Of course I didn't have the wherewithal to take any pics or videos during that cataclysm of packing action. But the next day I got a couple of pics of the car, fully loaded.
Here Tiva came running to me for a hug. She went through a period of needing lots of Dada time, which was nice.
One of the first places that we visited was Morro Bay. It was gorgeous, and the girls enjoyed a little time outside. Here's Tivona.
Here's Taya.
And Ljuba with Taya, too.
There were a couple of driftwood shelters on the beach.
The girls loved playing in them.
Tiva became even more vocal over the course of the trip. She loved singing the 'wheels on the bus' song, and loved singing it about family. E.g., "TK: "Auntie 'Lisa … bus … sweetie pie," meaning "Auntie Elisa on the bus says 'sweetie pie', 'sweetie pie', 'sweetie pie', …"
And she started asking what everything was called: "That one called," she'd say again and again.
Ljuba and I had very fond memories of the Big Sur Coast. It did not disappoint!
In Monterey (Pacific Grove), we were fortunate to have the wildlife come to us. The girls loved seeing the deer.
We stayed in Monterey for a couple of nights to enjoy that area. We discovered that it really does help to call if we wanted to secure a suite with a separate room, as this was the first of two inns that had one name for two kinds of suites. Ljuba and I walked around the grounds while the girls fell asleep, then hung out in the corridor to the bathroom. Ay.
Our exploring day was much more fun than those evenings, as we went back at Point Lobos. We saw lots of harbour seals swimming in the kelp. It was enticing, but far too cold for us to try the same.
Seals swimming at Point Lobos
The girls found it all delightful!
We had snack at a gorgeous secluded little pebble beach.
And then went on to see sea otters, and other wildlife. Of course the otters weren't close enough for a good pic, but this squirrel was. ;)
Back into the overflowing car--time to move on again!
On the way out we had a chance to explore Carmel by the Sea. What a gorgeous place. It's interesting to me how the things that hold the attention of little ones are small and at-hand.
And with a best example yet--small enough to fit in Tiva's mouth.
Whereas our attention is held by rather bigger objects.
And like me climbing these big rocks.
But then, I know I'm fascinated by the little things too.
Next stop: Mountain View. Tivona and Taya both remembered the luggage carts from the hotel on El Camino Real. Fondly!
Luggage cart!
It was so great to see Marian, Melanie, and Cody again.
And to meet Ella! Ljuba and the girls got to spend a lot of time with them (especially Melanie and Ella) while I was at Stanford for a couple of days' work. Nice to have my bike for the ride in, just like old times.
We had the good fortune of spending the afternoon of the solar eclipse with them. M&M had eclipse glasses, that allowed one to look at the sun without fear of eye damage. Amazing! Also amazing was the crescent pattern of shadows peeking through the leaves, which you can see dappled on the wall of M&M's house.
Taya was inspired by the experience, and pretended to look through a telescope (or monocle) back in our hotel room.
The girls also had some time exploring with Ljuba, at some of our old haunts, like at Shoreline Park. They saw geese and goslings, played on the sailboat playground, and in the dirt.
From there we drove through the city by the bay (San Francisco), had an unfortunate misadventure trying to go to Muir Woods (only to discover that all the parking lots fill up on nice days, even on May weekdays), and arrived at Fort Bragg. During our exploring day, we had a wonderful time at the Point Cabrillo lighthouse. Here's me walking in the fog/sea spray with the girls, while Ljuba did a little run (I'd just finished mine).
And on the Skunk Train. (Here's Ljuba with Taya and Tiva.)
Fort Bragg also had a fun toy store, where Tivona and Taya had a blast exploring the wares. Here's Tiva filling her shopping cart (28s special-moment video below). Too bad she had to put it all back. Fortunately, she was a good sport about it.
Tiva shopping for toys
After Fort Bragg, we travelled through big redwood country. What glorious trees.
Taya and Tiva ate their snacks (here) and explored.
And then we were in Arcata with Nathan again. We got to see the Kinetic Grand Championship, and all its amazing human-made and human-powered bio-kinetic amphibious machines, like this blue heron.
Tiva played with the blinds again (below) and Dozer (here).
We said good-bye to Nathan, and we were on our way again.
Next stop, Coos Bay, OR, our least favourite of all our stops. We had fun, though, despite the mosquitos, the cold rainy weather, the lack of chairs and tables in our room.
Tivona continued to come out with new sayings. I loved the way that she began to take a real interest in babies, and to see them as much smaller than herself (to me she still feels tiny). "Baby! Tiny baby!" she exclaimed.
After becoming reacquainted with stairs, and after we told her to be careful, when any of us climbed stairs, "Careful!", "Careful, Taya!", "Careful, Dada!"
And she said the names of all kinds of things we didn't know she knew. Starting the timer on my watch (she learned this on her own), she announced "Timer!" And after creating a car-like vehicle with Lego, "Grass cutter!" She undoubtedly learns much of this from Taya, who has thoroughly taken Tiva under her wing and tries to teach her everything she knows.
Then we were off again. Tiva had a little sit in the grass at an elk-viewing spot.
And we got several great pics of the elk.
Our final stop was Olympia/Tumwater, Washington. We had a great lunch at a Thai restaurant, where we received the following (all SO fitting) fortunes:
Lj: A positive attitude shines through the clouds (or something like that--she didn't let me save the paper copy!)
TK: Wealth and prosperity are in your future
TS: Getting together with old friends brings new adventures
KC: Recognize when it is advisable to compromise
We had a great little walk on the boardwalk in Olympia, and another at Tumwater Falls.
And then before we knew it we were over the border and back in Canada! Yay, for Canada!
