Day # 28 - Yosemite N.P.

Today was a relaxing day. We had thought about going back into Yosemite, but the kids wanted a day at the pool and the campground petting zoo. Missy and I wanted a day with no driving and to sleep in. The sleeping–in part sure went well. No one got out of bed before 9:00. That might be a family record. Rarely will Abby sleep past 8:00, but she was actually still asleep when I woke her and Sarah at 9:30.

We had a quick breakfast followed by a serious session of sun-block application. Then off to the pool where everyone swan and played and jumped for almost 2-hours. Then we walked to the camp office and everyone got ice cream. Abby snagged the last rainbow push-up so I got stuck with a Klondike bar (the things we do for our kids) and everyone enjoyed their treat.

Abby was worn out from the pool and took her nap right after lunch. AJ on the other hand, was feeling frisky because he slept until 10:00 in the morning. He did finally lie down but it was only for an hour because at 4:00 every day here at the Yosemite Pines Campground, one of the owners opens up the petting zoo, and lets the kids go in and pet and feed the animals.

The Petting Zoo was very nice by any standard and certainly something you don’t see at many campgrounds. Sarah loved petting and feeding all the animals. Abby liked the donkey, sheep, Alpacas and ducks, but the chickens freaked her out and she got a little scared inside the chicken coop. Sarah on the other hand was happy to accept the owners offer to stick her hand under one of the roosting chickens and discovered she had laid 3 eggs! AJ was not too interested in the animals that were bigger than him and just wanted to play with the ducks and chickens. So Missy and I picked up chickens for him to touch. He would touch one and squeal and say “dis-gus-ting”. But he kept asking to go back into the chicken coop even after everyone else had moved over to the donkey pen. The kindly owner let AJ and I go back over to the chicken coop after most of the other kids had left because he kept saying “AJ play a chickens”. All the kids got to feed the goats and AJ and Abby really liked that. The Petting Zoo was a big hit.

After the petting Zoo we went back to the camper so Missy and I could begin packing up for the move over to San Francisco tomorrow. We made Pizza for dinner using the “ready to bake” crusts. This is becoming our traditional dinner on nights when we have to move the next morning. It is easy to make and does not require getting the grill dirty when I am trying to pack-up the outside cooking stuff.

After dinner everyone got a bath to get the chlorine and sunscreen off. The kids were in bed by 8:30 so Missy and I could finish packing up. A low key day compared to most of the other lately but we all had a very good time.

Just a quick note. I am repeatedly amazed by how nice most of the people we meet in campgrounds are. I had several very nice conversations with a retired couple camping next to us this week named Ron and Toni. We actually bumped into them at the Yosemite Valley visitors center 2-days ago and had a nice talk there also. They are from one of the larger town that surrounds Los Angeles and they came up for the week to meet their Daughter and her family who camped in a rented Motor home next to them. Today I noticed a baseball near our camper and thought it might have belonged to one of their grandkids. When I went to ask about it, I noticed Ron sitting outside reading a book by Jonathan Kellerman. I have seen his books but not read one. So I asked him if it was any good. He said it was good but not great and that he was almost done. We talked about some books we liked for a couple of minutes, and then Abby came to ask me for something, and I left. A couple of hours later Ron comes over and tells me he finished the book and asks if I would like to have his copy. I asked several times if I could pay him for it and he said “no…it is a gift”. I gave them the web address of this blog and if you are reading this Ron - That was very nice…Thank you.