Fall

Fall (Autumn) in Northern California was spectacular this year, and I don't think I've even seen trees with so many shades of green, yellow and red.  

This is a tree in Danville, and the picture was taken with my humble iPhone.  I thought it was pretty, don't you think it is shaped like a love heart (well I see a love heart).  

Napa

Mum was soon heading back to Australia, and we had one more outing planned - Alcatraz.  Unfortunately in September & October the US Federal Government halted all funding to national parks and it was temporarily closed.  But no problems, plenty of other places to go and with the kids having a pupil free day it was perfect to explore Napa (without the weekend crowds).

Our kids are pretty used to visiting wineries, they have visited many over the years, but Sterling Winery really wins the prize for luring in 8 year old boys.  Upon arriving in the car park we took a gondola up the hill to the winery, Cameron thought he had truly arrived in style.

Of course the adults are very well catered for, and we enjoyed a sit down tasting. The picture below tells the story.

Pairing good wine and food is a challenge in Napa, winery restaurants don't comply with the outdated legislation.  A picnic and local produce was a good option but it did remind us how good we have it in Australia.  

Americas Cup and San Fran

I've written about the Americas Cup in earlier posts, but it really was an amazing event to be part of.  Mum made 2 trips into the city, and she caught plenty of sailing action.  Mum even saw the final race where Team USA snatched victory from the Kiwi's.

The city also turned on some brilliant spring weather, and the famous fog was no where to be found.  The pictures below are taken from the car - driving down the 'crookedest street in the world', and across the Golden Gate Bridge.

With the kids in school, Mum and I ventured into the city to ride the famous cable cars (Cameron didn't know what we were getting up to).  Getting on a cable car is quite a process - but thanks to some friendly advice from a local we bypassed the very long queue and walked up the street to the next stop.  Now when I say friendly advice from a local - picture a homeless person with great initiative and communication skills, who for the price of a dollar bill passes on this pearler of advice to anyone who will stop for a chat.

On the Cable Car - I don't know who the girl in the blue dress is!

Fishermans Wharf

Halloween Preparations

In the lead up to Halloween I appreciated that it was an event that everyone loved.  I did not however anticipate the preparations, decorations and the amount of candy on offer.

So if you are reading this blog in December, you can imagine Christmas lights and decorations on houses.  Well imagine the same but a much spookier theme - tomb stones in front yards, orange lights in trees, spider webs and spiders handing from pillars and balconies ….. and the list goes on.  Mum, Brad and the kids got into the spirit one day - and carved their own lanterns.  Messy, but fun.

On Halloween, the kids had a parade at school and finished at lunchtime.  Why - to go home and get ready for the trick or treating later in the day.  The costumes are pretty varied and you see everything from tooth fairies, to princesses, to zombies and ghosts.

Hayley dressed as Snow White with a difference, and Cam dressed as a Zombie.  For a kid who rarely dresses up, he pulled it off really well.  

In the evening we went to a party, and kids trick or treated together.  (I was following with friends, and a glass of wine in hand.)  The amount of candy is pretty overwhelming - I think we have some left, but much of it was donated (to the troops stationed overseas).

Yosemite

Yosemite must be on the travel list of all visitors to California, and rightly so.  It is breathtaking.  But what I find unbelievable is the number of Californians who have never been!   

We spent a weekend in Yosemite (which is not enough, but it's what we had) and we were lucky to see it in rain and glorious sunshine.  We arrived in the midst of a downpour, and after a summer in Alamo we were unprepared.

But the next day we awoke to this ….

Sunshine and the bluest sky.  

Driving around the valley floor, and up into the mountain we stopped many times to admire the view, and take photos (lots of photos).  We even saw a bear, which was another highlight.

If you are coming to California, add Yosemite to your list.  But let me provide you with some guidance about where not to stay…..  

Time Flies - Cameron turns 8

Wow, I can't believe my last blog was when the kids started school!  Cameron turned 8, Mum & Di visited and we are coming up to 6 months in the US of A.

