Sunset Moments

Sunsets are a little bit like life...

They are beautiful, they are bright.

Certain sunsets and life moments call for running and flying.

Other times you sit and simply enjoy the show.

Camping Kid

My boys love camping. We hardly made it into our site before O was up this tree and testing new limits.This tree is particularly fun to scramble around on since the branches are strong and sturdy and super long.

He has a good eye and found small sticks for the fire and this monarch butterfly during the hunt. It had already met it's match, so we just studied it and kept our eyes wide for others that still had their flutter.

I think we can all say that hanging around the campfire is one of the most relaxing and fun parts about camping- as long as you aren't in the smoke's path, in which case you declare, "White rabbits, white rabbits, white rabbits..." and hope the wind shifts.

Film Friday

Fifi moves fast, so capturing her on film can be a trick. Especially when I am shooting the Polaroid.

I cherish these images of her.

Giant leaves

Sand and surf

Pouting about something on a log

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?

eat and drink

For camping, we sure do it up right in the food and drink department....

I mean, who gets home-brewed hard apple cider on tap when they camp? The Simpson's.

Who gets fresh baked Tripple Cs when they camp? The Simpson's 

Pancakes and hot coffee every morning... you guessed it? The Simpson's 

 

What about freshly cut artichokes and that day picked strawberries? uh yeah, The Simpson's

  

And when we are out and about, finding the BIGGEST ice cream cones we can find... Heck to the YES, The Simpson's 

We also held strong to tradition and made sure the nightly campfire wasn't lonely. S'mores please!

 

The Big Blue

There is a distinct smell when you pull into a coastal campsite. The moment when the windows get rolled down and the deep breath of non desert air hits your nose is wonderful.

 

It's a mix of salt , eucalyptus and campfire. I love camping in the mountains, but being at the beach in a tent, (or now, in Pop-up Penny) has my heart.

The first adventure that Andy and I were on together was camping on the beach.

We were less then a football field away from the shore.

Maybe this is part of why we come back to the sand and salt together when we camp these days.

Camping on the coast, particularly near Santa Cruz, has lots of great memories.

It is where the kids both put their feet in the Pacific for the first time.

We have come here with friends, battled the late night raccoon parties, and walked with the full moon.

We made some new memories this trip.

Running on the beach, I learned that it takes a lot more calf muscle and core strength then I ever realized.

 

Hanging out with with the Hummels and cracking up over homebrew names and movie quotes.

Watching the kids ride bikes without training wheels and O scoot so fast on this "wheelie bar" that I had to hold my breath as he zoomed down the hill.

There were sandcastles and sandy bums (and ears, noses, eyes, and everything)

There was seashell searching and surfer watching

 

I shot a ton of film (anyone want to come and scan all these polaroids for me?!)

What a great week, more of our adventures to come....

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!