Sweetie Suz: Northern California Road Trip

About a month back, Dave and I took a road trip up north to visit family in Northern California. It was very similar to our road trip back in October, just really stinkin' hot heat! (as seen below)

This time around we drove by way of a rental car and will do so moving forward in the future. I think that in the long run if you are going to take a long road trip it's better to put all the wear and tear on a rental versus your own car. Our first stop along the way was when we stopped for lunch at Bravo Farms off the 99 freeway just outside of Visalia. I have passed this place on so many occasions and have always thought to myself that I should stop there someday. Well today was the day. It is primarily a gas station with restaurant and antiques store. Everything was pricey but it was a nice pit stop on the way.

Here's Dave on his way into their seven story tree house.

They had so many wonderful antique metal signs all over the place.

This was my favorite part of their store. I stood drooling at these wonderful pieces before Dave was able to peel me away before I justified paying way to much for one of these items. Jadeite!!

We then hit the road again, stopping in Ripon at the Ripon Roadhouse for dinner with some much needed cold refreshments. We ended the day at Dave's sister's place in Stockton, CA. We had a lovely visit with her, thrift store shopped our hearts out, BBQ'd and cooled off in a pool with some of her lovely friends, and relaxed up before heading onto my parent's house.

These sunflower fields were gorgeous. The picture doesn't do them justice.

Mt. Shasta peeking its head up in the distance.

We had a nice relaxing visit with my folks which included a visit with my two favorite doggies in the world. Kelly Kapowski and Zach Morris. My parent's had granddogger duty while my sister was out of town. Here's Kelly taking a nap on my lap.

We did a lot while we were there, slept in, had some amazing meals with my folks provided by my mom, soaked in their hot tub with a fantastic view below, went for hikes on their property, went for ATV rides, had a Mad Men marathon, went antiques shopping, attended a summer in the park concert, had a day trip to Ashland, OR, and just relaxed in general. I was able to finish reading a book while I was there on top of everything. I didn't take a ton of pictures and I think that's because I was truly relaxed on this trip. This will be our last big trip before our honeymoon next year!