Share 4 Somethings – April 2025, California Edition
Each month I share 4 somethings that I have:
- Loved
- Learned
- Went well
- Let go of
And then I link up with Jenn.
I’m also sharing my previous month’s One Second Everyday video . . .
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Something I loved
- HOTELS AND A WHOLE LOT OF PACKING
Last week’s California vacation had us staying somewhere new almost every night. It was a little chaotic with all the packing and unpacking, but it was also a fun part of our adventures.
Several places were your standard hotel rooms (no complaints), but a couple of places really stood out.
One favorite was a very secluded spot called Quiet Mind Mountain Sequoia Lodge, way out in the Sequoia National Forest (although it was quite stressful trying to find it after we lost GPS signal and there was no one to ask for directions!).
But once we arrived, it was so peaceful that my mind did finally quiet again.
Another favorite was the rustic room we stayed in inside Yosemite National Park. The room itself was simple, but the location? Absolutely unbeatable.
Being inside the park meant we didn’t have to brave the terrifying (to me) daily drive up and down the SCARY mountain roads.
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Something I learned
- PRESIDENTS, PAST ERAS, AND OUR QUEST
Jeff and I have an ongoing quest to visit all 15 of the current official presidential libraries. Before this trip, we had seen nine.
In California we crossed off two more from our list: Reagan’s and Nixon’s.
Resolute Desk
Nancy Reagan
It’s fascinating to learn more about the presidents, but it’s just as interesting to see so much of our country’s history and culture through the years. (I’m patiently waiting for a visit one day to a female presidential library.)
Most of the libraries are also very entertaining and use state-of-the-art technology to tell the stories. Many of the presidents and their wives are also buried at their libraries.
Reagan’s Air Force One
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Something that went well
- FORESTS AND ALIEN LANDSCAPES
California’s forests were absolutely stunning, and felt so different from Alabama’s. We visited three national parks: Yosemite, Sequoia, and Joshua Tree.
Yosemite and Sequoia amazed us with their towering trees, huge waterfalls, and breathtaking mountains.
General Sherman
Joshua Tree was striking in a very different way. The desert landscape felt like another planet with its minimal vegetation, crazy rocks, and twisted trees. But still beautiful in its own way.
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Something I let go of
- MY BATTLE WITH HEIGHTS
I’m waving the white flag.
Despite my best efforts, I can’t defeat my fear of heights. I’ve been trying for years. it’s time to call a truce.
The mountain roads in California totally undid me. Sharp drop-offs. No guardrails. And way too many opportunities to imagine our car tumbling down a mountain.
My survival trick? Close my eyes, crank up a podcast or some music, and pretend we were back home driving on a big, flat parking lot instead of clinging to the side of a mountain.
It wasn’t a great strategy, but it did the job. Because everytime we made it to the top, the views made all my angst worthwhile.
What is something you are loving, learning, has gone well, or had to let go of this month?
Share your thoughts in the comments.
I’m linking at these blog parties
I’m so glad that you had such a great vacation in California! You certainly accomplished a lot of things and the pictures of the scenery that you shared here are gorgeous! Good for you for conquering a fear of heights! That’s still on my list to accomplish.
Oh…and by the way…I loved (as always) your one second everyday video. If you ever need a babysitter for your dear little guy, just let me know. What a cutie!
Thanks, Dianna. It was a fascinating trip! But those mountain roads…not for me! 🙂 And our little guy is indeed such a cutie. He’s been such a fun addition to finally have a little boy in our family after us having only daughters!
That was so memorable for both of you, Lisa, and your photos are perfect! I’m a nervous wreck when it comes to heights, too, so I feel your angst with those winding roads and no guard rails. I’d be closing my eyes, too. Glad you’re back home, safe and sound. Blessings!
It was nice getting back to my less scary roads here in Alabama. I was thankful that Jeff was driving while we were in California–I couldn’t have done it! ha
My four takes on some of your views (pun intended):
1. I’d vote for you to sit behind the Resolute Desk!
2. You never know how small you are till you stand next to a Redwood tree!
3. Loved your finding Quiet Mind Mountain Sequoia Lodge. As you know, my WOTY is quiet, and this place would fit my quest.
4. Maybe you should take a lesson from Lizzie, though, admittedly, I don’t necessarily envision you following her in her footsteps up to that Stanage Edge promontory! Mike gets the same way as you, even just looking at a movie! 🙂 Maybe you’d try this if you had little mood music?!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88Iraxjwa98
xo
Lynn
PS My four takes on you!
