San Mateo County Fair

 

 

For some reason Nate and Julie have been enthralled with the idea of cotton candy. "Wait until the Fair" we always said. Here they go, diving into all the stomach-churning sweetness during our annual trip to the San Mateo County Fair.

Happy Birthday to Me (By Gina)

 
I just had to add this photo to images of the California North Coast trip. To me, this has it all - my chocolate cake baking husband (!), my two beautiful, excited kids, so glad to be together. Nothing to do with impending chocolate cake I'm sure. I look at this picture and just walk right back into such a happy, lovely moment. One of many I cherish from this trip.

Julie at Clam Beach - Boof

(No children were harmed in the filming of this video.)

Snakes and crabs!

 

 

 

Visiting Uncle Mark

 

 

 

We saw Gina's brother when he wasn't off fighting some of the numerous fires we smelled in the area. Seeing Uncle Mark always turns two grumpy/hungry kids into happy campers.

A foggy Clam Beach

 

 

 

 

Excursions

 

 

 

We had to drive through one of the big trees, as well as visit the Marine Center in Trinidad and Paul Bunyan up in Klamath. Nate and Julie's highlight was having Paul Bunyan wink/wave as we left the parking lot.

Our week in Trinidad

 

 

We spent Gina's birthday and the following five nights up in Trinidad on the coast of northern California. The rental house turned out to be a winner -- 3 acres on the bluff complete with private trail, waterfall and beach. And although the house was outfitted to the rafters with furniture and decorations, it turned out to be a comfortable stay. And given the fog for most the time, we ended up using both the indoor and outdoor fireplaces.

Los Altos Gathering

 

The Martins gathered in Los Altos' Shoup Park to celebrate Gina's birthday with a picnic, cake and lots of cousin playtime. There was even 10 minutes of relative calm, pictured here.

Bench shot

 

Julie loves to pick flowers -- any flowers -- to hand to us as presents. Which is cute until we're visiting other people's houses. Here's a collection she lined up while sitting outside the SF Bay Aquarium.

Spotted in Chinatown

 

SF Weekend - Part II

 

 

 

 

The last day in foggy San Francisco we visited Chinatown so Nate and Julie could spend the quarters we had given them at the beginning of their trip. Nate found a long wooden cobra; Julie picked an orange wooden salamander. They both were enamoured with the rice candies with the edible wrapped that I remembered eating as a kid. As promised, we ate lunch at the floating sushi boat on Grant St (okay, so it's Japanese food), which worked well considering the tastes of our two picky eaters. Along the way we visited the cookie-making factory in one of the alleys and a park nestled between some of the downtown skyscrapers. They passed out in the car as we swung by Orinda for a quick house viewing, then we made our way home.

SF Weekend - Part I

 

 

 

 

We scrapped our plans to rent tent cabins on the nearby coast to do family-oriented, semi-touristy "staycation" in San Francisco. Gina rented a great family suite at the colorful Hotel del Sol in the Marina. The next day we took our first family taxi ride to the Pier for some air hockey -- complete with an unobstructed view to Alcatraz Island -- and a pretzel by the sea lions. After a swim in the pool and more play in the room, Nate promptly fell asleep in his meatloaf and mashed potatoes.