How do you follow up six weeks traveling around Central Asia followed by three weeks exploring Mongolia?  What could possibly complement that sort of massive adventure?  Ah, well, we had a good idea and flew to California where our plan was to catch up with family, some who live there and some who are also coming to visit from Australia.  For Julie and I that’s California dreamin’ come true.

Our first stop was my family home where I grew up and where my mother still rules the roost.  It’s always great fun for us to be in such familiar territory and wonderful to hang out with my Mum (or Mom, depending on your preference).  And it was a perfect antidote, if one was needed, after more than two months travelling in remote and under somewhat challenging  conditions.

Within a couple of days our daughter and her family arrived from Sydney on their first family visit to America.  And didn’t the girls love exploring their great grandmother’s house, watching the squirrels and deer in the yard and having so many new experiences.  Travel is grand for all ages.

After a couple of days resetting their body clocks we headed off for the start of a major road trip.  First stop was the family rural property near Pacheco Pass which connects the coast of the Monterey Bay area with central California.  We spent the afternoon exploring the rolling hills of this ranch land by four wheel drive and enjoyed a great night around the fire and under the stars.  There may have been only seven of us there but we covered four generations and had a whale of a time enjoying the great outdoors together.

But the road trip continued as we headed northward through Sacramento and ended up at beautiful Lake Tahoe where a huge mob of our extended family was already settled in, enjoying this wonderful alpine lake setting. 

Lake Tahoe sits at about 6,200 feet (about 1,900 metres), surrounded by much taller mountains, some of which sport world class ski resorts for the winter months. It straddles California and Nevada and is the largest alpine lake in North America. This time of year the skiing is behind a boat skimming across the deep blue water but other family options include kayaking, stand up paddles, brief swims in the cold cold water or perhaps a combination of all these.  It’s summer, you’re at Tahoe, life is good.

We stayed at Tahoe for quite a few days, mixing with my sister and her husband’s extended family, introducing our daughter and her family to Tahoe summer life while watching the girls mix with their extended family.  Absolutely fabulous.

With our Aussie family packed into Tramp and heading north (without us!) to explore new corners of California while we relocated back to Salinas for some chill time with my beautiful mother. 

But Julie and I were on a mission – a mission to see more missions – and we headed off in a southerly direction.

European colonisation of what is now known as California did not happen by land-seeking pioneers migrating from the eastern states, as was the case for most other states in the US.  California was first permanently inhabited by Europeans from the south as Spanish missionaries moved up the coast to save the souls of the indigenous tribes in the area (whether they wanted it or not) and to claim the land for the King of Spain. 

Along the way they established 21 missions from the late 18^th century to early 19^th century stretching 650 miles (1,000 kilometres) from the Mexican border to Northern California.  These missions had a profound effect on the native Americans that were living happily and peacefully beforehand and on the ongoing cultural landscape of the state.  And the 21 missions, most of which have been at least partly restored and all of them are active churches open to the public, are a wonderful display of the history of this region. 

Julie and I had seen two other missions, nearby Carmel and San Juan Bautista, so we headed south to see another eight sites before reaching the Channel Islands where we had booked ferry tickets to go explore this offshore national park. 

These missions were outstanding to visit in terms of their historical significance, their story telling of their impact on the local people and their significance even today on life in California.  In fact, so good I decided to write a complete blog post dedicated to these eight missions we visited over a three day period.  You can read about them here.

We spent the next four days bouncing from mission to mission, walking through their little museums which tell the history of their specific site and exploring the grounds, church, gardens, cemeteries and outer buildings as they stand today. 

Some of the missions have had a very light touch of restoration and you see much more of the original structures while others have been almost completely redone, sometimes bigger and more elaborate than their original forms.  But in all cases you get a wonderful look into a fascinating chapter of California – and even American – history.

We also spent a day out at Santa Cruz Island, the largest of the five and easiest to visit of the Channel Island chain off the coast of Southern California.  The Channel Islands have a fascinating history of being home to native Americans and unique wildlife, then evolving into vast sheep stations and since 1980 they have been one of America’s national parks.  And that puts them on the must-see list for us.

We caught the ferry over from Ventura and then strung a couple of beautiful walks together, usually following the edge high above the dramatic cliffs but also through a few valleys and the two campsites which are nestled under groves of gum trees – the only shade on the island.  And as a special bonus we saw two animals found only on Santa Cruz Island – the island fox and the scrub blue jay.  Very cool.

But wait, there’s more. That weekend the annual Salinas California Rodeo was being held in my hometown, one of the largest rodeos in North America.  And we were having a family reunion of sorts with families of my brothers and sisters coming from near and far plus of course our daughter Anna, Carl and their two girls. 

And what a hoot it was. Julie and I had three days at the rodeo, each day with a different group of family members, culminating with our Aussie family at the finals on Sunday. Lots of wild bronco and bull riding, roping and even some spectacular motorcycle acrobatics.

We also had a huge family dinner on the Saturday night, an extraordinary 28 people getting together at my Mom’s house, including two tiny little new-borns, for a reunion spectacular usually reserved for family weddings.

Our last move during our California trip was for the entire Aussie contingent and my Mom to migrate to San Francisco where we spent two fab days exploring the key highlights of the wonderful unique city, mainly through the eyes of a six and seven year old. What could be better than that?

As we flew out of San Francisco, the Aussie family heading home while Julie and I headed northwest, we had another great reminder of the power of travel and the power of family. When you combine these two forces you end up with some of the best times of the year. Can’t wait for more!