Loving the cable cars......

(Today's Blogger: Vicky) We had a great time exploring San Francisco. We first were blessed to spend Sunday night in a local hotel taken care of for us by a woman from the local church, who also arranged for us to have daily passes for the cable cars and street cars. We were really appreciative of her thoughtfulness and generousity. The kids totally loved riding the cable cars, especially when they found out that they could hang off of the cars while it goes really fast. I tried really hard to resist, but as the kids and Fr. Michael will tell you, there were numerous times that I told them to hold on with both hands and of course also told my hubby to "Please hold onto them!"

We spent time exploring the Maritime National Park ; saw Lombard Street; checked out Ghiradelli Square; and generally enjoyed riding around.

We spent Monday night with Fuad and Mary Farraj (who Fr. Michael knew from SOYO days) and their great boys. We all enjoyed the great steak dinner they provided for us. The next day we went to the Academy of Science Museum which was a great museum. While the rest of the family started at the science museum, I first snuck away to check out the Japanese Tea Garden which I have always wanted to see. It was a very peaceful and beautiful place to visit. I definitely appreciated the peacefulness!! After a busy day in San Fran, we headed out to visit David and Lisa Hanna and their sweet girls, Emily and Madeline, in nearby Pleasanton. They had graciously agreed to watch Muskini for us while we explored San Francisco. Their girls couldn't quite get used to "Muskini" for her name, so they nicknamed her "Zucchini" They also found out that despite Muskini's great age (she's 15 years old!) she is still very fast as she had made a break for it and it took both David and Lisa hightailing after her before they caught up with her and brought her back.

(Thanks again David and Lisa, we owe you one!!!)

The Rest of the "Forward"

(Today's Blogger: Fr. Michael)
So Elena was supposed to write about all the things we did in Folsom with Ben and Pam and the kids, our sightseeing in Sacramento, and our weekend seeing friends in the bay area. Hence, the "forward"(her choice for the title of the last post). I guess she got distracted by the dog. Anyway...as Paul Harvey would say, and now the rest of the story.
On our last full day in Folsom, we drove into Sacramento, spending the morning with Pam as we toured Sutter's Fort, the original settlement in the Sacramento area. We saw musket and cannon demonstrations, and heard great stories of the early settlers.
After a quick picnic lunch, we headed to the State Capitol, where we toured the Capitol building, visiting the Governator's office. The guard at the door told us we could take one of the governor's cards from the desk. He suggested they might be worth something someday. Elena, ever the financial wizard, figured she could sell them on eBay and plotted how she could take a stack. We also dragged the kids through the California Railroad Museum, which Vicky and I thoroughly enjoyed and the kids did their best to endure.
The next day we said good bye to the Hembrees and headed east toward San Francisco. On the way, we stopped for a tour of the Jelly Belly factory, enjoying lots of free samples of all of their flavors, including a few not commonly found: none of us tried the barf or rotten egg flavors, but Elena tried the toothpaste and I sampled a pencil shavings jelly bean. It tasted just like, well, like what I would imagine pencil shavings would taste like.
We continued to Orinda, just outside of San Francisco, where we'd be parking the trailer overnight. We were greeted on arrival by Fr. George Washburn, who'd barbecued chicken and prepared a great meal to welcome us. We enjoyed Vespers that night, the first service in a few weeks since we had been staying in areas with no Orthodox churches.
The next morning, we enjoyed a beautiful Liturgy and saw many old and new friends. The church happened to be having a Mexican lunch that day, to raise funds for their SOYO group going to Project Mexico this summer. I was able to speak a little to the parish about the orphanage and our time there, and spent time with the teens answering their questions about what they'd be experiencing on their trip. From there we enjoyed the beautiful sunny day by going out for gelato with a friend we hadn't seen in years but lives in the area, David Hanna, along with his sister Nadine and their beautiful families.

Stockton and Forward

(Today's Blogger: Elena)
From Columbia to Stockton, it's about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. We stayed at a RV park called Dos Reis. My dad's old camper from the Village, Zach Bayrouty, got us tickets to a minor league baseball game. Zach is the announcer for the team, the Stockton Ports. It was a lot of fun going to the game, and fun to look back and wave to Uncle Zach in the booth.
Next morning, we had breakfast with Uncle Zach, we packed up, and we left to go to my Aunt Pammie's and Uncle Ben's house. On the way, we stopped at a Ghiradelli Chocolate store that they had at a warehouse where the trucks pick up the chocolate to be delivered. We all shared a yummy sundae with real melted chocolate as the syrup and bought some chocolate to take with us.
When we got to their house, it was around 3 PM and we received a warm greeting from Sadie. No, she's not my aunt. And no, she's not one of my cousins. She's the dog. She had run out of the house in front of Aunt Pammie. They were the only ones that were home, because Charlotte and Alana (my cousins) were at school and Uncle Ben was a work. When Charlotte got home from school, we played Wii a bit. The next morning, she would have to leave at 4 AM because she's in a jazz choir, and they had a competition in Reno. The whole time we were there, Sadie was jumping around us. I think everyone had a lot of fun.

