Father-Daughter Time Every single trip that I’ve done with my daughter has been memorable. Our most recent one was last year for her 18th birthday and graduation. My daughter is not a materialistic kid. When I called and asked her what she wanted for her birthday and graduation gift, she said, “Daddy, let’s go on an Eastern Sierra expedition.” I said, “Sweetheart, if that’s what you want, we’re going.” I packed the truck for a 3-night trip to the Eastern Sierras. Departed our home base in Sacramento at four in the morning, and we were bound for Bridgeport. I had a couple of surprises for her on this trip. From the time she started learning about ghost towns in elementary school, she has always wanted to visit one. So, our first stop was the historical jail in Bridgeport, CA. We then went to Bodie Ghost Town. She had no idea where we were until she recognized the place from pictures. She said, “Daddy, we’re really here. This is so cool dad!” We spent five hours there exploring and learning about the town’s history before we headed back to the truck, had a quick lunch and drove to our next destination. Those are the moments that I will always cherish. We continued to push south on Highway 395 and stopped at every single lake we were passing through. The second surprise was Alabama Hills, which was about three hours from Bodie. She’s only seen photos of my trips at this gorgeous location. We got off the paved road and as we entered Movie Road, the jagged peaks of the Sierra Nevada contrasting the rounded contours of Alabama Hills desert floor welcomed us. My baby girl’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, the smile and excitement on her face melted my heart. As I caught a quick glance of Mt. Whitney, I whispered, “Dad, I wish you were here with us. Please look after us and keep us safe through this expedition. Tomorrow is your granddaughter’s 18th birthday, dad.” We then settled into camp and I cooked my daughter’s favorite camp dinner, garlic fried rice and corned beef, which is a typical Filipino dish. After dinner, we hiked around with headlamps on, looking at rock formations, and my baby girl was in her element being in the outdoors. The following morning, the sun’s summer rays greeted us early at six in the morning and it was already 89 degrees. She packed up everything from the roof top tent, while I quickly took care of everything on the ground. Knowing my kid, she loves her breakfast and said, “Dad, what about my breakfast?” I said, “Sweetheart, let’s get out of here and I’ll gladly get us breakfast at an awesome restaurant in town.” Fifteen minutes later, and we were back on the trail. We arrived in Lone Pine and walked into Mt. Whitney Restaurant. We were greeted by some of the friendliest people who sat us in a booth next to an old piano. My daughter, being a pianist, asked our server if she could play while waiting for our food. She played for a good 10 minutes and everyone in the restaurant gave her a round of applause. We finished up our breakfast and made our way back north on Highway 395 to finish the trip.