Legoland (part 1)

We finished up our CA adventures in Legoand! We took Jacob and Samantha 3yr ago and they loved it, so we knew it would be great for our whole family. Of course the weather was picture perfect and everyone had a blast.

Samantha was finally tall enough to ride every ride which made her squeal with delight. Hannah, our thrill seeker was also tall enough to ride every ride but found herself a little in over her head a few times...nothing hugs couldn't fix. Poor Nathan, just 2 inches too small to ride the big ones, not that he cared. He was not at all interested in thrills and was perfectly content with the airplane ride...over and over and over and over...you get the point.

So here are a few from our first day...

Sunset Beach State Park

It was cold, windy and gorgeous!!! The kids played while the sun came out for a few hours and enjoyed the beach!!

Really...it was mid July!

While walking around in San Francisco all day we ended up being pretty cold by the end of the day. I think it is so odd, in fact it really messes with my brain to think I was wearing the same types of clothes in Dec of 2009 as I was in mid July this summer. I have been having a hard time grasping the fact that people who live in the area must have only one type of clothes...layers, which include sweaters, scarfs, pants, and boots. While we are at home in AZ we are trying to survive on as little clothing as possible in the summer and well, can only for a few days of the year can wear layers.

Our amazing hubbies stopped in a Starbucks to get warmed up with coffee...aren't they sweet? We of couse had to take this unique picture of our thin blooded selves in mid July...and we laugh at the irony.

Elephant Seals

On our journey down the coast we stopped at this beach which the elephant seals have claimed as their own for both mating and molting every year. When we drove by they were molting...some just starting and others almost done. It was an extraordinary sight. First, they are feisty creatures. They lay next to each other but if one is all of sudden uninterested in his or her friend being in their personal space they start to fight. It was crazy. They are also very loud when they communicate. And third...they are HUGE! We were close enough to get a pretty good idea just how big they are. They come done from Alaska every year...what a treasure to see something unique to the area. One funny thing one of the volunteers said...we were cold and she said "You like our weather? It's either 62 and windy or on a warm day, 63 and windy." It really spoke to the true we were experiencing...the northern coast is pretty much the same year round. Sometimes I think that would be a great feature...only one type of clothes, but then I would probably get really tired of  not having the warmth of the sun occasionally.

Beauty for the eyes

One of my favorite things to do on vacation is to take pictures of flowers and or scenery that is stunning and of course, cannot sustain life here in AZ. I am always amazed at the flowers and of course even jealous that people and businesses can have these glorious flower gardens year round. They provide so much color in urban cities and so much peace on farms.

Alcatraz has an amazing garden. One of the wardens wives loved flowers and she was the one that originally created these beautiful gardens on the island and had inmates work the gardens. From the prisoners themselves, many of them found moments of peace and a welcome distraction when they got the privilege to tend to the gardens.

These were just a couple I shot on the island...the rest are photographed in my mind. :-)

Then on to the farm where we picked those delicious strawberries...

So much vibrant life in climates that can sustain these beauties...it was a feast for my eyes!

Picking "Candy"

While we enjoyed Sunset Beach State Park for a few day we noticed it was nestled inbetween several farms...all growing strawberries. On one of our drives in and out we noticed a "U Pick" sign on one of the farms and jumped at the chance to eat, fresh, yummy strawberries. The kids thought it was the coolest thing ever to pick your own berries. We gave them each a pint and told them to fill it up. It was not the cheapest way to buy them but they tasted like candy and I loved helping a small, family farm keep doing what they do!