2024 – different, but busy!

So 2024 was a LITTLE BIT different than the previous 2 years: We decided to get everything paid off (that means the truck and the trailer), and we had a Companion Pass from Southwest Airlines. That means I can use my airline points for my ticket, and bring someone with me on flights, for the cost of the taxes, which is less than $6 each way! So 2024 was the year of flying Southwest! We went to Texas to see the eclipse (see prior post), to Salt Lake City to attend our youngest nephew’s wedding, to Iowa to visit Kyle, and to Colorado to visit Karel’s oldest brother, CJ and his lovely wife Peggy! So here are the details:

In April Kyle came home for a few days- it’s always soooo good to see him! We went to an Angels game:

The drones were so cool!

We had a great time! Janelle was working so she couldn’t come, but we did have a family day at the beach:

We used our Companion Pass to go to Salt Lake City for our nephew’s wedding.

Cayden and Lauren were married May 3rd in Salt Lake City Temple, and had a lovely luncheon. Later that evening they had a ceremony officiated by Rodney, Jerry’s brother and Cayden’s father, followed by a reception. Lauren was beautiful, and her family was warm and welcoming. The bride and groom were so happy, and everything was lovely! We enjoyed spending time with Jerry’s family and celebrating the newlyweds!

In June we went camping at our favorite campground, Chula Vista RV Resort, just south of San Diego. Our reservation was for just over 2 weeks, but we extended it a couple times because it was just too darn hot to go home! Which would you choose- 73 degrees at the beach or 115 degrees at home? Yep, that’s what we chose too! We had a wonderful time just relaxing, hanging out at the resort pool, and did a little tourist stuff too. We went whale watching and saw a blue whale and a bunch of dolphins, who swam with our boat:

We visited the Midway, which always has something new! It has spoiled us for other ships, because nothing else is as extensively renovated as the Midway! While there we saw a guided missile cruiser come into port, and a couple fighter jets kept flying over the campground one day:

Another cool thing at Liberty Station in San Diego is a Nautical History Museum- it is awesome! The guy putting it together is amazing, and he builds all the vignettes himself and spends all his own money on everything in the museum:

Be sure to stop by and see this small museum if you are in San Diego, and visit with the owner/proprietor!

We went back to Chula Vista in September for 3 and a half weeks- can you tell we love it there? We did more tourist stuff, visiting the San Diego Zoo where we enjoyed the beautiful grounds and all the animals- we even got to see one of the pandas (the other wouldn’t come out)!

We also went to the Wild Animal Park, where we saw lot of animals, including an albino wallaby, condors, and chubby unicorns (rhinos):

Then home for 5 days before we used our Companion Pass to go to Iowa to visit Kyle. It was soooo wonderful to see him! While there we went to visit some caves in eastern Iowa:

We went to the I80, supposedly the largest truck stop in the world (not worth the drive, but ok if you are heading that way):

There was also a truck museum, with some cool OLD trucks:

We want on a nice hike on the Old Trestle Trail bridge:

And went to the ISU-Baylor football game- GO CYCLONES!

Jerry and I went to Reiman Gardens at Iowa State University to see the butterfly exhibit:

In November we went to Yosemite for a couple days. Yosemite is one of our favorite places, and it is stunning in the fall! When we got to the entrance gate they asked if we had chains because there had been snow, and they wouldn’t let you drive into the valley without them. Of course we did not (didn’t even know it had snowed until we were almost there, and the roads had been cleared…).

So we went on a search for chains- first to a store in the park that is fairly close to the entrance, and before the chain control checkpoint- (didn’t have our size), then another store in the park (didn’t have our size), then a store outside the park (had our size but charged an obscene amount), then to an auto supply store who had the right size, and then told us we could return them if we didn’t use them! So, 2 hours later we get back to the park- and they are not checking for chains anymore! You can bet we returned the chains on our way home!

We had a wonderful time in Yosemite, hiking and visiting the store and gallery:

We had dinner at the Ahwahnee, the fancy hotel in the park. Dinner was delicious, although it was a buffet rather than their normal menu due to ongoing expansion of the kitchen. It was still a nice treat, as we have only eaten there a couple times before. The dining room (and the hotel) is amazing, so be sure to at least peek in when you go to Yosemite!

Our last Companion Pass trip of the year was to Colorado Springs to visit Karel’s brother, CJ, and his wife Peggy, and we were lucky enough to time our trip for their 50th Anniversary celebration! Their daughter Erika and her husband Aaron hosted a lovely party, and we were thrilled we could be there for it! We enjoyed seeing all of CJ and Peggy’s kids and grandkids, as well as meeting Peggy’s sisters- so much fun!

I had read that Denver has a wonderful Christkindl Market, so we visited it one day. It was fun, with booths selling things that reminded me of when we lived in Germany while growing up, but it was smaller than I expected and VERY EXPENSIVE! We had a good time, but been there, done that, probably won’t do it again.

Jerry and I were excited to get snow while we were in Colorado- it was sooo beautiful, although I know CJ and Peggy were NOT as excited as we were. Jerry broke out their snow blower to clear the driveway, and we got out the shovels to make sure we go everything cleared off- good exercise! The dogs watched Jerry clear off the back steps, and there were some animal tracks in the snow:

We did make a quick trip to Disneyland- we love it when it is decorated for the holidays!

Well, that’s it for 2024. Truck and trailer are paid off, so we will be planning our 2025 trip back east , and will be posting along the way- can’t wait!

Teaser: We got another Companion Pass for a couple months in 2025, and we did use it for a fun trip to South Carolina- look for that post coming soon!