Saturday, July 31
After we survived dune buggies, we had dinner back at the RV. We bought frozen pizzas thinking there was an oven in the RV. Turns out there was only a microwave/convection oven combo and we had no idea how to use it. Ron figured it out but we could only cook one frozen pizza at a time and kept guessing on the cooking time. The first two times we pulled it out the middle of the pizzas were still uncooked dough. Also the oven was under the counter which was so low that Ron had to sit criss-cross, applesauce to reach it. And his legs were so sore from the dune buggy incident that he would lay down on the floor while he waited for it to cook more.
Saturday morning we packed up, had a chat with our next door campground neighbors (they are new owners of a fifth wheel camper and despite the fact that they were Chicago sports fans, they were very nice) and hit the road for a four hour drive from Pismo Beach to Sequoia National Park.
We made it to Sequoia and took the park shuttle to see the General Sherman Tree, the biggest living thing on Earth. I heard a guy who stopped at the ranger station and asked what they should see. The ranger said “What are you looking to do?” and the guy said, “Walk around and look at trees.” Man, is he in the right place.
There are trees everywhere. Tall trees, wide trees, old trees, trees that have survived fire, trees that have survived lightning strikes. Trees that were turned into tunnels, trees that that you can walk through. I’ve never seen so many trees. It reminded me of a trip that Ron and I took years ago to see the polar bears in northern Canada. The first day you stop and stare at every polar bear you see. You can’t believe how amazing the polar bears are and that you are actually seeing them. By the third day, you barely even look at them because you’re like, “Another polar bear? Cool.”
That night, we made dinner and, thanks to a campfire ban due to fire risk, tried to make s’mores with a lighter. It toasted the outside but did not make the marshmallow melty. I do not recommend. We also saw our first bear box, where you are supposed to store food, scented toiletries and garbage to keep the bears out. The kids played cards outside until Casey walked in, clearly annoyed. We asked him what happened and he gave his version of events (please note that three days later he has NO clue what he was so mad about). Mallory walked in shortly after. She was clearly coming to finish whatever had started between the two outside. Our plan to ignore them and hope it would go away didn’t seem to help and it wasn’t long before the two of them were tackling each other and had to be separated. I’m not sure when Casey will learn that after doing gymnastics for 13 years Mallory is freakishly strong.
That fight only made clearer the differences between our family and the one next to us. They had five kids in an RV and the kids designed an obstacle course among the trees and rocks. The five of them happily ran their obstacle course and then cleaned up and then enjoyed “15 minutes of flashlight time before lights out.” They were incredibly well behaved, non-argumentative and pleasant. I felt like the Simpsons to their Flanders, and I’m confident they were in a cult.
