Getting Outside

The weather has been pretty cooperative with us getting out and about to try to finish off our 1000 hours outside. Peanut and spent 3 hours at the park on this gorgeous afternoon, hanging out with friends. And we camped out in the backyard one evening--he really wanted to get his hours in, and I needed the hours and was excited to try out my new camping pad.

And then, today, we went on a short family hike. We will not make it to the 70 family hikes that we'd hoped for, but we are averaging more than one a week, so it still feels like a win.

Del Valle was gorgeous in the mist.

We talked to some friends later who were out there biking at the same time--turns out they could hear us and know that it was us from a mile away, haha. We know we're loud.

The rain held off long enough for us to enjoy the morning and get another hike in.

Glowfari at the Zoo

I decided to splurge and get tickets to the Oakland Zoo's Glowfari and I'm so glad that we went! Started it off with a gorgeous sunset view from the restaurant at the top of the hill.

And then we spent a couple hours exploring the lanterns that were set up all over the zoo.

They were beautiful.

And huge!

It was a really fun evening.

And always good to have new things to get us outside. Winter can be harder, so events like this get us out there when we might otherwise just stay home and watch another movie.

 

Creek Walks

When we get rain, my first instinct is to head down to the creek to see if there is finally water. 

And if there is. . .

it's play time! 

We spent two different afternoons down at the creek, exploring, playing, collecting rocks and sticks. 

We were so excited that friends were able to join us the second afternoon and Peanut had a blast with a very elaborate game they came up with (which he explained in detail the whole way home, but I couldn't begin to put down. That kid can talk fast when he gets going!)

I love these slower moments in the middle of a busy season.

And just a glimpse at some of the last color left. Winter is almost here, even in CA.

 

1000 Hours Outside

Peanut just completed 1000 hours outside for 2021.  It was a push to get there last year, so finishing with a couple weeks to spare feels like a big accomplishment. Those spaces represent a lot of hiking, camping, backyard schooling, dinners al fresco (and breakfasts and lunches). They've been spent with friends and with family, and sometimes alone. They happened in the redwoods, on beaches, in the Uintah mountains, deserts, and Mammoth Lakes, in Utah, Nevada, and California. They represent so many beautiful (and some less than delightful) memories.

Hours 1000 and 1001 were spent at Park Day, which Peanut says is his favorite way to be outside. 

I'm assuming the rest of us are at the 1000 hours, too. I go for so many walks in the morning that it easily makes up for the few hours that I wasn't outside with Peanut. And Bug and Bean spend a couple hours in the pool, 4-5 days a week, plus lunches and other times at school, and both had a lot of outdoor summer activities this year, as well as the family time. I think they've easily been outside as much, too. 

Now we'll have to see how many hours we end up with by the end of the month!

Change in Plans

We were supposed to have a few of my high school friends and their families over for our annual holiday brunch today, but with rain in the forecast for the whole day, and no one very excited about moving the party indoors (it didn't help that Daddy-o has a cold right now--negative C. test, but still), we made a last-ditch effort to save the party. We asked if anyone could make it last night, and while we only ended up with the one family who lives here in town and we already see fairly regularly, it was still a blast.

We built a fire, had two heaters going, and bundled up. . . and we actually lasted way longer than I thought people would. It was after 10 when the party finally broke up.

I left the science puns up. . . we don't have a lot of decorations going on in our backyard, haha, so at least this was something.

Since we had all the food for a party and a bunch more coming with the Ms, there was an overload of stuff to eat for just two families. Spicy grits, dal and rice, spinach dip, charcuterie board with a little bit of everything, toffee pecan bars, cookies. . .

and a hot chocolate/tea station, along with hot cider on the table, because we knew warm drinks were going to make it a lot more fun to be sitting outside.

I'm so glad that we were still able to do something fun, even if it is raining on our parade. This whole weekend was turning out to be a little bit of a bummer. We were supposed to spend Saturday in Columbia, CA, enjoying an old-fashioned Christmas, but had a couple things come up that made that not work, and then this party getting cancelled/moved and not getting to see a couple of my friends. And just knowing that with how much rain is in the forecast, and the need to keep our events outside right now, this is probably the only party we're having this year. So I'm glad that we got to it.

And . . . drumroll, please. . . this 4 hours outside puts us at 999 hours outside this year! I can't believe we are so close this early in the month, and also can't believe the luck of getting to this last hour with so much rain in the future. We may have to go take a rain walk to just finish it off.

 

Fern Canyon 2021

We woke up to elk in the backyard. Every time we've been up here, the elk have shown up at least once. This year, it was a really big group and we watched them for quite a while.

Then, it was off to Fern Canyon, another favorite spot. Last year, we were here in June and there were a lot more ferns--I guess it's a little early for the walls to be so thick.

But it was still beautiful and perfect for exploring.

And we found some fun wildlife: more banana slugs

and a red-legged frog.

Also, mushrooms. Because what hike is complete without mushrooms?

Even though this was a lighter day, we still managed to hike about 4 miles, and then had lunch at the campground down by the beach before we drove home. 

One of the things that I love about our trips up here is the place we stay in Orick. It's not fancy, and not huge, but it is cozy and comfortable for the 5 of us and gives us a lot more room to spread out than a hotel room would. We always bring a lot of games to play and movies to watch. I also kind of love that there are no restaurants in Orick, so we're just eating at the house--it's more work, but also more relaxing. While dinner is cooking, we can play a few rounds of something, or people can take a nap or whatever. Some vacations, I feel like we never use the places we stay because were on the go for all but a few hours. But these redwoods trips are pretty much a perfect balance of exploring and downtime.

Some favorite games from this year:

Deer in the Headlights

Not Parent Approved

Blurble

Bird Bingo (it's just bingo, but we always have to play this one up here, it's so pretty)

And movies:

Clash of the Titans

X-men

Ewoks (so much more terrible than I remember! It was a little sad to watch.)

The Lego Movie (always a favorite)

TEPCO Beach

We took a field trip to a place with a little local history. The ceramics manufacturer TEPCO (Technical Porcelain and Chinaware Company) used this little beach in Richmond as a dumping ground for all of their chipped pottery for decades back in the mid 1900's. And now, it's a quirky collecting spot. Kind of like Glass Beach, only not quite as pretty.

Peanut had fun trying to piece together a plate, haha.

The ground is deep with shards--it's kind of crazy that this was allowed back in the day.

Some of our more interesting finds. The little Buddha pieces are apparently a hot item for people who come collecting here.

Some pieces are still big,

but most are this size.

Maybe one of our weirder field trips we've done, but it was a fun little excursion. And there's a Costco right next to it, so we got to grab lunch afterwards, which was probably the highlight for one or two of my kids. 

Finally Got Some Rain!

It's been a pretty dry winter so far, but the rain the other day has meant a few days of fun walks down by (and in) the creek.

It was roaring on Thursday when we first went to check out the water level.

And then had calmed down to a more normal level by the time the rest of the family was able to get down there today.

This kid puts his rainboots to the test!

And sometimes has to then dump a bunch of water out because he went a little too deep, haha.

But he's been a good wet weather explorer.

And rain means green grass everywhere!

We found this beautiful little spot near the creek. Not every adventure we go on has to be far, or an all day event. This one is about a mile from our house, just a quick walk on the bike path.

Other people must like to play here, too. There were a lot of these structures built in the area.

Peanut just made himself at home.

Lots of logs and fallen trees here.

Nice when we can bring the rest of the family along.

Peanut appreciates having someone to play with.

Sword fighting on the logs. No one got hurt, miracle of miracles.

Hoping we see a lot more of this.