Shooting with big and little (cameras)

During our first "glamping" trip of the year, I had a lot of fun switching between my many cameras. In this post I want to share images from my iPhone (the images above the captions) and my DSLR (those below the captions). I love how each camera gives me the ability to capture a moment or a feeling in different ways. I love using my DSLR because of the quality of the images I get, but sometimes it is too much to carry around. The phone is great because I am seldom without it. One of the times I like having my phone with me the most is when I am out for a run. I am in my own groove, can stop when I want or see something and it's already part of my gear for music and pace keeping. I wouldn't have gotten this first shot if it weren't for the convenience of this device.

Finding peace and love.

I found kittens in the window and on a bench

 

lovely textures where every where

I found Beach Way and my way to the beach

and spotted bright pops of color along the Board Walk.

What about you, what are you shooting and discovering these days?

Coronado

On the last day of our trip we packed lunches and headed over the bridge to Coronado to take in a little sand and salt water.

I think the kids ate more sand then lunch, but that is the way it goes at the beach.

The seagulls were in full force that afternoon and not afraid to get really close and into the backpacks for food.

Bold I tell you, bold.

O discovered the joys of collecting sea shells and had a blast finding beauties in the surf.

Fifi was so done and ready for a nap, but she held out until we got back in the car to head to the airport.

Poor thing, it was a long busy week for us all. 

I know how she felt I was pretty exhausted to after our adventures! 

Thanks San Diego, we had a blast!

Big Basin or Bust!

Before it slips my mind and gets too far away for me to properly remember, I wanted to share my photos from our lastest camp trip, the last one of 2011.

We took advantage of the long Nevada Day weekend that occurs on the last weekend of October. Daddy-O made the reservations and we worked out our schedules so we could also take off Halloween, giving us four days to hang out and enjoy.

We hit the road and headed west to Big Basin which is located in the Santa Cruz hills. The trees are stunning and humbling, they have stories that I only wish they could tell. We set up camp, made dinner and took a nice walk around the campground and around to the neighboring campgrounds, then headed into the tent for an early night.

Saturday we spent the day in Felton where we hopped on the Roaring Camp train and took a ride through the redwood trees. I cold see this train ride being a regular part of our Santa Cruz camping trips. In the summer they run a train from Felton down to the beach and back again- what a fun way to travel.

 After our ride we found a great playground and picnicked and let the kids run amok and tire themselves out on the slides, swings and grass.

There is an old covered bridge next to the park, and I got this photo of Fifi- a new favorite of mine.

The boys took a snooze once we were back to the campsite and so I put Fifi in the backpack, in hopes of her dozing off as well, and took a hike. There are all sorts of easy trails around and I it felt good to stretch and work my leg muscles and spend some quite time with my girl as she sang her sleepy song in my ear, but never did fall off to dream land.

Sunday was a very full day. We attempted the docent guided tour to see the "Mother and Father" tree of the forest, but the kids were a little too squirmy so we jetted ahead of the group and played on fallen redwood trunks and in burn scar tunnels.



After our walk, we opted for a tailgate lunch in the parking lot- I think we all needed the food, spirits lifted instantly.

Once our bellies were full of grapes and salami and cheese and crackers we headed further down the hill to Santa Cruz. It couldn't have been more beautiful on the beach.


The kids had a great time getting sand in all sorts of places and it was all we could do to keep Fifi out of the ocean. O is a bit more cautious, but of course got his footing loose and went in, much too his dismay.

After we showered the kids off and got them in dry clothing we headed to the boardwalk in search of the photo booth.
Even though they no longer have the old fashioned black and white booths, we still make it a point to stop every time we visit. A family of four is tricky to squeeze into that little space, I still love the strips we got all the same.

The sunset along the coast that night was so pretty. The light is so different on the beach compared to the high desert.

We wound up having dinner in a great little restaurant out on the pier. We were a little worried about bringing the kids into a place that looked like it catered specifically to adults, but they sat us in the back along with another group with 4 kids. They all played and had a blast and we didn't bother anyone with the noise of a 3 and 1 year old.

The kids were so funny the entire weekend. Fifi had a permanent dirt goatee and O was in search of all the acorns in the forest- they make a great sound when the heat up and POP in the campfire.

We only had one real run-in with the pesky raccoons- I haven't heard O scream that loud in a long time- the darn thing tried to swipe his s'more- I would have screamed too. We lucked out with good neighbors, the people on the one side were actually hard of hearing- I watched out of the corner of my eye when I realized how quite their camp was and noticed they were signing to one another- what luck- I didn't feel so bad about the late night crying from our tent.I feel so lucky to be able to spend this time with my little family.

We love camping!

how to...

How to really love a child, by SARK
"Be there. say yes as often as you can. let them bang on pots and pans. if they are crabby, put them in water. Read books out loud with joy. Go find elephants and kiss them. Encourage silly. Giggle a lot. Remember how really small they are. Search out the positive. Keep the gleam in your eye. Go see a movie in your pyjamas. Teach feelings. realize how important it is to be a child. Plan to build a rocketship. Stop yelling. Invent pleasures together. Surprise them. Express your love. A lot.

Children are Miraculous"

At the Boardwalk...

I love.love.love going to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.
My very first roller coaster ride was the Giant Dipper. It is still one of my favorites. The only ride I went on this time around was the Pepsi Truck on a track.  This was due to a certain little girl hanging out on my back in the ergo.

But O, Mr. O fully embraced the amusement park. He hit up all sorts of thrills and chills with Daddy-O by his side. I still can't believe he was game for the all the rides and honestly, I am not sure if he realized what he was in for on a couple of them.

He started the day off simple on the boats and dragons.

 

do you love the name of the boat?! tee hee.

But by the end of the day he was SO brave, and splashed down on the log ride.

He ended the day on the Ferris wheel, a la Go, Dog, Go!

Besides the rides, there were $5 hot dogs, a trip to the photo booth and one very sad, ice cream cone melt down.



We all slept well that night after all that excitement-
Thanks Santa Cruz! We had a blast.

To The Aquarium

On Friday we headed to Monterey. The aquarium there is one of the best in the country, and the kids seemed to be old enough to actually enjoy the exhibits.



It is a little crazy to visit there on a week day, but we braved the bus loads of field tripping elementary school kids. I am really glad I had dressed O in his plaid fedora, it made keeping track of him a lot more easy.
I was a little disapointed that the jelly fish exhibit was under construction. That was one of my favorite things last time we were there, but the kelp forest still held its magic and the sea otters are way too cute.

I am going to let the photos do the 'talking', enjoy!

The obligitory family shot! Thanks to Em for shooting this one for us.



After lunch, a beer and and a exhaustion induced meltdown... we headed back to camp. But not without stopping at one of the farm stands for some freshly picked produce (and a really good Chai tea!)