I love to travel. I love seeing different parts of this big world, getting a taste of how similar or different people live according to their surroundings, and feeling a part of something new for a little while. I love the adventure and experience of it all, both the planned and the unplanned, from carefully packing our clothes in big suitcases to feeling alive as I stand by the ocean or feel the energy of city. And as much as I love experiencing new places, I love what I bring back home even more. No matter where we've been, I always go home with a newfound sense of wonder for my own surroundings, as well as new inspiration for how to bring a little of our travels back to our everyday. From the culture and color of the Mission District in the heart of San Francisco to the kayak trip in the clear, calm waters of Lake Tahoe, I always return home dreaming about ways to bring back a little of our trips right here to our best adventure of all.
This year's vacation was part big city, part nature's retreat. We spent ten days in California, five days exploring San Francisco and five days in beautiful Lake Tahoe. I'm convinced California might just be my favorite state to travel to. They have it all - mountains and ocean, big cities and big national parks, tall buildings and even taller trees. They have wine and Disney and google. They have the best kind of weather in my book, sweatshirt weather by the bay and hot and sunny by the lake. And, there are no bugs and absolutely no humidity! We were deep in the redwood forest at Muir Woods and commented that we never saw a single bug! Now that's something us Midwesterners could get used to!
So from the San Francisco Bay to Emerald Bay, we had an unforgettable trip. We did so much in our ten days away - we went to a Cubs/Giants game at beautiful AT&T Park, rode a cable car through the city, played at the beach, climbed up cliffs, and played like locals at Dolores Park. We kayaked in Lake Tahoe, river rafted down the Truckee River, and stood on the top of a mountain and let the views of Emerald Bay take our breath away. But hands down, my favorite part of our vacation was all that time together. When you spend that much time away from home, you have only each other and nothing to pull you apart. You look at each other closer, laugh with each other more, and fall a little deeper in love with just who God made them to each of us to be. From our breakfast conversations around the table every morning to sleeping forehead to forehead in two double beds every night, we grew closer and took advantage of the opportunity to soak up so much special time without the distractions at home or the pulls of normal, everyday life. That was the very best part. Escaping reality and living out our daydreams, together.
And we brought back so many wonderful memories! It's funny, though, because for all the picture perfect, unforgettably beautiful moments we shared, we had some equally not-as-picturesque ones, too. Mila fell out of bed our second night on the trip and whacked her forehead on the floor lamp. I sleepily picked her up and went to lay her back beside me when I realized my hand felt wet. I turned on the bedside lamp and realized her head was bleeding like crazy. It looked a bit like a murder scene in our hotel room! It's since healed fine, but I didn't get much sleep that night, too busy googling "local urgent cares nearby" or "when does a cut need stitches." There was our first night of the trip where we were hangry and stuck in traffic on the Golden Gate bridge for too long, that moment in the parking lot at Giants' stadium when both kids were screaming after a balloon animal fiasco, and that moment we happened upon several "full moons" at Baker Beach (we knew it was a nude beach but the views of the bridge were just too good to pass up!). But something about those memories are just as good as the best moments of our trip. They all just meld together to create this unique, real, beautifully messy story of our time and place together in this one of a kind season of our lives. It stood out loud and clear to me this time around - their littleness, their joy, and the way God has woven our hearts together in this little family. So even if I forget how big that bridge looked the first time I saw it, or how clear the waters of Lake Tahoe are, or how relaxed I felt in that kayak, I won't forget how it felt to be together.
In the weeks to come, I'm going to share favorite memories from each day we were away as well as so many pictures of our travels. It will be fun to slow down, relive, and recall it all. But with school starting soon, I'm also hoping to soak up these last few days of summer and get ready for a big semester ahead. I will catch up eventually. Or not. ;)
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