Point Reyes

As part of our tenth anniversary weekend, we made our first trip to Point Reyes National Seashore today (with Silas). In Marin County and only an hour's drive from home, I'm amazed that we haven't been here before. We started at the awesome visitor's center, whose exhibits included a grey whale's skull, lots of taxidermied animals, and life-sized models of an Orca and a Thresher shark (guess who identified that one?)

Did I mention it's our tenth anniversary? Who looks older?

As we approached the Estero trailhead, the trip was officially made when we saw this turkey vulture eating a dead skunk. He flew up to the fencepost as our car approached. Needless to say, we didn't hang out long after getting the photo.

The Estero trail starts in the dry coastal grasslands but quickly comes to the wetlands, which then open into Drake Bay, a smallish inlet from the Pacific.

Silas biked most of our 3 mile out-and-back route. He needed help with some of the hills, but otherwise had great range and had a lot of fun. It's the only way to hike!



After our hike we drove a few more miles to the beach. Silas and Christine both got caught in the Mommy trap...

...but he was still able to rescue me from a thresher shark.

We didn't see a tenth of this amazing resource today. In the winter months it's a prime spot for whale and elephant seal watching, so I know that we'll be back many times.

San Diego 2010

We crashed the Schwarz-Madrid family vacation again this year, but you have to take advantage of East coast friends visiting any part of the West coast... especially when 3 children are involved. I barely had time to get my camera out of the bag, the trip was so short and there was way too much catching up to do. But in the above photo you can see "baby" Claudia wrestling her big brother Diego to the ground, and Penelope in the background with her fancy new hair poof and fancy new thumb sucking (both make her happy).

Silas and Penelope this year:

and a link to photos of Silas and Penelope at our first San Diego vacation with them 3 years ago
http://silas-arthur.blogspot.com/2007/07/san-diego.html

Silas calling Kevin at breakfast on the balcony:

California weather is nice but it is way too far from the East coast.

"Take my picture"

Silas rarely wants us to take his picture these days; we have to be quick and sneaky usually. So when he asks to be photographed we oblige...

"Take my picture with Darwin"

"Take my picture in my favorite shorts from Nanny"

"Take my picture with Baby Paul"

"Take Joey's picture"...

They have stars on them!

Silas got his new glasses a couple of weeks ago. They are not to correct his vision but, as he will tell you, "to help me look straighter." He enjoys wearing them and enjoys putting them in their "sleeping bag" when he takes them off. And, they're pretty helpful for doing embroidery, no?