Been there, done that, the beach was last month in San Diego and the weather generally sucked. This recent beach journey with the otter story was just a Saturday cruise (had to get the kids out while Mom studied for her college finals), we're only about 40 minutes from the unspoiled San Mateo coast (kind of like a mini-Big Sur). The only vacation coming up now is in August, booked a week at my favorite cabin at our favorite family place, Coffee Creek Ranch, a 100 year old AAA three diamond guest (dude) ranch in the Trinity Alps for the third year in a row. It ain't cheap, but it sure is fun for all (except all the muscles that get tortured by riding horses). One of the best things about it is that they have camp counselors that play with the kids all day so Mom and I can escape and have fun too. The typical day is eat, ride, swim, hot tub, eat, swim, shoot, ride, fish, eat, get my ass kicked in the nightly staff vs guest volleyball game, drink, swim, hot tub and sleep then get up and repeat. And, the scenery is awesome, the Trinity Alps makes the Sierras seem highly developed. They are truly rugged mountains. The ranch spans Coffee Creek which is a corridor of National Forest surrounded by miles and miles of National Wilderness. Just look out for the bears when you are out at night and the rattlers when you're out during the day. Seriously, the ranch dogs chase off the bears several nights a week, if you hear barking stay indoors. They even have an authentic Johnny Appleseed orchard on the premises. We found it when we were looking for a place to vacation with little kids where we could park the car and not get in it again for a week. Guaranteed, there is no where else like it on earth. The guest to staff ratio is no more than 2:1, so service is not in short supply. Gotta love it!
Rman |