Gold!

(Today's Blogger: Joshua) Today we arrived at Columbia, an old mining town between Yosemite and San Francisco. They had a bunch of things to do like a blacksmith and gold panning. They also had a lot of cool stores like a candy kitchen and a pioneer emporium. We stayed at a campground nearby called Marble Quarry (from the big marble boulders you can see in the picture with Elena).
When we went to tour Columbia we did lots of cool stuff like go gold panning where Maria got 337 garnets. Then we went to this awesome candy kitchen where I got this huge jawbreaker. It turned my whole face and hands red. I looked like the Joker. Mom couldn't come with us because she was sick.
The next day we went back to Columbia because Mom hadn't seen it before. So we walked around a bit. Then we went into this store where I had my first taste of sasparilla. It tasted like root beer mixed with licorice. We also went to a museum and saw a movie about the history of the town. We also saw places where they filmed movies and then went back to the trailer. We packed up and set off for Stockton.

Return to Civilization!

(Today's Blogger: Vicky) We left Yosemite (where we had no electric hookup, no running water and me having to wash the dishes in freezing water) and enjoyed the return to civilization with full hook-ups to water, electricity AND internet (albeit a little slow).
I had gotten sick on our last night in Yosemite so it was nice to have the "comforts" of home again! We spent the night at a private RV park in Oakhurst, near Yosemite's southern entrance. We had hoped to see the giant sequoias of Yosemite's Mariposa Grove, but the road was closed and since I wasn't feeling well, we just moved on without taking the 2 mile hike to see them.
The next night was spent in McConnell State Park, near Merced, on our way to our next destination, Columbia State Park. We enjoyed the time just hanging out and the spontaneity of just going where we want, when we want, and just planning as we go. I'm also getting pretty good at reading maps!

Lots of fun in Yosemite

(Today's Blogger: Maria) On Wednesday morning, we drove around Yosemite Valley and on our drive, we saw a coyote, who wasn't afraid of us at all. We think it wanted us to feed it, because when we didn't, it went right back into the woods. Later, our friends the Youssef's drove up from San Jose to be with us in Yosemite for a few days. We met them at their lodge and then went back to the campground. The boys went food shopping while the girls tried to start a fire. When they got back we roasted hot dogs and chicken for dinner and s'mores for dessert. By that time, it was after 9:30 and everyone was tired, so we all went to bed.
The next morning, while everyone else went on a bike ride, Aunt Julianna, Mom and I went to the gift shops. Later that afternoon, Fr. Samer and Dad went on a hike. While they were gone, I made triple-chocolate brownies (brownies with chocolate syrup and M & M's) Then we all went down to a creek that was by our campsite. When Fr. Samer and Dad got back, we ate dinner, toasted s'mores and ate brownies.
The next morning was our last day at Yosemite. That morning Fr. Samer took Aunt Julianna on a bike ride to the base of Yosemite Falls to show her where he and my dad had hiked the day before. My mom stayed at the trailer to pack and my dad took all the kids to a nature walk about Geology. We left after 15 min. because it was for adults so we didn't understand most of it. After that we went to the movie a the Yosemite Theater, "The Spirit of Yosemite." Elena was very excited because she completed the activities to become a Junior Ranger and was officially sworn in by a Park Ranger. The we hung around the gift shop, and museum until Fr. Samer and Aunt Julianna came back. Then we went back and finished packing. We said goodbye to the Youssefs and to Yosemite Valley.

A New World Record

(Today's Blogger: Joshua)
Today when I woke up it was a Winter wonderland. Yes, there was snow. I was the first to go out because I had to put Muskini (our dog) outside because she loves the snow. After I put her on the chain I went to play. I made a few snowballs. I tried to make a snowman but that didn't work out. Then I went back inside and we went for a drive. Then we went to El Capitan where I became the first Nasser to throw a snowball at El Capitan.

"No Woes!"

When we left on our trip, we only had one location with set dates and reservations: Yosemite. Although Vicky and I both grew up in Southern California--a mere seven hours drive--neither of us had been here before. All I can say to our Southern CA friends who have never come: do it. The pictures you've seen don't do justice to the beauty that's here.