In Cameron's usual style he didn't a party, he definitely does not get that from me. But he did invite some friends from school over for an afternoon of games & swimming.  It's pretty different for the kids to celebrate their birthdays in the summer. 

So here is the cake, with the fabulous Betty Crocker icing.

And the boys ...

Kaelan, Danny, Sam, Cameron & Ewan
Spot the sun smart Aussie!

On the same weekend we spent the day at Sausalito, on Don & Claire's boat.  Don is a work colleague of Brad's, and they'd just taken delivery of a beautiful boat.

We were living the dream that day, and Brad started dreaming about buying a boat when we get back to Perth.

Back to School

For the 2nd time this year, the kids have started school. 

Cameron has started in 2nd Grade and he has got into the groove quickly.  It helps that a couple of his mates are in the same class.

Hayley had a fun summer but she was super keen to start school again, it has been 4 months since she's been in a classroom!  The school they go to has classes from Kindy to 8th Grade, and the 6th to 8th grades are referred to as Junior High.  Hayley is in 6th Grade and she is very proud to be part of this group.  In Junior High the kids have Home Room, their day is scheduled into subject periods and they have different teachers for Math, English, Literature, History etc.  So it's similar to High School, but on a much smaller scale.

The first couple of days have been a breeze for them both, it also helps that there hasn't been any homework yet?  

A pic from the 1st day, keep in mind it was 7:20am so they hadn't fully woken up yet.

So I'm up at 6 to organise the day and after 10 weeks of sleep ins it is a shock to my system.  I am moving though, Tuesday I played Tennis and today I hit the gym.  It has been ages since I've had a fitness routine so I'm looking forward to feeling fitter, and hopefully my skirts won't be as tight!

The Louis Vuitton Cup

The Louis Vuitton Cup is the lead up event to the Americas Cup, and it's New Zealand v Italy.  It's 1 race all, and the best of the 7 races will go up against Team USA next month.  

The Americas Cup Village on the Embarcadero is fantastic - you can get pretty close to the boats, meet the crew and drink champagne.  What more could a girl ask for on a sunny San Francisco day?

Team Luna Rosa had a better boat on this day .....

and they sailed past the finish line without competition 

Mumm Napa (in sunny San Francisco)

Sunny Santa Cruz

Summer holidays are coming to an end and we are making the most of each weekend.  Last weekend we went to Santa Cruz and Capitola.  Santa Cruz is interesting, felt a bit like Luna Park in St Kilda but with latin american ambience.  

Santa Cruz provided more 'Only in America' moments, especially the advertisement for a Deep Fried Twinkie.  A Twinkie is a favourite American treat / cake and it's similar to a small jam sponge roll - excepts it's filled with a cream like concoction. I've not tasted the deep fried version!

The Santa Cruz Boardwalk

Would you like fries with that?

Hayley Turns 12

Hayley is 12 tomorrow!

We had a party on the weekend themed Discos & Divas.  Hayley dressed up as Katy Perry and with some of her friends from School they bopped their way around the house.  We also played a few party games and we were staggered that they had never heard of Pass the Parcel!

Will post a few more photos of the birthday girl tomorrow.

Cam & Hayley - without the blue wig

Party Girls - after the M&M game

Leftovers!

Pacific Northwest Road Trip

We've just returned from our Road Trip with the Playford family.  Geordie and Justine are fellow Chevron Expats from Perth and they have 2 sons George and Charlie.  

With the Playford's we travelled to the Pacific North West, a term the locals describe as Northern California, Oregon and Washington.  We travelled 2,000 miles, spent 42 hours driving and stayed 10 nights in 6 overnight destinations.  

Our highlights were horseback riding through the Redwood National Park, staying at a Teepee Village in Oregon and our 2 nights in Cannon Beach.  It was also interesting to get a new perspective on the Pacific Ocean - grey sand, cold water and in some parts foggy and mysterious beaches.

Fort Bragg (California) - Mills and Playford vehicles

Alamo - Fort Bragg - Trinidad

The redwood forests in California are incredible, long avenues of tall trees and lush undergrowth. We drove across beautiful rivers and paddled in clean crisp creeks. Near a small coastal town of Trinidad we went horse back riding through the Redwood National Park.  

