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San Francisco






We've been taking some play days with family and friends lately. Our latest one took us to San Francisco for a long morning walk at the Presideo.



Historical buildings, great views, and now George Lucas and Disney Museums...lots of great stuff.

Beaches, Boardwalks, Big Trees and Butterflies!


Such a busy week we had! Having family visit is just another excuse to get out and see even more of California. We stayed busy the entire week with barely time to catch a breather. How long has it been since you visited Santa Cruz? It's 'winter' now, so the rides are only open on the weekend, but the arcade was open and the miniature golf, and the wharf and of course the beach! We had a great time. The weather was so nice we even sat outside for lunch. I read alot about the Santa Cruz Boardwalk that I didn't know so I thought I'd share this link in case you are bored enough to read it. ;)
http://beachboardwalk.com/01_about.html

Mission San Juan Bautista State Historic Park









This afternoon, we went to San Juan Bautista to show family members the beautiful Mission. Once again, we had a wonderful trip and learned even more about the place than all of the other visits. The skies were beautiful, and I was able to get quite a few really great pics. We also went into the church and museum and gardens and really enjoyed walking through all of the buildings that we hadn't gone into on prior visits.

Here are a few shots from today.

Natural Bridges State Park



Yep, we even visit the California State Parks in the pouring rain! We went Sunday afternoon to the Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz. It was wet and cold, but so beautiful! For the first time, we went to the visitor center and read all about the Monarch Butterflies and then walked the boardwalk Monarch trail down to their 'resting place' at the bottom in the eucalyptus grove. At first glance, we saw maybe a dozen butterflies fluttering way over our heads. Even that small amount was cool! So, we started walking back, enjoying our stroll, when the guys noticed all of the 'clusters' of butterflies in the trees above. VERY NEAT! I guess this is what they do when the weather is cool, they cluster together for warmth. If you haven't seen them, you should really make a point of going. The reason why we didn't see them at first is that when they aren't flying, and are hanging upside down, they really look like the leaves on the trees. ;)

Catching up!




We have family visiting this week, so we have been even busier than normal playing tourists and enjoying the California 'liquid sunshine'. Yesterday, we drove up to take the steam train in Felton, California. It was raining sideways. But, we all wore raingear and still had a great time. The train ride is incredibly relaxing going through old growth Redwoods and fresh clean air. If you'd like to know more about it, I thought I'd throw in their website. http://www.roaringcamp.com/