Us two traveling Kiwis didn't want a repeat of last years Christmas where we camped in the tent, alone, in the pouring rain at a hot spring in southern Chile. So we subtly hinted to an old friend Alex from Turlock, California that we would love to spend Christmas with her and her family. We met Alex when she stayed with us in New Zealand over two years ago through Couch Surfing, we had these crazy three days together and had since kept in contact via facebook. We knew she was a good sort though as she had repackaged and sent Wills new Nikon camera to him in Nicaragua and straight away offered to have us stay over Christmas!
So this is how we found ourselves arriving at the Riedinger family home on December 22nd to meet Alex's parents Bob and Anna while Alex was a work. We didn't know it until after we had arrived but the Riedinger family house was already famous for its hospitality and good times, it even has it's own facebook page called Camp Turlock. After initial introductions including meeting their five dogs we were shown to the trailer/caravan out in the pasture. The Riedinger's seemed to feel a little bad about putting us out there but we couldn't have been happier the trailer was gigantic compared the Dodge and even had it's own toilet and sink! The privacy and ability to let Scout straight out the door in the morning was an added bonus so we moved in and spread out for the first time in ages; it was bliss!
So this is how we found ourselves arriving at the Riedinger family home on December 22nd to meet Alex's parents Bob and Anna while Alex was a work. We didn't know it until after we had arrived but the Riedinger family house was already famous for its hospitality and good times, it even has it's own facebook page called Camp Turlock. After initial introductions including meeting their five dogs we were shown to the trailer/caravan out in the pasture. The Riedinger's seemed to feel a little bad about putting us out there but we couldn't have been happier the trailer was gigantic compared the Dodge and even had it's own toilet and sink! The privacy and ability to let Scout straight out the door in the morning was an added bonus so we moved in and spread out for the first time in ages; it was bliss!
I remember on the second day we were there Will and Bob nipped down to the car wreckers on the corner and haggled two used roof rails for the price of one so they could fix our badly broken roof set up. In the end the men did an awesome job, Bob even repaired the one we had snapped so we now had four rails to support all the stuff on the roof. We made the most of this extra strength and added a plastic box to the roof for even more storage. Initially it was for fire wood but that didn't last long after we brought our own snow skis in Canada. Now it contains our climbing gear. Will also constructed a wooden cradle for the jerry cans to sit more securely in. I helped for a while until Anna and Alex invited me to get my nails done. We all had them done in the same festive red and I began to feel like a real person again rather than some grimy traveler! On one of the other days leading up to Christmas we also gave the Dodge a much needed wash and vacuum and then left it set up like a normal car with the back seats folded up. We also made friends with some Mexicans at a tyre shop in town who gave us two used (but good) BF Goodrich tires for $20 to replace our two rear tires, particularly the one that kept slowly going flat.
One evening leading up to Christmas Alex and her boyfriend Jamie invited us to go to Del Osso Farms which was a county fair type thing. We sat in the car drinking Southern Comfort and eggnog out of mason jars for a while, then did a spot of ice skating or ice falling you might have called it if you were watching us. Next we wanted to do some down hill tubing but it had already closed for the night so Will decided to have a go at riding a big spinning, bucking, pumpkin! It was absolutely hilarious and one day I'll put the video of it online but for now you will have to settle for a screen shot. The evening of cheap thrills continued when we bought tickets for this giant bouncy inflated thing and bounced around laughing until it hurt. Afterwards we stopped in at Bass Pro for some last minute Christmas shopping then went to meet Alex's brother Zach briefly at his bosses house.
One evening leading up to Christmas Alex and her boyfriend Jamie invited us to go to Del Osso Farms which was a county fair type thing. We sat in the car drinking Southern Comfort and eggnog out of mason jars for a while, then did a spot of ice skating or ice falling you might have called it if you were watching us. Next we wanted to do some down hill tubing but it had already closed for the night so Will decided to have a go at riding a big spinning, bucking, pumpkin! It was absolutely hilarious and one day I'll put the video of it online but for now you will have to settle for a screen shot. The evening of cheap thrills continued when we bought tickets for this giant bouncy inflated thing and bounced around laughing until it hurt. Afterwards we stopped in at Bass Pro for some last minute Christmas shopping then went to meet Alex's brother Zach briefly at his bosses house.
