PAYNE POSTS: Perfect Vacation

McCall 2009

After the busy month of July we were ready for a little R & R. We headed up to the little hidden treasure known as McCall. Every time I would tell someone we were going there for a week their response would be "oh I love McCall, I can't believe you have never been." Well we have a new favorite place, it is such a great town. To put in Bailey and Ellie's terms "you get the best of both worlds." It has so much to offer a beautiful lake with great beaches, golfing, biking, hiking, great food, fishing, a little shopping. Its awesome and only 2 hours away from our house. We will definitely be spending more time there. I hear its great in the winter too.
My family just stayed after the baptism and after church and Sunday we all headed up. The road on the way up is a little windey which is never good for Ellie's car sickness issue, but at least we had a bucket. Once we got there and settled ourselves into the condo, it was fun to just sit and relax.

The condo we were staying in was right on the McCall Golf Course which provided many different forms of entertainment. At night the guys would go out on it and golf in the dark, and the kids loved looking for golf balls. On Monday the guys headed to a different golf course in the area called Tamarack. Tamarack was suppose to be another resort but it ended up going bankrupt before they could finish. The green fees had been cut in half and then in half again so Ryan really wanted to play the course. They said it was awesome being up in the mountains and so isolated. Back at the condo we hit the pool with the kids and then they spent the rest of the day looking for golf balls. Later that night we hit one of the local burger places it was so good. Awesome burgers, fries and shakes. Logan has really started to have a serious love for fries and any sauce that he can dip them in and suck off.

Hopefully they didn't find any that were suppose to still be in play

Logan loves a ball of any variety

After dinner we walked around a little and just enjoyed looking out at the lake
The kids had fun rolling down the hill

Ellie and Drew

Monday night Ryan headed back home to work for a couple of days. Being so close to home and not having paid vacation sent him back just for Tuesday and Wednesday. He rejoined the fun later in the week.

On Tuesday we went running through Ponderosa National Park, perfect conditions for a run great weather, beautiful scenery it was enjoyable. Later that day my dad, Dean, Spencer and Mel headed out for a hike. There is a World War II plane that crashed around the lake and it is still there and they made a little plaque about it. Spence is a huge WWII fan so they wanted to check it out. The hike was pretty long and hard and the plane was cool, but you have to really enjoy hiking if you want to take this adventure. I was happy to just see the pictures. While everyone was hiking we took the kids back to the main beach area. The had some spraying water which Logan loved and a great little beach at the lake. We had fun burying each other and rescuing Logan out of the water when he went to deep. When everyone got back from the hike we took the boat out. The lake is awesome. It is a lot warmer than I thought it would be, seeing that its up in the mountains. It is so clean, I could see my feet, and smooth too. It was perfect for an early evening ski.

Logan will play in and try to drink any water he can find

Bailey buried in the sand

Check out the beautiful scenery

On Wednesday we decided to hit the beach again. We had so much fun the day before we had to go back. We went to a beach inside the park this time, it was so nice. Great beach, plenty of room to play and bring in the boat. The kids went to town with the sand toys and swimming in the lake. They had fun on the boat too. They all went tubing by themselves for the first time. Logan just wanted to help Pops drive the boat. It was another great day at the beach.

--FUN AT THE BEACH--

On Thursday it cooled off a little. We definitely picked the best days for boating and the beach. We decided to try our hand at catching some fish. The girls were really excited to use their new fishing poles. A patient of Ryan's lives in McCall so he gave us lots of fun insights and suggestions for the town, he also told us about this fun lake that is isolated up in the mountains and a great place to catch some fish.

The lake was beautiful and so were the surroundings. It was an enjoyable place to spend the afternoon, as for the fish biting.....Not so much! The kids had fun but really wanted to catch some fish and it didn't really happen. We still had a good time and learned some patience too.

Friday brought more rain and cooler temperatures which was nice for a change, and it was not cold enough to ignore the last day for golf. Bailey has started going with Ryan sometimes and she really loves it. She plays, mostly putts, and washes their golf balls, drives the cart, helps keep score, and offers lots of encouragement. She really wanted to go with them even though it was pretty cold and I hadn't packed a lot of warm clothes. So she wore a couple of jackets and anything else warm we could find and she headed out. After a couple of holes she talked Ryan out of his jacket for her legs. By the time they were playing behind the condo (hole 14) it had warmed up a little, her lips were still purple but she was having a good time. She did bow out a little early when she heard we were all at the indoor pool and hot tub.

When Logan saw someone he knew out of the course he couldn't resist running out there. He loved riding in the cart and hanging out with the big boys for a little while.

The rest of the kids spent the day at the indoor pool. They swam for a LONG time. I was grateful that the condo had an indoor pool too, it saved the day on this rainy day.

These are Ellie's FEET
WOW
The kids really did swim for a long time

Later that afternoon my mom, sisters and I took the girls to fun store where you can make your own pottery and jewelry. The girls each picked out beads to make their own bracelet and strung them all by themselves, they turned out really cute. Jenn, Mel and I all made a pair of earrings. It was the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon.

That night the guys made dinner and did an awesome job. Steaks and dutch oven ribs. We should have put them to work a little more. After dinner we had to hit Ice Cream Alley. The ice cream shop that everyone talks about. Even though it was still a little cold, it was worth it. What people neglected to tell us was how HUGE everything is that you order. I think you have to experience the shock and awe.

If you know my dad, then you know that he experienced his own little heaven with this ice cream creation. Ice cream is his THING!

Saturday brought the last day of the vacation. We weren't quite ready to head home yet and he hadn't gone to the pizza place that everyone said we had to go to. It was perfect for lunch on the way out of town. It was so good and looked out over the lake. After lunch we walked back to the main area by the lake and took a few more photos, and then we were on our way back to reality.