4th of July at the Cabin

For 4th of July weekend, Christian, Grandma Kathy, Papa Jack, Uncle Matt, Veronica, Ronan, and I trekked up to the family cabin at Lake Almanor, facing majestic Mt. Lassen. It was a relaxing, gorgeous getaway. The allure of Almanor is how remote and private it is... which is what you get after driving 5.5 hours (7 hours with an infant!). Lots of hiking, swimming, fishing, boating, and back-to-natureness... without the touristy annoyances. Almanor and nearby Chester remain the same quaint, somewhat rednecky (in the best possible sense) towns that I remember as a little kid. The Kopper Kettle Cafe still serves up enormous pancakes and obscene amounts of corn beef hash, which we completely indulged in.