Winter Break Vacation

     Hi this is Sophia. Yesterday I got home from my winter vacation! We went to New Orleans, and Orange beach. New Orleans is always an amazing time. It is a ten hour drive to New Orleans, so that is never super fun. But the experiences you get there are 100% worth it.We stayed at a regular hotel with one room, one bathroom, and one tv. We went to a place  called Preservation Hall. At Preservation Hall they get jazz bands to  come. Sense I am a  kid I got to sit right up front. The main performance area is the size of a large dinning room! The whole thing looked like a old house. The paint on the outside was chipping, so it looked brown. Or maybe it was painted brown, I wasn't really sure. There was no snacks, or water inside. But the music made up for it all. It was amazing. It is a 4 hour drive to get to Orange beach. Orange beach is really close to Gulf Shores. I absolutely loved it. Although me and Daddy were sick. Both of us got sick. So our vacation did not turn out exactly how we imagined. But we were only sick for 1 day, so we got to play on the beach a lot. The gulf water is more warmer than other beaches. The sand is defiantly whiter. The sand isn't ruff or super inconsistent. But Gulf Shores and Orange beach, are a mostly beachside condo town. There are some turn offs you can go to, to get to the towns. But you are not by the beach any more. Sense there are so many condos you can't see the water anyway. My room in our condo/hotel was very nice. I had 2 full sized beds, and a tv in my room. But my rooms only view was the parking lot. Then next door to my bed room was a bathroom, ( for me only, un like this apartment with only 1bathroom to share between the 3 of us ) and another bed room ( that was not my mom and dad's) It was were we put Leo's crate so he basically had his own room. witch had twin sized beds ( we did not tell him mine were bigger.) He had the same "amazing" view as me. Plus he had 2 beds , and a tv. Again mine was bigger. down the hall, was the kitchen, witch I am not going to tell about, except it was a average kitchen. If you make a left turn n you are in the living room. Beside the living room is a set of sliding doors. To reveal a balcony over looking the pool and ocean. It has a amazing view. If you go back inside. Go a little past the couch and you will turn left to go into my mom and dad's room. they have a king sized bad, I think. A bigger tv than me. Plus a set of sliding doors to get to the balcony.
    

A Few Questions

Why does California have to be so far from St. Louis?

Why did our families settle in the Midwest?

How is California so stinkin' awesome?

These questions were all raised by our recent adventure (vacation does not describe it) to Central/North Coast of California.

Sophia's joy below is her response to our first steps into the Pacific this time around.

It had been a few years since our last trip, and we were very excited to catch up again with the Creaches on the coast. Sophia loves hanging out with those cousins. They always pick up right where they left off. I'm hopeful it won't be another three years.

And the beach. Oh, the beach. After a couple days near San Francisco with the Creaches, we headed south between Santa Cruz and Monterey to a very out of the way condo complex between two state beaches. The rest of our week was spent primarily right there: building in the sand, running in the waves and watching the ocean change while it stayed the same.

A highlight for me was the fulfillment of a dream that many, many people share. Riding horses on the beach. This particular dream had the added bonus of whale and dolphin sightings. I could not stop smiling. Sophia was impressed, of course, but did not love the ride as much as she loved using her own two legs to get into the water.

The sun wasn't our constant companion, but it came out now and again. We didn't mind the clouds. Apparently, the sun makes people crazy...

On our last day in California, we packed a lot in. More beach, the redwoods and more pier fun in San Francisco.

Vacation was lovely. Restful, fun, adventurous, memorable. Happy to be home, but I think I'd be happier with just another couple weeks on the beach. Maybe a month.

Northwest Vacation

We have been back from Seattle for a couple of days. I, for one, am still exhausted. I don't know what it is about this trip, but I can't seem to recover as quickly. Too close to school, maybe.

Anyway, we had a marvelous time. I'm about to share a bunch of pictures. So I hope you're ready to take a visual journey.

We arrived in Seattle and picked up where we left off. Plus, feeding chickens...

Sophia loved the chickens. Any time she has a chance to care for a creature, she's a happy kiddo.

After a couple of days in Seattle, we headed down the road to the Oregon Beach.

It was beautiful. Picturesque. Moving. I highly recommend visiting the Pacific in Oregon.

We spent lots of time at the water. The sand was perfect for building. Mostly free of rocks. Just a few sand fleas.

This was our first sunset from our back porch.

The next day, Erick and I left the beach to head halfway across Oregon to see some of Erick's family. Beautiful countryside. Lots of beautiful streams and mountains.

Erick's uncle Bill lives in Bend, which is high desert. We were surprised to get through all those mountains and streams to arrive in an arrid, hot climate.

It was great to see the family, though. Well worth the day in the car.

We did, however, get a little bit punchy on our drive.

Then we took a night walk on the beach. So peaceful and refreshing.

Then we headed back out for a long walk in the morning. Lots of exploration.

Did I mention picturesque?

Once we passed through those rocks, we were very surprised to find the rocks on the other side covered in star fish and mussels. Pretty cool. Kind of creepy.

Our last evening in Oregon was perfect. We made a fire while the kids played in the sand and ran along the beach. Then we just relaxed. And danced a little.

This was the closest I could get to a smile from Sophia. It's a smile, for sure, but maybe a little nutsy.

Once we were back in Seattle the next day, we did more relaxing. Hanging out. Watching movies. General merriment. We also went to the Seattle Science Center, which happens to be right by the Space Needle. It was a great Science Center. We spent several long and full hours hanging out there.

