What a busy 3 weeks! Tuesday the 21st President Weston held a Zone Conference here in Redding. Redding and Anderson Zones attended. The focus was mainly on teaching and living the doctrine of repentance. We stayed until noon then returned to the Institute to relieve Brook.
Brittnee's high school graduation was the 21st. Obviously we didn't attend.
Brook took Nan to a nice restaurant for lunch on Thursday the 23rd. Kind of an "End of the School Year" luncheon. Friday the 24th was our last scheduled day at the Institute until fall classes begin. We will be teaching evening classes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. We have done a lot of publicity and hope we can generate some interest in those classes. We will also spend time at the Institute organizing, etc. as we prepare for fall.
25th - we drove out to Oak Bottom Marina at Whiskeytown Lake to check it out to see if it is somewhere we want to take family during their visits the next few weeks.
26th - picked up Martin for church services on Sunday. He enjoyed getting to know some of the YSA's. We hope to involve him more in YSA activities.
27th - Wades arrived at about 2PM. We had a good visit with them that afternoon. Dallin, Aubree and Chandler spent the night with us. The children took turns staying with us the days that we were here.
28th - Went to Turtle Bay Exploration Park in the morning. Feeding the parrots was a huge hit, as was the LEGO exhibit. That afternoon we took a trip to Shasta Caverns. Very fascinating. Started with a pontoon boat ride across Shasta Lake, then a bus ride up to the caverns. The tour through the caverns seeing all the stalactites and stalagmites was very interesting and all enjoyed it. Most reviews on the internet said it was worth the price but we should be prepared for the many, many steps. Boy - they were not kidding. We had to go down (and then, of course, up) steps to get to the pontoon ferry boat; steps inside the cavern - more than 300 all together; and then steps down outside to the bus-loading zone. It was hard going for Nan but she made it.
29th - Headed to the coast. We stayed at the Trinidad Inn just north of Trinidad on Patrick's Point Road. We had two cabin rooms - Tricia's and Gordon's had a kitchen. This little inn is right in the redwoods in a peaceful quiet setting. A place we will go back to if we ever have the chance. We had lunch at the Samoan Cookhouse which had been recommended by a member of the YSA Branch presidency. There are no menus - you get what the cook has prepared for the day. We had pot roast, vegetables, potatoes, salad, soup, cornbread and chocolate cake all served family style. Our first exposure to the giant redwoods was on 'The Avenue of the Giants.' This is a 30 mile stretch of highway about 40 miles south of Trinidad. Everyone was very taken back by how enormous these trees are. Ate dinner at the Seaside Cafe, which was right on Trinidad Bay. Beautiful setting.
30th- Headed north to Kalamath to go through the "Trees of Mystery." This was a hike through some huge redwoods and a ride up the sky tram to where you could see over the top of all the trees out to the ocean. When we got back to Trinidad Inn the hostess had prepared the fire-pit for us to build a fire for the evening. Tricia and Nan went into Trinidad and bought some chicken and steak which Gordon cooked on the grill provided. Gordon and all the kids went to the beach for an hour or so and saw five whales just off the coast.
31st- Drove back to Redding - swam in our pool - rested and went to the Black Bear Diner for dinner. The very first Black Bear Diner was opened in Mt. Shasta, CA. Now there are diners in several places, including Redding.
1st - The Wade clan headed home about 8 this morning. We rested and got ready for the Hughes coming on Monday.
2nd. - Attended sacrament meeting at the YSA Branch. Attended the 4th Ward to listen to Martin bear his testimony. Returned to the Branch for "Break-the-Fast" after 4th Ward. Attended both the Anderson Seminary Graduation at 5PM and Redding's Seminary Graduation at 7PM. We asked Brook to make Institute invitations we could hand out at each of the Seminary graduations. She did a great job. We gave the invitations to the graduates as they came off the stage after getting their diploma's. We're hoping the invitations will spark some interest in our summer institute classes.
3rd - Hughes arrived this evening about 5:30. Settled in and had dinner here.
4th - Went out to Turtle Bay. Fed parrots (always lots of fun) and went through the butterfly exhibit. That was a huge hit. Hundreds of butterflies. We had to be extra careful not to walk on the butterflies on the ground. We were told they absorb vitamins and minerals from the dirt. We released two after they came out of their chrysalis and got to name them. The children chose "Shoes" and "Ocean" as names. Cool! The Animal show was at 11 and it was so hot we were all miserable but had been told we could not leave our seats until after all the animals had done their thing. So we stuck it out. Hawks flew, the fox scampered and the porcupine waddled. It was an interesting presentation but the intense heat took most of the enjoyment out of it. The boys bought Turtle Bay T-shirts as souvenirs.
4th - Camille's high school graduation was today. Didn't attend this event either.
5th - Went to Whiskeytown Lake and played on the shore for the morning. The wild geese were pests. They have become intense beggars. One nipped Pam's toe thinking it was a Cheetos. We had to constantly shoo them away so the boys could play in the water. All the boys took to wading in the lake as if the water was 80 degrees.
6th - Walked the Sundial Bridge and went to 'Kid's Kingdom' for the morning. Kid's Kingdom is a tree-shaded, huge playground for climbing and swinging. That evening we went to Hometown Buffet for dinner. We were unaware but it was kids night. Free balloons, plus animals and hats made from tube balloons. Cotton candy was handed out. We all ate just what we wanted. Everyone came away full.
7th - Pam, Don and boys left this morning about 8:30. We are recovering and getting back in the groove. These two weeks are our slowest times here so it was perfect timing for families to visit.
We had a wonderful time with the two families. The Hughes spent about an hour or more at our pool every day. Since the temperature has climbed to 105-109 that felt refreshing. Little Landon actually was brave enough to jump off the deck into his mother's arms. He eventually didn't want her to stand there with her arms outstretched so we adults decided to let him experience going under for a split second. He came up sputtering but jumped again and again.
Now, back to work. A lot of leg work needs to take place recruiting students.
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