Shaver Lake with Yocoms and a Bougere

Wi-Fi black out again for the past few days. On Tuesday the 26th, George and I reunited with the family at the Visitor’s Center in Yosemite National Park. Yay! The girls and Mom gave me a round a applause for surviving the illness of doom. The park was quite crowded and that lessened the fun for our group. Also, we planned poorly and really could have used more than a day to enjoy the natural wonders that surrounded us. We made the best of it, though, and toured for the afternoon. George swam, wearing street clothes, including jeans, in a lovely river that featured a wide sand bar and gentle water. I watched. The Yocom girls and Mark and Mom ventured out to see half dome and the falls on their own. After Yosemite and the 3 hour drive back to the camp (and first sight for George and me) we bought groceries at Ken’s (not Bob’s, the smaller grocer in Shaver Lake) and cooked dinner. Then, Mark and I promptly dumped the dinner in the dirt. Well, the pasta we cooked went into the dirt during an unsuccessful attempt to drain the water. Dinner do-over went much better. Cranky and tired kids and grown ups went to bed.

Our Wednesday (the 27th) was just spectacular. On our last day together the crew decided to rent a pontoon and explore Shaver Lake. Several stops were made for swimming (only Mom - probably the smartest of us - didn’t swim). The water was cold but it felt pretty great. Kids shivered, especially because they had to wear life jackets the entire trip (which makes total sense) and the jackets retained water and chills. Rowen commented that her butt cheeks had goose bumps. Now that’s cold. Each kid got a chance to drive the boat and the big kid (Mark) enjoyed it as well. And the fish finder feature was a hit with the kids, even though we were not outfitted to fish! We were sad to drop it off at the marina after a splendid day. Dinner and kids headed to see The Lion King with Mark. Mom, George and I had one last game of May I before bed.

Today (Thursday the 28th) we say our goodbyes to Mark, Mom and the girls. It’s been such a gift to have this time with them and we will miss them all! We spent the day driving to Reno, where we are now at the Circus Circus hotel on the 25th floor. Time for some gambling (ok, not our style, but maybe room service).