On Christmas Eve day Will and I called our families using skype as it was Christmas Day already in New Zealand. It was really good to catch up with them and feel a bit closer to home for a while epically being able to see everyone on the video link. Christmas Eve was also the main event for the Riedinger family and everyone was there except for Alex's brother Chris a fireman, who had to work. For dinner we had homemade Tamales, refried beans, rice and Hey Honey! cocktails. Hey Honey! is a delicious up and coming artisanal lemonade produced by the Riedinger's. It's sweetened only with honey and is available across California in three delicious flavours. During dinner I got the Tamale with the secret jalapeño in it and my mouth just about exploded! After dinner and desert it was present time white elephant style. Will and I scored a massive box of assorted flavoured local Blue Diamond Almonds and a neck massager. It was really special for us to be included in this big family affair and we even received personal presents from Anna and Bob, and Alex! Later that evening two of the more sober people took us for a drive around the neighbourhood to see all the Christmas lights and a fun night was had by all.
Christmas Day was pretty low key with family coming and going, but for dinner we had another feast of roast turkey. I think this is also the day where we watched the old movie Christmas Vacation, a tradition in the Riedinger house, it's a classic. So that was the first of many celebrations over for another year.
During the week between Christmas and New Years the good times just kept coming one night we went out to watch Steve Frost the lead singer of Placebo who went to school with Jamie and Alex sing live, then finished the night with Moscow Mules (lime, ginger beer and vodka) at Alex's favourite bar 10 East. Then on the 28th we went with Alex and Jamie to a party at this crazy Medieval village at the back of someone's farm. They actually had a trebishe, a chapel, a banquette room, accommodation and a full on pub with four beers on tap! We had heaps of fun exploring the place and meeting all of Alex and Jamie's friends. Apparently they usually use the village for real life jousting competitions and have everyone dressed up medieval style and speak old English.
Will and I also really enjoyed Bob and Alex teaching us how to shoot bows, as that wasn't something we had ever done before. After an initial practice session in the back yard to get the basics Bob took us down to the range. Alex's dad Bob has a real passion for archery and was at the range almost every morning and he also has a nice head collection in the garage to prove the practice paid off. Bob helped set up the range which had about fifteen 3D targets set along a trail inside a wooded grove. They ranged from a beer climbing a log to a cougar in a tree. We thought we did pretty well for newbies as we weren't the only ones losing a few arrows in the brush. The only problem I was having was the string of the bow kept catching my arm leaving me with a few bruises but after a few days rest we returned to the range for more. On one occasion Will decided it was time Scout did some more swimming so he coaxed him into the freezing river that ran through the range. Scout struggled a bit in the fast water so crazy Will joined him in his undies then it was home quickly for a warm shower!
During the week between Christmas and New Years the good times just kept coming one night we went out to watch Steve Frost the lead singer of Placebo who went to school with Jamie and Alex sing live, then finished the night with Moscow Mules (lime, ginger beer and vodka) at Alex's favourite bar 10 East. Then on the 28th we went with Alex and Jamie to a party at this crazy Medieval village at the back of someone's farm. They actually had a trebishe, a chapel, a banquette room, accommodation and a full on pub with four beers on tap! We had heaps of fun exploring the place and meeting all of Alex and Jamie's friends. Apparently they usually use the village for real life jousting competitions and have everyone dressed up medieval style and speak old English.
Will and I also really enjoyed Bob and Alex teaching us how to shoot bows, as that wasn't something we had ever done before. After an initial practice session in the back yard to get the basics Bob took us down to the range. Alex's dad Bob has a real passion for archery and was at the range almost every morning and he also has a nice head collection in the garage to prove the practice paid off. Bob helped set up the range which had about fifteen 3D targets set along a trail inside a wooded grove. They ranged from a beer climbing a log to a cougar in a tree. We thought we did pretty well for newbies as we weren't the only ones losing a few arrows in the brush. The only problem I was having was the string of the bow kept catching my arm leaving me with a few bruises but after a few days rest we returned to the range for more. On one occasion Will decided it was time Scout did some more swimming so he coaxed him into the freezing river that ran through the range. Scout struggled a bit in the fast water so crazy Will joined him in his undies then it was home quickly for a warm shower!
Just a few days before New Years Eve Will, Alex, Jamie and I loaded up the Dodge and headed to Yosemite National Park for an overnight camping trip. The day was crisp as we enjoyed a few of the parks attractions and Will even spotted some climbers on the face of El Capitan. Late afternoon we headed to the camp site and set up our tents and put our food in the beer locker. We had a race with Alex and Jamie to put up the tents but got beaten by a hair, looks like we hadn't been sleeping in the tent as much as we thought. Dinner was Tamales cooked over the fire with beans and we talked around the warm flames of the camp fire into the night. The next morning we were glad to find we weren't the only ones who enjoyed a sleep in and Will even managed to cook our bacon and egg breakfast before the other two emerged. We left Yosemite that day but not before we bought a rock climbing guide book and vowed to come back and explore the place more thoroughly in the New Year.
