Copenhagen, Denmark

A Tjerrild family reunion in Denmark was the impetus for our Denmark/Switzerland trip. We began our trip by arriving in Copenhagen around 1:30pm and made our way to our hotel - the Hotel Clarion which is connected to the airport by a glass walkway. We chose this hotel since we only had one day in Copenhagen before we would need to pick up our rental car at the airport to head three hours to the east to the little town of Krajbjerg where the reunion would be held on the 15th of June. We quickly got checked into the hotel, dropped our luggage in the room, and jumped on the metro train which took us into downtown Copenhagen. Our first stop was the picturesque canal waterfront area known as Nyhavn with its brightly painted townhomes that line the canal. Most of the homes in this area were built in the 17th and 18th century. It was a beautiful sunny day so we enjoyed the afternoon by taking a canal tour followed by some yummy ice cream (we tend to eat a lot of ice cream when we travel!)

The Nyhavn canal area

On the canal boat tour

We sailed past the spire of The Church Of Our Saviour

A canal view

Some ice cream after the boat ride

From Nyhavn we walked to Tivoli Gardens to meet Jim’s cousin Patty and her family who live in our same hometown and their 2nd cousin, Jan Tjerrild, who lives in Copenhagen and would act as our guide while there. We enjoyed some drinks and snacks together in Tivoli Gardens before following Jan’s lead to an outdoor restaurant in a close by city square. Even though we had been awake for over 24 hours straight, we managed to keep our eyes open until 10:30pm when we finally headed back to the hotel.

Cousin Patty with her family, 2nd Cousin Jan Tjerrild, and us in front of Tivoli Gardens

Red Rock Canyon, Nevada

 We had purchased airline tickets to Las Vegas for this weekend as Brooke had a track meet scheduled at UNLV.  Unfortunately, the track meet was cancelled for her team at the last minute, but we decided to go ahead and enjoy a weekend in Las Vegas anyways. Since Las Vegas is a quick and inexpensive flight from Fresno, we have been there many times. Over the years we have seen lots of Las Vegas shows, spent some time at the blackjack tables, and have even done some touring of the surrounding areas. One place we had not visited was the Red Rock Canyon, so we booked a 1/2 day tour with a local company. The tour included a bus ride out to the park, time at the visitor center, and then a few stops along the 13 mile scenic drive. It was beautiful afternoon spent amongst the red sandstone rock formations.

Calico Hills

Jim and I at the overlook at Calico Hills

The petroglyphs in this area of the canyon are at least 800 years old

The path to the Calico Hills

A fun day at Red Rock Canyon 

Yosemite National Park

 Living in Fresno, California we are lucky to have Yosemite National Park only 1.5 hours away from our house. Due to its close proximity, and the fact that we own a cabin at Bass Lake which is only 20 minutes form the entrance to Yosemite, we tend to go to Yosemite frequently. However, we have never timed it right to be at Yosemite (nor our Bass Lake cabin) after a snowstorm. Well, that changed this weekend. We watched the forecast and knew that snow was predicted for Bass Lake and Yosemite, so we headed to a weekend in the snow.

We arrived at our cabin in Bass Lake on Friday evening where we found lots of snow on the ground and more was still falling!

The following day, we woke up to a winter wonderland. After taking a few pictures, we bundled up and drove to Yosemite to see its beauty veiled in snow.

Looking across the front yard of the cabin.

Our cabin blanketed in snow!

A picture from the docks at Bass Lake

We spent some time wandering around the Wawona area of Yosemite before heading to Bridelveil Falls where we trudged through the snow to the base of the falls.

The meadow at Wawona

Bridelveil Fall

A chilly selfie!

We continued our drive through Yosemite valley enjoying the winter view of El Capitan.

The Ahwahnee hotel provided a warm and cozy lunch stop where the lentil soup was delicious!

Ready for some hot soup!

It was such fun exploring some of our local stomping grounds in the snow!

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico - Day 4

 For our last full day in Mexico we decided to venture outside of the city of Cabo San Lucas. We purchased tour tickets to the town of Todos Santos. Prior to arriving in Todos Santos, we stopped at a roadside shop that makes colorful woven Mexican blankets. We were shown how the blankets are made on large looms. Of course this vendor had many blankets for sale, but we did not buy one.

In Todos Santos, we spent some time wandering the cobblestone streets, browsing in the artisan gallery shops. We also took a look at the Hotel California which many have speculated is the hotel mentioned in the Eagles song. We returned to our hotel in the middle of the afternoon to enjoy our last few hours in Mexico by the pool.

Some more pool time.

The stunning Grand Solmar resort

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico - Day 3

 On Day 3, we walked back into town to do some shopping along the waterfront. One of the “must do” things in Cabo San Lucas is to take a boat ride out to the Arch of Cabo San Lucas, so while we were at the waterfront, we found a boat tour heading that way. We enjoyed getting out on the water and took plenty of pictures of the arch.

The boat ride

The Arch of Cabos San Lucas

Back at the Grand Solmar, we had dinner at an outdoor restaurant by a fire pit. A perfect ending to another day in paradise!

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico - Day 2

 The next day was spent primarily at our beautiful hotel - The Grand Solmar. The temperatures were in the low 70s and it was mostly overcast, so our fair-skinned family was able to enjoy a day by the pool without getting sunburned. 

Apparently 70 degrees is too cold for Brooke!

Katie and Brooke taking advantage of the swim-up bar at the hotel.

Look at the gorgeous view behind us!

Jim and I also enjoyed a walk on the beach to the east of the hotel property where there are some neat rock formations. 

In front of the Grand Solmar

In the evening, we walked into town and had dinner at Cabo Wabo (very touristy, but had to try it). 

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico - Day 1

 We were able to get away from the gray, foggy skies that envelop Fresno during winter and head to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for four days of fun in the sun! We arrived the afternoon of New Year’s Eve and quickly set about figuring out the best spot for watching the fireworks at midnight. We learned that most of the resorts along the water charge $75+ per person to be allowed to enter their NYE parties. Since that was more than we wanted to spend, we found an alternative. One of the beachside restaurants had a small bar section that would serve us without being part of the main party. Just before midnight we found a place to sit on the jam packed beach to watch the fireworks. And what a show it was!

The beachside bar

Katie just killing time until the fireworks start.