We were in Mammoth Lakes for a week.
Day 1: Canoeing and DnD
Rented a Canoe and splashed around Lake Mary for about an hour. Sempi was in the front, Vian in the middle and I sat in the back. Our coordination was abysmal but we managed.
Next a hike near Horseshoe Lake on an easy trail to the double falls view point. The kids were engrossed in their fantasy DnD world building.
We got back to the condo and the kids initiated me on Dungeons and Dragons. I designed my character (an elven wizard) and we played a quest with Sempi as our Dungeon Master. After about 2 quests I was wiped out. Creative thinking is a lot of work.
Day 2: Hiking, Ice cream and DnD
Started the day with a hard hike on a trail that was about 4mi long. The elevation gain was a little too steep at the beginning which frustrated the kids. But once we got to the flat sections they resumed their fantasy role playing narration. We were all exhausted by the end of the hike. My suggestion to go kayaking after the hike was shot down unanimously.
Instead we went to an ice cream shop and got ourselves a much deserved treat.
More DnD fun was had after we got home. We decided to add two more characters to make the quests more eventful. Thanks to our DM (Sempi) for creating the additional characters.
Day 3: Gondola and Bike Lesson
Sempi was open to trying an Intro Trail Riding lesson at the Mammoth Mountain Bike park. I was quite proud of him for being open to trying new things. I wasn’t impressed by the instructor, he seemed inexperienced and dull. But Sempi said he had fun after the lesson, so maybe the instructor is alright?!
While Sempi was doing his lesson, Vian and I went on a gondola ride which took us to the top of the mountain (11,053ft). Vian managed to stay courageous during the ride in spite of his phobia of heights. We got to touch some snow at the top of the mountain and Vian managed to pelt me with a crunchy snowball.
I think Sempi liked his biking gloves more than biking itself. I saw him wearing his biking gloves around the house doing other activities.
Day 4: Rest day
Kids wanted to have a rest day. We went to a coffee shop for some pastries and played a table top game called “Here to Slay”. We’ve been playing that game during breakfast everyday of our vacation. It is a fun game but it can lead to anger and frustration if the players have a short fuse.
The kids did some BeastAcademy to earn screen time. Then it is Kirby time on Switch. Afterwards we decided to do some coding. We created abstractart using Python turtle library.
Day 5: Kayaking and Yoshi
We went kayaking in June Lake. On the way to the lake we stopped at a Bagel place to get a snack for Sempi. Why is that bit relevant? Keep reading. Vian and I got a tandem kayak and Sempi got a single kayak. It was fun to kayak around the lake. We had a little race, I think it was a tie, but Sempi might disagree. Sempi decided to have his bagel while in the kayak. All the ducks got the memo that there is bread nearby. So he got swarmed by half a dozen ducks and he ended up donating half of his snack.
We picked up Yoshi from the airport and had dinner in Bishop (nearby town). We were all excited to have Yoshi join us for the second half of the vacation. The kids missed her and I needed her to share my side glances when the kids do something new and weird. Parenting is more fun when there is a partner to share.
Day 6: Mountain Biking
Yoshi spent a rest day with the boys. I went to Mammoth Mountain Bike park to ride the lifts and bike downhill. Explored a bunch of trails with Daniel (stranger I met on the chair lift). It was a ton of fun. I was completely spent.
Spent the evening watching the DnD movie “Honor Among Thieves”.
Day 7: Biking and Hiking
We went to the Horseshoe lake where Yoshi and Vian did a hike with Yoshi’s friend from elementary school who lives in Mammoth Lakes.
Sempi and I biked a trail around the Horseshoe Lake. Afterwards we decided to bike back to the town. Sempi did a great job biking even though it wasn’t his favorite activity. Spent about an hour at Elixir Cafe while Sempi vibe coded a word game that is inspired by scrabble.
Day 8: Back Home
Final day in Mammoth. I got a chance to sneak in a bike ride to the Mammoth Rock Trail before we left Mammoth Lakes.
A nice and uneventful trip back home. We got to stop at an Indian restaurant called Clay Oven Indian Restaurant in Lockeford, CA.
Happy to be back home.