Lovin' the Lake

My in-laws have a great cottage at a lake up past Prince George, BC.
It's a lovely little spot, and we always have such a great time there.
We toodled up there for the August Long Weekend (yes, I know, I'm behind in my blogs) through the Park, fabulous drive at this time of the year.
Paden helped direct the chopping of the wood. This time he got to help build the floating dock for the boat (very big boy stuff). It was also very nice to laze back and listen to the loons, roast marshmallows, go on a nature hike (in which many a miniature strawberry lost their lives), and just kick back in front of the fire.

I'm already looking forward to our next visit.

Muir Woods

I THINK that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

...Joyce Kilmer

I'm not quite sure why, but I seem to have this affinity for trees. I was very happy we had the opportunity to travel up the coast past Sausalito to Muir Woods.

Muir Woods is a magical place - despite all the noisy people.

It amazed me how enclosed the feeling was, how majestic the trees.

It was a very good day indeed.

Golden Gate?

I'm not quite sure why they called it the 'Golden Gate'...I guess it sounded better than 'Terracotta'....

Between The Rock and a Hard Case

...so says Sean Connery in the motion picture movie 'The Rock' (which, by the way, is a fun movie to watch - you've still got it Sean!)

We did the kitchy tourist thing and took the ferry over to Alcatraz. Leave it to the Americans to turn something dark and sinister into a tourist attraction...that being said, of course, I purchased many an 'appropo' Alcatraz tin cup for myself and my coworkers (nothing like 'stickin' it to the Man'!)

Alcatraz is an incredible place. The audio tour was fantastic, and I highly recommend this tour - especially for any parents trying to scare a little straight into their kids!

United We Fly....

Wednesday saw us heading out to San Fransisco with Danie and Connor for a few glorious days in 'Caleefornnniya'. Wow, could I live there. Seriously. I would happily live out my days in Santa Cruz feeding the seagulls and listening to the sealions happily bark their way under the pier.

I didn't realize how much I was missing the ocean (any ocean) living in Alberta. I mean, sure, I will readily admit how spoiled I am getting to see the glorious Rockies every day, but boy it did my soul something to see the ocean and step into it (no matter how damn cold it was)!!

We grabbed a car and toodled down highway one down the coast and our first stop was Pacifica...a lovely little seaside town with quaint houses along the slopes, beautiful tanned surfers (right Danie??) milling about under the outdoor shower spigots...my my, yes it certainly did the heart good!!! heehee, I digress....

So after dipping out toes, we continued along down the coast past artichoke fields as far as the eye can see until we came upon Santa Cruz. *Insert big sigh here* I instantly fell in love with a gorgeous white hip roofed house along the shore road. Just down from there was the Pier, where the boys found their own little treasure by way of geocache (Paden is SO hooked, it's funny and fun all at the same time). We grabbed the prescribed salt air, salted fries and watched the salty dogs and seagulls. I just loved looking out over the water at all the boats, and licking my lips and tasting the salt air on them.

We were treated to a rogue sea lion who happily looked up to watch us watching him, then he moved off to grab a snack of his own, no doubt.

Across from the pier was a carnival, and I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that it's the same carnival that is in the opening shot of 'The Lost Boys'. With the wind blowing, you could occasionally pick up the sound of laughter and people squealing with delight on the rollercoaster.

We strolled for a bit, then headed further down the coast to Monterey. Great shops, food (highly recommend The Fish Hopper) and geocaching. By the time we started heading back, it was after nine o'clock which didn't get us back to San Fran til almost midnight....but what a great day!