Big Sur and Home

On July 2nd we finished packing the car and headed out of Stinson at about 10am. I was so sad to leave, but knew I would be back soon. We headed to Gale's in the city and brought all of our "beach gear" to her house for next time. The girls and I stayed with her for a few hours while John took the car to get an oil change. It was so nice to spend some time with Gale. She is such a special person and she really is part of our family. I also love being at my aunt Helen's house (Gale lives there). She has been got for a while now, but her house still has a special feeling.

Me and Gale

When the car was ready we headed down the coast to Big Sur. It is a spectacular drive. We got to our hotel and checked in and headed to the pool. John took the girls swimming and I got organized - we took a little walk in the river and had some dinner. The girls watched a movie in the room and we relaxed. In the morning we got up and went to Deetjens for breakfast. This place is magical and it looks almost the same as it did when it was built in the 1930's. Not that kid friendly, but we enjoyed our meal.
The beautiful waterfall Deetjens

From there we went to see the waterfall that goes into the ocean at Julia Pfeiffer State Park - the view was amazing!Then we headed back to the hotel and John took the girls to the pool while I packed up. We ended up staying there until 3pm. Anna decided she was done with the pool and we hung out in the river!

At 3 we got in the car and continued South. We stopped along the way to get some fireworks and for dinner. We made it to Santa Maria in time for another dip in the pool - my kids LOVE to swim! We stayed there for the night and in the morning finished our drive home. We arrived home to some neighbors having a 4th of July celebration so we joined in - ALL of the kids (and adults) enjoyed the fireworks!

It was a special 3 weeks and we miss all of our family and friends in Northern California! It means the world to me that my girls get to have all of the special memories of San Francisco and Stinson that I got to have as a child. Thank you Auntie Sophie, Auntie Effie, Auntie Kathleen, Patty, Gale, Uncle John, Great Uncle Johnny, Great Aunt Kay, Rosie, Chrissy, and Annie for making our trip so special! We love you!!!

My Birthday

In Patty's Garden July 1, 2010 - I had a perfect day! I got to sleep in and then relaxed and read. I went to Bolinas for a few things (going there always makes me happy). We played on the beach with the girls and then decided to go on an adventure. When we were driving down our street our friend Annie came driving up and jumped out of her car. She had a gift for me from my mom. It was a gift certificate to her wonderful book store! When we pulled onto the road the plan was to go to point reyes station, but as we drove we decided to go to Point Reyes Light House instead. It is a beautiful drive that takes you through the town of Inverness and some woods and then through a number of farms. The farms on the point all date back to the 1800's and are wonderful to see. The cows come right up to the road and the girls loved that. It is a long, slow, and relaxing drive - I loved it! When we got to the Light House both girls were asleep and it was WINDY. So windy that they closed the stairs going down to the lighthouse. John tried to go and I stayed in the car - I got out to see the view which was breathtaking! The girls woke up on the ride back and we stopped at Drakes Bay. We got back to Stinson at dinner time and tried the new restaurant in town. The food was good and it was very kid friendly - prefect for us. We headed back to the house and Patty took some pictures. Lilly asked that we take our pictures in Patty's garden and not on the beach (Lilly LOVES Patty's garden). She got some great pictures! I felt beyond blessed to get to spend my 34 th birthday in the same place I spent my 1st birthday. I do not think that words can express how much Stinson Beach and the people there mean to me. It truly is my happy place!

Cows with the ocean in the background Point Reyes Light House

A few more days at Stinson – (6/28-6/30)

