Happy Hikers at Point ReyesThe travel bug was upon us again. We had spent the two months since our return home from our last West Coast trip knocking off much of our East Coast bucket list. As I mentioned in our last trip overview, after 30 years living in the house where we started as newlyweds, raised two wonderful boys, and then learned to be empty nesters, we were taking the big plunge – selling our house and migrating west.

Unfortunately, the real estate market wasn’t cooperating with our dream, so rather than hanging around and dealing with the constant flow of people traipsing through our home, we decided to take a trip. Perhaps, as the old adage says that “a watched pot never boils,” the house would sell more easily if we weren’t watching.

As in other trips to visit the boys, our time together has generally become anchored around rocking climbing destinations – not exactly a hardship for me as they usually are some of the most scenic places anyway.

This trip was to be anchored with “family time” at the start in Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite and at the end in Truckee, near Donner Pass and north Lake Tahoe – both premier climbing destinations. Herb and I had never been to Truckee, so we were excited about seeing someplace new.

In between, Herb and I would explore on our own, going back to some old favorites and seeing some new ones, such as:

• Camp Richardson and the Tallac Historic Site in the South Lake Tahoe area
• Returning to Lassen Volcanic National Park to hike the recently reopened trail to the top of Lassen Peak.
• Mt. Shasta and its beautiful nearby lakes
• Point Reyes National Seashore
• Napa and Sonoma Valleys – hopefully our stomping grounds when we move out here