Whirlwind trip

Just got back from a four-day trip to Santa Cruz. We were able to accompany Brian, 16 sixth-graders, two teachers, and five chaperones on their annual Science field trip. Most of the rest of 'em took a schoolbus, but Jack, Casey and I took our air-conditioned minivan (which was definitely needed by this pregnant lady in the heat of the Central Valley!). We took the kids to the wharf in Santa Cruz one morning to see the sea lions on one of the docks. A teacher told me that they're aggressive animals and that, once they've taken over a dock, you can forget about using it for anything else! Not a great place to take little kids... there is bird poop ALL over the place! But sure, Jack loved it.

We spent a couple lazy hours on the beach--just me and Jack, and his shovel, bucket, and motorcycle. I wish we could've had a day just for that!

And a huge highlight of the trip was our day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Jack and I had been studying up for a couple days, and he was more than ready to observe all the sealife there was to offer. We saw feeding time for the sea otters...

I was amazed at all the activities for kids his age: knobs, buttons, and levers all over the place; mazes, tunnels, slides, and mini water park that he could actually get his hands in! To touch an actual starfish: heaven! And a window with a big splash of water every minute or so...

On the way back from the aquarium, the schoolbus broke down, and we had to pull off onto a farm road in Watsonville... lots of drama there. Lots of drama the whole trip, but how could we expect anything else, based on our year in Lee Vining so far?