueria

My Rankings

#1 - Fort Barry (we had never explored the lower part and the kids loved it)

#2 - Golden Gate Bridge

#3 - La Taqueria (if that place was nearby I'd be in trouble)

#4 - Dolores Park

#5 - Bi-Rite (not as good as all the hype/too pricey; Penny in Santa Cruz is better)

#6 - Point Bonita (loved going the first time but didn't need to go again)

Tuesday consisted of Spanish Bay Beach, the aquarium, and Cannery Row.

10/13

Spanish Bay is right along 17-mile drive, so tourist vans are constantly loading and unloading.

Hence the line of Asian men staring at/taking pictures of the waves.

Kind of can't blame them, though. The waves were awesome that day.

Love this picture Errin took.

On Cannery Row, we got choc chip cookies from Nestle and Ghirardelli for a taste test.

Ghirardelli has HUGE cookies but I liked Nestle better.

Wednesday we went to Salinas for the best BBQ and The Farm.

10/14