Seasons Greetings from the California Kendalls

Greetings loved ones! Lets take a journey into the year of the California Kendalls…

Our Australian Shepherd Sydney celebrated her twelfth birthday by rescuing a puppy! Wally, a 10-week old Aussie/Labrador Retriever mix came home from the shelter on December 4^th. He is smart, happy and headstrong.

The girls are fine, fresh and fierce... Both got their braces off this year and both enjoyed a weeklong summer sleep-away camp in the mountains. We got them to join us for one of the local run-for-the-hungry benefits. And both were wonderful singing & dancing for a weekend crash course in musical theater put on by a traveling troop of talented kids (The Young Americans). They even helped Lesli when we got to host a couple of the kids for a week.

Savannah got a cell phone for her 13^th birthday and was a good sport for the next week when there was no cell coverage on our mountain vacation (!!). She consoled herself on the trip with epic rafting…mule rides…chasing bears from our campsite…and horsing around with her sister.

She was unfazed when, in her 7^th year of Hula dancing, she was asked to perform at the Japanese cultural center – even though she was the only blond in sight! She loves singing in the school choir and designing clothes – this year she created and helped sew her own Halloween costume. Next year she’ll be in (gulp!) high school!

Charlotte celebrated her 10^th birthday with a trip to Disneyland with family and friends. She is very attentive to Sydney & Wally and was the most spirited member of her volleyball team coached by Lesli. She enjoyed the outdoorsy elements of our mountain vacation – she caught the biggest trout... ...got attacked by a giant eagle...

...and was grateful for our room at Wawona Lodge after camping in the high-country of Yosemite. Her toughness was put to test in November when we joined Lesli’s folks at the Grand Canyon and rode mules from the rim to the bottom. It was a raw day and the narrow trail switchbacks were inches from 4,000-foot drops! Luckily she had an ornery mule that pushed oncoming hikers off the trail!

Lesli chaired the organizing committee for her 30^th high school class reunion – a weekend affair in August. Crazy weather stymied her summer produce garden (it was the coldest summer on record, followed by the hottest day ever) but the winter garden is coming along nicely with lettuces, carrots, snap peas, broccoli, radishes and more. We enjoyed her mother Margery’s 70^th birthday party. Lesli's natural athleticism helped her win the tortilla toss trophy at the annual party of her high school musical theater teacher!

Our weekend ski trips with friends and with the girls continue to be winter highlights while Thanksgiving with her family in San Diego is a tradition we all enjoy.

Dan is at the perfect age where he can blame his A.D.D. on senility or vice-versa. For the 4^th of July his sister Julie joined us laying underneath the palm trees in Palm Springs and a few weeks later his sister Linda visited LA with her 20-something kids Kendall & Harper and Harper’s fiancée Michelle. Recent business travel earned enough miles for Lesli and him to visit family friend Jerome in Amsterdam and a side-trip to Belgium, getting a generous dose of Van Goghs, tulips, chocolates and beer (not all at once!).

He was the culprit who planned our 2-day Canyon mule trip and overnight Phantom Ranch stay at the bottom. He saw his Atlanta Braves three times and loves to talk with his dad about sports, gardens and how to age gracefully (subject to interpretation!).

Our travels this year convince us that nothing comes close to the golden coast and though winter solstice looms, we wish you a sun-kissed 2011.

The Kendalls - Dan, Lesli, Savannah, Charlotte, Sydney & Wally

Sierra Circle 2010

Our summer vacation was a weeklong circle through the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. We began with a river-rafting trip on the southernmost river coming out of the Sierras, the Kern. Joined by our friends Noam and Rachel, we ran a tight ship along with our guide Ed... The next day we drove over Walker Pass and drove up the eastern edge of the mountains, stopping briefly to see Mt Whitney the tallest peak in the lower 48. Here is Lesli with the peak visible in the distance...
After camping the first two nights, we relished a couple nights in a lodge at the base of Mammoth Mountain. Here are the girls soaking in the hot-tub with the lodge behind them...
Charlotte preparing for bed on the condo's pull-out couch...

