Now that Vivian is in elementary school, we have real Spring Breaks again, which we haven’t had since college. Last year, our Spring Break trip was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, even though Vivian was only going to school less than part-time and had a very flexible schedule, we still scheduled our Spring Break trip during the week that her school was closed. Since Irene wasn’t yet three months old yet and my energy level is low, we decided to travel somewhere within driving distance in California. We also joined Dan’s parents for the trip, who hadn’t seen us in over a year and a half and who had not yet met Irene. Long story short – we spent four nights and five days in Piedra, California, which is in the foothills along the Kings River east of Fresno.
I’m sure that Dan’s mom will write a wonderful and in-depth review of our trip on her blog, so I’ll stick to the highlights here.
Hilltop Home Away From Home
We stayed in an amazing house on a hilltop overlooking a breathtaking valley and the Kings River. It was accessed via a mile-long dirt road that we shared with grazing cattle.
Fishing
We hadn’t planned on going fishing on this trip, but there were two poles sitting on the front porch of our rental house and the local markets sold bait and tackle, so we went! We went fishing in the Kings River and in Pine Flat Lake. We didn’t catch anything, but the girls learned how to cast fishing lines and they are now hooked (pun intended). We can’t wait to take them (and hopefully catch some fish!) more often.
Hiking in the National Park
We took one day to drive to Kings Canyon National Park and explore and hike there. We hiked a two-mile loop on the Big Stump Trail. The kids hadn’t been hiking in months (and Irene had never been hiking), so they were pretty energized on the trail. There was snow and mud, uphills and downhills, and plenty of nature for them to examine.
We checked out the Kings Canyon Visitor’s Center (which was mostly a gift shop, due to COVID) and then hiked just over ½ mile on the General Grant Tree Trail in Grant Grove.
Big Cats
There isn’t a whole lot to do in the area where we were vacationing, but I found a “big cat rescue” center (Project Survival Cat Haven) and we toured it. Think Tiger King, but in California. We actually learned a lot on our tour and the kids enjoyed seeing the different big cats.
Visiting Grandma and Grandpa
The kids spent a lot of time playing with Dan’s parents, their Grandma and Grandpa, and playing with the many, many, many, many toys that they brought for them. And, like I said above, Irene got to finally meet her California grandparents for the first time.
No matter where we go, we find fun things to do and make so many wonderful family memories. The kids talk about our adventures all the time and I am amazed at what they remember. For example, a few days ago Lillian was reminding me of the time that we stood in the back of the truck and looked up at the night sky to find constellations, stars, and planets. It took me awhile to realize that she was remembering something from our trip to Arizona a year ago, when she was still only three years old! I love that the experiences that we have with the kids truly stick with them, even at such a young age.
The Chambers Family - A.D. 
It truly was a fun trip. Though Grandpa and Grandma did not have the energy and physical prowess of the younger generations, we loved seeing them go at it full blast. Also Frank and I focused a bit more on cabin activities so seeing photos, in Carrie’s post, of places we were not, was enjoyable and rounded out the adventure. I eventually wrote up Frank and my perspective. You can see it at the link for my May 6th WanderOrPonder post: http://wanderorponder.blogspot.com/2021/05/cabin-fever-no-way-family-and-fun.html. I am not as efficient as Carrie and hence my version was completed about a month after the trip. There is a lot of text in my post because I want to remember those fun times and when you are doing things with the kids, you are somewhat limited in photographing the moment. Although wearing Irene on her chest did not seem to limit Carrie in the slightest.