September Catch Up

Hello, hello, little blog!  I'm so sorry for neglecting you.  Our last month has been so jam-packed, its hard to know where to start.  How about at the beginning?  

We took a trip to visit Andy and Alicia.  It was a wonderful trip.   So wonder full, in fact, it was more like three trips in one.  The first part was our drive to New Jersey, to Andy and Alicia's house.  On our twelve hour drive I learned where the Poconos are, that Pennsylvania is beautiful in August and Ohio has the BEST rest stops.

Then we got to spend three with Andy and Alicia.  It had been a year since we have seen them and was special to get to be with them before their wedding next year.  The kids loved the time with them!

We spent two days in New York City!  We spent a lovely afternoon in Central Park and didn't even see half of it!  We toured Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, and spent some time at the 9/11 memorial.  Then we heading home, just in time for Audrey to start her first day of preschool!

More of the catch up to come....

Up The Coast

We traveled up the California coast last week, north on Highway One, to my family's property.  This is the land of my grandmother's mother.  Its story is as long and winding as the road to get there.  It is wild and fierce and soothing to the soul all in breath.

Fog can hug the coast for weeks at a time, but we were lucky to have four days of glorious sunshine. The black sand was hot enough to scorch my bare feet, but the Pacific cooled them with aching waves.

Audrey and Colton are just the most recent children to discover H Creek's secrets.  My cousin's children, and my younger cousins, and my brothers and I, and my older cousins, and my dad and my aunts and uncles and their cousins, and their parents, all explored the meadow, the creek, the pond, the sand and the sea.  The generations pass and still H Creek remains unchanged.  For that I am so thankful.

(Yes, I wore my lonely sea here.)

Big Basin

Will you indulge me as I  share more pictures of our trip?  Craig and I hiked through the Redwoods one morning at Big Basin State Park while my parents explored another trail with the kids. We were there mid-week so the trail was quiet. Our footsteps were softened by earth below and even the sunlight seemed delicate among the trees.

Banana Slug

Migration

We spent the last week in California, visiting my parents.  It was a great trip and, having left our crazy weather for the West Coast's crazy weather, somewhat surreal.  It was foggy but warm (!!!!) the day we went to Natural Bridges State Beach.  It is a winter home to Monarch butterflies and although most headed north two weeks ago, we were still able to see an amazing amount.  (I took it as a sign that this winter will not last forever, if delicate butterflies are heading north. Warm weather will come.)

Far away they looked like dry leaves, but then when the sun would come out they would warm up and flap their wings.

Down at the beach....

In the tide pools....

From the air.... (a great blue heron, did you see in in the second tide pool picture too?)

Would you mind terribly if I shared more pictures of our trip later this week?  I promise to try to keep them to a minimum.  Man, it was good to get away!