Fun Thursday II

This is the second week that we had "Fun Thursday". We realized that we just don't spend enough time having fun, just doing fun things. As a reminder the first week we rode up to Yosemite. This week was just sad. We couldn't figure out a fun thing to do! Very sad. But that's why we realized we needed to do this, have a fun day.

I finally figured out that Dave would never think that spending a day scrapbooking was fun, I had to come up with his idea of fun....riding his motorcycle. So where to go? We couldn't come up with a destination. I surfed the motorcycle forums. We looked at maps. Finally I remembered reading about a day ride that included Calaveras Big Trees.

Dave didn't get excited about this, so I was a little concerned that he might not enjoy this destination. Dave is happy to ride, and ride, and ride some more. I like to have somewhere to stop and walk around, discovering what's to discover. We are so different. Because we love and respect one another, we try to humor one another!

After getting up at 4 am to take the kids to the airport, we went back to bed! Then we got up and left around 8:30 am after a quick bite for breakfast. The weather was perfect, not too hot and not too cold. We ended up having lunch around 11:30 in Oakdale. We have this funky diner that we like. It was called The Busy Bee, but it now has new owners and has changed names. We still call it the Busy Bee.

When we arrived at the Park, we paid our $8 and parked the bike. The temp was low 80's, just right. Since we knew we'd be walking around, we brought a change of shoes. Those motorcycle boots are not the best thing to hike in. The recommended hike is a short, flat North Grove Trail

The hike begins with the "Discovery Tree"

This is one HUGE tree stump

Way back in the 1800's the tree was chopped down and advertised as a Tourist destination. It was a HUGE success

We even opted for a guided tour. We usually do this on our own, a self guided hike with the informational map. The guide reminded us of our niece, Joanie

We learned all about the Sequoia's, as opposed to the Coastal Redwoods

The bark is pretty fire retardant & pest resistant....and hairy looking

I'm amazed at how many people visit California and never take the time to see the trees

Another tourist attraction for the early years, a tree to drive through

Then we rode home. It was up in the 90's through the Valley. I should have put on my cooling vest, but didn't. I must learn to use that darn thing and not wait.

Dave informed me that we probably would not be able to have another Fun Thursday for six weeks. That gives us plenty of time to think of something!