A Little Getaway

Since it is Spring Break, we decided to get away for a couple of days and hit a few great kid destinations. On Sunday night, after a yummy Easter dinner and more eggcitement at Grammy and Grampy's, we drove down to Monterey. We stayed in a funky little motel right by the water, and headed straight to the aquarium in the morning. We were all fascinated by the jellies.
I always get criticized for never being in any pictures, so here you go. Chad forced me to relinquish my position behind the lens for a few minutes. These "Upside-Down Jellies" were cool beyond belief. Clara, by the way, is following my lead of taking far too many pictures of everything. That darned apple and tree problem again....
The penguin exhibit is one of my favorites, but it is slightly creepy the way the penguins crash up against the glass again and again, never giving up hope of escape. I have very mixed feelings about zoos and aquariums. Even in a facility like this one, where the animals are so well cared for, the teaching aspect is undeniable, and proceeds help wildlife conservation, I still feel a bit sad. At least, as a parent and a teacher, I can channel this sadness into something useful.
After nearly six hours of jellies upon jellies, otters, sea dragons, bat rays, hammerhead sharks, giant tunas, and schools of anchovies, we headed back to the motel to grab our beach gear.
It wasn't exactly what you would call a hot day, but it was warm and sunny enough for Clara to splash around a bit. Her main mission was to dig holes in the sand, and then try to fill them with water.
Trevor's favorite beach activity was having his legs buried in sand over and over, and then wiggling them loose. He then tried to make as many footprints as he could before a wave would come in and "disappear them".


After a long day, we crashed back at the motel. Clara said, "I wish we could just live in a motel. It's way more fun, because you get to all hang out in the same room, and you get to eat at restaurants all the time." Funny, because just the other day she said that when she's a teenager, she wants to live in a trailer. Please, please don't let either of those dreams come true....

This morning, we packed up and hit the road for Gilroy, home of the most fabulous little theme park for kids. It has recently been renamed, 'Gilroy Gardens', but we will forever call it by its original name, 'Bonfante Gardens'. Love that place. We discovered it when Clara was six months old, and have gone every summer since.
The park was virtually empty today, so the rides were ours for the taking. Since Gilroy tends to be rather oven-like in the summer, it was nice to visit at this time of year. The paddle boats were the highlight of the day, along with Clara's triumph of finally being tall enough to ride on the big mushroom swing thingy. And thank goodness she didn't need an adult to ride with her. I think I have outgrown spinning, and I don't think Chad ever liked to spin. So now we can spin vicariously through our daughter.
Home again, home again, and we even beat most of the traffic (a major feat around here). We had a great little getaway, and Spring Break is only half over! So my cup is half full. And the drink is very tasty. Free time is intoxicating.