Monterey Bay Aquarium

Everyone took a trip to the aquarium on Friday. It was great to see some of the variety of critters that live in/around the water. The number of different animals was really incredible to me. The Asilomar Conference Grounds provided all our meals while we were staying there. Since we were taking a trip Friday, they made us some tastey boxed lunches. We ate these outside the aquarium.

(L to R): Peter, Anne, Eli, Josiah (hidden entirey behind Dad), Dad, Simon, Rachel, Grandma, David, Grandpa, & Brian. Mom and I were also there, but it is really hard to get everyone in one picture, especially in such a large group!
Jellyfish:

Sea dragons:

Sea horses:

Several types of corals (with a few fish thrown in):

Coastal birds:

Sea animals adapting to human trash in their environment:

A super-spikey crab:

Living sea dollars (fuzzy and purple!):

A flat fish, with both eyes migrated to one side of the body (creepy):

A skate egg pouch, where eggs hatch and young skates develop, along with a sea pen (orange):

So pretty:

More coral (we like coral):

A beautiful tank with many creatures, including a snail, shrimp, and anemone:

Another good-looking invertebrate (I'm not sure of the exact name):

Asilomar, the first evening

After dinner, several people headed out to the beach to enjoy the sunset.

The little boys wanted to play catch with a tennis ball.

There was a rocky area on the beach where we looked in the tide pools and climbed on the rocks.

The waves come in pretty fast, so you need to stay n the beach or choose a tall rock to stand on.

Alternatively, if you don't choose a tall enough rock, you should bring an uncle to keep you out of the water.

San Francisco

Brian spent the first day of his vacation in SF after I picked him up from the airport. We did a little sightseeing, since he had never been to the city before.

We were both up pretty early. I went up to the hotel roof to check out the view and took this picture of Coit Tower. This tower is a memorial celebrating firefighters.

We left the hotel by foot, since it can be difficult to find parking in SF. We started by hiking uphill to the crooked part of Lombard Street. After climbing up this street, we decided to search for breakfast.

We headed north, towards the bay. The view was quite nice, although it was a bit hazy. We headed to the marine park, which is a dock run by the NPS that has several interesting ships restored along it. I figured this area would be touristy enough to find several restaurants.

We settled on the Buena Vista, on Beach Street. We had a tastey breakfast that included some sourdough toast. Our table was right by the window, which looked out on the cable car station and the bay.

We wandered along the bay a bit and found the station for the Duck Tours. (This tour company was made famous by a couple important trademark cases that Brian had to read for school.) It was a great tour. We rode in a vehicle that can go on land or water (hence the duck name). We all got duck bills to blow into that made a super loud duck noise. Once we were out on the water, I even got to drive the boat for a while.

Giants stadium & downtown from the water:

The duck!

We walked along the marine park dock and looked at some of the boats.

We stopped to see the sea lions at the wharf. This year, there are only a small number of sea lions staying in SF Bay. It is not exactly clear why that is. In previous years, there have been many more.

The flowers were blooming beautifully in SF, a marked difference from what we had left in NJ.

After walking along fisherman's wharf a bit, we decided to head back to the hotel to pick up our stuff and drive out of town. Overall, we had a nice time exploring SF.

I will end our SF post with a couple more pictures of us from the Duck tour. Quack!

Ripon

Before going to pick up Brian in SF, I spent some time at my grandparent's house in Ripon.

I think it is funny that David and I took almost the exact same picture of the redwood tree in the front yard. It was warmer when I took my picture, so it must have been a different day.

These are two other large trees in the front yard. I just think they are pretty.

Mom, Simon, Rachel, Eli. What is on TV?

Grandpa watching the news:

Eli thought it was so funny that we could take a picture of ourselves!

Grandma & cousin Matthew:

Cousin Calvin & his daughter Joleen:

Aunt Rebecca & Mom:

Yosemite

I took a day trip to Yosemite National Park with David & Rachel while we were in CA. We planned on hiking a bit, so we left the kids back on the farm (thanks parents). We didn't see a lot of wildlife in the park, mostly various bird species. We did pass this nice pair of deer though, who seemed content to let people photograph them. There was very little snow in the valley, but the mountains were still covered.

Here is the traditional view of the valley that you see on all the postcards. It is visible from one of the vista points. It was a beautiful day--plenty warm, extra sunny. El Capitan is the large mountain on the left, half dome is visible tucked in the back center, and the large waterfall on the right is Bridalveil Falls.

Rachel & me (with David's head shadow):

This is a picture of half-dome from the main (central) valley floor. The valley is quite large and very flat, with lots of trees and large meadows.

Rachel & David:

Yosemite Falls. I had a difficult time getting a good picture of both the upper and lower falls because it was sooo sunny. The camera had a hard time getting areas of shade and full sun figured out. Plus, this pair of falls is very tall.

Me with the lower Yosemite falls:

Back on the valley floor with half dome. David took this picture for me.

Rachel on a bridge in the central valley. I am not sure what waterfall that is behind her.

David looking up at Bridalveil Falls. This waterfall gets quite slow in the mid-late summer, but in the spring, it is rushing full-strength with melting snow.

On the way into the main valley, we passed several other valleys. This one had recently burned, which gave it a unique look. Rachel is wearing her fuzzy bear sweatshirt, which is super soft and encourages extra hugging. :)

David and I did one hike up in the mountains. In the higher areas, there was plenty of snow. David only had sandals to wear, but he was not deterred. He did roll his pants up a little to keep them dry.

Here I am, more appropriately dressed for snow. This hike was prettyup and down, so by the end I needed to take off my hat and sweater. I was happy for the boots though.