Anyway, glad to be home. But our trip was magnificent, as always. The northwest is lots of fun. Tons of things to see and do or a great climate for just hanging around. Love it.

Week of friends and fun

This week, we flew to Seattle and had a magnificent time. We did a bunch of relaxing. A little shopping. And just picked up where we left off with our friends last year. Blake and Madilyn are just magnificent people. Sophia completely agrees. Even though there is a significant age difference between them, the three friends manage to find a groove together for playing and chatting surprisingly fast.

Helping them all make it through the week without run-ins was the simple fact that, when needed, they'd break off by themselves to get some alone time. Sophia rarely wanted to be by herself, of course, but Blake and Madilyn seemed to work in and out of company seamlessly.

The bonus to seeing our friends in Seattle is that they live by many beaches. The Sound provides for some great views and great sand to play in. The first attempt at beach time was a little windy.

Even though we didn't stay long at the beach, we had lots of outdoor fun in our friends' back yard. The weather was perfect.

What kicks a back yard (or any living area, for that matter) up to the next level? A golden retriever, that's what! Enter Sam. A fantastic dog. Exactly what you'd expect of man's best friend! Sophia was particularly drawn to this guy.

Did I mention that Seattle is beautiful? We did get a full and gorgeous day on the beach as well.

This only skims the surface of all the fun we had. I didn't get a picture, but we also got to see my cousin Zach. He's lived in Seattle about the same amount of time as our friends, and he loves it on sunny days just like everyone! We did the Pike Place Market again, ate lots of seafood, bought some Legos, played some crazy games and just had a blast. Back to regular summer life tomorrow. Sophia is doing Arts Camp at the Presbyterian Church in our neighborhood. Reports to come.

Big Weekend

 

Just so you know, we went to San Francisco for the weekend, and I got my hair cut. More to come!

Back to the Beaches

Well, I wish I were going back to the beaches. How about back to the topic of the beaches.

One of the few "musts" on our list for the Seattle trip was a visit to a Puget Sound beach. We didn't care which beach, just wanted to walk in some sand. Even though it was July, we knew that there was a real possibility that we'd be visiting the beach in jeans and a jacket. That turned out to be far from reality.

Our first beach was Alki Beach. We first stopped at the local fish & chips establishment to grab our picnic.



Then, we headed down to the beach. Something we would later learn was a trend was that these two (plus Erick) were always the first to hit the water. In this case, it was low tide, so we began exploring in tide pools and on the islands created by the ebbing water.



Once the tide started to come in, there were plenty of low waves to jump.



Sophia insisted on staying on one of the tiny islands until it disappeared under her feet - or rather, under her entire body.



Before we left Alki, I snapped a shot that captured Sophia's sheer pleasure at being in a few waves.



So we learned the hard way that the kids needed swimsuits (it took one more lesson to learn that Erick needed his, too). And we hit our second beach, Golden Gardens. It's a very cool beach, too. A longer stretch of sandy beach for strolling and playing. More beach activities. I was mesmerized by the competitive antics of young Seattlites playing sand volleyball for quite a while. The tension between relationship and winning was entertaining when it came to one young couple. Anywho...

As I mentioned, lots of sand. There were many uses for it, it turns out. Burying feet.



Or entire kids.



Is there any better beach activity than collecting stuff? I know I enjoyed it. So did Sophia.



Our stint at Golden Gardens also allowed us to witness the comings and goings of cruise ships, cargo ships and this. Lots of people and it went slowly. But this gives you an idea of the views that one can have while lying in the sand. A little surreal, but absolutely breathtaking.



Our last beach was unique, as well. I was surprised in a couple of ways by the beaches on the sound. First, that they were so largely affected by the tides. I guess it's simple enough, it's still part of the ocean. I just thought that since the sound is so far inland that the tide wouldn't rise and fall at such extremes. I was also surprised at how different each of these beaches was. One almost entirely sand, another rocky, another covered in driftwood. So interesting! Our last beach was Carkeek, which is connected to a very beautiful park with walking trails through hills and thick forest. I'd love to explore that another time. The beach itself was covered in rocks that were covered in barnacles.



A very unexpected treat was to watch a bald eagle flying low over the beach while we were there - apparently being chased from somewhere by this crow.



Carkeek was on our last full day together. There were plenty of bittersweet moments. The kids just soaked up their time together. I love that about them.



They were all bravest on this last Creach trip out. So Erick and all three kids headed out as far as advisable while the tide came into the beach. It was so much fun to watch them and listen to the squeals of excitement.




When we had stayed as long as possible, all three of us had a tinge of sadness to say goodbye to the beach, knowing it will be a while till one finds itself between our toes again. It was, most definitely, hardest for Erick. Who knew? The guy's an ocean rat? Or is it waveaholic? Whatever it is, that's him.

Need more evidence?

Just in case you need to see more pictures of us having fun in California - and who wouldn't, really?

Here's a link to the album. Remember. This album is still only 10% of all my pictures.

10February - CA Vacation

I won't be offended if you don't even glance. No guarantees that I would look at your vacation pictures if you weren't checking over my shoulder and waiting for appropriate excitement...

It's a Miracle

I have decided to cram the post about vacation into one because anything I say won't be enough. And too many pictures (I took over a thousand) will numb your minds.

Our vacation was fantastic in every way.

 

We had a great visit with Erick's grandma.

 

My favorite view is from her kitchen window.

 

We played.

 

and truly didn't tire of one another.

 

We ate good food.

 

 

The ocean was there.

 

 

We made new friends.

 

and enemies...

 

Sophia had her daddy.

 

 

And her books.

 

 

The sun set.

 

Perfection.