We left yesterday (Saturday, April 10), caravanning with our weekend hosts, Jeff and Glen, who joined us for the trip and our first day in Yosemite. We made the long, sometimes steep climb up into the Sierra Nevada mountains on a road that to Vicky's dismay often lacked a guardrail. It was slow going with our V-6 4Runner being maxed out on its tow capacity hauling up our 2 ton trailer, us and all our stuff. She did a wonderful job keeping her nervousness to herself, and only later did I learn that for much of the climb into the mountains she had her eyes closed. I only found out when we made our first turn into Yosemite Valley and I let out a "Woe" of awe at the spectacular scene. With her eyes closed, she heard a "Woe" of fear, thinking we were about to careen off the road. I got a brief scolding of "No Woes!" and we've been joking about it ever since.
We're blessed with a total of six days that we'll be able to spend here in Yosemite, with the extra day coming in the beginning courtesy of some bad weather moving into California that I didn't feel like driving in with our above-mentioned tow vehicle/trailer combination. We're camped in the Valley, not far from the base of Half Dome. Yosemite Valley, in spite of its grandeur, is only 24 miles long, so all of its famous elements are fairly close: El Capitan, Yosemite and Bridalvail Falls and Half Dome.
We spent our first full day driving around the Valley and taking some short hikes. I'm excited we'll be able to take our time and enjoy this beautiful place. We're also excited that our friends, Fr. Samer and Julianna Youssef and their kids, will be joining us from Wednesday to Friday.

The Friesen Sleepover

(Today's Blogger: Elena)
When we were starting to pack up to leave Half Moon Bay, we met up with an old family friend, Uncle Glen Friesen and his daughters Audrey,6, and the twins, Alexis and Anastasia, 9. When they left, we finished packing and left to go to Uncle Glen's house where we stayed overnight. When we got to his house, Uncle Glen's brother, Uncle Jeff, had BBQ ribs on the grill for dinner (yum, yum). The adults sad down and talked; meanwhile I explored his huge backyard. Thee was enough room for a pool, a tower, and a trampoline! We ate dinner and went to bed.
When we saw them at the campsite, we also met Spots, the girls' dog, whom Maria thought was at least part bird-dog. And with reason; you'll see the evidence in this video.

A (Class)room with a View

(Today's Blogger: Fr. Michael) Today we woke to see the beauty that is Half Moon Bay, between Monterey and San Francisco. Since the kids are being home schooled, the day began with classes. There aren't many classrooms, however, with a view like this.



Since it had been a pretty hectic few days, we decided to lay low and just enjoy the area here instead of sightseeing in San Francisco. We'll save that for the weekend and for when we pass through the area again after Yosemite. While Vicky did some more reorganizing the storage in the trailer, Joshua and Elena played in the campground and took naps, and Maria and I went into town to do some shopping, update the blog (hence the plethora of posts today), and I did some work on a writing project I'm doing, working with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Youth Office.

A beautiful day in Monterey

(Today's Blogger: Maria)
We left our campground and drove into Monterey. It took four hours to get to our first stop, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, because it turns out there's no parking at the aquarium for trailers. We drove around looking for a place to park the trailer and found one at Costco. But then we had to drive around more looking for a lock so no one could steal the trailer by hitching up their car to the trailer. We FINALLY got to the aquarium at around 2 PM. We saw sea otters, the giant kelp tank, flamingos, and some sea lions on a buoy out in the bay. My favorite thing there were the sea otters. It was really fun. Here are some pictures I took.





We left the aquarium, and went to the Nestle Cookie store for some REALLY good chocolate chip cookies, and mom was happy because she had her Starbucks! After that, we went on the 17 Mile Drive. It was really pretty. They had these Cypress trees that were really green and since there's wind blowing all the time, and their leaves were like pine needles but shorter and scaly. We made stops along the way take pictures and play along the shore. At one stop there were some tide pools with lots of tiny crabs. There were lots of huge houses along the way. It was fun.



The drive ended at Carmel Beach right at sunset and lots of people were there to watch it, and then they all left right after.


Except for Joshua, who you can see in this video was more interested in the sand.

Prayer for the Journey

Before departing from San Jose, Fr. Samer blessed our truck and trailer with both the prayer for the Blessing of a Vehicle and the prayer of Blessing of a New Home, as this will be both vehicle and home for us for the duration of our trip.




From there we headed out for our first night on our own, spent in the Laguna Seca Recreation Area, just west of Monterey. It turns out that part of the local definition of "recreation" includes a NASCAR style speedway! We woke to watch race cars and motorcycles speeding around the track, but fortunately we were far enough away from the track that the noise didn't wake us up. We enjoyed a very peaceful night, and everyone slept well on this, the first night of all of us sleeping in the trailer.

