Friday May 23rd we met Randy, Mandy, Scott, Jenny, Erin & eventually Rick out camping at Sanger or Cross Ranch State Park. Lee & I were the only ones there until about 7:3opm. We got our camper all setup & ate a little supper. The others showed up & got their stuff all setup along with the 16 gallon Keg. Randy. Rick & I fished for a little bit. Scott tried to walk down there but ended up falling on his back & sliding down. Pretty funny! After fishing we sat around the fire. I went to bed early. Couldn't sleep cuz I could hear everyone else talking loud and yelling. So really didn't get any real sleep til Lee came to bed.
Saturday we got up around 10 am made a little breakfast. I cut steps into the cliff to get down to the fishing area easier. I went fishing with Lee & Randy. Lee gave up early & went to sit with the girls & Scott. Rick came down the same way Scott did the day before. We were wondering who the next victim was going to be. Bad weather started moving in so we turned on the weather radio & found out there was a tornado warning for the area we were in. After looking at the map & determining it was heading straight for us we took the camper down & everybody loaded up & went to the ranger station. That cell passed which wasn't bad at all then we waited for another one on the way, that one had been downgraded so we headed back to camp. As we were driving we hit a lot of rain! Lee had to pull over cuz he couldn't see. I think there was some hail in with it. That storm was a lot worse than the one they had for the tornado warning. So we finally got back to camp. Everything was still there, but wet. We set the camper back up. I went to bed & this time turned on the radio. I slept much better! Lee went & sat around the fire with his friends.
Sunday we got up. We decided to leave that day. The whole weekend the weather had been cold, windy & rainy & it wasn't going to get any better. They had finished the keg. We drove to Lee's parents lake cabin. We ate a little supper then went to find my friend Tanya & Mike. Wasn't sure if we would find them as they got a new pickup & wasn't sure what their camper looked like. But low & behold they were sitting outside by a campfire. It was very cold! I could see my breath! So we stopped there & visited for about 1/2 hour to hour. Then headed into town to go to Scott's house to play The Construction Game. We were there until about 2 then we went home. I believe Lee won??
Monday morning we got up ate some breakfast then headed to Bismarck. Got things packed, ran some errands, went to bed early as had to leave by 5:45am to catch the plane.
Tuesday I got up showered packed last of the stuff. Called the taxi had them pick us up at 5:45am. Got a little breakfast after we checked in at the airport. Then flew to Denver. Lee said the up & down made his stomache a little queezy. We made it down to our next gate at Denver to board for Sacramento. Got on that flight & flew to Sacramento. Got to Sacramento around 10am. Waited for Amanda & Ryan to fly in. They called us when they got in decided to meet them at the Rental Car. We got on the shuttle bus to the Rental Car area. He was a crazy driver. Lee called him Jeff Gordon! We waited there for Amanda & Ryan. When they got there we went to the desk to get the car. We had paid for a standard & they tried to give us a midsize (Mazda 3). Told her that wouldn't work with all the luggage we have. So she found a Camry for us but we wanted GPS so then had to wait longer & they got us an 08 Chevy Impala. As we were waiting we seen Achmed!! We got everything loaded & stopped for lunch at a Sonic. The lady at Hertz told us the onion rings at Hertz are really good. So Amanda, Lee & I tried them. They were not good! They had a sweet taste to them. None of us liked them. After eating we headed up to the Redwood Forest. When we got to Redding to drive West our GPS (Betty) showed us how long it would take, we said how can that distance take us that long. Oh we found out!! I don't think there was one straight road that whole way & it was up & down the mountain. The most we could drive was maybe 45 mph. It was very scenic & pretty but very curvy! There was one time when a tanker truck was on our butt. So Ryan let him pass. We couldn't believe how fast that truck was going on those curves that we could barely manage at speed limit! It was pretty crazy. When we finally got to Eureka around 6:30pm. We found our hotel (Super8). Betty was the greatest thing we did for this trip. We would have been lost a lot of the time without it. The hotel was sleepable. Nothing to fancy but not to nasty either. We found the Lost Coast Brewery & had supper there. I had the philly cheese steak sandwich. Which was very good! Lee had a couple of their brews & bought a glass from there. Then we drove around the town for a bit. I took pictures of a couple houses. Then we went down to the dock. We could hear a sea lion but couldn't see him. We headed back to our room. Amanda wanted to go into the hot tub but we were all pretty tired so went to bed.
