Lake Tahoe Wedding
July 2, 2001

Our adventures with Twinkie expanded in 2001 when we took a road trip across the United States to California, the destination we had chosen for our wedding.  We spent five weeks biking, hiking, and camping throughout the Golden State and experienced the best vacation ever.

California was like a magnet, drawing us back again the following summer.   For this trip we flew, wanting to spend every possible moment of our five week trip on the west coast.  Revisiting favorite places that we had discovered the previous summer, we could not believe that we were back in California!

Airplane to San Francisco
June 2002

Over the next few years we traveled all over the country, vacationing in New England, Florida, North Carolina, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, and our favorite state, California.  Twinkie was always a perfect traveler, enjoying the adventures that came with each new location.  She was very excited when we incorporated boating and fishing expeditions into our trips.

Lake Tahoe, CA
Summer 2001

Lake Tahoe, CA
Summer 2001

Castaic Lake, CA
Summer 2002

Castaic Lake, CA
Summer 2004

Our trips with Twinkie created wonderful memories that will live in my heart forever.  Twinkie running on a beach in Northern California, soaking up the sun at Dog Beach in San Diego, going nose to nose with a bear in Lake Placid, NY (ok, the bear was stuffed),  having an Easter egg hunt on a beach in the Florida Keys,  are just a few of many experiences that I will always cherish.

One of my favorite vacation memories does not involve a specific location, but driving to  new destinations during the predawn hours. I would be at the wheel, with Twinkie on Bob’s lap in the passenger seat.  During those quiet hours on dark, open highways they would sleep while I drove on and the sun slowly rose into the sky.  Thinking back to those times always brings me a sense of peace and happiness.