My kids had a random Friday off of school, and I was looking forward to a day to have fun. Joe also usually has Fridays off. The tentative plan was to go down to a National Park. But then something came up, and we had to shorten it and decided to go to Fillmore. And more came up, and we ended up not going anywhere. I was disappointed.

But then I was talking to my sister and she had independently made plans to go to Fillmore on President’s Day. We decided to go together. It was a wonderful day trip. We started off at the Lava Tubes. This place is cool. It has caves, tunnels, and valleys to explore. We’d been there about four years ago, and I’ve always wanted to go back.

After exploring the Lava Tubes, we went over to Meadow Hot Springs for a soak. I had recommended this trip to my sister and she said it exceeded her expectations. It’s pretty remote, and you drive to what looks like nothing in the middle of nowhere and find really cool places like the lava tunnels and hot springs. My photos are not doing the place justice, at the really cool places I was too engrossed in everything (or in a pool) to take pictures.

We also went snowshoeing after a decent snowstorm. It was long, just long enough to realize I need new snow shoes if I go again. The kids had a hard time going up but enjoyed themselves on the way down.