On Friday, August 11, 2023, we started our long drive to Arnold, California, where we planned to spend two nights. We were hoping to enjoy the scenic beauty of the Calaveras Big Trees State Park and paddleboard on White Pines Lake.
Inna made Airbnb reservations at 2560 Chamonix Dr., Arnold, CA, and we shared the large home with 2 other families.
We arrived around 21:00 due to heavy San Francisco Bay area traffic. After arrival, we unloaded our 2008 Toyota Sienna minivan and joined our friends by the outdoor fire (in a fire pit). It was refreshing to be outdoors, enjoying the quiet of the forest.
Saturday, August 12, 2023
We woke a bit later in the morning, and Dima cooked sunny-side eggs with coffee. We also made sandwiches to take along on the upcoming hike.
After a long breakfast, we biked at Calaveras Big Trees State Park. I was worried about our late start (as there is minimal parking). We found parking spots when we arrived, but the main trail was blocked.
We drove a bit further north, about 15 minutes to the South Grove Trailhead. After parking our vehicles there, we followed the directions to South Grove Trailhead. After crossing the bridge, we decided to follow the stream (instead of the South Grove trail), as it seemed shorter (and was a scorching day). The trail followed Beaver Creek northward. After about 2.5 miles of hiking, we ate sandwiches and returned to the trailhead.
After lunch, we drove to the nearby White Pines Lake. After parking, I unloaded my Fanatic Allwave SUP and decided to paddle around the lake.
After spending a few hours at the lake, we returned to our bungalow at 2560 Chamonix Dr. It took a bit longer to return since we had no cell phone reception on our Google FI cellphone service (and forgot to download Google Maps). We found a hotel nearby with free WiFi, and then we could see the complex route to our Airbnb rental.
The girls helped make a large salad, fried potatoes, and other favorites for dinner.
After dinner, we relaxed, and many friends walked downstairs to sit beside the fire pit. I decided to relax on the couch.
Sunday, August 13, 2023
After waking up and eating eggs and potatoes (from the day before), we packed all our suitcases and loaded our van. We had to check out by 11:00.
At first, we had the idea of hiking nearby.
We stopped by Moaning Caverns, but the tours had a maximum limit of 5 people (and we had 6 in our party). After some discussion, we decided to drive to San Francisco and spend the rest of our day there.
The drive to San Francisco took about 3 hours. We decided to grab lunch at The Mill in San Francisco. We ordered the following:
- Boris: Egg-in-a-Hole, Drip Coffee
- Inna: Smoked Trout, Ricotta + Jam Bread
Inna really liked her Smoked Trout. I was neutral about the Egg-in-a-Hole.
We had a nice time in San Francisco with friends and returned home in the late afternoon.
Arnold Trip Review
Highlights
- Hiking at South Grove Trailhead of Calaveras Big Trees Park
- Paddleboarding on White Pines Lake
Lowlights
- Poor cellphone reception for Google Fi (my phones did not work in Arnold at all)
- Not being able to visit Moaning Caverns due to group limit.
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