More Vacation Pics - June & July 2010

After our wonderful week on Balboa Island at the end of June, we headed up the coast to my hometown to spend a week with my parents. We couldn't make that drive without stopping in Santa Barbara for lunch at Brophy Bros. in the harbor. We arrived at a good time and were able to get a seat on the balcony where we watched boats come and go and the goings on along the docks. One delicious meal of clam chowder, house salad, cheeseburgers, and fries later (we didn't all have all of that...different combinations for each of us), we were on our way up north.

While staying at my parents' place (and in between Claire and Hudson's taking turns having some sort of flu), we spent our days doing all sort of fun things....

There were several trips to our favorite park in town, Oak Meadow. While they have some nice, newer play structures, there are things that haven't changed since I used to play there when I was a kid. There's the real airplane that they've gutted and cemented in, the old fire engine, and the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad. As they were when I was little, those three things are still the biggest attractions there. Not only did we spend time at the playground and take a turn on the railroad, my mom and I took the kids with us when we went on walks between Oak Meadow and Vasona a couple of times.

One of our first days there, my mom and I took the kiddies downtown to the Town Plaza Fountain. Hudson had no problem soaking himself from head to toe in no time. Claire was a bit more timid but eventually got in there and had a grand time as well. It was the perfect activity for a hot day (great for the adults, too...we sat in the shade under the big redwood trees).

The first weekend we were there included the 4th of July. Claire was just starting on the upswing from being sick and we kept the day rather low-key. Even though we weren't going anywhere or seeing anyone, I got the kids dressed in their patriotic duds and we spent the late morning and early afternoon enjoying the beautiful weather.

One of our favorite activites out there is to go to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. We went twice this trip, once with both of my parents and the other time with my mom. Claire wasn't old enough to really enjoy it last year so it was fun watching her as she "got it" when we went this time. We did go to Gayle's while we were over there the 1st time but alas, they were out of Princess Cake that evening so no pictures from that stop.

Another favorite day from our visit was when my dad and I took the kids to Happy Hollow Park & Zoo. It's an oldie but goodie that has been around forever. They recently overhauled the place, though, and the changes are amazing! While many of the attractions are the same (little zoo, petting zoo, rides, etc.), they added an incredibly enormous and amazing play structure and completely face-lifted the whole place. It was so fun to go there and watch my kids enjoy a place that I used to love.

Now, a trip to my hometown just wouldn't be right without a day trip to the city. Important note: Please don't call it San Fran, Frisco, or anything else like that. It's San Fransisco or the city. Period. Anything else makes us Bay Area natives cringe. Anyway...we started out with a trip to Golden Gate Park where we met up with my sister and her kids at the Academy of Sciences. This is another place that has been completely renovated in the past few years. I hadn't been since before we had Hudson and boy, was I ever impressed with the changes! They have an amazing multi-level rainforest exhibit with all sorts of rainforest creatures (ginormous orb weaver spiders included...yuck!), a T-Rex skeleton in the entry way, an incredible aquarium with species from all over the world, etc. After visiting the Academy, we went to Union Square and San Fransisco Center for our usual shopping and a great dinner at one of the best food courts ever.

Now, our trip didn't just consist of days spent away from home and out and about. Most days were spent close to home (which included the aforementioned trips to the park) and at home for the most part. The kids had the time of their lives riding in the John Deere truck, running in the sprinklers (or hose spray), eating ice cream, playing dress up, digging in the sandbox, reading with their grandparents, and washing my car (my favorite). We also took part of an afternoon and visited a very dear friend of ours, Inger, who lives in my hometown. She's an amazing lady who immigrated from Norway in her early 20's and I can never get enough of her Norweigan-New York accent, her smile, and her company.

Well folks, that's finally it. The last of the pictures and details that I'm posting on our month-long excursion to California. And it only took me just over a month to get it done!

Now to catch up on the 1st day of school, our weekend with Max's family, etc....