Sticker Bindi

Just hangin' out

Totland

Big Smile

Foggy Summer

Another trip to Moss Beach, this time with the whole family.

Family Portrait

At a playground in Golden Gate Park

Little Hikers

Today we went hiking in Muir woods. The kids are becoming really great hikers. They charm everyone on the trails. After a while Julian stopped and looked at me, his hands reaching into the sky, "Up up up!" He had had enough.

Admiring from afar

A nice dinner on the patio at Pasta Pomodoro. A woman inside had been admiring the kids as they played and giggled.

Moss Beach Bummies

Today had to be my favorite beach day so far this summer.
After a quick check of the tidechart, the kids and I jumped into the car and headed down the peninsula for Moss Beach. This is quickly becoming my favorite beach if not place in the bay area. The rocky reef is the only one of it's kind on this area of coastline, and at low tide, it holds off the rugged waves while revealing a whole world of creatures and little windows under the water. The water is cool and clear, the sand is beautiful and clean, made up of tiny smooth fragments of colored rock and shell. Seals roost at one end of the beach, and human mommies and kids roost at the other. The kids played with a bunch of other kids, splashing, digging, exploring. Zoe didn't let her fears keep her out of the water this time, but instead she kept a foot in the pools, and an eye on the horizon- just like her mommy taught her to do. Cautiously running out of the water to higher ground when the rising tide brought a larger ripple over the reef. Julian poked at seaweed with the boys and they both played a game of wading, then screaming as they ran for higher ground. We found a large crab hiding in a length of kelp, and returned it to a large pool where we could watch it skitter back to the deep.
As soon as I took Julian's trunks off, he dove into the sand, face down, giggling.

Once dry and clothed, we headed back up to the parking lot. I saw a little trail leading to the forested bluff and I presumed, an overlook. I wanted a better view of the seals, so we hiked up the trail. It lead to a great overlook where we could see the whole clan of seals and further down the coast to the next few white sandy beaches backed by other forested cliffs. We walked along the dirt path, and smelled the warm air steeped with conifers mixing with the seaspray. And I told Zoe and Julian how lucky I was to be able to take them to the beach on a Wednesday afternoon, and that I could not have been happier.

We Did It!

