It’s been about a year since we last visited the Philly Zoo. Spring was crazy and the boys had kind of gotten a bit exhausted. We all enjoyed being back this time though it was sad to see that the Polar Bear had died since our last visit.
It’s not a proper summer vacation without a trip to the beach. And being NorCal people, it’s not a proper trip to the beach unless it’s cold and overcast. Last year I took the boys to Pomponio. This year we hit Rio del Mar.
I used to go to this beach with summer camp. Instead of paying admission at Seacliff the camp bus always dropped us off in Aptos and we’d spend the day at Rio del Mar where we could still see the concrete ship while playing in the water.
The last time I was here, decades ago, I was lucky to see dolphins go bounding across the water. It was a wonderful surprise to see them on this trip too.
I danced in San José. I photographed in Mountain View. I wasn’t sure what I’d do in Palo Alto. Well besides eat. Of the three local festivals, Palo Alto is the one that just feels right. The food situation is well organized. There’s ample seating to eat. The dancing starts late and goes well into the night as people just have fun.
I ended up dancing again and taking photos while doing so. The low light gave my camera some problems but I like a decent number of these and they definitely give a good impression of what it was like to be there.
Our annual summer trip to Coyote Point and CuriOdyssey. The boys are kind of outgrowing the zoo although the fact that the animals were easily visible and very active this trip helped assuage that. But they’re liking the exhibits more and are starting to make connections to stuff they’re learning in school. This is encouraging. I remember going to the Exploratorium at least once every year when I was a kid* and I don’t remember ever paying attention to the science behind the exhibits.
*Usually on both a school fieldtrip and a summer camp field trip.
We also did our usual thing of hitting the Magic Mountain playground for a bit of fun on the gigantic slide. Then I took the boys up the road a bit to Burlingame for It’s-Its. It was, after all, National Ice Cream Sandwich Day.
Where the previous post involved multiple parties for one birthday this one includes one party for multiple birthdays as well as a graduation party and another birthday party. Summer is time for family and family visits. We’re pretty isolated on the East Coast so it’s wonderful—especially for the kids—to be able to spend so much time with everyone.
