For my wife’s 40th birthday, which could have occurred this year or possibly sometime within the next ten or so years, I got her four tickets to watch her 49ers take on the Steelers this Monday night. After weeks of deliberation, she decided to fill the other three seats with myself and the kids to make a fun-filled family vacation of it.

So, on Thursday we descended into the San Francisco airport, promptly rented a car, and headed for the hills of Yosemite National Park for the first leg of our clockwise California vacation loop. With El Capitan and Half Dome crossed off the list, we made our way to Sequoia National Park.

I have always wanted to see those giant trees I have seen in pictures with my own two eyes and Mother Nature did not disappoint. Pictures do not come close to conveying the grandeur of these magnificent giants of the forest that sprouted through the earth almost 3000 years ago. If those behemoths could talk, imagine all they have witnessed from their mountain top vantage point.

The mountains of California are like the Black Hills on steroids.

From the mountains we headed towards the coast and the rolling waves of the Pacific. To get out of the mountains required navigating switch backs so tight I caught a glimpse of myself coming or going several times. Myself gave me the bird once when I forgot to dim my headlights. All the mountain road zigging and zagging was also threatening to present a grizzly reminder of all that my daughter had consumed that day.

The kids have really enjoyed the beach, and the weather has been great. “Unseasonably warm” we’ve heard several locals exclaim. An “unseasonably warm” winter day in California bares a strikingly similar resemblance to the average summer day in the Dakotas. Just substitute the mosquitoes with sea gulls and the cows with tourists.

The last few days we’ve been meandering in a northerly direction via California Highway 1, back towards San Francisco. Thus far it has been a very enjoyable trip and as we speak, or as I write, we are in Santa Cruz at the Coastview Inn. It’s hard to forget the name of the place as the establishments sign is directly outside our window providing a wonderful night light.

The ocean is right across the street, and I can see where people could find its continuous rhythmic sounds an enjoyable neighbor. Actually, the beach is right across the street and with any luck it will stay between us and the ocean. Tomorrow we’ll load up and make the final push for the big city on the bay and prepare for some Monday Night Football, cable cars, Alcatraz, and Rice-A-Roni. Not necessarily in that order.

If you watched the game Monday night, I was the guy with “Go Niners” shaved into my back hair and “Go Steelers” on the flip side. With the way opposing fans have been mistreated as of late you gotta stay bipartisan.

What has become most obvious to me on this trip is that my children are hardly children anymore and we need to take more family vacations before adulthood starts to lay claim to their time.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone. See you next year.