We got up early the next day to meet our fishing guide Fred. We followed him to Lake Mary for some great trout fishing! Here is Charlotte with the first catch of the day...
Savannah with a nice one that we ate for dinner that night...
Fred brought his Brittany Spaniel along. Whenever the fishing slowed down, Ruby gave the girls plenty to smile about...
We caught all we wanted by early afternoon!


The next day we left Mammoth Lakes, continuing north along the spine of the Sierras. All our friends who know these things told us we had to eat at the gas station in Lee Vining, CA. Gas station? Turns out they weren't kidding!

Here are our orders of 'gas station food' - my jambalaya and Lesli's lobster taquitos. This was easily the best prepared food we had the whole trip - seriously good stuff!



Our last stop in civilization was for dessert...



Continuing north we took a side-trip to Bodie, a bona fide ghost town...

Our northernmost point on the trip was this natural hot springs just outside of Bridgeport, California...


Then it was up and over the Tioga Pass and into Yosemite National Park. We camped the first two nights in Tuolumne Meadows (elevation 8,600 feet) and had bears sniffing around our campground! The first full day we went on a mule-ride up into the mountains. Here is Charlotte on Dotty, Dan on Lenny, Lesli on Paleface (a horse) and Savannah on Ivan...

The mules were wonderful to ride. Here are Charlotte and Savannah crossing a stream...



Paleface didn't cross the stream so much as he just drank it all up then walked over the dry bed (grin!)...


Lenny got the last laugh...



After lunch we went on a hike beside the Tuolumne river with a Park Ranger...


...and saw our first bear-cub with his mom!


Leaving the high-country for Yosemite valley, we had a picnic lunch at Tenaya lake and Charlotte practiced her disco-dancing...


and enjoyed the scenic beauty of Olmstead point...



We revisited all the main sights of the valley, then went swimming in the Merced river under the implacable El Capitan...

Wrapping up in the valley we down to historic (1914) Wawona Lodge for an overnight stay. We toured the grounds and Charlotte practiced her Charleston-dancing...
Dinner was fantastic!
...and after two cold nights in sleeping bags, the room felt like a palace and the girls recovered nicely from their shock of a hotel room without a TV...

We had a room on the second floor with a lovely communal verandah. Here is Lesli enjoying the evening view...
The front of the Lodge...
Savannah and the best hot chocolate of the trip...




Yosemite may be the only National Park with a golf course (I think the course pre-dated the park). Here is a first - the Kendall's enjoying a day of golf!!

After 'the links' we returned to the Lodge and went for a dip in the 100-year-old "Swimming Tank" (I guess that's what they called pools back then!)
Lesli on vacation: swimming tank in the foreground, golf course behind her...We said goodbye to Yosemite and headed to King's Canyon National Park by way of Fresno. Charlotte in the car. I think she's becoming a super-hero...
The sun was setting just as we entered King's Canyon. Just before arriving at our Lodge a mother bear and her two cubs crossed the road in front of us!

Day 8 and insanity sets in. Can you blame us? We've been cheek-to-jowl 24x7 for over a week. One of the many giggling fits...

King's Canyon doesn't get the publicity (or crowds) of Yosemite but is amazing. Sun-up and this is the view from our porch - the King's River a few feet from the door...
Several caves dot the park. We toured Boyden Cavern...

Oh! we were a little alarmed to find that there was a FOREST FIRE less than a mile from our lodge! We calmed down upon learning that it posed no threat to the grounds, was created by lightening and the park service was letting it burn because...well, that's what forests are supposed to do every once in awhile. We saw a lot of fire fighters, and once we had to wait in the car while a helicopter scooped water from the river in front of us! Here is picture of the fire...

We took another ranger-walk, this time in Zumwalt Meadow - one of the most idyllic places I've ever seen...Dan's brave girls - conquerors of California...
2,000 years ago the locals made dimples in these rocks to grind acorns for food. Charlotte demonstrates...

There is only one road into King's Canyon and it ends along the river. We relaxed here for a bit...

Back at the Lodge after dinner another attack of The Giggles caught us. CCK modeling the latest in millinery...

Day 10 and we're headed home. On the way out we stop at Grizzly Falls...


So that's it! We swam, golfed, rode mules, rafted, hiked, camped, fished and chased bears!