Brett's Old Stomping Grounds

In May of this year, we went to visit my Papa. We knew he was getting close to the end, so we wanted to see him and take the kids with us. The last time we had gone to CA before this particular visit, was for my grandmother's funeral, and he was in the hospital, and in no condition to visit. The kids couldn't even go into his hospital room to see him. About 5 months after her death, he was doing a little better health-wise and in a nursing home, so we thought now would be the best time to go see him.


He was very happy to see us, but he was down in spirit. He missed my grandma so much. He didn't get to say good-bye to her because he was in the hospital when she passed away. I've never seen my papa cry, but this visit I did. I held his hand and cried with him. I am so glad we got to see him before he passed away and that the kids got to spend an hour or two each day with him.


Since we were in CA already, Brett wanted to take us a few hours north to where he grew up. San Luis Obispo is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I just love it there. It's a small town, but not too small and the coast is beautiful. This picture was taken at a park that Brett went to all the time growing up. He said him and his brothers spent hours here.

South of the park is a little canal, I'd guess you'd call it. It's not a stream and it's not a river, so we'll call it a canal. Anyway, Brett said he'd wade through this water after school, all the way to dinner time. The kids loved seeing a place where daddy played when he was little.



Connor flipped out when he saw this car. He loves Corvettes and he loves RED! He wanted to get as close as possible without touching it. Brett and I made it very clear: HE COULD NOT TOUCH THE CAR!

This is a huge volcanic rock just off the shore in Morro Bay. It's beautiful. There are lots of little shops and the kids got to talk to a real fisherman on his boat. They thought that was cool.

Here we are at Montana de Oro (Mountain of Gold) The name comes from the gold-colored flowers that grow on the mountain, not a buried treasure, like the kids thought. Talk about beautiful! It was so pretty here...not beaches to swim at but lots of climbing and hiking-- the kids loved it. They had no fear! There were a couple of times that Brett took us into a little alcove and the tide was just fine. 10 minutes later the tide is rising and we're scrambling to get out of there before the water gets too high! A little to much action, if you ask me. The kids didn't mind it at all.

We had just been down in that alcove a few minutes before and had to climb up the side of the hill before we got soaked! Makenna and Brett found a ton of abalone shells down there. She LOVES them and keeps them in a special box at home. Brett used to do the same thing as a child and actually almost drowned looking for abalone. Thank you to his Father and listening to the Spirit, he is here today!

Connor in an alcove before the water came in.

Here are the kids at an actual swimming beach. San Luis doesn't get a lot of swimmers and waders because the water is just too cold pretty much throughout the year. The water was COLD! But, I tell ya, we can't be in California and not go to the beach and get in the water. All we got in were our feet. Well, all except Mickey. The kids were jumping over waves for about an hour. They loved doing this. They would get farther and farther out as their legs got used to the temperature-- like up to their knees. Well, a huge wave came in and with McKay being the shortest, it totally toppeled him. He got put through the tumbler and was soaked! Too bad we didn't get any pictures of that! It was pretty funny, but I felt bad for him. He was freezing! Above being frozen though, the worst part was that he couldn't believe how salty the water was. He kept complaining about salt being in his mouth and nose. Poor guy!

This is a beach house Brett's family used to own. It is right on the beach! Brett's dad gets mad every time we bring this place up. He so wishes that they would have held on to it so we could use it, or so we could sell it for around $1 million! That's what houses go for in that area!