Wednesday we got up around 7am to get up the Redwood Forest was another hour drive N. We tried the hotels continental breakfast which consisted of donuts, OJ, & coffee. The donuts were not good! So on our way out of town we stopped at Subway & got breakfast & got some gas. On the way up to the Redwood Forest we stopped at a beach to take pictures. The waves were really big that day. We made it to the forest. Went through it. Those trees are really big, tall & old! Amazing to see. At the end they have a sky tram which holds 4 people in a little pod on a wire & takes you up the mountain above all the trees. It was foggy so we couldn't see much at the top. I guess you can see the ocean from up there. It was also a little rainy so didn't any pictures inside the tram as there were raindrops on the windows. When we were done with the forest we paid, got a few postcards & headed to San Francisco. We stopped in Eureka on the way through & ate lunch at Pizza Hut's buffet. Then headed the rest of the way South. We went on the Avenue of the Giants and paid $2 each to drive our car through the tree. Amanda got pictures of that. It was a really nice scenic drive til about Petaluma. Seen quite a few vineyards on the way down. They look just like I thought they would. We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge & paid the toll. Then found our hotel (Holiday Inn). After getting checked in & paying the $40 for parking. We walked to find a place to eat on Fisherman's wharf. We stopped to see the Sea Lions laying on the docks at Pier39.
They were pretty fun to watch. I could have sat there all night & watched them. They were loud & kept pushing each other off the dock. But they would jump right back up onto the dock. Some were sleeping. It was neat to see. I can't remember where we ate, it was spendy but good. The waiter was really nice. They had white paper on top of their table clothes, so he gave us some crayons to draw while we were waiting. After eating we walked back to the hotel, it was a chilly walk. Went to bed when we got there as we figured we would have to get up around 6:30am to get to our Alcatraz cruise on time. Thursday we got up & got ready. Went down for the continental breakfast. It was in a restaurant atmosphere & we weren't sure what was included in the breakfast so Amanda asked the hostess. She showed & told her what was included. Which wasn't much. We ate then the waiter laid down a ticket, Ryan looked at it & said it was $15a piece for the continental breakfast. We were all in shock. It was the worst continental breakfast ever! I was a little upset. I guess from now on we'll have to ask if its a FREE continental breakfast. For the rest of the trip anytime we ate we mentioned it was still cheaper & better than the continental breakfast. So we paid & walked down to the Pier for Alcatraz. They take a picture of you as you get in line for the cruise. It took about 10 minutes to get to Alcatraz Island.
We unloaded, they gave us a little background & told us how & what to do while there. We watched a movie first. Then walked up to the cell house & did the audio tour. It was really good & interesting. We missed the cruise back to San Fran as Lee, Ryan & Amanda all had to go to the bathroom. I waited. So had to wait another half hour for the next cruise to pick us up. When we got back to San Fran we went to eat at the Hard Rock as Lee has never ate at one. It was ok food & expensive. Lee bought a hat from there. We got our car & headed for Yuba City. Everyone was making me mad cuz they kept hounding me about me not wanting to go to the club & spend the night at someones house we don't know. I told them I would go for supper then go back to the hotel. Not a big deal. But everyone was making it a huge deal. We were going to go to a vineyard but realized we didn't have enough time as we had to be in Yuba City for the bachelor/ette party. We checked in our rooms at the Best Western & changed clothes for our parties. We drove down to Roseville to Shanna's sister-in-laws parents house where all the guys & girls met. Then the guys left for their party (dinner & pool hall) & we eventually left for ours. We didn't get to our restaurant (BJ's Brewery) til 9:00pm. I ordered a salad. It was really good! Had a good visit with Shanna & Katie (her sister-in-law). Then the left for the club in Sacramento & I headed back to the hotel. I didn't get to the hotel til around 11:00pm. I was really tired so I went to bed. Lee called me at 2:15am to pick them up from Shanna's parents house. I drove over to get them. Ryan was pretty drunk, he passed out in the backseat. Lee said he had a really good time. Ryan stumbled up the steps to their room when we got back.