So those of you who know The Mommy know that T.M. HATES flying. LOVES to travel, to experience new places, cultures etc. but hates to fly. Compound that with an unnecessary tendency to panic on occasion, the state of airline travel today (lack of customer service, holding passengers hostage on the tarmac for hours, security torture), the awful affliction of motion sickness, two rambunctious toddlers, two Dramamines, and you can imagine how much harder traveling has become.
So while I have been looking forward to traveling with my babies and showing them the world, I am practically panicked at the thought of having to fly with them... alone.
On our trip to Vancouver, Nico thought it a good idea if the kids and I stay a few extra days after he left to return to work. "It's only a two hour flight. Mom will be with you at the airport. I'll be right there to get you guys, you can come home, put your feet up and sleep off the Dramamine". So we head out on our last day, both Ted and Marcia taking me and the kids to the airport. Ted lets us all out so Marcia can help me with the kids, stroller, two backpacks, laptop case, and two huge suitcases while we get checked in. Then I realize... I have to carry all of this through customs, alone. I can't check the bags until I get through. How can I push a cart, hold Zoe's hand, push the stroller with Julian and bags and backpacks ALL BY MYSELF. I'll ask if either Marcia can come with me to customs, or if they can send someone to help me. They look at me as if I am asking them to rub my feet and peel some grapes. Oh no, neither one is possible. The sweat starts to drip from my forehead, my heart races, I'm starting to get mad and scared, and thinking there is no way I can do this. But Marcia demonstrates that I can indeed push the cart (with Zoe sitting in it, and two suitcases- about 140 lbs) while pulling the stroller with julian and laptop, backpack, while fumbling along through customs, which isn't THAT far away. The security line snakes through the airport, inching along slowly. My god, I'll never make it to the plane on time. Julian is getting antsy, squirmy, whiny. Zoe is hungry and thirsty. I thought we'd snack in the terminal, but now there won't be any time, we'll be stuck in line the whole 2 hours. Marcia and Ted hang with me, pushing carts until I get almost to customs, then... off I go, alone. Pushing, pulling- I'm moving. Single people with tiny rollies run around me. Customs guy is nice, that's over, dump bags, dump cart, grab Zoe's hand, and into the security line. Jeesus. It is sooooo long. But Julian has calmed down and Zoe, sensing my stress, is being really good. She wants to sit on the stroller too, and we inch through the line. Until Julian pushes her off the front-wham!- by surprise, and sends her onto her rug-burned face. Zoe is crying (rightly so), fellow travelers are stooping over with concern, big scene. Finally, an older woman sends me to the edge of the line to tell security that I should be in the "special line", and everyone lets me by, and they do. Shew. I've taken off the kids shoes, pulled out the bottle for inspection, removed the laptop, sectioned off everything into gray bins- trying to keep a hand on each child- and now they want me to remove HALF OF MY TODDLERS CLOTHES. Are you effing kidding me?!? AND fold the stroller and hoist it onto the belt- all while making sure a toddler doesn't shoot through the metal detectors screaming alone, and keeping another eye on all my stuff which is now on the other side. But we made it. With minutes to spare, zipping in the stroller, no shoes on the kids feet, RUNNING on the moving sidewalk, asking people to move to the side if they're just going to stand there- Zoe, her enormous back pack bouncing along behind her, such a trooper. And we made it. With a bathroom stop and snack pick up to spare- because you know they aren't going to feed us anytime soon, and the kids blew through the snacks and drinks in line.
On the plane, I take a deep breath (and a second Dramamine) and pull out the water, sticker books and legos. We're ready. Julian on my lap, a little bouncy but holding it together. Zoe quite content with her books. We're pulling away, rumbling down the runway. Then slow, then stop. Wait. More wait. "We're having an airconditioning malfunction, trying to get that fixed. We'll be underway shortly."
More sweat, heart pumping. Thoughts of being trapped on the tarmac, bottle gone, snackies gone, computer battery gone, water gone. Children FREAKING OUT, TM right behind them. But after about 15-20 mins, we shoot off without a word like a rocket- legos and Winnie The Pooh and Tigger too, rattling under the seats, Zoe and I frantically trying to put everything back into the backpack. And we're up.
We get our gingerale. Fizzy, refreshing, soothing. We buy more snackies. I start the DVD I had packed. And off we were into the wild blue yonder. Holding it together.
Two hours later, as soon as the seatbelt signs were on, and we were turning round over the San Mateo bridge, Zoe announces that she has to go pee-pee. "Really bad". There's no getting up now. Turning, lowering, "the pee-pees are coming!!" Oh god no, not now.
But we make it, all of us make it, and there's the bathroom right next to the gate, and as soon as I'm looking for the baggage sign, there's daddy, yelling to us, waiting.
Zoe cool as a cucumber the whole time. I'm glad someone was.

Lynn Canyon, B.C.

Another suspension bridge just outside of Vancouver, but way less touristy feeling than Capailano (and free too), in a more natural environment. Both Julian and Zoe each went across with me- and the view from the bridge was breathtaking.

Taxi Boat

Today we took the taxi boat to Granville Island, a little pier area under the Granville bridge that has been turned into sort of an upscale craft market, with artists' ateliers and boutiques, shops and the best "food court" I've seen (tasted). What we like best though, is parking the car near the Science Center and walking down to the little dock below to pick up a a little taxi boat to Granville. We putt-putt along the bay, towards the waterway that separates Vancouver from Vancouver Island. We spot cormorants, and look for seals. We watch the skyscrapers sail by, and watch the cranes building taller ones. At Granville Island we listen to different buskers singing and playing, vying for our Loonies. We nibble fresh pizza and breathe in the salty, tidal air.

