Just because

Auntie June took care of Charlie Brown while we were vacationing in California...we had great peace of mind knowing that he was in her loving hands during that time.

While away, Bryanna and Cassidy enjoyed meeting and playing with Alice the guinea pig but they were also thrilled to come home to see their own buddy. They spent a long time playing with him our first evening home (causing a nice flare up of allergies, I might add).

Charlie certainly had a real workout...I was a little worried about his heart with so much activity. Take a look...

hee hee

Our last day

The girls and I really wanted to spend our last hours at the beach ...to dip our toes in the Pacific, hear the surf and be with Kim, Uncle D and Sweetpea.

Of course it took me most of the morning and early afternoon to get packed (and yes, friends, I needed to buy another bag!). But we finally were able to set off into the still lingering fog, heading up over the hills and past Muir Woods to Stinson beach. As we followed the winding road along the cliff edge (yikes) we could see the fog pulling back just enough from the coast for us to see blue sky.

And as we gathered up towels and blankets and cameras, we were all happy to step onto the sandy beach and feel it so warm under our feet. The Terrific Trio grabbed their buckets and we all relaxed...

As the fog thinned, the girls dropped the extra layers and played in the sand and surf...rescued baby jellyfish and explored the rocks with Uncle D and Auntie Kim. Kim did double duty by going for refreshments -- while I lay quite contentedly on the blanket and took care of the cameras (hee hee).

Finally, as the fog began to return, we sadly left the water and the beach to head home.

It has been a glorious two weeks, made even better for all the time with my sister. Now it's back to real life ... but how much fun this has all been! Will do a wrap-up later on this week with some favourite photos of mine, and some from Kim and Uncle D.

Night all - we're back on Monday night!

Miss you, Kim, D and Sweetpea!

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.)