Monday afternoon we relaxed on the beach and I made dinner at home. Tuesday we had some wonderful visitors. Ann came down from Marshall (about 40 minutes North right on Tomales Bay) to spend time with us at the beach. Ann is my brother Justin’s mom. She is so fun to be with and we had a wonderful time talking and enjoying the beach. My sweet cousin’s also came up a little later in the day. They brought lunch for all of us! I just love Effie and Kathleen so much and so wish we all lived closer. We all enjoyed lunch together at the house and then headed back to the beach. It was a perfect beach day (all week has been perfect weather). Ann headed back to Marshall and Effie and Kathleen left a little after. I went to Parkside to pick-up a pizza for dinner. Wednesday we went on a hike from the Pan Toll station. We hiked about 1.5 miles and Lilly did great! Anna is still refusing to wear shoes so we carried her the whole way! She did love the little “island” we found near a beaver dam and walked around in the rocks and water. We headed home and Anna fell asleep in the car and John, Lilly, and I had lunch. I went to the Annie’s bookstore alone and got a book and a few little things. I just love Stinson Beach Books and it is a treat to go alone and just look and shop. John took Lilly surfing and Anna and I relaxed and played. At 6pm Rosie (she is the mom of a childhood friend of mine Chrissy and I have known her since the 2nd grade – I even went along on family vacations with them as a kid, and she now lives in Stinson and is one of Patty’s closest friends – small world =)) and Patty came over to watch the girls. John and I headed to the Coast Café in Bolinas for a Yummy dinner. We go there every year just the 2 of us – it is a fun tradition. After dinner we headed to The Sand Dollar for a drink. When I was little our friends owned The Sand Dollar and I have fond memories of Sophie, Carlisle, and I eating a big piece of mud pie. We got back to the house and everyone was very happy – they had made cookies and then went to get ice cream and played at the park in town. The girls had such a wonderful time with Patty and Rosie and Anna woke up this morning and asked if Patty was coming back to make more cookies. Good thing Patty is right next door.

A Few Pictures......

The hut we found down the beach

Bath time fun - they take lots of bath's here
Ice Cream at Parkside - YUMMY!

Patty at Audubon

Lilly at Audubon

Tuesday Night - Monday

Tuesday afternoon we ran into Rosie (an family friend) at the market and invited her to join us for dinner. Patty and Rosie came for dinner and we had a feast of local Muscles, artichokes, steak and an AMAZING lemon tart that Patty made! It was wonderful! Sophie and Kate left in the morning and it was just me and the girls! We just relaxed, went to Parkside for lunch, played on the playground. We went to Bolinas get a few things and rented a few movies. Patty made dinner for us and we just relaxed. Thursday the girls and I spent a lot of time on the beach in the morning. We found a "house" someone had make and the girls loved it. We dug for sandcrabs and just enjoyed the quiet beach. In the afternoon Anna was getting tired and Lilly wanted to see the horses, lamas, and cows so we took a drive up North. We drove through Point Reyes Station, but the kite store was still closed so we headed North to Tomales Bay and I got some muscles to make myself for dinner. We drove back and the girls slept in the car. That night I made myself a wonderful dinner of salad - all from Gospel Flats, bread from Freestone, Tomales Bay Muscles, and Cowgirl cheese. It was so relaxing! Friday morning we work up and went to the beach, made lunch at the house, and then headed to Bolinas to get more veggies and do some laundry. The beach must have worn the girls out, because they both fell asleep on the short ride. There is a wonderful (big) organic farm and on Friday afternoons they have a farm stand. They have a wonderful variety. Friday night Patty picked up dinner for us at Parkside. John got in Friday night and hiked the Dipsea Trail by moon light (and a head lamp). He got to the house at 12:30am. He loved is late night hike over the mountain. The girls were so excited to wake up Saturday morning and see their dad. They played with him and loved showing him the house (he was here last year, but they were excited). Lilly was especially excited to show him that she was sleeping on the top bunk. John took the girls to town to find a kite and get lunch. I went to get a few things at the store and then Maria and Paul arrived. Maria is John's sister and Paul is her husband. They live in San Fran and have come up for a night the past few years. Paul is a true foodie and made us a wonderful dinner! He also works for Ghirardelli and brought LOTS of yummy chocolate. After dinner and some drinks everyone went to sleep and John and I went crab hunting. John had seen LOTS of crabs on the beach the night before (we think because of the full moon). We caught 3 and had a night walk on the very quiet beach. Sunday we made breakfast and then John, Lilly, Maria, and Paul headed to Audubon Canyon Ranch and tired Anna and I headed to Tomales Bay to get muscles and oysters. They were out of muscles, but I got 2 dozen big oysters. We got back and Paul shucked the oysters and we BBQ'd them with lots of veggies. We also cooked up the crabs we caught - Lilly freaked out until John explained things to her. It was a Beautiful day at the beach and there were so many people on the beach. We headed down after lunch and John took Lilly surfing and Anna and I played on the beach. Maria and Paul headed back to the city. Today is Monday and John made us a yummy breakfast and then went to fly kites on the beach with the girls. I headed to Bolinas to do laundry and get some food at the store and gospel flats. It is amazing how calm and relaxing this place is. Being here is good for my sole!