First Nations

More totem poles?! But of course!
When you go to Paris, you see impressionist art and eat croissants!
When you go to Italy, you see paintings of La Madonna. When you go to Greece, you look at beautiful marble temples. In BC, you visit the totem poles.
Today we took a drive along the coast, out to University of British Colombia at the end of the peninsula of Vancouver. We Slugs think we have a beautiful campus- but UBC has a gorgeous Museum of Anthropology. It's a destination in town, and one of my favorite places that we have visited yet.
The drive along the coast took us by many beaches (which are strange to me... shallow and muddy bottomed, faced out toward the shipping channel to North Vancouver on the other side... but that's another story) which this morning were grey and chilly. We did stop at playground as Zoe yelled from the backseat, "Let's stop here"!!
Finally, out to UBC and the Museum, a gorgeous light filled building of graduated ceiling heights, leading out to the large backroom whose back wall was one large picture window looking out to trees and meadow, mountains in the background, and totem poles quietly keeping watch in the meadow behind. The exhibits were mostly large scale wood carvings produced by native people of the area in the 1800's. There were many totem poles, and portions there of in their original state, plucked from what were once native people's front yards. It was nice to see old totem poles, carved at a time before there was a market for "aboriginal art", when the audience was mainly the carvers' family and clan. Many have carvings depicting families- a dad, a mom, twins held high and another sibling, clutched lovingly below. Of course, I am explaining the way I saw it without taking the time to read the labels and posts thoroughly, or do research, the time that was available to me to take it all in- in between doling out elmo crackers and juice. The kids seemed to enjoy it, running around pointing out thunderbirds and craning their necks to the ceiling.

Stanley Park

Today started out a little gloomy. The sky was grey when we woke up, we had a hard time getting started, out the door. Nico went home yesterday, so everyone misses him. Zoe keeps saying, "I want to go to MY house now", and refuses to cooperate with anything, melting down into a puddle of tears over anything like sharing snacks to going potty.
Julian asks, "Da Da?" and this time I don't think he was talking about the cat, who he now refers to as "Ehwit!!" in between shrieks of delight.
No, everyone misses daddy. But we are in a great city full of things to explore. And Gammy and Gampy Ted are taking great care of all of us, bending over backwards to meet our plentiful needs, before we even know we need them.
Grammy suggested that we explore Stanley Park which sits at a little peninsula on the edge of the city. It's full of waterfront views, forests of cedar, fir, and ferns, luscious gardens with the deepest, richest most brightly hued flowers. There is the aquarium, horse drawn carriage rides, restaurants, playgrounds, and many beaches. Today we went to the miniature train ride, followed by a visit to the totem poles.
The train ride was great; the trains were so lovingly painted and maintained, as was the forest that the train chugs through. We went over bridges, through tunnels and forests in view of wading "moose", waving mice, and miniature houses. We actually started getting chilly after a week of record highs. Once we found our way over to the totem poles, the sun started peeking out as we learned to spot whales, thunderbirds, frogs and bears among the carvings. By the time we wound our way to English Bay for lunch, it was getting warm again. By the time our bellies were full, so were our spirits.