Holy Week

The first destination in our journey was San Jose, to spend Holy Week with Fr. Samer Youssef and his beautiful family: Khouiyeh Julianna, Dimitry, Damian, and Dominic. We enjoyed a very blessed week, arriving in time for Holy Unction and staying through Holy Monday. Both their family and the whole Church of the Redeemer community were so very hospitable and we felt very much at home.
While the kids slept in the house, Vicky and I insisted on sleeping in the trailer so we could get accustomed to our new home. On Pascha itself, Fr. Samer fired up the grill and we enjoyed a great filet mignon dinner with all the trimmings, and some of Julianna's delicious Pascha Bread and Cheese. All throughout the week, besides being fed on the spiritual food of the services, we were fed well at the hands of Julianna and Fr. Samer's mother (also named Victoria!), from whom we enjoyed all of our Arabic fasting favorites.
On Bright Monday, we bid farewell to the Youssef's, but only for a brief time: we cajoled them into joining us at Yosemite next week. (Fr. Samer and Fam.: We thank you SO MUCH for all your hospitality, and we miss you all bery, bery, BERY much. Can't wait to see you next week!)

The journey begins!

(Today's Blogger: Fr. Michael)
Well, we're on our way!
It's incredible how quickly we went from an idea to the reality of our family taking a long road trip. But first, a brief recap of the "journey" to this point. In January, our time living and serving at St. Innocent Orphanage/Project Mexico ended somewhat unexpectedly, and in the middle of the school year. My mom graciously welcomed us home into her house. She even let us bring the dog and cat! Up until a few weeks ago, we were just waiting to hear from Metropolitan PHILIP to find out where we'd be serving next. Vicky was working part time doing temp work, and I was homeschooling the kids. Although we were comfortable, the wait started to get a little hard on everyone. One day I was thinking, what if this isn't a tough time to endure but instead was one of the greatest opportunities we've ever been given? About that same time, Maria was surfing the Internet looking at all the cool places there are in the US to visit, and--Voila!--the idea was born.
At first, the idea of a long road trip was a joke, or at best a "sure, like that would ever happen." But then we moved the idea from the "impossible" column to the "possible." That's when the excitement and the planning went into high gear.
How long should we go for? A month or two? Maybe more! We can't afford hotels for that long. How about a trailer--we can camp! Is there a trailer light enough that our Pilot can tow? Yes! Oh, man, that one got sold. But if we sold a car and bought a truck that could pull more...
Etc, etc., etc.
While I was busy working out the logistics, Vicky was working to make as much money as she could before we left. And the kids? They were working on the list of places to see (it's currently two pages long and about to become three).
Last week was a busy one: selling the CR-V, buying a '99 Toyota 4Runner, buying the trailer, packing, and figuring how to live without a permanent address for a few months. Then two days ago found us loading up the last few things into the trailer at 5:00 AM and off we went. I was a bit nervous, never having pulled a trailer, and there was a Pacific storm we were trying to beat to San Jose.
The trip went very smoothly, and we've already experienced our first miracle. On the drive up yesterday, we passed Santa Barbara with a little less than half a tank so it wasn't a great stretch to decide we'd gas up in Buellton, only 45 miles away. Well, a half hour later found us sputtering up the pass through the Santa Barbara mountains. With the engine alternately revving and stalling, I was actually hoping we were out of gas (although the gas gauge still read a little less than a quarter tank) since the alternative was that our 4Runner just wasn't big enough to pull the trailer up big hills. That would significantly alter where we could travel to for the next few months. We managed to sputter up to the top of the hill, coasted down a bit, and then came to the next off ramp: we had made it to Buellton! We slowly made it up the off ramp in fits and starts, until the engine died--right at the end of the off ramp. With a gas station merely steps away. Really--who runs out of gas at a gas station? God is so good!
We made a mental note (in the 4Runner, a quarter tank is almost empty), gassed up, and finished our trip to San Jose without incident.
The first leg of the trip is the only part that's been planned. We're currently staying with Fr. Samer and Julianna Youssef and their beautiful family in San Jose, where they've welcomed us as part of the family to celebrate Holy Week and Pascha. They've been more than wonderful to us and we so appreciate the friendship we've enjoyed with them, especially over the past few years.
Next week, we plan to explore the Monterrey peninsula and San Francisco before we head to Yosemite for the week after next. After that, we're heading "that-a-way" (with the wave of the hand toward the north) to Oregon, Washington, and maybe up into Canada. At some point, we'll turn east for a bit, then head south. That's about as specific as our plans are at the moment. We might go a month and say we've had enough. Or we may keep going until we need to arrive at our next home, wherever that may be. That's part of the beauty of this trip to me: we get to let the trip unfold and see where it leads us.
And so, no, we're not there yet. And not just in terms of the next stop on the trip. We're not "there" yet in terms of our next ministry assignment, and that situation has made this whole trip even possible.
And like all families, we're not "there" yet either. We have much growing together yet to do. In life, like this trip we're on, none of us are "there" yet. I'm just so grateful that we have such a wonderful opportunity to enjoy getting closer to "there." In all aspects.