Southern California Trip

On the Road

As we meandered downstate on our annual summer pilgrimage to Southern California, a late start allowed us to stop for lunch at one of our favorite dives (Castro's Surf and Turf Taco Shop in King City, so delicious). 

We try to stop at a new park each trip, this time it was Chase Palm Park in Santa Barbara.  

Goofy boys pose:

Eating special donut treats is serious business:

Unimpressed by most of the fancy playground equipment, the boys gravitated to this cement whale rising from the grass:

We always have to hit In-n-Out at least once. Henry is ready to work the fryer:

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles

My parents were kind enough to treat us all to a trip to the natural history museum. It was a great outing and the boys found lots of things to be interested in.

The T-Rex animation has the boys enthralled, and even Grandpa seems impressed: 

Henry said later that the dinosaur hall was his favorite part. 

The "Nature Lab" exhibition about L.A.'s wild animals actually proved to be the most engrossing section of the museum and we spent a lot of time there. 

Boys creating virtual postcards with local plants and animals:

The Gem and Mineral Hall (avid rock collector Jack's favorite part):

The animal dioramas never fail to impress. 

On the way out, we stopped by the California Science Center to see the space shuttle. It was truly awe-inspiring. 

Jack's assessment of the shuttle, "I want it to be a sculpture in our backyard!"

Aquarium of the Pacific

Our visit to the aquarium got pretty crowded with summer camp groups, but I think the boys still had a good time.

Touching the moon jellies:

Jack was nervous about feeding the lorikeets. Perhaps he remembered from the natural history museum that birds are descended from dinosaurs. 

Henry was much more of a fan of the birds, begging to go back for a second feeding (which his pushover parents allowed).

Moving on to Mom's favorite birds...

Mother's Beach

The boys had a great time paddling around in their lifejackets (they're still learning to swim) and playing in the sand. 

Henry jumps for joy as Dad shows them how to dig a self-filling pond:

Jack surveys the beach:

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

We were able to celebrate my mom's birthday at my folks' house in Lakewood.

Henry looks on while Grandma reads her card, and Jack clutches his new penguin from the aquarium (I have a terrible weakness for gift shops... and penguins): 

What to get the woman who has everything? Socks, of course!

Birthday (cup)cake!

The boys sang happy birthday to Grandma in English and Spanish (which they learned at their preschool). 

Happy Birthday, Jack and Henry!

This year the boys celebrated their birthday at Grandma and Grandpa's cabin. 

Henry, 6 going on 16:

Jack, freshly minted 6 year-old:

Steve bought them a Hot Wheels Mario Kart racetrack for their birthday: 

In addition to presents from the natural history museum gift shop earlier in the week, Grandma and Grandpa got the boys awesome Lego sets, all the way from the Lego museum in Denmark: an auto rickshaw for Henry and a red Vespa for Jack. Perfect choices. 

The Cabin

My parents own property in Pine Cove, located in the San Jacinto Mountains above Palm Springs. There's one lot with the "old cabin" my paternal grandfather built 80 years ago, and the "new cabin" on the neighboring lot that my parents purchased in the early '90's, collectively referred to as "the cabin." We're a creative bunch.

Trips to the cabin always include exciting projects. This time, the boys got to use the shop crane to remove a large bag of rocks from my parents' truck for use on a driveway repair project. 

Henry cranks the crane up and into position:

After hitching the crane to the bag of rocks, Jack cranks the crane up:

After much fussing with the bag, Steve and my dad recoil as the rocks finally come tumbling out: 

While Dad and Grandpa toiled away on the driveway, Grandma put the boys to work. Henry raking leaves and Jack removing the piles, while Grandma works on one of many rock retaining walls:

Good view of the "new cabin," with the boys' favorite thing in the foreground: the tractor! Jack gives the thumbs-up for Dad and Henry to head down the driveway. 

Henry drives the tractor down the road, with Jack following:

Jack drives the tractor back:

Heading out again, Jack in the driver's seat and Henry in the wagon:

Both boys in the wagon, the "old cabin" in the background:

Another exciting thing about the cabin: the pool table. Knowing that allowing the boys to handle pool cues was a terrible idea, we restricted them to hands only. They entertained themselves for quite awhile over a few days with this activity. 

A brief trip into town (Idyllwild) for a birthday candy and ice cream treat: 

Visiting the Lucindos

On our last night before heading back home, we stopped by Steve's sister Natalie's house. Our nephew Nathan had been kind enough to check in on our rabbit Bruce over the previous few days (so the bunny could stay at my folks' house instead of being dragged up to the cabin). 

Everyone knows older cousins have the best toys that your mean ol' mom won't let you have. 

Uncle Richard looks on while Cousin Nathan helps Henry line up his shot:

The boys were shooting bristle block towers with foam dart guns, an activity only a fun older cousin could dream up. When it became clear that the boys were having trouble aiming, Nathan taped on a laser pointer to improve their chances.

Henry prepares to fire:

Jack blasts the bristle blocks:

Big cousins are just about the highest quality entertainment there is. As we've not yet won the lottery and acquired a private jet for quick weekend trips, we have to settle for visiting a couple times a year.