Uncle Marek told us about an island which looks like a shark fin which was along highway 1 before Santa Cruz. Since we were going that way anyway, we stopped and had a look. It really did look like a shark fin, especially with the fog adding that special bit of mystery to the vista. As a bonus, there were a number of wild rabbits running around which the girls loved.
On the way to Monterey we wanted to stop and see the coastal redwoods so we drove across from the Bay Area via the road through La Honda which got us near Butano State Park and the wonderful grove of coastal redwoods there. KT and TV used to camp there when they were in uni, but a recent fire has resulted in the campsite being closed. We still stopped and had a bit of a bushwalk through the redwoods. The girls had a chance to taste the clover looking plant which tastes slightly sour when chewed. It was a great introduction to these majestic and huge trees which kept the area cool and comfortable.
As is usually the case we had to move on far too quickly. Our time with Edina and Lubo had to come to an end but not before we had another tasty meal which Lubo prepared. We got to see Uncle Marek too and hang out a bit more.
We went on an excursion with Edina to Lake Chabot. We had a little walk around the lake and watched the ducks. It was really a nice walk although the smaller two kids had a bit of a whinge about it all. In the end we all enjoyed ourselves and managed to work up a good apetite.
We kicked off a small road trip with a stop in Castro Valley to see the Brezulas. It was really nice to see them and have a pleasant afternoon tea and dinner in their garden. Before getting there we were absolutely famished and Sonic took a very long time to get us our lunch.
We managed to get the entire famdamnly together for a portrait. Covid tried to stop us by we said no way and just got a bit more creative. It was actually quite amazing as all of the kids were cooperative (as were the adults) and we managed to make it fun and quick. Definitely a fine group of characters in this bunch.
The girls got a chance to go and try on some of Cheryl's earrings and loved it. They had heaps of fun but some of the earrings were a bit heavy. It made their ears a bit sore, but they didn't really mind.
