We had been looking forward to our family's visit for quite some time. They were brave enough to meet us in northern California, where there was essentially nothing. Dad told me a few times that he had rented a hotel in "downtown Burney," and I hesitated to break it to him that that's not a thing. But we made do: we got kicked out of a bar on our first night at 9pm, and the next day we explored Burney Falls, got soft serve ice cream, and made our way to Redding, California which isn't exactly a tourist hotspot, but it's big enough to host a "winery" in an old hospital building and has actual grocery stores, all of which we hit up on our way to our cabin for the night. The cabin was on Lake Shasta, and the shared deck boasted a gorgeous view. Matt, Boom, Dad, and I took the paddle boards and kayaks out for a spin, which actually turned out to be a death trap due to some irresponsible boat driving. That evening we grilled dinner on the deck and of course played many hours of cards.
[Dad's b-day cake, Burney Falls, hospital wine, views from the deck, cuties, Shasta vibes]
The next day after a game of life size Jenga on the deck we drove to the town of Mount Shasta, where Rebecca purchased one of the town's signature goods, a crystal meant to absorb negativity and empower her as a leader. She said she was taking to her classroom. We then made our way to the Shasta resort, where we all konked out before happy hour at the resort tavern. More card playing was in order, and then we went to see the sunset on the lake with a gorgeous view of Mount Shasta, and the whole thing felt very all-American.
In the morning, Boom, Dad, and I woke up early to drive Boom back to the trail. We were lucky enough to have breakfast with Animal, Jetpack, Hawkeye, and a few others before parting ways. It was really hard to say goodbye and end this journey with Boom. We've had such a good time together; this trip has felt very special for our relationship, and I will really miss being with him 24/7.
[Boom up to no good, sauna weather, Boom on his selfie game, fam photo, no longer together, Bec getting a henna tat in Portland]
After having a good cry in the car, we returned to Mount Shasta for the sibs and started our drive north, stopping in Ashland, Oregon for lunch before making the rest of the drive to Portland. That night we had a delicious dinner in the big city. The next day consisted of bike touring, beer festival going, and Jason Bourne watching. The movie came into play because we were all so exhausted that we needed an appropriate place to sit down and do nothing. Before that dad had asked our waitress where the closest place was for us to get horizontal on the concrete. He gestured to the sidewalk by our table: "is this too close?"
That night we had to say goodbye to Matt, which also sucked, and we all got on our red eye flights back to Ohio.
[news from the trail, news from the trail, drowning my sorrows, taunting death in Portland, half asleep, little Matty]
