Camping Part 2 - Monterey

We woke early after our second night of camping in Felton to have a quick breakfast before hopping in the car to head south to Monterey and their world-famous aquarium. With little trouble we made our way south, maneuvered through downtown Monterey and found parking near the aquarium. The boys were thrilled to see the huge tanks and everything they held. If they hadn't been hungry we probably would have sat in front of one tank for hours watching an aquarium volunteer scrubbing the inside of the glass. All of the exhibits were amazing but I think we all agreed that the jellyfish and the seahorses were the most spectacular. And, rather than telling you all about every little sea creature here are some photos instead...

Camping Part 1 - Santa Cruz

After saying goodbye to family in Benicia we headed south towards Santa Cruz to spend a few nights camping and exploring.  The drive itself was not too long and with the boys napping it went even more quickly.  We arrived in Felton right around lunch time and quickly found a great little natural foods market called New Leaf Community Market.  We picked up a couple of sandwiches, fruit, and other snacks then headed over to our campground in the redwoods above Santa Cruz.  The boys were so excited to help put up our tent and set up camp.  Within minutes they were exploring old trees, packing around sticks and pretending an old stump was a semi-truck.  We followed the trail from the campground down to the river and the boys even got to sit on the tractor used by the maintenance man, Mike.  After a simple dinner we explored the campground a bit more and found the game room with an air hockey table which they fell in love with.  Everyone settled nicely into our sleeping bags for the night and we were all looking forward to our outing the next day to Santa Cruz.

Looking up into the redwoods from our picnic table.

Sam working on his semi-truck.

Trying out the log furniture.

The boys posing with Mike's tractor.

The San Lorenzo River - just across the water is the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park.

Sam was a natural at air hockey.

Again, on the tractor.

After having our campsite breakfast we loaded up in the car and headed a few miles away from our campground to the Roaring Camp Railroads.  Here we boarded our train for the day's adventure. The Santa Cruz, Big Trees; Pacific Railway Company operates passenger and freight services on one of the oldest and most historic lines in California. When the route opened in 1875 it carried picnickers and tourists to the Big Trees and Santa Cruz. Today’s Beach Trains travel through Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, down the scenic San Lorenzo River Gorge, across a 1909 steel truss bridge, and through an 1875 tunnel before arriving at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. 

The boys were overjoyed to ride the train but within minutes of leaving Roaring Camp the movement of the train had lulled Sam to sleep.  The ride itself was beautiful.  Redwoods bordered the entire line and the conductor on board gave us a history of the railroad as we went along.  After just over an hour we arrived at the boardwalk.  We had a quick lunch and then set out to ride some of the kid-friendly rides.  Our first stop was the Boardwalk’s classic Looff carousel, built in 1911.  It is also one of only a handful of carousels in the world still featuring a working ring dispenser. Rings were once hand loaded by "ring boys," as the young employees were called. The process was mechanized in 1950. Steel rings are used today, with brass plated rings added on special occasions. Riders on outside horses can grab rings from a dispenser as they spin, then toss them into a large clown's gaping mouth, rewarded by bells and flashing lights. Trying to reach out and "grasp the brass ring" was even mentioned in the well-known book The Catcher in the Rye when main character Holden Caulfield takes his little sister to ride the carousel at Central Park and realizes that despite his urge to try to protect her he has to just let her lean out and reach for the brass ring because that's just what kids do.  It is this point in the novel that Holden really understands that you can't always protect kids from things out in the world nor should you. 

Needless to say, by the time Brian and I and the boys got on the carousel all of the outside horses were taken by tweens and teenagers determined to reach a ring with a leather strap being the only thing keeping them mounted on their horses as they leaned dangerously to the right as they went around.  Our boys were perfectly content riding on their inner horses round and round.

From the carousel the boys rode several other rides and loved them all equally.  We wandered out on the beach before getting back on the train and let the boys get their feet wet in the waves.  Once we were back on the train for our return trip to Roaring Camp it didn't take long for both boys to be completely conked out after such a big day.  Once we were back in Felton we made a quick trip into the market and we were headed back to our campsite with dinner ready to go.

The narrow gauge steam train at Roaring Camp.

Inside the restored coach car.

Sam was very serious early on.

Round and round we go.

The diesel engine that took us to and from the Boardwalk.

Killer whales.

Absolute happiness!

Cars and trucks and things that go!

Biplanes.

Sea dragons....finally Sam started showing his smile.

Air hockey on a big table in one of the Boardwalk's many arcades.

The Boardwalk as seen from the beach.

Getting a little wet.

Tired after a long day playing and riding.

