Aaahhhhh, Vacation!

So relaxing, so exciting, so invigorating, so exhausting!! We've just returned from a whirlwind 5 day road trip, beginning with an auction in Reno, NV and wandering from there up the northern most parts of CA that we've never seen. It was rugged, wild country and incredibly beautiful.

After a time winding thru mountain roads, we came around a bend and saw this - it is Lassen Peak. Our trail didn't take us too close to it, instead we veered around and wound up close to Mt. Shasta - in the shadow, in fact.

While cruising along at 65 along a nice semi-freeway, Jerry saw a dirt road up ahead and unceremoniously dove for it. We followed this logging road for a couple miles until it petered out, then became a cow trail and we stuck to it. This was the first big trip for our new truck, and it was a terrific way to travel, very comfortable. On this particular bit of off-roading, the truck did it's first bit of 4 wheel drive, thru some rough and muddy areas. It turned from white to brown in a big hurry!! Our next important stop was Burney Falls:

And all you can say about this is WOW WOW WOW -- awesome! There was a short 1/2 mile hike on a good trail to actually get to the pool, but after a long debate, I decided not to. The path snaked across the face of the cliff, not a hard walk but right against the wall, with the sun directly on it and the thermometer sat right at 102. Being old and thermostatically challenged as I am now, I figured I'd probably pass out before getting back up.

Finally, my personal Mission Statement for the trip was to visit as many quilt stores in as many towns as possible. May I present to you the evidence:

I did have a purchasing plan, and I stuck to it quite well. I was to only buy very lights, or very darks, or books and toys. With 2 exceptions, I did exactly that - but the two pieces of orange sherbet were too luscious to pass up. I found a long ruler 7 and 1/2 inches wide instead of 6, and that will be handy for me.

So after a lazy day mostly dozing in a chair, today I'm fired up to "play" as I call it - I still have 5 days of work, and getting to stay in my home and be domestic is such a pleasure for me. I may even have myself a little tea-party, a la Patty over at Morning Ramble!