This and That

CARMEL RIVER STATE BEACH

It was a little drizzly.  It was very cold.  And it was mostly overcast.

But that would never stop us from heading to the beach.  The kids love to play there rain, hail or shine.

So we decided to head to Carmel River State Beach.  This beach is not for swimming, but it is dog friendly (as long as they are on a leash), there is a 2 mile hike (not that we went on that) and it is adjacent to the Carmel River Bird Sanctuary.  We played on the sand and took a walk along Scenic Drive where we passed quite a few people walking their designer dogs, an artist hard at work behind is easel and a ton of wildlife. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course it would have been very wrong not to stop off for some ice-cream after a trip to the beach.

WHITTLING AWAY ...

at all of those little projects that have building up.  Repairing hairclips, gluing wooden train tracks back together, mending holes.  And the list could go on.  That is what I have been up to this past week or so.

One of those projects that I had been meaning to do FOREVER was to bring new life to these wood tray tables.

 

I have been dragging these around with me for over 10 years and 4 house moves.  Jay used them when he was little to put his coloring pages on.  And, as you can see, to work his magic with a paint brush.

 
They needed a little repairing and a makeover, and the twins needed little tables to put in front of their chairs in the play room.  I am tired of cleaning up spilled drinks and snacks that have been balanced precariously on the arms of their chairs or sat down on the floor next them only to be kicked over or trodden on.  I'm hoping this will alleviate the problem.

So, after tightening screws and removing the paint and pen marks, I glued a sheet of oilcloth to the top of each table to give it a pop of color and cover the marks on the top. 

GARLAND RANCH

Garland Ranch Regional Park is definitely one of the more beautiful hikes we have been on.  When we arrived we were a little worried that it was going to be crowded seeing as the carpark seemed to be exploding with cars, however there are so many trails in this nearly 4,500 acre park that we actually saw very few people.

And I apologize in advance, but you are about to be inundated with photographs.  I did cut it down though, I originally took over 90.  There were so many little things to see that I couldn't help but stop frequently to snap a few pictures.  I even got a little upset with hubby at one point because he wasn't stopping to notice all of the beautiful little flowers or fungi sprouting out of the moist ground after the recent rains.  His response "we'll just see it on your blog later".  I think he was still a little bitter that he didn't get to watch the hockey.  This beautiful sunny day was just too good to pass up though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tell me, can you see my little man watching the waterfall?  He looks so tiny in comparison.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn't even see a 1/4 of the park today, so I really look forward to getting back there to explore more of the trails.  The kids did great however on the 2.92 miles we did hike. 

Tip:  We have downloaded the Trails - GPS Tracker on hubby's iPhone so that we can start tracking exactly how far we go on each hiking expedition.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE APPEAL ...

It must be a boy thing.

 

 

Cause running around in the rain on a muddy field and having 14 guys jump on top of me and grind me into the dirt just because I caught a ball really isn't my thing.  But it apparently appeals to my other half.

Yes, that's right, my husband has a little thing for a sport named rugby.  I will never understand the reason why, but aside from the injuries and the whining about being unable to walk for a week after playing, he seems to enjoy it.   I feel like I should be letting out a little "Tim The Tool Man" Taylor grunt on his behalf right now.

In fact, he loves it so much that I was a single gal on Valentine's Day this year as he spent 4 days in Las Vegas with our teenager for the USA Sevens.  Yes, I'm still milking that one for all it's worth.

OUT AND ABOUT ON A RAINY DAY

Our weekly hike had to be canceled today due to the rain, but we still needed to get the kids out of the house so we took them to the Agricultural History Project Museum, on a drive along the windy road of Hecker Pass and up into Mt Madonna County Park and then to the Wings of History Museum.  These are very small museums.  So small, that on this rainy day we were the only family at each one, which definitely worked in our favor.  The volunteers working at each were fabulous.  Both museums are free, however we did leave donations at each.  

 

 

 

You can view the rest of our photographs here:

Agricultural History Project Museum

Wings of History Museum

I recommend both of these Museums if you are homeschooling your children.  You can cover both in an afternoon, they are educational and the volunteers working at each are a wealth of information.

I found both of these locations on Trekaroo. 

WILDER RANCH

Now that I'm on a weight loss kick (have I mentioned I've lost 6lbs since the beginning of the year - 2lbs in the past 2 weeks alone) I'm dragging the whole dang family out to hike at least once a week.  Last week we went to Wilder Ranch State Park.  It's a fantastic walk.  There was only one trail open (the Coastal Trail) which is 3.5 miles each way.  We didn't go that far, but would have hiked a good 2.5 miles at least.  It's a very easy walk with breathtaking views, lots of birds and wildflowers.  A lot of cyclists seem to use the trail with the main path winding around the cliffs and there are little paths going down to secluded beaches too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can find more information about Wilder Ranch State Park at Trekaroo and California State Parks

NATURAL BRIDGES

Natural Bridges State Beach is a beautiful little area just north of Santa Cruz.  It is the winter home of the Monarch Butterflies, there is a fabulous picnic area and a small beach with tidepools at low tide.  We took a picnic lunch there and although it was a little chilly the kids had a great time building sand castles and playing in the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can find more information on both Trekaroo and California State Parks

JACKS PEAK

Jacks Peak is the highest point on the Monterey Peninsula.  The park encompasses about 525 acres including 8.5 miles of hiking and riding trails.  After the recent rains the trails were littered with pine needles and pine cones, there were fallen trees and a lot of others that seemed to be balancing quite precariously on the small cliffs running alongside the paths.  It was green and lush though and the kids did great on the 2+ miles of trails we hiked.

 

 

 

 

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

Marisol at the halfway point: "I don't like Jack because I can't like his peak".  

Information about Jacks Peak can be found here and a map complete with hiking trails is here.

AFTER THE RAIN ...

RAINY DAY FUN

It doesn't rain often in California, but when it does, the kids love to make the most of it.  You may remember this post and this one.

There's nothing quite like the sound of laughter that comes with mud and rain.  It can almost make me forget that they had just showered and washed their hair after swim lessons.