Friday morning I got up & went to the bridal shower that was at 10:30am. Went to pick up my mom & Jess& headed to the bridal shower. It was pretty fun. The lady Diane who through the party was very nice. She reminded me & Lee of a friend of Lee's mom's in Beulah. She made each of us a basket to take with us. It was very relaxing & fun. I won both the word find games. We had to get going as had to get ready for the rehearsal. After I dropped off my mom & Jess, Amanda & I headed back to the hotel. Lee had ate lunch at Sonic. I picked up Lee to go to JcPenney to buy him a shirt as he didn't have enough nice ones along. Got back & got ready for the rehearsal. Then we loaded up & headed to rehearsal at Shanna's parents house. After rehearsal we went to supper at a restaurant. Lee & my Prime Rib was tough but my parents said theirs was good. We got a really nice crystal cross from Blaise and Shanna. After the rehearsal we headed back to the hotel. Lee & I walked to a liquor store & got some beer & morgan. Got back to the hotel watched some tv. I fell asleep. Lee stayed up & watched tv.
Saturday we got up & went to JcPenney again. I was going to get my hair done & Lee was going to find a while long sleeve button down shirt to wear for the wedding. Which we found out the night before that he was to wear that instead of what we brought. After that we went back to the hotel & got ready the rest of the way. We dropped Amanda & Ryan off at Subway to eat lunch & Lee & I went to Sonic for lunch. My sandwich was really good. Went to pick up Amanda & Ryan & headed over to the house where my parents were staying which was right across the street from Shanna's parents house. I got dressed since my mom had brought my dress. Then I video taped Blaise & Shanna getting ready. Lee had to be a step in usher until theirs showed up 15 minutes before the wedding started. Then sat down for the wedding. Lee video taped it. I had to read a poem which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be as there weren't to many people there. Blaise & Shanna had wrote their own vows, Blaise started to cry at the beginning of his but ended strong. It was a nice wedding. Then we took some family pictures & headed over to the reception. The photographer didn't seem to organized. The reception was decorated very nice. Shanna's mom & Diane did an excellent job. I took pictures of it. The supper was very good. A variety of stuff from Chicken to beef to pasta, rice, vegetables, potatoes, bread. They do things a little different in CA. They do the grand march right away when the bride & groom get there, then they eat. Do their first dance, dance with dad. Open the dance floor. Then do the wedding party dance & cut the cake. The cake was really good. The dance was fun with the few people we had there. Lee & I left a little early as we were both tired & had to get up by 4:30am for the airport.
Sunday morning we got up at 4:30am. Left by 5:00am for Sacrament Airport. Amanda & Ryan had to fly out by 8:00am. As we were waiting for Amanda & Ryan's flight to leave we had a little breakfast. After eating we sat in the terminal. There was this weirdo guy that kept walking back & forth talking out loud. Some of the stuff was pretty funny like "Come on down your the next contestant on get on this plane." Weirdo had gone into the bathroom then shortly after that Lee said he had to go,m told him he might want to wait until weirdo left the restroom. Which he did. Amanda & Ryan flew out & Lee & I were on standby for an earlier flight. They told us before they started boarding that they only had 1 seat. We didn't want to split. So then after everyone had boarded a couple people cancelled & we were able to get on! So we got on the 10am flight rather than the 2pm one we were suppose to be on. Then we got to Denver we were on standby for the 5:00pm flight. But that one was full!?! :( So had to wait for our 7:10pm flight. So we didn't make up any time, but I was glad we spent more time in the Denver airport as there was more to do. We were both hungry but neither of us wanted to eat anything. So loaded the plane to Bismarck. Lee's parents picked us up from the airport. After getting our luggage we headed for home. Shelby was very happy to see us. We gave Lee's dad his coffee mug we got him from Alcatraz, showed them a few other items we had picked up & they left. Lee & I were still to awake to sleep so unpacked & made some popcorn & ate it while sitting outside since it was so nice out until it started to rain. After eating I went to bed. Monday Lee & I both had off. Which was nice, I got the lawn mowed, laundry done, groceries bought. Lee got his license renewed. It was nice to have a relaxing day before going back to work. I know there is stuff I missed or am to tired of typing to add right now. Will probably add more later along with the pictures.
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