Tuesday, April 23, 2013

April 22

Two things happened today of note. The first was that Cindy was nominated in the Standard's Apple for the Teacher. This is a recognition for a favorite teacher. Her name was in the paper. This was an unexpected honor and a very well deserved recognition of a great teacher. Of course I am not biased in saying this.

















The second thing was related to teaching and it was the U.E.A. annual Dino Park activity. The whole family was able to come this time and it was a free event with hot dogs and drinks plus entrance into the park. (Well it was sort of free given the dues Cindy pays to the U.E.A.)  We got our hot dogs and sat down and ate while we waited for Maddie and Cameron to get off work and come meet us.



We walked around the park and looked at all the dinosaurs.  Connor and Payton enjoyed the dinosaurs and every so often Connor would make a dino roar. Cameron was the last to join us but he made a big impression with his"raptor run" at us.
























The kids of course liked the playground. Connor enjoyed the swings so much we thought he would fall out as he would not hold on (except when I took his picture). When we went inside the museum the second floor and an automated display and Connor did  not want anything to do with the display.




 

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Easter season

This time of year is so wonderful. The bulbs are beginning to come out and flowers appear to brighten the yard.











While we only have one to participate in the easter basket hunt Maddie still enjoyed finding her surprise after following the string through the house.



















 Later on Easter Sunday the kids came over for Easter dinner. We also had baskets for Connor and Payton and in those baskets were some easter glasses for our two little bunnies.


Springtime is also conference time. During the Saturday session while the conference was playing on T.V. in the kitchen the girls worked on strawberry jam. Cindy found a great deal in strawberrys and bought three cases. They made over 78 pints of freezer jam. It also was good that we now had enough counter top space for this massive project.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Monterey-Day 4

Our plane was scheduled to leave at 4:30 in the afternoon so we spent the morning going back to the Monterey area. It was cloudy and drizzly yet we still wanted to do some things. I wanted to go to Point Lobos State Reserve which was just south of Carmel. We arrived and the rain had stopped and we could see blue sky to the west. There were about 30 scuba divers getting ready to go into the water at Whalers Cove which was our first stop. We visited the old whaling house which is a small museum in the park. It talked about the old days and how this area was used. It had a cheese mold and talked about how Monterey jack cheese was made. It dawned on us that the name was for this area.




We then went to the south end of the park and hiked the Bird Island Trail. When we first started to walk we looked down to the cliff below us and saw a couple of seals. There were beautiful coves with secluded beaches and clear water.

















The poppies were out with their orange color to contrast with the now blue sky. As we walked around the point we saw more seals and sea otters and watched them for a long time.












 We then went to another trail had called Cypress grove. When we got out of the car and looked to the ocean Cindy saw a whale spout. We put the binoculars on them and it was actually two Grey Whales passing by. As we walked along this trail the scenes were amazing. The contrast of the cypress trees and the ocean and patches of giant kelp made for some wonderful scenes.









Once we finished this hike it was time to head back to the airport which was a two hour drive. It was a very enjoyable trip and fun being together.

Day 3 - Monterey


We stayed in Salinas which was about 20 miles outside of Monterey. The drive in the morning was through fields of growing vegetables. There were some fields ready for harvest and others just being planted. The green color just made the drive relaxing after having seen the browns of home for the last few weeks since the snow had melted. The first stop was the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Of course it did not exist when we came here on our honeymoon. This area was just abandoned warehouses and canneries. What a difference a few years make.

The first area we went to was the jellyfish. They are always so mystical as they float and move gracefully in the tanks.




 We watched the open sea display feeding and the sardines were so interesting as they swarmed in a tight ball and all moved as one. When they were done feeding they dropped like a curtain out of our view and everyone clapped.




 We looked at the various displays and watched shows about great whites, sea otters, and odd creatures in the deep ocean that the aquarium has filmed since portions of the bay are a mile deep.



 In the afternoon we went along the coast and watched sea otters play and saw some seals also. Trying to zoom in on the otters did not produce the best picture but you get the idea.
















Monday, April 1, 2013

San Francisco - Day 2

The morning was cloudy with a light rain. We decided we would still go to Muir Woods which is a redwood forest. The drive is on a two lane windy road. We went up into the clouds and then dropped down into the forest. The mist made strange shapes with the trees. When we got to Muir Woods there were a few people there and we parked right up front.


















The light rain made the greens even greener and the forest had a wonderful smell.


















We did a looped trail that took us from the floor of the forest up along a hillside. The redwoods are amazing trees. Even with holes in the base they still stand strong and tall.







The forest floor was covered with ferns and delicate flowers and moss hung on some of the trees.









 By the time we were near the end the rain had stopped and it was sunny. As we left the parking lot the line of cars parked along the side of the road stretched for a mile. We got there at the right time.




 We then made our way to Stinson Beach. It was overcast and there were not many people at the beach.  We got lunch at a local diner and ate on the beach. We strolled along the edge of the waves trying to keep our feet out of the cold water.  The sun came out and so did the people so we moved on toward the city.
















We approached the Golden Gate Bridge from a different direction which gave us a view of the bridge and the city together. The last spot was from an old gunnery location that overlooked the entrance to the bay.



























We drove to Golden Gate park and looked at the various gardens there.



















 On the east side of the park was the Haight Ashbury district famous for the hippie movement in the 60's.




 There are some great Victorian homes along with the remains of the hippie culture.

















We then went to Lombard Street and drove down the "crookedest street" in the world.
 To take the shot looking up at the street you have to park perpendicular to the street so your car won't roll.








We tried to find a place to eat on North beach but there was no place to park so we decided to leave for our hotel that night which was in Salinas that was about two hours south of the city. Try to get out of the city even at 7 p.m. was backed up forever but we finally made it out and were on our way.