With 2 guides, our families rode through the forest and it was amazing to be up close and personal with the Redwood's. We rode single file, and in order according to the personalities of our trusty steeds. I was riding Candy, although she did not live up to her name. I rode ahead of Cameron and George, and it was hilarious to hear the journey through the eyes, ears and nose of two 7 year old boys. They spent most of the journey discussing which horse smelt the worst. Cameron took great delight in his horse (called Kid) taking a pee.

Cameron riding Kid, George following close behind

I couldn't resist taking this pic

Nature at it's best

Trinidad - Marcola (Oregon)

From Trinidad California we drove North and crossed the border into Oregon. Immediately the landscape changed, vast Pine plantations replaced the Redwoods, and the further inland we drove the clouds cleared and the temperature climbed.

Near Marcola we spent two nights at a Teepee Village Retreat - imagine a lush landscape, a crystal clear creek and about 10 Teepees scattered. This is Glamping Oregon style.

Mills Teepee for 2 nights

Looking out the top of our Teepee from my bed

Dinner - Paella with locally caught seafood
Our hosts served breakfast and dinner - we ate so well!

Marcola to Cannon Beach (Oregon)

Cannon Beach is on the Oregon coast, Portland is the closest city.  Since returning we've discovered a lot of people have never heard of the place, so including this destination on our road trip was a winner.

Cannon Beach is a small seaside village, the beach has white sand (we aren't taking white sand for granted these days) and there is a large rock formation called Haystack Rock.  Puffins (brids) come here in summer to look after their young, Starfish cling to the rocks to feast on muscles and there are lots of seagulls.  Unlike Aussie seagulls, they don't have a diet of fish and chips (the deep fried variety)!

In the evening Cannon Beach is dotted by by small fires, and our hotel set us up with a prepared fire, deck chairs, blankets and of course Smores.  More marshmallows.

Biking on Cannon Beach

Purple and Orange Starfish, clinging to the Muscles

Beach at Dusk - our hotel in the background

Beach at Nightfall - Haystack Rock in the background

Cannon Beach - Seattle (Washington)

Seattle was our next destination, and very different from the tranquility of our trip so far.  We arrived in the City just in time for their annual street carnvial, and everyone was out for a good time.  It was a shame we didn't have more time to check out the city, but after being away for a week it was time to turn around and head for home.

EMP Museum in Seattle
The costume in the background was worn by the Zombie in Michael Jackson's Thriller
The kids impersonating a Zombie

Destination Home

We travelled home via Highway 5, back through Washington, Oregon and California.  2 days of pretty solid driving, and I forgot to recharge the kids portable DVD players!  Lots of eye spy and colouring in, fortunately not too much niggling.

One of the conversations we had in the car was "where next?"

Glamping - Camping Round Hill Style

You probably know that I'm not much of a camper, but I knew that I was in the right place when we drove up to the camping valet.  I'm not kidding - imagine driving to the local glam golf club, unloading your tent, sleeping bag and silky pj's into a golf buggy and having it chauffeur driven to your camp site.  This was followed by games for the kids, gourmet grill (BBQ) and star gazing.  

It so happened that we camped on the night of the Super Moon, and with some amazing equipment we saw a very big moon, Saturn and the International Space Station.

We also had our first experience of eating a Smore.  Imagine a thin sweet biscuit, a thin slice of chocolate, melted marshmallow (courtesy of our personal fire place on the golf driving range) and biscuit.  It is a gooey mess, but a camping treat.

The biscuit is referred to as a 'Gram Cracker'.  Spelt Graham, pronounced Gram.  I found this all a bit confusing, especially as one of Cameron's mates is called Graham, pronouned Gram.  So Gram did eat a Smore made with Gram crackers!

The morning after - Hayley, with Grace and Caitlin.  Buddies from the Club and School, gorgeous girls.

Golf Bugg - to return our sleeping bags to the Car Park!  Cameron and Hayley got to drive.