My wife and I are on our way home from our West Coast pilgrimage. We decided to leave Jensen in California for another week with his grandparents. Traveling is not Teach’s forte. It seems to get worse with age. She means well, but she definitely struggles in a plane. The poor gal doesn’t have much luck. We are currently stranded in Chicago. Patiently waiting on the tarmac. Unfortunately, there is no open gate, and we have thirty minutes to catch our connecting flight to State College.

WHY AREN’T WE MOVING? WE ARE NEVER GOING TO MAKE IT. I AM NOT SLEEPING IN ANOTHER AIRPORT. THIS IS SO STUPID. WHAT IS GOING ON?

I do my very best to be supportive. But I sometimes wish she wouldn’t think out loud. Her rants continue and start to draw more attention. The rest of the plane is now in a frenzy. My lovely bride is leading the charge. She has rallied the troops.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN. I APOLOGIZE FOR THE DELAY. THESE LITTLE ISSUES ARE OUT OF MY CONTROL. WE ARE NOW HEADING TO GATE K-18. PLEASE REMAIN IN YOUR SEATS. WE APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE. THANK YOU FOR FLYING UNITED.

The Spencer family enjoyed a lovely getaway. We spent a few days in Los Angeles and rented a fancy cabin outside of Yosemite. What an unbelievable place, kids. My younger sister and her two boys joined us. Pops, Jensen, and I did some extensive hiking. We tried to capture everything the park had to offer. Yosemite covers an area of 748,436 acres in central California. It is recognized internationally for its massive granite cliffs, waterfalls, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. Bring your boots as almost 95% of Yosemite is designated as wilderness. I actually did some light reading. The Must-Dos of Yosemite. Yes. It was a picture guidebook that highlighted some of the park’s ideal spots in 359 pages. We tried.

SO, WHERE ARE YOU HEADING? Home. WHERE DO YOU LIVE? Pennsylvania. SO, WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING? Lots of things. WERE YOU ON VACATION? Um. Look, lady. You seem like a very nice person. But I have a deadline in just a few hours. ARE YOU A WRITER? Yes. WHAT ARE YOU WRITING ABOUT? Every time you ask me a question. I lose my focus.

Three generations of Spencers hiked while we were in Yosemite. We traveled a grueling 3.2 miles to Vernal Fall on the first day. It was a difficult uphill climb. Jensen and I posed for a few photos for Instagram. Water is scarce this time of year, but there was still an impressive flow between the mighty stones. We headed to Sentinel Dome on day two. The 2.5-mile trip to the top gave us some amazing views. Hopefully, there is room for a picture. We were well above the iconic El Captian. This is one of the most spectacular granite cliffs in the entire world. The Spencers saw some deer and even a black bear. It was incredible. We stopped by Mariposa Grove on the way home. Hiked another 3 miles in the dense forest. Mom joined us for this encounter. Holy trees. We took a few pics of the Grizzly Giant. This Giant Sequoia measures close to 300 feet and is estimated at 1,800 years. It was just massive.

SIR. I NEED YOU TO EMPTY YOUR POCKETS AND KINDLY REMOVE YOUR BELT. Um. OK. But. NEVER MIND, SIR. PLEASE PUT YOUR BELT BACK ON. GOOD LORD. WHO IS TRAVELING WITH THIS MAN?

Yosemite National Park was well worth the visit. I only wish we had more time to venture. They say that late spring or early summer is the best time. The waters and flowers are abundantly brilliant. I would recommend a trip to anyone. And I will add this National Park as one of my top five. I am so looking forward to getting back to the 17728 here shortly. It was awesome to see my rents, but I am still a homebody. Good luck to all of the teams in the LLWS. Cheers.

I AM SORRY, SIR. YOU NEED TO TURN OFF YOUR DEVICE. SIR. THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING.