Three day smorgasbord of fun

Busy busy these last three days, with a little something for all of us. Won't add much narrative here - just highlight the main events with each group of photos -- I should be doing some packing this morning but it was busy yesterday and I am feeling a little lazy!

Thursday was a quieter day with a movie outing in the afternoon (Despicable Me for the younger girls and Kim, Sorcerer's Apprentice for Brya and I). We followed the sun for an early evening stroll through the Sausalito marina (wow, those yachts are worth WAY more than my house!) and then another yummy dinner out.

Friday, after repeated begging from the Terrific Trio, we signed them up for another day at Steve and Kate's daycamp. They ate crepes and gourmet pizza, made ice cream, recorded their own music CD (California Gurls, of course), sewed stuffed creations, and had a fantabulous time (their words).

Kim and I shopped. !!!!!!! No pics of that, but let's just say that I may be buying another bag today and paying some extra baggage fees - we'll see how creative we get with my packing.

Some of the results of the shopping expedition...

Cassidy with her fedora - she had been asking for one for ages - not sure where that request came from but she sure looks cute.

Sparkle jeans!

We were SO excited to receive a call from our cousin Stan last week (family from our Mom's Irish side who settled in California in the 60s) saying that they were having an 80th birthday party for his dad, Andy, and could we come? Andy and his wife, Hessie, were the family who gave Kim a home when she first went to California for an internship and they have a special place in our hearts - it always made us feel good to know that family was nearby in Kim's early days so far from home.

The party was yesterday and so we set off on another road trip, this time to the hills outside Sacramento to our cousin Stan's home. He and his wife and children live on a beautiful 5 acres there. My girls were thrilled to meet more cousins for the first time (many more, as family came together from all over California - from as far away as L.A.) AND to find that there were 2 dogs and a HORSE there. Not to mention rides on an ATV and swimming all afternoon in the pool.

I was thrilled to see my family again - I love them all and it was sweet to hear the Irish lilt in many of the voices throughout the afternoon.

Sweetheart Andy


Hessie

Goodbye till next time!

Today is our last day and we plan to spend it at the beach...sad our time in this favourite place is coming to an end.

Alcatraz!

"Break the rules and you go to prison,
break the prison-rules and you go to Alcatraz."

Despite numerous visits, the infamous Alcatraz still captures my imagination.

At various times in its history it has been a military fort, military prison, focus of Native American protests and now a national park. But the name Alcatraz most readily conjures images of the harshest prison ever designed for maximum security prisoners, existing as such between the years 1934 and 1963. No one wanted to go there, least of all prisoners.

Me, I love it. ;-)

Despite having visited once before, all the girls were excited to go again...especially Bryanna who has recently read 2 novels based on Alcatraz (Al Capone Does My Shirts - thanks Jan! - and Al Capone Shines my Shoes) and was fascinated to see the places where the guard families lived.

It was a wonderful hot day - no fog! - and we departed the ferry at Alcatraz island...we quickly checked out out some of the exhibits near the dock but then headed up to the main prison block to pick up our audio guides.

These audio tours are really well done...narrated by actual former guards and inmates and including sound effects, the prison was brought eerily to life again as we walked through the huge prison.

Cassidy had actually been worried about visiting the cell block as she had some memory from the last visit of getting stuck in a cell (didn't happen!), therefore she stayed close by me while Bryanna headed off fairly independently. Cass was thrilled that the cells were locked in the open position and got right into them (no pun intended!)

Cass in one of the isolation cells!

We loved the recreation yard...the privilege that the inmates worked hardest to earn. Here is Cass perched at one end of the yard...

Here is the yard as it was during the prison years...

And here is a video re-enactment of one of the favourite inmate past-times!...

The views from the north end of the prison by the ruins of the Warden's home (looking toward San Francisco) are inspiring and we spent some time walking the grounds.

As mentioned, we all took the audio tour and the girls were enthralled. All three could not get enough of the escape stories...especially the one that included the dummy heads and they have acted out that escape at home repeatedly ever since.

Here is Cass in the dining hall listening to a re-enactment of a prisoner revolt over poor food. Kim has similar shots of Sweetpea.

We ended our visit with a stroll through the old inmate gardens outside the main prison buildings. Today, those gardens have been re-imagined and are tended by teams of volunteers - they are lovely in such a stark and dramatic place.

