We woke up bright and early to make our way over the mountains to Redding, California to meet a friend from school. We spent the next days visiting his family (he grew up in Redding) and doing more social activities than earlier in our trip - hence, fewer photos. On the first day, we unwound a bit at the Lema Ranch (essentially a privately owned park open to the public).

The next morning was Mother's Day, and we did the traditional Brunch with my friend's family, and then went to the Turtle Bay Exploration Park, where we did an hour long Segway tour of the park and arboretum. This was our first time on a Segway for any length of time, and we quickly learned that it's essentially like standing on your toes for a long period of time - you end up using muscles that you didn't know existed.

Since we were riding, I brought along the G11 rather than the full DSLR package. And, since the interesting part of riding a Segway is the view from on the Segway, I shot video instead of taking photos.

Anyway, while it was a fun experience that I thoroughly enjoyed...I can't say that I've changed my mind that you just can't help feeling a bit dorky riding a Segway.

After our ride, I went back to the cable stayed bridge (the Sundial Bridge, designed by Santiago Calatrava) and took a few photos - which make up the bulk of this gallery.

That evening, we drove down to our friend's place in Chico. We spent the next day doing a little sightseeing, but mostly were being social and resting for our trip home the next day.