SF Conservatory of Flowers

Gilroy Gardens goes off!

A cool caterpillar!

Holly in her garden

In all our time in the valley we had never been to Gilroy Gardens no matter how many people said check it out! So we were invited to go with some friends on a family day so we thought why not! Ash is old enough to enjoy rides and they were just perfect even for the younger ones in the family. I loved the trees there and the garden aspect was well maintained. I do have to say it was definitely a fun day!

Disappearing Ash on a ride!

Purisima Open Space Park

Munchkins!

Another great hike is Purisima Creek Redwoods in the western slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains. We went looking for salamanders but instead we found a few banana slugs on the way down to the creek. A great hike with the kids and they really enjoyed the trails.

The fattest banana slug I had ever seen!

A break with daddy

Humboldt Redwoods camp trip

This camp trip is a trip over the 2010 summer that was extra special. The forest at Humboldt Redwoods is just incredible as it is so old and peaceful. Just being amongst the green of an old growth forest is quite a spiritual experience. We spent a few days camping in the redwoods watching the campfire at night and exploring the area during the day. A trip to Patrick's Point
State Beach was covered in rolled rocks and agate. Watching the waves and the fog roll in made us want to travel up further North. The time ran out all too fast and we were home.

Emma Prusch Farm

Over the summer the crops were ripe for the picking so it was a good time to visit the farm in San Jose. A former preschool teacher recommended the Emma Prusch Farm as a great day out & it was for the kids as they did get to have a tour with a docent and pat a bunny rabbit. Apart from that there was also a great market stall with quality produce grown on the farm.

Camping over the 4th July!

The date of the posts are just when I am finding time to catch up on our year!

Our first camp trip for 2010 was a trip to Mt Madonna over the 4th July long weekend - it was a beautiful spot under the redwoods and in the shade! I remember it being really hot that day & only taking a pair of thongs with me and when it came to night those socks had to come out as it was a bit chilly. Still it was an experience that we did learn from and from there a couple of other trips were added over the summer of 2010.

Still we went with another keen camping family who also loves cats and see in the pics the cats loved camping too!

Point to note when going camping especially when the weather is hot - do not forget a jumper to keep warm around the fire at night. Oh and we did try smores (a great American camping treat) which were an experience which I will try again, just for the melted chocolate, yum!

Hanging at Shoreline

12/6/2010 - The weather was hot so we headed on over to this tree at Shoreline Park - with the breezes we were cool!

Mt Diablo State Park

31/5/2010 - We finally made the trip to Mt Diablo State Park - we had been talking about going there for ages! There is an incredible view from the vista point & the visitor centre is pretty cool too!

We wandered away down to the picnic area for a hike (a walk with the kids, really!) and found some wind blown rock structures. Here we are in a cave playing hide & seek.

Swanton Strawberries

29/5/2010 - More pics from our trip to Swanton Upick farm and our fun time at the beach after our lunch!

Swanton Upick Farm

29/5/2010 - Over in Santa Cruz my friend discovered this Upick farm right by the beach. So when the strawberries are in season what better way to experience them.

Strawberries fresh straight off the plant - yum! There were lots of big ones which the kids enjoyed & of course, we did too! In the store where you pay by the bucket load we found strawberries in chocolate & other tasty treats! Holly found a huge whale - my little chocolate faced environmental warrior!

Maker Faire

23/5/2010 - Another wonderful year of the Maker Faire - I found the Lion Brand Yarn demos with a massive intarsia giraffe. We also found amigurimi animals which inspired me to start crocheting! So now I am enjoying crochet as well as knitting.

The kids had a lovely time with the Legojeep making a bunch of lego sculptures & adding it to the many already hanging on the car - lots of fun for all!

Harley Farms Pescadero

25/4/2010 - Goat cheese is simply divine & especially when it comes direct from the farm. We wanted to visit the baby goats so what a great excuse just to buy goat cheese. There was goat cheese with cranberries, herbs & many other delicacies - so what did we do next? Grab some fresh olive bread & had a picnic on the beach! There we found a great little windbreak that someone had made :)

That same weekend we scored an iPad to play with even Holly had a great time with the slideshow in iPhoto!

Oh Yosemite!

3rd to 10th April 2010 - For more of our images go here... Over Easter we finally made our way to Yosemite National Park! It was just amazing! It snowed when we visited which was just the most beautiful experience as we had never seen anything like that in our lives. I really want to explore some more of Yosemite someday!