Fail Weekend

This past weekend didn't go quite as planned. We headed out on Friday late afternoon-ish to go to camping at Fremont Peak State Park. When we got there, it wasn't what we had in mind. We had brought along our bikes and were hoping for some trails but there were none. Just a handful of crowded sites at the top of a mountain. We decided to keep driving and try our luck at a national park with a campground about an hour south. On the way out, we risked our lives to get a picture of this little sweetie:

Really, we almost got plowed over. Apparently we weren't the only ones trying to get out of there in a hurry. 

When we arrived at Pinnacles National Monument it was pitch black and we had a difficult time navigating around the campground and finding an open campsite. But we finally did and set up for the weekend. When we got up the next morning it was h-o-t and everything was covered in dust. I have never camped in the desert before and was quickly realizing that I didn't like it. Not. At. All.

We hopped in the car and tried to find some cool areas that we could explore but weren't having any luck because: a) Hazel wasn't allowed to be on any trails and b) we were in the stinkin' desert and everything was dry, open, dusty land.

We decided to abort the mission and head back to the campsite where we could just relax and read in our camping chairs. So we got back and then it happened... Attack of the flies. These guys were EVERYWHERE. So we packed up our dirt-covered belongings in the million-degree heat (that's just a slight exaggeration) with flies swarming us and got the heck out of there.

We stopped in Hollister, CA on the way home thinking that there had to be something cool there if a clothing line named themselves after the place. Wrong. Oddly enough, though, we saw several yard sales with clothing laid out piece-by-piece covering the whole lawn like a giant t-shirt blanket.

We got home and unloaded our camping gear. We kept the bikes on the car and then drove to Quarry Lakes Recreation Area (about 20 minutes from our home). We rode along the trails and also read by the lake.

On Sunday we were heading to the water park and saw they were closed as we approached the gate. I'm sure we had the same feeling the Griswold's had when they got to Walley World, minus the moose punching.

The trip wasn't a total bust because we did get to see an afternoon karaoke session the park was hosting. I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera/video recorder when an older lady took the stage and sang Justin Bieber in full-out fan gear with dance moves. Hilarious!

(My Photoshop creation)

Then we went to a park by our house where we read and played with Hazel.

And finally, we did one of our favorite new activities, riding our bikes to the grocery store. I love this because there always seems to be just a couple things I'm missing to make dinner and it's way more fun than a trip in the car. Notice something in the following photo?

We have neighbors that steel shopping carts. On any given day, you could walk around the block and see someone pushing a cart to their house. Some leave them tucked in bushes while others keep them right out in their front yards. I know what you're thinking: Classy place they're living in...anything for sale?  

Marty Moose image found here.