Central California Vacation

The morning after graduation, we flew to Reno, Nevada. DAY 1: Chickadee Ridge 2.3m Lake Tahoe

Friendly Chickadees + Birdseed = Epic Experience!!

This is Aaron's picture and it's my favorite!

Our 1st view of Lake Tahoe in the background.

Feeding two birds at once!

Addy's awesome picture mid flight.

This cracks me up! You can be cool and hold a bird at the same time.

Aaron got creative and put some birdseed on his hat. It worked eventually!

Quick stop at Sand Harbor State Park.

DAY 2: Emerald Bay State Park. Hike to Eagle Lake 1.8m

Joined by a happy puppy while stopping for a snack.

We all accidentally wore maroon, except Jackson. Ugh!!

Gorgeous hike along the Rubicon Trail to D.L. Bliss State Park.

So many gigantic pine cones!

Views of the turquoise lake all along the trail.

Snow capped mountains in the background. Glorious!!

A cool bridge near our turn around point.

Calawee Cove Beach after 4-5m of hiking. Benny was done so Addy and I took a shortcut with him along the road while the other guys hiked back and got the car.

DAY 3: On our way to catch the sunrise at Eagle Rock. We missed it but got this picture from the car.

Aaron and Jackson got up early with us to hike Eagle Rock .7m.

The view before 6am!

Tioga Rd, the only access to the northern section of Yosemite opened at 8am on the day we planned to travel to the park. Blessed! We were nearly alone on this hike to Lembert Dome 1.9m

A classic Yosemite granite dome, much smaller than Half Dome.

The boys always beat us to the top.

The view was unbelievable! I kept saying it was one of the BEST I had ever seen.

Love this family pic on the top with the Sierra Mountains in the background.

Our van rental was not available so they gave us this Voltswagon Atlas instead. It turned out to fit us better than our big truck. Notice the empty parking lot. Amazing!

Our next stop, Tenaya Lake.

Another beautiful area with minimal crowds and lots of snow to enjoy.

DAY 4: Upper Yosemite Falls to Yosemite Point 8.4m

The most difficult hike of our trip. I was happy my hiking poles made it through airport security, this time.

After endless switchbacks, the top of Upper Falls. The view of the valley was beautiful.

Looking over the edge of the falls was even more stunning with a rainbow!!

Scary stairs to get to the overlook.

The water just before falling 2425' to the valley floor. Yikes!

Pretty bridge over the river.

Yosemite Point and a magnificant view of Half Dome.

A double RAINBOW on the way down!!

It looks even more beautiful with my girl in the pic.

DAY 5: We took a one way shuttle from Yosemite Vally Lodge to Glacier Point.

Same view without people - taken by Aaron!

The waterfall we hiked to the top of the previous day.

The guys wanted to hike Half Dome but we could not get a permit even after entering the lottery 5 times.

Another awesome picture taken by Aaron.

After gift shop snacks, we started the hike from Glacier Point to Yosemite Valley via the Panorama and Mist Trails 8.6m

Most of the hike was downhill with views. LOVED!!

Illilouette Falls, the 1st of 3 huge waterfalls.

Panorama Point family photo. Team Neubauer in our usual red and black!

Trying to enjoy every moment with Jackson since he's leaving for college mid August.

I love when him and Addy hang out. I hope they are always close friends.

Our lunch spot at the top of Nevada Falls.

This was the perfect time of year to see the roaring waterfalls.

Viewpoint looking over the top of the falls.

Another rainbow!!

Addy making friends with a squirrel. Just fed him a nut trying to pet him.

Resting near the top of the EPIC Vernal Falls.

We got wet on the way down and the RAINBOW was the most amazing of the entire trip!!

1st time I've ever seen this.

DAY 6: Glen Aulin Hike 10m - Starting from Tuolumne Meadows. A view of Soda Springs.

Our 1st of several water crossing due to snow melt.

Notice the snow balls. The boys enjoyed snowball fighting for the first few miles.

Another water crossing. Keeping things interesting.

Our favorite part was crossing this bridge over the Tuolumne River.

Beautiful views everywhere.

Made it to Tuolumne Falls.

The hidden rainbow.

Sunset in the valley at Tunnel View.

Sunsets are always worth it!

DAY 7: Hetch Hetchy Dam with rainbowSSS!!

This unique hike to Wapama Falls 4.7m started by crossing a dam, then going through a tunnel.

I was so shocked by the beauty of this little known place.

There was also pretty wild flowers and tons of butterflies along the way.

Blessed with another perfect weather day.

Yikes! Our 1st time seeing a rattlesnake on any trail.

Wapama Falls!

We crossed several bridges over the bottom of the falls and got soaked!

It was so refreshing and fun!

Epic lunch spot.

Prespective. See my people? What a place!!

DAY 8: Monterey, CA - Kayaking Elkhorn Slough

To see otters!!!

And seals!!

They are experts! Josh was paired with Benny. And Jackson was with me.

I wish I got a video of how the seals moved and of their sounds.

The otters cuddle each other.

Hike - Point Lobos Loop 6m.

The same picture without people.

I have never seen so many FLOWERS in my entire life! This place was magical.

I just can't even explain the beauty.

I had to take a picture every few minutes.

Plus the beach and the color of the water was stunning.

Even the kids were in awe.

Everyone said this was one of their favorite hikes.

We must have come at peak flower season. Just WOW!

View from Whale Peak near sunset.

Only these 3 would join me for the sunset.

Always worth it!

Too many pics to post.

D9: Stop by Calla Lilly Valley on our way down the Big Sur Highway

This short path went to the beach but the FLOWERS were just everywhere.

Unbelievable!

The way back up the hill. The mornings along the coast were foggy but clear by afternoon.

Hike - Ewolden Trail 4m in Julia Pfieffer Burns State Park

This area has redwoods but not like the ones we saw in Northern CA last summer.

More wildflowers along the trail as we climbed above the trees.

View of the ocean from above.

The most photographed location along Big Sur, McWay Falls.

Final hike of the trip to Partington Cove 1.1m through another unique cave tunnel.

To this pretty cove.

Warning signs were posted about unexpected waves. One came but only Benny got his feet wet.

Then everyone moved back up the cliff to watch the waves crash into a cave.

Sea Cave - pic taken by Jackson.

Joyce asked about our favorite part of the trip. After thinking about it, I realized my favorite part was spending quality time with my people. Without them, these places would not be as fun or as beautiful.

The Golden Gate Bridge on our way home.