Today we hung out at the campground all day. Bocce ball in the morning, swimming in the afternoon, a walk to the lake, then a campfire cookout.
Ian’s Visit, Day 1: Hanging Out
Visit from Ian
Ian arrived today for a 4-day visit. He flew by himself from Des Moines. We were excited to pick him up from the airport at around 7 in the evening.
Jerry & Sheila Visit
Jerry, Sheila, Nikki, & Sam came to visit yesterday. They came for lunch and Jerry brought his fishing boat so we could get out on the lake. Andrew, Mari, & Elliot had fun on the boat and Lucia and Rose were happy play with Sheila and Nikki again.
Uncle Jerry & Aunt Sheila
After our hikes this afternoon we went for dinner at my Uncle Jerry & Aunt Sheila’s. Jerry is my mom’s brother. They have always lived far away, but when we were kids they lived in Pennsylvania and we would see each other on vacations and the occasional holiday. More recently they have lived in Phoenix and we have seen them much less. It was great to catch up.
Their daughter, Nikki, lives in Phoenix so she came over as well. The kids had a blast playing with Sheila and Nikki. Lucia was a little hesitant to go into the house, feeling a little shy. After about 30 minutes she was asking me if Sheila could come back to one of the bedrooms and play with her.
Visit with Ben & Sammy
While we were in the Bay area we really wanted to connect with my friend Ben, from college. He lives in Berkeley with his family. They were kind enough to drive down today to meet us. We decided to have dinner downtown and we stumbled upon some live music in Abbott Square. It was a great place to visit.
UC Santa Cruz Arboretum
Monarch Migration
There is a state park in Santa Cruz, Natural Bridges, where thousands of monarchs spend their winter. They are attracted to a stand of Eucalyptus trees in a narrow canyon just off the coast. There is a trail down into the canyon where you can gaze that the clumps of butterflies up in the trees. As the temperature warms up many of them take flight and go from tree to tree.
Santa Cruz Boardwalk
Santa Cruz has a amusement park on a boardwalk right on the beach. It was a fun place to spend the afternoon.
Friday in Santa Cruz
Mar-Mar & Be-Bob Visit the Mystery Spot
Last night my parents flew into San Francisco and today they made the trip south to join us in Santa Cruz. After getting settled in this morning we went to The Mystery Spot, a gravitational vortex in the Santa Cruz area. We went for a short hike and then got a tour of the place, which centers around a cabin with some strange gravitational anomalies.
Dillon Beach
Susan’s parents, Gary & Kathie, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this past weekend. We all met in San Francisco for lunch on Sunday and then headed up to a house in Dillon Beach for a few days. It was a fun weekend. Erin & Cameron made the trip from Des Moines and Mary flew in from Kansas City. On Sunday we were joined by Kathie’s brother-in-law, Ron, and his son, Andrew. We actually visited Andrew on our honeymoon, dropping by his house outside of Portland.
Our time in Dillon Beach went quick. We spent Sunday getting moved and settled in. Then on Monday we hung out at the beach, enjoying the nice weather. On Tuesday we headed back toward San Francisco for an outing to Muir Woods.
Exploring San Francisco
Today we explored San Francisco with Cam & Erin. We started off riding the train from Pacifica into the city.
The day started off with a laugh. At the parking garage for the train we got confused about how to get to the trains. We got on the elevator and pressed the 1* button, knowing that we were already on that level. We immediately got off and walked about 10 feet to the station entrance.
After Little Italy we walked to Chinatown, which was just a few blocks away. We were about 5 blocks in when Erin realized that she had lost her wallet. We retraced our steps back to the park. Then Erin received a facebook message from Pedro Jose, our new hero!
