Morgan Family Vacation 2008 Part I

My thought is that if I break up our vacation into smaller parts, it will be less daunting to blog, so here's an account of our stay in Grass Valley:

We left for our 9-hour drive Friday morning, August 8. Isabelle only got car sick twice (basically an hour into the trip around Lone Pine and then a few minutes before arriving in Grass Valley), and Melina slept a total of about 3-1/2 to 4 hours and only screamed pretty much the rest of the time, but we arrived safely to Grandma and Grandpa's around 4:30 that afternoon. All was better with Melina once she was out of her car seat!

I had read somewhere that providing a child with a disposable camera is a great way to get some pictures from their point of view. We gave Isabelle 2 disposable cameras at the beginning of our trip, with the stipulation being that she could use one for the first half (Grass Valley) and the second one for the last half (Mammoth). Well, it will be very interesting to see the pictures when they are developed as most of the shots were taken of Isabelle's car window, or of Melina screaming or sleeping in her car seat, or of me turning around to see what was going on. The second camera was misplaced so I don't think any shots were taken of our Mammoth part of the trip, so she is taking pictures at home now. The shots will be quite interesting indeed!

We went to the Nevada County Fair Saturday, and Isabelle had a great time on the rides. I was a little flustered by the prices, however, (I guess I'm used to my little 'ol Ridgecrest fair prices), as we paid $28!!! each for a wristband for both Jeff and Isabelle (since Isabelle either had to ride with someone or didn't want to ride alone). Needless to say, Melina and I just watched...

We started off the fair by Melina taking a nap in the front carrier:


We enjoyed looking at the animals, especially these piglets,

but unfortunately, we learned the next day that someone had snuck into the fair sometime in the early morning hours and stole 3 of those piglets as well as 2 baby bunnies that were certain to die without their mama's milk. However, a day later they were found in a box on the side of a road unharmed and it was thought they would recover fine. How horrible for the children who the animals belonged to--that must have really devastated them.


Aunt Kitty met up with us at the fair and she gave poor Jeff a break from the many nausea-inducing rides by riding with Isabelle instead. One ride that Jeff took Isabelle on was a roller-coaster type ride that just went around and around in a circle, faster and faster. It slowed down, I'm not kidding you, 5 minutes later, I could tell Jeff looked a little green, and then it took off again, this time backwards!!! The look on Jeff's face--he really looked like he could possibly die any time! I was so glad it was him on the ride and NOT ME! And of course, Isabelle was next to him the entire time giggling and having the time of her life!

Isabelle also got to "milk" a cow and see a stuffed bear!

Melina enjoyed a yummy frozen lemon slushy (so delicious on a very warm day!)

And, we clowned around with the girls a bit:


On Sunday Aunt Marilyn drove down from Chico. We all piled into the same vehicle and then went blackberry picking (Jeff had been telling Isabelle for months how blackberries grow wild and you pick all that you want, so she was pretty excited about that). Then we went to lunch at a great Mexican restaurant and Aunt Marilyn went back to Chico. We had a great visit and so glad we were able to see her.

Uncle Mike arrived that afternoon and we had a nice family dinner that evening with the most delicious tri-tip marinated and grilled by Grandpa. We also had a "mini" birthday party for both girls, complete with a, you guessed it, Scooby Doo cake! It was beautiful and delicious!


And we had to get a shot of Grandma with all of her grandchildren! Thanks, Aunt Kitty for this great picture!


And, Grandma and her 2 granddaughters:


Mike and Jeff checked out some hydraulic gold mines Monday afternoon while the girls and I did some shopping and got some great deals!

Tuesday morning we packed up the car and were on the road around 11 a.m. for the next part of our trip...