Sunday Sophie's friends came up to hike and they cooked us a wonderful dinner. We relaxed and went to bed early. Monday morning was foggy so around 11am I decided that the girls and I should take an adventure to Freestone to the Wild Flour Bakery. Effie brought us bread from there on Saturday when she came to get Kathleen and Courtney. It was so YUMMY! Kate went to a wedding in Napa on Sunday she met us in Freestone and then we headed to Sebastopol for a little sight seeing. Then we brought Kate back to her car in Freestone and she followed us back to Stinson. 2 of Sophie's friends from work had come up for the day and Patty brought over chili for dinner - to go with the bread from Wild Flour. On Tuesday morning we relaxed and then headed to Point Reyes Station. The intention was to buy cites, but the Kite store was closed. We had lunch and walked around town, got some veggies and headed back to the beach house. Both girls fell asleep on the drive. Lilly woke up when we got home and I put Anna in her bed. Kate and Sophie stayed with the girls and I headed to Bolinas to do some laundry and get a few things from the store. Yesterday Kate picked up some Muscles from the Marshal Store and we are going to make them for dinner tonight! Yum!

Saturday and Sunday...

Anna and Lilly on the top bunk!

Saturday we woke up early - well the girls did and Courtney came in the took them so I could sleep. I love that I watched her and now she helps with the girls. She was 3 when we moved to the house on Alhambra. Watching her grow up has been such an honor. I love that she was in my wedding! We all headed to the beach - it was Very Windy so one of our wonderful neighbors lent us a wind "tent". We played on the beach and relaxed. Lilly met up with some friends (they rent the house across the street the same week every year) and helped dig a BIG hole in the sand. We went back and forth all day. We made a trip to Gospel Flats Farm stand - I LOVE this place! They have all of their produce on display and a payment box - all done on the honor system - only in Bolinas (or Bobo as we call it). We made lunch and Sophie's friend Greg came up from the city with his friend Vivi and her boyfriend Tyler. Effie and John came to get Kathleen and Courtney to take them back to the city (they were in Calistoga for a few days). Greg and company stayed and made a nice BBQ. We had our first taste of Cowgirl Creamery Cheese for the year - so yummy! They took off around 8pm and the girls went to bed in the bunk room. Sophie and I watched a movie and I fell asleep on the couch. I woke up around 2am and decided to sleep in the bunk room with the girls. On Sunday we woke up, the girls took a bath and we headed with Patty to Audubon Canyon Ranch. My mom used to take us there as kids. She was friends with the family who lived there and I loved taking the girls. We went on a nice hike and saw lots of birds and other animals - including a big buck deer. We came back to a surprise visit from John's sister Maria and her husband Paul. They were in the area to go on a hike and stopped by. They will be back for the night next weekend. When they left the girls and I went with Patty to Bolinas (with a stop at Gospel Flats for more veggies). We went to the organic store there and I love it! Bolinas is an amazing place and I will do a post on it soon. Anna fell asleep on the way back and Lilly and I read the new books we got at Audubon Canyon. Now Lilly is over at Patty's baking something special. I just love that they get to have time together and I know they enjoy their time alone. Sophie reminded me today that Patty (and Annie) are the only people we have known our entire lives (who we are not related to). I love Stinson!

PS - I put French Braids in Lilly's hair today for the first time - so cute!