General Sherman walk

 After lunch we went to take a look at the biggest tree in the world, the General Sherman tree. It is the biggest tree in the world by weight rather than height, but regardless it was impressive. When we all stood next to each other we only managed to span about half the width of the base as shown by the gray bricks. EV decided to bring her otter on the walk but she couldn't quite control it as it tried to attack briefly. Eventually we got it under control though and were able to walk around the giant tree. There were a few other attractions as well including another log that had a tunnel cut into it. We were very proud of the girls because they managed to walk all the way down and all the way back up the hill from the trees without complaint. This was especially impressive as quite a few adults had to stop to catch their breath along the way, but we all managed to walk right up at a nice steady pace while talking about what we saw.

Tunnel Log and more

 We stopped in to take a look at and drive through the Tunnel Log. If a tree falls in the forest and blocks a road, does anyone mind? Well no, if it's big enough they just tunnel right through it. It was a fun little photo opportunity which we were happy to stop at. We also stopped at a second fallen tree which was so big that it was used for cars to drive on top of it and get photographs done. The girls thought it was interesting but being that it was almost lunch time, attention was starting to wane.

Tharp's Log and beyond

 Our walk led us to Tharp's Log where the first settler made a little home out a fallen sequoia log. It was quite impressive with a table and a bed. We took a different way back which took us through another grove of sequoia and to the chimney tree. The girls thought it was great as they could see out the top of it. It was a reminder of the fires that came through there recently, and in fact there was a fire control exercise happening and we even saw some smoke from a smouldering log. It was a beautiful walk though.

First Sequoia walk

 We got up in the morning and after a quick breaky we headed out for our first walk amongst the giant sequoia. It was spectacular as the walk had us walking around a high Sierra meadow before finding a couple of grumps on some stumps. They were just playing at being grumpy though and they really enjoyed playing on and around the giant sequoia. The size and age of those trees is just magnificent and photographs don't do them justice. We looked so little next to them and felt in awe of these wonderful trees.

Carmel beach and drive across

 The day was a driving day but we stopped in at a beach in Carmel. Originally we were going to drive along the 17 mile drive to take a look at the lonely pine, but there was a charge to use the road which we refused to pay. The beach was quite scenic and the kids really enjoyed it. Afterwards we got in the car and headed out towards Sequoia National Park by traversing the central valley. This was actually a more interesting drive than we expected as it took as through some typical Californian foothills and valleys. We drove through Visalia where one of our friends is from before finally arriving in the national park. Our lodge was set amongst quite a scenic spot with some great views.

Hotel swim

 The hotel we were staying in had a funny covered outdoor pool. The girls didn't really worry themselves about this and got right in. The pool was a bit chilly which meant EV only got in very briefly before getting out again. The other two were very happy to stay in for quite some time before it was time to check out and hit the road.

Visiting Cannery Row

 Our first morning in Monterey we got a quick breakfast in the hotel before we headed out to Cannery Row. We walked around and took in some sights and pointed out some of the places mentioned in the Steinbeck books. One of the highlights though was looking for wild seals and otters in the bay. We saw several of them which was quite exciting.