New Discovery Near Home

So Saturday morning we woke up early  so we could do the annual hall cleaning and maintenance before the Memorial.  I am always amazed how much delight the kids get out of this.  They are such hard workers (at least when it comes to anything not related to the regular chores).  I am so totally impressed with them, always looking for something to do, and if they don't have direction they pitched in with others needing help.  For lunch we were treated to Koren BBQ provided by the Koren congregation.  Very yummy!
 
Also, couple of weeks ago, Beth and the kids discovered a bike track near home.  The kids have been wanting me to see it and ride their bikes on it.  Who ever has built it has put a lot of effort into it, with jumps and turns.  I can just see some father setting this up for his son, but whoever set it up had an eye for detail.

Sophie wanted to just run it, Myles brought his scooter, and Emma brought her Bike.  I was really impressed how determined she was to ride the track.  With only a couple of falls she had mastered it in no time.  She isn't doing any tricks but was getting enough speed for the occasional wheely.

When 50 is not the New 70

So all week we had been hearing how it was going to be a beautiful weekend from Santa Cruz to Monterey with sun and temperatures at 70-degrees.  We hadn't been to Monterey for a couple of years as well as it being a pretty frigid winter, so it was worth the 2 hour drive to do something different for a change.
 
The plan was to take the kids to the tide pools, get them a crab cocktail at Monterey Wharf, and then watch the kids body surf.  

When left Concord at 8:00 AM, it was a chilly 43 degrees.  However, we knew we were in trouble when by the time we got to Sand City, the temperature was at 48 degrees.

For a brief moment the sun did come out, and the kids got to play in the sand at the beach.  We walked the pier and the kids got to see the sea lions and have their crab cocktail.

We then drove out to Pacific Grove to one of our favorite spots to find tide pools.  The waves were a beautiful turquoise.  The one thing I love most about the Monterey Bay is how clear the water is  which is why the waves here are probably the most unique.

After the tide pools, we took the kids to the Denise the Menace Park.  We discovered this park a couple years back and the kids love it.   There is so much to do for a little community park.

Finally,  we took the kids to the beach to play in the sand.  Sophie and Beth stayed in the warm car and read while I watched Emma and Myles played and chased the waves.

While it never broke 51 degrees the entire time we were there and it was a nice toasty 63 degrees (in relative winter terms) when we got home all in all it was a great trip.