After spending the summer in Nome, Alaska, and then house-sitting in Washington through October, we were ready for some sunshine. So we loaded up the old minivan camper and high-tailed it south through Washington and Oregon and didn’t stop until we made it to Northern California. I hadn’t been to Burney Falls since college – these photos were taken about 25 years apart. We made a quick stop at Lava Beds National Monument before heading further south to the hot springs area near Mammoth.

After a few days of soaking until we were pruney, we headed further south through Yosemite.  Yosemite ended up being too crowded for our taste so we drove straight through to Santa Barbara with a lunch stop near Avila Beach. In Santa Barbara, we lucked out and were able to get the last waterfront campsite thanks to a cancellation.

When we finally made it to San Diego we rented a two-bedroom mother-in-law house from a family friend. We spent the next three months with family and friends and soaking up the sun.

And just like that it was time to head north again for a couple more house-sits. (To learn more about becoming a house/pet sitter yourself click here)  We arrived for the first big snow of the year.  Want to see even more photos? Check out our Photo Albums.