california adventure: old sacramento

 Old Sacramento is in the heart of downtown Sacramento. 

You can read all about it HERE :) 

We didn't do many of the "attractions," just strolled around {Demi did literally}, shopped, ate lunch, and checked out the one room school house.

Lauren, Jess' sister, was SO excited for us to see the one room school house, especially for Jess since she's a teacher! It was pretty neat, but I was in no hurry to get in a school mid-July! Haha! 

 

She's always been a good student ;0) 

No school day is complete without a little recess :) 

 School starts tomorrow for me - I'm officially dying and mourning the end of summer break.

california adventure: muir woods

They will be like a tree planted by the water 

that sends out its roots by the stream. 

It does not fear when heat comes; 

it's leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought 

and never fails to bear fruit.

Jeremiah 17:8

Hands down, my favorite California Adventure was when we went to Muir Woods.

It was a little drive from Jess' sister's apartment, but SO worth it! I would suggest if anyone is in the San Francisco area....GO to Muir Woods to see the magnificent red woods! 

On the drive we passed by an amazing look out and had to stop! You wouldn't know by this picture, but there's a beautiful bay in the background.

A little better here {but not really}  ;-)

When we got to Muir Woods it was pretty crowded, but we found parking and it only cost $7 to get into the official park. I love doing active things on vacation, so this was a perfect afternoon of hiking and moving, but not getting super sweaty and out of breath! 

The trees were PHENOMENAL! I was so in awe of God's creation! More recently, I've really felt God's presence and power through nature. I didn't have any major "ah ha" moments, but it was a simple reassurance that God is amazing, powerful, and in every detail of this earth. 

Jess fit inside the tree! Ahhh!  

And me too! 

{Funny story: after Jess took my picture someone waiting in line to get their picture asked if they wanted us to take a pic of both of us in the tree. I hate attention and everyone watching while I get my picture taken so I said "nooo that's okay!" before Jess could say anything and the kind stranger replied "yeah, I don't like my friends either." Bahaha! Sorry Jess!}

 There were several trails you could chose to hike through the park - we did one that was around 2 miles. Started on the hillside and moved down to the ground level. Going up on the hillside was really neat - gave a different perspective. 

I only felt like I was going to slip, fall, and die once or twice. :)

 See the little people down there? 

 

The rest of the pictures I'll leave caption free - there really aren't words to describe the beauty of the woods. 

california adventure: jelly belly factory

Buttered Popcorn Jelly Belly anyone?

Dr. Pepper?

Chocolate?

Kiwi?

Baby Wipes?

Vomit?

Getting a little gross there, but I did try one of the last 2!!

One of my favorite afternoon trips we was to the Jelly Belly factory! I imagine the locals view it a lot like I view the Hershey factory: fun, but just a big ploy to get you to buy chocolate {in this case - jelly beans}

There he is, in all his flying glory! Mr. Jelly Belly himself!! 

 And we're ready for the tour! 

They gave us these awesome "hats" to wear during the tour to keep our hair from getting into the jelly beans. Ummmm...right {anyone else notice the hair that isn't being covered by the "hat"??} 

 

After the tour, we went straight for the Sample Bar where I tried:

Pencil Shavings

Baby Wipes

and.......??? {I can't remember!}

Baby wipes tasted JUST LIKE baby wipes!!! It was so gross!! Haha

GAG.

COUGH.

I'm back.

After the baby wipe recovery, we browsed the store and made our buys. I didn't get a whole lot, just 4-2lb bags of Belly Flops.

BAHAHA - only 8 pounds of Jelly Belly mess ups! 

Next up: Muir Woods {personal favorite!!}

california adventure: golden gate, fisherman's wharf, alcatraz

We wasted no time once we arrived in SF!

Trolley car on the way to the Golden Gate Bridge! Rice-A-Roni anyone?? :)

 It was pretty foggy {and cold} this morning, but we still saw a little glimpse of the GGB! 

They find me everywhere...

Such a blessing to be here! 

After our stop to see the bridge, we went to Fisherman's Wharf for lunch.

Two sisters at Wipeout Bar & Grill 

And can I just add that Demi did an amazing job sightseeing with us all morning! As long as she had her bottle she was a happy little girl :) 

 We finished up our day checking out Alcatraz....from a distance!! Pretty sure being 1.5 miles away was close enough for me!!  

Jess' sister lived about an hour from SF, so that's pretty much what we did in the city. We were exhausted at this point and in desperate need of a shower, nothing sounded better than heading "home" for the day. 

Next up: Jelly Belly Factory!!