SLO Children's Museum

On November 30, 2013, two days after Thanksgiving, we visited the Children's Museum in San Luis Obispo with Uncle Jotham, Aunt Dana, cousins Cassie, Braden, and Kara, and Grandma and Grandpa. We were quite a crew, and gratefully the small museum wasn't too crowded. We had great fun exploring the many hands-on exhibits.

We tried to build earthquake-proof structures . . .

and played with magnets . . .

and "spinny discs."

Grandpa was served lunch at the Cosmic Cafe by chefs Gunnar and Holly.

There were firefighters...

Cassie, Gunnar, Braden, and Holly

...and crime fighters.

In all, it was lots of fun for all the kids--big and small.

Muir Woods & Point Bonita Lighthouse with the Folks

After my parents returned from their mission to Canada (see Dad's shirt?) and before relocating to Massachusetts to live near my younger brother, they came to California to see their 2 kids and 7 grandkids that live here. They split their time between our two houses, but we ALL got together one Sunday for a BBQ at our house and one Saturday for some sight-seeing.

We met up in Muir Woods for a stroll through the Redwoods. My brother Jed and his family had been there several times, but it was our first visit. My parents were there thirty-something years ago on a cool, uncrowded fall day. While there were lots of cars and lots of people near the entrance, we found a quieter trail and enjoyed our walk and the beautiful tall trees.

 

 

Cousin Kiera, Gunnar, and Maggie growling from their tree cave:

Adah, Maggie, Gunnar, Holly, and Kiera and some growling and some smiling:

Because of the lack of parking at Muir Woods, there's a shuttle from a park-n-ride in Marin. We took that option while my parents and brother parked a mile away. Their situation was actually a bit simpler and quicker. Who knew? On the return trip Damon read the ranger guide to Gunnar. I love how interested Gunnar is in animals and the natural world.

Our next stop was Point Bonita Lighthouse,

which was accessed by a path down a hillside, through a rock tunnel,

and over this bridge. There go Kiera and Joette:

And here come my dad, Damon, and Holly:

Isn't it amazing that they managed to build a lighthouse out there? Construction began in 1855, making it the third lighthouse built in California. It was also the last manned lighthouse on the California coast.*

Mom & Dad had their late picnic lunch after viewing the lighthouse.

The kids, particularly Gunnar, enjoyed some climbing and goofing around before we went back up the trail to the cars.  Good trick, eh?

This one actually looked a lot funnier on the camera's screen since you couldn't see his chin at all. He just looked headless.

Just relaxin':

And here Christian and Kiera get a bit of height:

We sure had a fun day. We're so glad Nana & Gumpin came for a visit, and glad we live near Jed & Joette so they could be there, too.

*This information was not able to be completely verified by reliable sources because nps.gov and other related sites were not available during this post's composition due to the government shutdown of October 2013.

Exploring with Grandma & Grandpa

We had more fun with Grandma and Grandpa at the Exploration Station in Grover Beach. It's a small science museum built in an old fire station. Many of the exhibits had been designed and built by Cal-Poly Students. There were structures to build and test against "earthquakes,"

machines to operate & shapes to pick up,

gears to arrange and puzzles to solve,

physics to test with marbles and a pinball shot,

skeletons to assemble,

and reflections to manipulate.

Maggie and I had a ball playing with this mirror.

 

Seriously. We were having a good time.

We think we got pretty creative & silly.

Our cheeks hurt from laughing.

The next day we ventured to Morro Bay to explore in a GIANT canoe.

All EIGHT of us fit in a single canoe. It felt so much more stable than your typical tippy canoe. Everyone helped paddle and we traveled all over the bay.

  

Here's Morro Rock:

These sea lions were just relaxing on a pier in the middle of the bay.

We had lunch at Burger King the day before and Gunnar wore his crown constantly for a couple days. (Well, we made him take it off for church.) Isn't he cute?

We also saw several otters. This group of four was hanging out together on some seaweed and they were all quite curious as our large canoe slipped past. Aren't they cute?

We had a really fun time canoeing through the bay and even successfully made landfall twice. Once we needed to let out a few people to use the restroom, and then I got out with all of the children on the sandy peninsula that is the protective arm of land that creates Morro Bay. We ran around in our bare feet for a few minutes while Damon and his parents paddled and met us further down the beach.

It was a beautiful perfect day in Morro Bay. The sun was shining but it wasn't hot. We finished the afternoon by walking up the hill from the bay to a farmer's market and buying some fruit and homemade goodies.

In between our Grover Beach and Morro Bay excursions Damon and I left the children with his parents and went into San Luis Obispo for dinner and an overnight stay at a hotel. We had intended to make such a trip on the weekend of our 13th anniversary in June. Instead, we moved that weekend. Damon surprised me on our family trip by planning our own vacation within a vacation. We wandered downtown SLO, taking in a bit of an outdoor concert, having Italian food on a patio, and then getting gelato. The next morning we even went for a run together before having breakfast, showering, and returning to the family in Shell Beach.

Dogs, Boats, and Clouds: Our Fun 4th of July

Damon's parents live in a great spot on California's central coast and we spent Independence Day enjoying some of the local offerings in the communities near their house.

After raiding Grandma's supply of scrunchies (leftover from her years as owner of Watercolour Dancewear), the kids were super-decked out in their patriotic colors.

 

Our first stop was Avila Beach for the dog parade. We're not dog people. Damon's parents aren't dog people. But, how could we resist the phenomena of the locals dressing up their dogs in patriotic costumes and marching them down the street? That's the sort of hometown 4th-of-July fun I look for.

 

Damon's mom and I agreed that music (or maybe a marching band?) really would have stepped up the holiday feeling. We also talked about them getting a dog just so they could join the parade next year. Unlikely.

Next we strolled down the Avila pier for a prime viewing spot for the boat parade. More hometown fun.

 

The kids loved waving and yelling at the boaters. Gunnar kept yelling, "Hello! My name is Gunnar!"

 

 

 

After the parades Grandma treated the kids to some shaved ice.

From there we returned to the house to quickly pack a picnic and head into Arroyo Grande for a concert of patriotic music. It was a Norman Rockwell kind of event with the volunteer (but well-practiced) band set up in a gazebo and the audience enjoying the music from their lawn chairs and blankets. My 4th of July is not complete without a good dose of John Philip Sousa marches, so this was just what the doctor ordered for me. Unfortunately....no photos of the gazebo.

The park was near this awesome suspended bridge that's been in the town for over a century (if I remember the plaque correctly). We wandered across it and then discovered the stairs and path down to the creek over which the bridge crosses.

A little bit of shady water splashing was just what the doctor ordered for these kids who'd just been sitting out in the sun during the concert.

 

 

 

We ended the afternoon with some downtime back at the house and then some dinner before heading out to view the Pismo Beach Pier fireworks from a park near Damon's parents' house that's basically on a cliff above the ocean. It's a beautiful place at anytime of day and would have provided a perfect view of the fireworks....had the clouds not rolled in and filled the sky during the evening. It was the first time that we really kept all the kids up for fireworks and were trying to make a fun evening of it. They were a little impatient, and Holly, especially, was tired and ready to go home. We kept telling them to just wait and they'd see something cool. However, all the fireworks exploded up in the clouds. We could just see the glow and hear the cracks. Sigh. The kids were pretty unimpressed. Oh well. Next year. 

I won't tell you about the private fireworks display we may or may not have enjoyed on the back patio for the next two nights since such hypothetical displays are illegal in the Pismo Beach area.

Happy Independence Day!! (a few months late)