From Minors to Majors

On Sunday, July 18th, we joined several of the Episcopal Churches from Northern Nevada at the Reno Aces baseball game.  The boys are happy at any ball game and especially liked sitting next to our good friends Ed and Emy Gurowitz.  The boys had fun watching the game and having pizza for dinner as well as ice cream for dessert.  But the cherry on top was definitely at the end of the game when we joined several other families for kids under twelve to run the bases.  This is something Ben had done last September at an Oakland A's game with Auntie Beth.  But here at the Aces ball park they didn't let parents go on the field with little ones.  I was concerned that as soon as Sam found out I couldn't go with him he would refuse to go but he was happy to follow along with Ben.  Both boys entered the field (the second group of siblings in line due to Mom and Dad's smart-thinking to line up early).  At first it seemed that Sam was a little unsure of what to do and where to go so from the sidelines I told Ben to hold Sam's hand thinking Ben would lead Sam to the bases and they would both run at their own speeds.  Ben took Sam's hand in his own and proceeded to lead Sam all the way around the bases.  Other parents on the sidelines commented on the cute little boys with the matching shirts running together.  It was so sweet!  In my attempts to get photos I also ended up stepping in someone's discarded soft pretzel container and filled my sandal with yellow mustard.  When the boys exited the field they were both very proud of themselves though Ben informed us that Sam's run didn't count because he never stepped on second base!

Entering the field.

Lost in a pack of bigger kids on the way to 2nd.

Approaching 2nd.

Nearing 3rd.

Still going....

Almost home....

Two runs score!!!!

Just three days after our Aces game we joined my parents, sisters, and their families for an Oakland A's game.  Beyond the excitement of the actual game was the good news of a very successful cornea transplant for my dad.  After weeks of frustration at seeing basically nothing, Dad was overly excited to see nearly everything!!!  It was a chilly day in Oakland but we all had a great time - except maybe for my brother-in-law Howie who watched his Red Sox lose to the A's.  It also happened to be my nephew Isaac's first baseball game.

Aussies, Parties, Potlucks, and Worm Houses

One of the very best things about living in Tahoe is the fun summer brings.  Nearly every day is perfect for playing at any of our local playgrounds.  Whether we intentionally schedule playdates or not we almost always end up having one as friends arrive at the park and join in the fun. 

Ben and Sam both wanted to wear their astronaut shirts from Nan and Teddy and then pretended the swings were their rockets taking them to the moon.

Ben and his Aussie friend, Mitchell, pretended there was an earthquake on the bridge and played a Tahoe version of hide-and-seek.  Notice what a great hiding place one of the bear-proof garbage cans provides.

Our Ben also liked when we ran into his preschool friend Mya and her big brother Ben at the playground.  Big Ben was always willing to push the littler ones on the swings.

And what summer is complete without bubbles?!?!  Even if you can't catch them!

The weekend of July 10th turned out to be a very busy weekend for us.  We began by traveling from Tahoe to Quincy for Julianna's third birthday party where we also got to meet her new baby brother Bradley for the first time.  The kids enjoyed the Dr. Seuss-themed party and were sufficiently tuckered out for our drive from Quincy to Chico where we met up with my girlfriends, Kirsty and Maite, along with more of their friends and family to celebrate Maite's fortieth birthday party.  It was a long weekend in the car but well worth every mile!

The birthday girl, Julianna - Thing 1.

Bradley, the new addition - Thing 2.

The Cat in the Hat?  Nope, Ben!

Auntie Steph outfitted as the Cat in the Hat with Thing 1 and Thing 2.

We have found that over the past couple of years in Tahoe we have become good friends with some of the part-time residents.  We put together a fairly impromtu potluck one evening with three other families.  The Kloaks spend most of their year in Australia, the Lasters spend most of their time in Atlanta, and the Ragers (like us) are year-rounders here in Incline.  We all have kids ranging from 6 to less than a year old and all the kids have been able to get to know each other through swim lessons, tennis lessons, and playing at the parks.  It was nice to get everyone together before everyone went their separate ways come the end of the summer.

At 6'8' Mike was the bubble machine for the kids.

And Matt is just a big kid at heart!

Aussie Mitchell sporting his woodsy Hawaiian shirt.

Atlantans Annie and Virginia happy to be in Tahoe for the summer.

One of our projects for the summer was to build a worm house that we could use for composting our fruit and veggie waste.  Brian found the plans online and he and the boys worked hard to get it all put together.  Since then we have becoem the proud owners of over 1000 worms and are always excited to see our chopped up scraps become beautiful, clean dirt!

Safety first!

Ben is very serious about his work.

The work crew.