“If you keep waving quickly your hand feels soft, least it does for me.”
— the kid explains her waving technique

Here are a few more pics from a recent trip to the beach. I played a bit with ‘em, striving for more of a vintage look.

The two girls, carefully navigating their way down a few wobbly steps on their way to the sand.

Jill at low tide under a big grey sky.

I like this subdued color look a lot. Many of my earliest childhood memories have this look. Blame Kodak film, I guess.

The kid sketches in the sand.

More fun with driftwood.

New kid, old look.

Saying goodbye to the beach.

There were a few thousand people on hand, though on such a big beach, we had lots of room. Madame sported in the waves as the competition was underway…did I hear the loudspeaker say, “little girl, get out of the competition area?”

“Daddy, you talk funny, like Donald Duck!”
— The kid

Saturday, after hitting a book sale at the Sunnyvale Library, we took a vote and decided to trek over the hill and take a leisurely drive along Highway 1. The girls were going to show me some of their favorite haunts. Once over the hill we stopped off in downtown Half Moon Bay for a short walk and some lunch.

From there we were off to the tide pools with hopes of taking advantage of the low tide and spotting the ever elusive octopus.

The kid got to see plenty of of seals, hermit crabs, sea anemones, and assorted other tide pool dwellers (though alas, no octopi.)

From the tide pools we drove along Highway 1. Is there anything more relaxing then driving along the coast with no need to get anywhere in particular and little to no traffic?

We turned in at a lighthouse to see some sights.

After the lighthouse, we were off to do some strawberry picking.

Yep, it was a pretty good Saturday.

Yesterday was pretty hot so we went to the beach to cool off. (p.s. madame picks her own outfits…I don’t know anyone else who would wear a long dress to the beach!)

We had a walk downtown while we were waiting for the tide to go out…

First beach we went to was the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in search of a red octopus…but we were blocked by the sea lions on vacation. (Look closely at the second pic and you will see about 50 of them.)

Here is a great video of the red octopus we were looking for:

At the next beach we did see a purple starfish (aka sea star for you sticklers!)

Here are L’s new color changing sandals…they turn blue in the sun. We lost half of her favorite pair of skipping shoes in the airport last week, so had to get new ones. These are pretty neato!

We always find bits of shells that look like letters…it is pretty easy to spell her name.

“Wubie is dressed in his best catsuit and cat shoes.” - The Kid

Yesterday it was blisteringly hot in the valley, so we escaped to the cool coast.

First we went to the beach, built a sand castle, and played in the waves…

Then we decided to take a drive down the coast to see the sights. We saw a lighthouse, surfers, lots of little beaches that we had never been to before…

and ended up at a u-pick strawberry patch. The patch was organic, with a neat little store that had tasty treats and a cool place to sit or play.

The kid loved picking strawberries. She kept going back for just one more strawberry. It was like a treasure hunt!

After our long day out she still had energy for more, and asked ‘can we stop at any other cool places we see?’ It felt like we were on vacation…even though we were right near home.

When we got home she was very proud of her basket of strawberries and told her Daddy all about it. He too was excited about the possibilities of playing tourist in our own backyard, and we decided we will try more of these day trip adventures near home.

“Mean trees blocking the sun!”
— Lucy reprimands some trees in Hawaii

Big Island from Mike C on Vimeo.

Here’s a video of our time spent on the big island. BTW, here’s something I learned while in Hawaii:

If you see an ant in Hawaii he’s a trespasser! Yep, Hawaii is one of the few places in the world that does not have its own native ant. All the ants you see there are descendants of stoaways most likely brought over via ship or plane.

Once the ants made it to the islands, if you were a wingless insect you were pretty much out of luck. Lots of insects, including many beetles and snails, once native to the Hawaiian islands are now extinct due to the ant.

Something about Kauai: Once you arrive in Kauai one of the first things you notice are the wild chickens and roosters. They’re everywhere, walking along roads, patrolling parking lots, hanging around the airport, etc. So what’s the deal with them?

First brought to the islands by Polynesian voyagers as a food source, they were originally kept in coops. However, hurricanes would destroy the coops, allowing the chickens to roam the islands. That’s one of the reasons why wild chickens are everywhere in Kauai. They’re kinda like Kauai’s take on the mainland’s pigeons and squirrels.

“It’s…it’s…MAGNIFICENT!”
— Lucy looking at the ocean in Hawaii

Kauai from Mike C on Vimeo.

Here’s some video of our trip to Kauai. This includes our flight, time at Jim and Tisa’s place, Waimea Canyon, the beach, and Hanapepe. More info on some of the sights seen in the video is available here. More video to come.

“Now we have ‘Stay at home Wubie’ and ‘Travel Wubie’!”
— Lucy, talking about the Siamese cats she discovered outside our condo on Hawaii’s big island

Hawaii is full of life, especially wildlife. It seems like the most alive place on earth. The soil is so fertile and rich, you can plant a clipping and it will grow…just shove a twig in the ground. The birds and bugs and animals also flourish here.

On Kauai, there are wild chickens everywhere…in parking lots, at the beach, park, roadside, backyard, shopping center, even the airport!

We saw an endangered monk seal at the beach, loads of birds, and even a mouse. Eek!

On the Big Island we discovered toads on our lawn, big ones, sometimes hidden in the short grass, so you almost step on them. Last night there was one on the road we had to stop for and let pass. Was that a squirrel, nope, it was a mongoose. And the bumblebees! So gigantic they weigh down any flower or leaf they land on.

And on the beach, we saw crabs, fish, birds and….turtles! Next on the to see list: whales and dolphins. (We saw some whales spouting from the shore on Kauai, but we want to see them a little bit closer.)

This trip we have had cats wherever we went…the resident cats at our hosts on Kauai, and wild ones here on the Big Island. When we arrived, what did we see but…a mirror image of Wubie! A siamese cat in a feral version, in the parking lot, just washing his feet. So naturally we took a shine to him. Then we saw his twin. And tonight, we saw a third siamese.

Those three had friends, all living out on the lava and in the shrubery nearby. Probably every week they get new benefactors from the condo and resort dwellers who miss their own fuzzy friends.

And on the home front, our Wubie is keeping his catsitter busy. But we’ll save that for another post!