On a final note, I smiled to look back to 5 year old Brya's first glimpse of Alcatraz and K helped me pair it up with her happy smile of today.

Countdown...only 3 days left in my favourite place. *sigh*

Monterey and the beach

This is not Monterey - this is the beach.

Our road trip to Monterey was exciting for the terrific trio...the Monterey Aquarium and the sea otters had drawn us to this lovely part of the northern Californian coast and the kids loved it. We stayed overnight in Monterey so we wouldn't have to rush back and we enjoyed wandering through Old Monterey and seeing all the sea lions at the marina. (That is the most boring sentence I have ever read - can you tell that it is nearing midnight?)

When we reached San Francisco, we headed to historic Cliff House at Lands End for lunch and then spent the afternoon at the beach below, exploring the ruins and cliff nearby. The fog that had persistently hung over the city for weeks finally withdrew completely - it was glorious!

Believe it or not, Kim and I are finding ourselves tired at the end of every day (!) so rather than a long narrative, I've sifted through several hundred photos and am just posting a few of the nicer ones. (If my energy level doesn't bottom out, I'll post the Alcatraz post next.)

The Sea Otters! These cutie-patooties drew us to Monterey - the aquarium here is famous for their care of ill and injured otters and returning them to the wild. The only ones who remain at the aquarium are those whose health has been compromised in some way and cannot be released. We saw a fun presentation about otters and then were there for feeding and play time.

As you might imagine, three little girls came home with various items of otter paraphernalia. ;-)

I loved the otters myself, but found myself fascinated by some of the other exhibits at Monterey. I enjoyed the shark presentation by a retired marine biologist, and jelly fish are always relaxing to watch.

Brya satisfying her science questions.

I was even more interested in the sea horse exhibit. Who knew there were so many kinds! (I only could think about the "pet sea horses" that we could order off the back of comic books when we were kids!) There were rooms of sea horses!

This was my favourite - the Leafy Sea Dragon...amazing!

(No great pictures of Kim and Sweetpea today - at least none that K would let me post - more in the days to come.)

Into the woods

We headed to Muir Woods today - the redwood forest that has been another of my favourite places over the last 20 years. In the early days - pre-children and when Kim was working days when I visited - I would spend hours here...walking as far into the woods as I could get and then sitting with pad and pencil in the stillness and dappled light. Many of the scenes in my still in progress novel were born in this place.

After the heat of Mt. Tam's peak yesterday, the girls were also excited to be headed down into the much cooler valley where the redwoods grow.

Unlike most of the tourists, we did not drive right to the entrance of the woods but instead went up the mountain to the Bootjack trail head, where we left one of the cars. We then set out on a 2 mile hike down through the woods, following the path of the creek as it tumbled its way down to join the larger river flowing through Muir Woods.

Far from the crowds and roads and cars, the girls followed Uncle D down the trail, loving it as he showed them all the places to climb rocks, look at small pools and waterfalls, learn about plants and trees...they are so fortunate in their uncle who is an avid nature enthusiast.

Kim and I trailed along behind or moved on ahead when the others were absorbed in their latest discovery. Miz C liked to keep us company too...

After 2 hours or so on the trail, we entered Muir Woods proper and unfortunately began to run into crowds of people who were not all quite so appreciative of the peace and wonder of the place. But the girls still loved it. I pointed out to Bryanna some of the places that had found their way into my novel. Fun for me!

Part way along the Muir trail, we came upon a group of people looking into the forest shrubs just off the path. A mother deer and her two fawns calmly nibbled at the ferns and gave absolutely no notice to all the humans gathered to admire them. The girls were fascinated.

A little further and we reached the end of the trail for us (the entrance for everyone else coming into the woods).

We had a bite to eat before we left. Brya and Cassidy liked the wooden bears at the visitor centre and as I snapped photos of them, I remembered one that Uncle D had taken of Cass on her very first visit at the time Sweetpea was born. Cass was 20 months old then. When I went back and found that photo this afternoon, I was amazed. Look at the colours she was wearing then and now.

Another great day!

Note: Tomorrow we head to Monterey for a 2 day adventure so no posts till late Tuesday. See you then!