You are:
1. Courageous
2. Creative
3. Curious
4. Compassionate
Your four takes make me smile, Lynn! 🙂 You know I would NEVER want to be any elected official even for a day. ha. I wish I could have transplanted you into the Quiet Mind Mountain Lodge – it would have indeed been a perfect place for you to sit and journal and write poetry for your One Word!
I watched the video, and no, I wouldn’t ever stand in that spot even with that beautiful music to spur me on!!! 🙂
Thank you for the 4 C’s! Love you!
I love all your photos. We have never been that far west, but we’d love to get there someday. I don’t mind heights, but I am not totally okay with the roads you were describing either, LOL! Thanks for sharing.
I hope you can go that far west one day too, Cindy. It’s beautiful! Just scary. lol. I’ve decided it’s not necessarily the heights that scare me; it’s the thought of falling from the heights. ha. I’m fine when there is a wide margin around me. Those roads just don’t provide that. I don’t know how they ever even built those roads! Must have been terrifying to do.
Wow, that’s a lot of traveling! And so many neat sites to see. If I were to visit any presidential library, Reagan’s would be my first choice. I love your monthly videos.
I read somewhere that Reagan’s library is the most visited of all the presidential libraries. It was so well done! We’ve visited a few much older libraries that aren’t necessarily “official” ones, and while they are still interesting, they aren’t nearly as entertaining and well-done as the modern era ones.
What an awesome vacation, and a great video. I love your ‘four things’ post. They always get right to the heart of what matters! <3
Thanks, Donna. We definitely enjoyed the vacation – it just flew by so fast!
Oh, I so understand your fear of heights, Lisa! I resigned to my fear of heights many years ago. Often I’ll repeat “The Wonderful Wizard of OZ” when I find myself in a high situation such as walking a high suspension bridge or on a mountain trail. 🙂
I’ll have to try your trick of repeating The Wonderful Wizard of Oz next time. 🙂 Thanks, Lynn. The thought of walking a high suspension bridge sounds too terrifying for me to even try! ha.
Oh gosh yes, those windy, steep, mountain roads without guardrails make me so nervous too! What beautiful views on you trip.
It’s a shame that we have to pay the price of crazy roads to get those mountain views! 🙂
Joshua Tree is very unique. It’s also a wonderful place to star gaze.
That’s what we had heard. We stayed in the park at Joshua Tree until nighttime to watch for stars, but the night was too cloudy, which was disappointing.
I can’t do heights either. I have literally laid down in the backseat of the car when we drove up the Rockies one year. YIKES. I really think there is something deep inside our brains that throws us off. But what a fun trip. I loved seeing all the photos and love the quest to see all those libraries. Love a check list like that. We saw all the baseball parks and completed the Kentucky Bourbon trail but yours is much more intellectual. LOL.
I may have to try your trick too of laying down in the backseat sometimes, Jean! 🙂 It’s crazy how irrational I get when I’m on those roads. It’s a good thing I wasn’t driving! lol.
How cool that you’ve been to all the baseball parks! That’s another thing my husband would like to do, but we haven’t made a concerted effort for that yet. One thing at a time. 🙂 The libraries have been far more interesting than I could have imagined (or else we wouldn’t have made it our quest, ha).
I loved reading about your California trip! That lodge in Sequoia sounds both stressful and peaceful — quite the combo! And I completely get the fear of mountain roads. Your podcast trick made me smile. 🙂
This month I learned that it’s okay to admit when stress wears you down. I also learned to say no to some things, and yes to being more open with certain people. I even went on a little vacation while dealing with dizziness — with some small adjustments (like using a walking stick and taking fewer outings), it was still really good.
I love what you learned this month, Aritha. Discerning when to say no and yes, and admitting that we’re worn down are valuable life lessons; the sooner we learn them, the better off we are. I’m still in process. ha.
It must have taken a lot of courage to take a vacation while dealing with dizziness. That sounds so difficult. My husband occasionally gets vertigo, and it shuts him out of most activities. I was thankful he didn’t get any vertigo on our California trip because I would NOT have wanted to drive on those mountain roads! We would have just had to go home. Or hire a driver. ha.
Lisa, I loved your trip! Adventures are always fun. Something I learned last month was how nice it feels to just let go and live. Our mini-vacation helped me a lot with that. That’s something I’m still working on.
I’m still working on that lesson, too, of more thoroughly of letting go and just living. I do it sometimes, but other times I don’t. Vacations are easier practicing ground for me! Thanks for sharing this here, Steph.