A Cabin in the Pines - Pet Friendly, Sleeps Nine

Last summer my family rented a cabin in the woods in the little town of Arnold, California, for 4 days. This year we nailed it down for one week’s vacation.  Yes, there were nine of us: my daughter Brenda, my grandson Tony, his friend Nathan, my other daughter, Robin (from Seattle,) my son Steven, his wife Stepahanie and her two children, Ada and Aiden; oh, and their dog, Samson, a sweet and energetic Border Collie. Getting nine people of all ages and one dog going in the same direction at the same time is a challenge but we were up for it.


Saturday: Brenda, Robin, Tony, Nathan and I  left for the cabin, Brenda driving her Lexus and Tony and Nathan in their Pilot. We arrived there about noon, just minutes before Steve and his family arrived in their Lexus SUV. Once we had all sorted out our rooms and gear, we spent the rest of the day playing games, catching up and generally just chilling out. We are truly a family of foodies and we all love to cook. Each one of us could easily win any contest regarding cooking, the Food Network, cooking terms, cooking utensils, celebrity chefs; you name it, we know it. We even play a game called Food Fight, but the first night, to keep it simple, we had grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and I made macaroni salad.

Our cabin in the piney woods

Lots of room for everyone

It even has WiFi

And a roomy kitchen

Nice big wraparound porch

Sunday: We packed up  lunches, chairs, river shoes, and floaties and were off to the Sourgrass Park on the Stanislaus River. We relaxed, read, swam and floated on that clear, meandering, sometimes, rapid river of ice cold snow melt, until it was time to go back to the cabin and COOK. That night we had grilled boneless, Teriyaki short ribs, with sauteed courgettes and baby yellow squash and rice pilaf. For dessert, brownies and vanilla ice cream. Nathan insisted it wouldn't be dessert without real whipped cream so of course, we complied. I then assembled the ingredients for a Sausage, Spinach and Gruyere cheese strata to be baked the following morning for breakfast.

Nathan and Tony float the Stanislaus River

Grilled Teriyaki boneless short ribs

Sauteed courgettes & baby yellow squash

Monday: Steven and Aiden were up before the crack of dawn to go fishing for trout. They only caught one and released it but they were back in time for a breakfast of strata and fruit salad. We checked on the weather. It was sunny, with beautiful puffy, towering thunderheads forming but we packed up anyway and drove to Alpine Lake. Steven and Aiden took one of the inflatable boats and paddled around an island, Tony & Nathan played cards, Stephanie, Brenda and Samson took a long walk. Robin and I read and watched Ada swim. I did manage to wade out some but the water was c-o-l-d! Thunder and lightning sent us scurrying back to the car and home to the cabin to COOK. That night Steven grilled pork chops while Robin sauteed apples and I made a  green salad. For dessert we ate peach pie.

Alpine Lake

Tuesday: We were off to the "California Caverns" to go spelunking. The rest of the family had been down into the "Moaning Caves" last year. Tony & Nathan even rappelled down into that one. I was still recovering from a broken kneecap at the time so wasn't able to manage all the stairs. This year, however, we all went marching into the California Caverns like miners with our hard hats and expectations and boy, was I blown away! Who knew such beauty existed underground and out of sight. We all agreed, it was spectacular! After the cave expedition we decided that we were so close to the old mining town of Columbia, why not take that in too. My father was a state park ranger for 30 years and Columbia was one of the state parks I never visited so I was looking forward to it. Charming and funky, Columbia is typical of the little mining towns that dot the rolling hills of the California Gold Country. There was the requisite blacksmith, the old Wells Fargo Stage Coach museum, and a real live stagecoach ride. Robin and Ada had a blast posing in some old time costumes from the era. Ada and Aiden panned for gold and even though they didn't find any, they were satisfied with their gleanings of little garnets and mica or Fool's Gold. That night, Steven, the Grillmaster, rustled up some delicious Asian inspired chicken thighs, grilled corn on the cob and Robin's Belela Salad (recipe below.) We served it with another version of rice pilaf.

Ready to go down under

Downtown Columbia

Ada & Robin, stagecoach drivers

Blacksmith

Ada & Robin, pioneer misses

Wednesday: Stephanie, Ada, and Aiden had never been to Yosemite so even though we knew it would be a bit of a drive, we were determined they could check it off their bucket lists. It was worth every curvy mile we drove. Tony and Nathan took turns driving the pilot and Stephanie drove their Lexis SUV. While we were at Glacier Point the weather turned dark and thundery with a few sprinkles but we didn't care; it's Yosemite, God's gift to California. Somehow it made the view even more dramatic. Down in the valley the sun came out and Bridal Veil Falls and El Capitan were  in full splendor. Since it would be late when we got back to the cabin, Steven’s Beer brats, sauerkraut, and Bobby Flay's German potato salad made by Stephanie were on the menu. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/german-potato-salad-recipe.html Quick and easy but oh so tasty.

Our first view of Yosemite Valley

Glacier Point

Thursday: Another early morning fishing attempt for Steve and Aiden. That time Steve let Aiden reel in the fish. They were back in time for the trip of the day. Even though most of us have been to Calaveras Big Trees multiple times, no trip to Arnold is complete without it's trip to Big trees. It's only a few miles away. After our hike around the trees, narrated by Tony, it was time for another visit to the North Fork of the Stanislaus River for more floating, swimming and loafing. That night we opted for  tacos, Robin's amped-up refried beans, and Spanish Rice, followed by a rowdy game of Fibbage. No, not Cribbage, Fibbage.http://jackboxgames.com/project/fibbage/

Calaveras Big Trees State Park

The best way to see how big the trees really are

Steve & Aiden

Friday: Our last day at the cabin. We rented two kayaks and one paddle board and headed off to Utica Lake. After driving several miles on the highway we turned off and rumbled and racketed over several more miles of a rocky, dirt road to get to it, but once there, well, it was stunning; a pristine blue Alpine Lake set in the middle of a pine forest with huge outcroppings of granite on all sides.  Stephanie tried out the paddle board first. We saw one group with canoes loaded with camping gear to camp out on an island in the middle of the lake. Steve and Steph took off in one of the kayaks to paddle around that island and Nathan and Tony took off in the other one. Aiden chose to float around on the paddle board. Just before we left, Brenda urged me to try the kayak so Steph and I paddled across the lake to check out a swimming hole and then back to our family. I'm so glad I did it. The only other time I ever kayaked was on the Pacific Ocean out of Santa Cruz. This was much different. The quiet, glassy lake, the swish of the oars, the sway of the kayak. Magic. Sadly, our family vacation was almost over. We had originally planned to go out for dinner that night but in the end we couldn't resist cooking one last time: Spaghetti with Italian sausage, cheese bread and Kale salad.

Lake Utica

Saturday: Scrambled eggs with chopped ham, pan fried potatoes and toast for breakfast. A couple of loads of laundry, a general packing up, a quick last check of all the rooms, and we said say goodbye to our "Cabin in the Piney Woods" for another year. We're already thinking about what we want to see and do in 2016. As for me, I’m home recovering from my “relaxing” vacation.

Packed up and ready to go home

Goodbye until next year

Belela Salad
Ingredients:                                           
2 cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained   
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup red onion, finely minced
1/2 cup mint, finely minced
1/2 cup parsley, finely minced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
Dressing:
2 jalapenos, chopped
5 Tblsp. cider vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Puree all dressing ingredients in blender or food processor. Stir, add salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything together and refrigerate for on hour or more. Can be served at room temperature as well.