On the 31st of December it was obviously time to celebrate the New Year so with the Dodge running well Alex, Jamie, Will and I hit the road once more for Big Sur over on the coast. We would be seeing in the new year with Alex's sister and her partner Billy at the Furnwood Campground. We left Scout behind with Anna and Bob who also had Zach's four dogs to look after making it nine dogs in total and six of them were big German Shepherds, thanks Anna! On the way there we stopped in for lunch at Phil's Fish Market for fish'n'chips on the beach in the Monterey sun shine and later arrived in Big Sur. A BBQ dinner with Kyra and Billy's friends started the evening then we moved to the bar where they had a live band playing. We had a super fun night messing around and dancing to the band. In the wee hours as the celebrations started to wind down I became tired so decided Will and I should sleep in the car to give the others some space in the tiny cabin we were all meant to be sharing. The next morning after a groggy start and a quick shower just before check out, we hit the road again. We stopped at the beach along the way for some fresh air then with Alex driving we called in to visit her other brother Chris at the fire station. He showed us around the station and we had a play in the fire engines. Afterwards we drove up the Carmel Valley to Kyra and Billy's house for the night. For dinner Billy showed off his culinary skills; we had a barbecued chicken cooked with a beer can up its butt, but it was tasty! The next day it was time to return to Camp Turlock and just when we thought the Dodge was going well we had a tire blow on one of the old tires and soon after changing it we ran out of gas! Neither was a problem we would now just need some more new (but used) tires and Alex no longer wanted to drive.
After the New Years celebrations we started to think about leaving and going on the rock climbing trip back to Yosemite. We returned the Dodge to camp mode and then decided to take up Anna's offer of looking after Scout while we went to Yosemite from the 6th until the 10th of January. We figured that we would leave Turlock straight after returning from Yosemite, so Jamie and Alex being the awesome down to earth people that they are made me a surprise birthday cake with candles! I was stoked. They had even asked Will what my favourite flavour was and they got it spot on with the rich chocolate!
I will write about our Yosemite trip in another blog but will finish this one by telling you about what happened when we returned to Turlock. So I may have said that we planed to leave straight after returning from Yosemite, well that pretty quickly turned into three more days in the trailer. The nice food and time to wash our clothes was too hard to resist! When Alex heard the news she organised to take us on a flight in a Cessna 172 with her and her instructor during some of her private plot licence training. We flew over the surrounding farm lands and country towns and got a new perspective of the Central Valley. We could really see how dry the region was by the vast areas of brown grass and we also got to see the dairys from above. It was strange and a little unnatural for us to see the cows constantly confined to such small enclosures and grain fed compared to the free range grass fed cattle in New Zealand.
I will write about our Yosemite trip in another blog but will finish this one by telling you about what happened when we returned to Turlock. So I may have said that we planed to leave straight after returning from Yosemite, well that pretty quickly turned into three more days in the trailer. The nice food and time to wash our clothes was too hard to resist! When Alex heard the news she organised to take us on a flight in a Cessna 172 with her and her instructor during some of her private plot licence training. We flew over the surrounding farm lands and country towns and got a new perspective of the Central Valley. We could really see how dry the region was by the vast areas of brown grass and we also got to see the dairys from above. It was strange and a little unnatural for us to see the cows constantly confined to such small enclosures and grain fed compared to the free range grass fed cattle in New Zealand.
After flying we returned to discover Alex's brother Zach had finally proposed to his girlfriend Amy, even we knew he was going to ask her but it was all news to Amy! The engaged couple came over that night and celebrated with champagne and cake. Will and I were really feeling like part of the family, if we'd stayed any longer we might have gotten an invitation to the wedding so it was probably time to leave! The following morning we had the Dodge packed ready to go and being the 13th of January it was my birthday. Having had the cake as well as receiving some cute handmade earrings from Alex a few days earlier I wasn't expecting anything on the actual day. That is until Jamie accidentally let the cat out of the bag that there would be a final birthday brunch celebration! I was blown away by these people that just kept on being so generous. Thus we finished off our time together with mimosa's, french toast and fresh strawberries even though it was only a few days before that we'd had waffles for breakfast. The food the Riedinger's ate was always locally grown and organic, we left with a new perspective towards food and we were now looking at the back of everything to see what it contained. We cant afford to buy totally organic but they had gotten us thinking and we really enjoyed the vegetable packed juices they made as well as the organic energy balls Alex made for our Yosemite trip.