Boundary Bay

Today Grammy, Nico, TM and the weasels all set off in the Subaru for a trip to the beach at Boundry Bay, BC, near the Washington border. After passing the airport, the land turned flat, with the mountains way off in the distance, barely visible through a light haze. We followed the highway, long and flat through wide open agricultural land, then turned off the main highway, passing blueberry fields heading towards the ferry station that takes travelers to Vancouver Island. I'm not sure what I was expecting as far as a "beach" (hey, I'm a Cali girl) but I suppose I had imagined something along the lines of what I remember from the Oregon and Washington coasts- lush forests falling into the Pacific. I knew that Vancouver was not directly ON the Pacific, but couldn't remember where exactly it was related to the coastal islands that really make up the western part of BC.
We parked in a large dirt lot, and wandered out to the dusty beach. The sand was fine and brownish, partly dirt and partly dust from bonfires mixed into the sand. But the strangest part was that at the edge of the "beach" or sandy area, was a great expanse of mudflat, almost as far as you could see. And not a tree in sight. I could barely make out the grayish ocean far far out beyond the flats. I'd never seen a beach like this before. Marcia said it reminded her of beaches back east, where they spent afternoons digging for clams, and cooking them right on the beach. The kids were excited to be out of the car and into open space, with sand between their toes. I stayed behind with our things while Nico and Marcia wandered down to the shallow water that collected in little "lakes" along the flats. I could see the kids splashing and digging. Digging, everyone digging, bent over, pointing at the mud, pants rolled up to their knees, pails and shovels in their hands. The kids had the pails and shovels that Marcia bought for them before our arrival. Eventually, Marcia came back to relieve me, and I set off for the horizon where I last saw Zoe and Nico and Julian. I waded through the first lake, the water only to just below my knees. Then out to the next flat. The water was warm, and the packed mud felt strange beneath my feet. Like I should've been wearing shoes- I mean, God only knows what bacteria or hooked and barbed microscopic creatures might be lurking in that primordial ooze. But I tried not to think about emergency room visits, and just enjoyed the natural and strange beauty of the area. In the shin deep water was acres of eel grass, and tiny cone snails, flat clam shells, and some weird gook that looked like a cross between algae and some creature's egg sack. I had to scan the flat horizon over and over to find my peeps among the many other folks who were spending the bank holiday at the Beach (BC Day). When I found them, they were sandy and wet, bent over the piles of muddy sand they had dredged with their shovels. Zoe was gleefully inspecting her pile for clams and creatures, and continued with the construction of her "castle". Nico took Mister back to the sandy shore and I stayed with Zoe, digging and digging, turning over the sandy muck to find little treasures of clams. Regular clams, and flattish looking clams. And tiny cone snails among the eel grass. I was fascinated. Zoe and I watched as I rinsed the little creatures, and set them next to the hole we were excavating to marvel at their shells, and the way they magically seemed to "dig" their way back into the sand- like in slow motion before our eyes. When I looked out to the horizon, the ocean seemed as far away as it did from the beach, almost farther. And we had walked so far. I tried to take Zoe to the ocean, drawn as I am to the edge, but you know Zoe- she flatly refused; dug in her heels. So we buried our clams, putting them "back to bed" where they belonged, and headed to shore. We passed little old Asian ladies, filling their buckets and plastic bags with their bounty of clams. Were they unable to read the signs explaining not to eat the clams? "Not for human consumption", something about bivalve viruses or some sort. Enough to keep them out of my mouth for sure.

Yellow Submarine

Chasing Rainbows

It's another "scatchah" up here in The 'Couv as high temperatures are breaking records all over the Pacific Northwest. We have been taking showers, baths, trips to the beach, trips to the pool and spending a lot of time running through the sprinklers set up in the little neighborhood parks. A flick of the switch, and these little sprinkler parks mist up a mini storm for 20 minutes. Many of the neighborhood tot lots have them. Little fountains bubble up from the hot asphalt, and posts burst with water misting from the top. The water runs in little rivers between the small hills and valleys sculpted around the shower garden. Perfect for splashing each other and chasing rainbows. You wouldn't find them in California, but up here in the Rainy City, they are everywhere. Very refreshing.

Vancouver Aquarium

Vancouver's aquarium is in Stanley Park, just over Lion's Gate Bridge from downtown Vancouver. Lion's Gate reminds me of our Golden Gate Bridge, except a little shorter, and green. Stanley Park is lovely with a thick forest full of trails and views of the bay, downtown, North Van and the ever present mountains in the distance. It was very warm again today around 27-28 degrees. After The M&D went out with the Chrises last night, walking from one end of town to the other for the fireworks show at English Bay, The M. woke up a bit draggy today and found it very difficult chasing two toddlers around the very busy aquarium. Thank goodness we have fresh recruits hanging out with us, full of support. It's wonderful to be traveling with a village.
We passed a miniature train and an animal "farm" for kids, all right next to the brand new aquarium. The aquarium is beautiful- with a wide variety of tanks from jellies to frogs to their beloved Beluga whales. There are two moms and two baby whales, one just born in June. There is also a 4D experience (the 4th dimension being tactile) that shows a beautiful movie in 3D while poking, vibrating, spraying, and whipping the audience. While some of the adults saw the movie, Zoe and Julian found their happy place in the children's lounge. Zoe "fixed" injured seals and danced in a lighted tunnel, while Julian ran around and peeked into various tanks a foot off the ground and threw himself into piles of squishy blocks.


Mommy's favorite was the octopus tank- this guy is huuuuuge! And seemingly quite social- he was climbing the tank walls while onlookers watched him dance and reach.


The aquarium has a Little Vet Corner where mini vets can save a seal. They can examine the seal with stethoscopes and such at the examining office, then transport it across to the X-ray table to find out where it is injured. Zoe spent a lot of time with the seals.



Zoe lets loose on the dance floor