It has been a while since we had taken a break to go any place since we moved to California. So, this memorial day weekend, we decided to take the 3 days completely off and go to Lake Shasta. We had been planning a trip to this place for a long time even when we were in Redmond. We left on Friday evening and reached Redding, CA at 11pm. It took us about 4.5 hours of drive with a half hour break.
The kids started getting bored in the last couple of hours, but we somehow managed to get through the drive without any electronic devices. We talked, they sang songs from their concerts and it was fun. We reached the hotel and crashed as it was already a long day.
Shasta Caverns
The next day we went to Shasta Caverns. These caverns are located in a mountain. We first drove to the visitor center where we had check in to take a boat to the caverns. The boat ride was about 20 – 30 mins and was fun. We got beautiful views of the mountains and I took a ton of pictures. After getting off the boat, we had to take a bus to the caverns. The road is very steep and we can see the valleys below us . The views from the bus are breathtaking. But, for people like me, it was a bit nauseating too.. all the turns. But it was not bad.
Once we got off the bus, we went to the tour of the caverns. We could generally go and explore it ourselves. There were tour guides inside explaining the various features and formations inside the caves. It was beautiful. My kids know so much about caves and rocks in general that they had the most fun.
Sarath’s class had done a unit on rocks in school and he had so many things to say and more questions to ask.
Shasta Dam
After the caverns, we had lunch and went to see the Shasta dam. We spent some time at the visitor center. It was nice and cool inside. We couldn’t go on the tour as we missed the last one for the day. We ate snacks and generally walked around and took pictures of the beautiful Mt.Shasta.
On the 2nd day, we wanted to go on a boat ride, but by the time we got there they did not have any motor boats left. So, we just went for a drive and then eventually went to Brandy Creek beach in Whiskeytown. It was a nice beach. We took our chairs to sit. The kids played for a long time. S and I sat under a tree and talked while keeping an eye on the kids.
We stayed there the entire afternoon. When it was time to leave, the kids were not happy at all. They were having so much fun. We had promised them ice cream that morning, so we got them into dry clothes, then bought ice cream for all of us. It felt so good eating ice cream on that hot day.
On day 3 and the final day of our trip, we went on the boat ride. We left early, had some breakfast and headed for the boat rental. We rented the boat for half day. It was so much fun. Initially S drove for a while. Then he asked me if I wanted to drive. I was a little nervous about driving a boat, but I really wanted to do it. So, I took the driver’s seat and went at a slow pace for a little bit. After I felt comfortable using it, I sped up and had the most fun.
Both of us took turns to take pictures and videos while on the boat. It was one of the best experiences we ever had. When it was time to return the boat, it was very very hot outside. We were glad to be out of the sun. We ate lunch and headed home!
It was a nice, relaxing and well earned trip.