Spring Break 2010: Day Five

Second day + second rocket = successful launch. Anika & Andrew enjoyed much more success with the "Blue Ninja" and got to launch and retrieve it 5 times. (Mom missed all the fun sitting at home with a sick Kathryn!)

Spring Break 2010: Day Four

Papa had a fun surprise for Andrew. He had Lloyd's old model rocket ready for launch. Andrew was beyond excited. Can you see that his feet aren't even touching the ground in this first picture:-)

The launch:

The result: (Things didn't go quite as planned so Papa & Dad were out buying and gluing another rocket that night to try again!)

Spring Break 2010: Day Three

Our last day in Monterey was VERY eventful:-) We took a 2 hour whale watching tour out on Monterey Bay. It was a beautiful day! However, for some reason, I didn't consider the seasickness factor in our little cruise. I know that I have a tendency to motion sickness but I know a few tricks to get by -- focus on the horizon, keep cool, etc. Somehow, I ended up inside the cabin with two little ones - it wasn't long before Mom was hanging off the back of the boat "feeding the fishes" ;-) For some reason it was quite "swellish" heading out and lots of people were experiencing a less than pleasant ride. The wonderful crew sat with Kathryn, who had fallen asleep, so I could recover in the back. I spent the rest of the two hours there - with Anika & Andrew in turn, as they also began to feel poorly. Dad was kept busy holding a sleeping Kathryn and ferrying a terrified Andrew inside (where he felt safe but would get sick) to the outside (were he felt better but was scared to death). By the end, Andrew was known by everyone on the boat as the kid who thought he was going to "drowned" everytime the boat dropped. We did get to see a few gray whales which was really neat. And all of us were able to spot at least one. The ride back was dramatically better so I don't think my kids are too traumatized by the event. We took a nice slow walk back to the van and enjoyed the beach. Then we were on the road to Chino to see Lloyd's parents.

Sea Lions on the breakwater:

A gray whale:

At the beach:

None the worse for wear:

Spring Break 2010: Day Two

Our second day in Monterey was spent almost entirely at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Although there are plenty of pictures in this post, it doesn't even begin to show the variety of things we saw and did! We spent about 5 hours there but there was still more to see. Highlights were: the seahorses/sea dragons, penguin show, the toddler zone (water to play in!), and the outer bay (a HUGE tank with sharks, tuna, sting rays, etc. Lloyd and I could have spent all day in this dimly lit calming area.)

A Sea Dragon:

A view from the aquarium out to the bay - where so many of the creatures we were seeing had come from:

Anika had a whale of a good time:

Hands on learning, exploring, & coloring:

This babies/toddler area was Kathryn's favorite:

Dinner at Bubba Gump's - classic!

(Unfortunately, this is where Kathryn's temperature started to rise. A suspiciously tired child with no appetite prompted a quick trip to Walgreen's. We confirmed a fever but Tylenol brought back a fairly happy little girl.)

Spring Break 2010: Day One

As many of you know, we've been planning a Spring Break trip to Monterey and southern California. (The trip did not disappoint even through our health deteriorated.) After a leisurely start on Monday morning, we arrived in Monterey a little bit after noon. We were able to check in to our hotel and then we decided to spend some time at the Dennis the Menace park. What a fun time - slides, swinging bridge, rock climbing wall, train engine, lion head drinking fountain, and more. The kids would have stayed for hours more. While the day started rainy, it was beautiful for the time we spent in the park. After a dinner at Chili's, we headed back to the hotel for the night.

Hotel time:

Easter Sunday