Road Trip

So, what CAN you do in a car to entertain yourself for 9 hours?
You can sing along to Raffi CDs- over and over and over
You can play Houdini- using only seatbelts and shaky toys.
You can cardance on the hood (not recommended while vehicle is in motion).
You can take lots and lots of pictures...

You talkin' to me?

Tide Pooling

After a gorgeous first week in SoCal spent at the beach, playing in the sand and kayaking the tranquil green canals of Naples, we thought we'd stay another week. Then the clouds rolled in. Frankly, I don't know what to do with myself and two babies in SoCal when it's too cold for the beach. Luckily, the rain stopped so we could continue the hunt for great tidepools. This time at Crystal Cove state beach, just north of Laguna. But where have all the ocean's flowers gone? This was my first time at this particular beach, but I spent countless hours in Laguna as a kid staring down into rocky niches at low tide looking at green anemones and purple urchins, red starfish, stripped limpets, snails and hermit crabs crawling between blades of seagrass. I wanted to show Zoe how you can tickle the tips of the anemones and see the bits of shell glued to their outsides. But I couldn't find ANY. There was only the occasional little crab wandering around the empty tidepools here. Are they all gone? Did they disappear over the last 20 years while I was busy growing up? I hope not. I'll continue my search on the next visit.

Nature Walk

Aquarium of the Pacific

Keeping Cool

May gloom? Not this week! We packed for some colder weather, but were pleasanatly surprised by a hot spell- getting into the high 90's. But it was breezy and lovely underneath the ol' sycamore tree on the peni. School's not out yet, the weather is still mostly mild- a mid week afternoon meant that we had the shade to ourselves. Zoe remembers the way to the beach, "bitch bitch" she yells as we drive down Ocean Blvd. "Dane! Dane!" she yelled as we pulled up in front of Casa Riddick on Laguna Pl. Again, he met us with sand toys, umbrella, chairs and a kayak for a fun day at the beach. Our favorite way to enjoy a heat wave.

The Nature Center

If you read this blog, you know that Zoe & I love our walks in the woods. So on vacation, we thought we'd visit Long Beach's "Nature Center" at El Dorado Park. It's kind of like a zoo for nature in the middle of a suburban desert. A big green swath of plants next to a river channel, it sports a 1/4 mile cement path loop and a mile long trail that circles a big pond with turtles and a bridge. It has flowers & squirrels and even trees. It has a lot of highway noise, which drowns out buzzing power lines, and it has an informative mini nature museum (which I can't describe because it closed at 4 o'clock). We usually take our walks in the evening, so upon our arrival we discovered (after paying the $4 fee) that we only had 20 minutes to see the park before it closed at 5. A power walk it is!

Big hands, little hands

First Portrait

Pink hearts, blue flowers, purple moons

First Smiles

May Day