Vacation Archives - home is where my story begins...

San Francisco, Here I Come!

Becca — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 02:09:00 +0000

Well, in reality I went on Monday and just got home today. It was such a great trip! For the past few months I’ve been doing some reviews for LeapFrog. They’ve also had me sitting in on some Webinars to learn more about the process they go through to design new products. Then came the super-fun invitation! LEAPFROG INVITED ME TO COME TO CALIFORNIA FOR A VISIT!

First of all, let me say, that I have never been on an airplane all by myself. All of you business travelers out there are probably laughing at me right now. But, when you only travel in a big group, pack a bunch of toys, games and snacks for the kids, and constantly have someone to talk to, traveling alone is a bit freaky. I made my way down to Sea-Tac, which was stressful because traffic was horrible and it was pouring down rain, Siri kept telling me to go a different way to Shuttle-Park, and there are simply a TON of people at the airport. Once I got to the airport, everything was fine, and upon arriving in Oakland, Pablo (my driver) called me and took me right to my hotel.

Ok, friends… I’m a teacher and in my line of work no one flies you anywhere and they certainly don’t pay for you to stay in a hotel like this! I felt like I’d died and gone to heaven.

There were 5 of us going to visit LeapFrog the following day, so I texted my new friends (who I had never met before) and we got ready for our adventure. Those of you who know me well will find this quite amusing. My new friend, Christy, and I took a shuttle to the Bart station, which is like a filthy New York City subway station that everyone else in California thinks is perfectly fine. I didn’t even know how to buy a ticket, and once I had the ticket I had no idea how to use it to get me through the gates. (Yes, I live a sheltered life.) We asked a nice subway worker where we should get off if we wanted to end up in Japantown. He said NOT to go to Civic Center because he didn’t want us assaulted. (At that point I almost hugged him.) He said to get off in the Financial District instead because it was more like Suit-And-Tie-Land.

Ummm. I don’t even like Downtown Seattle. Being in a big scary city didn’t make me feel safe and secure. At that point, we looked at each other and realized we didn’t even know North from South. Eventually, a strange man came up to us and asked if we needed help. My mom always told me never to talk to strangers, but he had candy, a puppy, and a big van so he looked pretty safe and pointed us to the correct city bus.

Eventually, we made our way to Japantown for a little shopping!

From Japantown, we took a cab to the Pier, where we were going to meet our other new BFF’s.

Along the way, we checked out the Crooked Street. Wow, is that tall and crooked!

Once we got down to the Pier, another strange man asked if we wanted to take a boat ride. So, we paid our $10 each and hopped on his boat.

See, there’s the strange man, right above. He was nice, and he let me drive his boat and even wear his hat.

He took us to see bridges, Sea Lions, and Alcatraz. I’d have to say it was the highlight of my visit to San Francisco. (Not the highlight of the entire trip, but certainly the highlight of my mini adventure.)

Seriously, does it get any prettier that this?

After the boat ride, we moved onto dinner at a place called Eagle and dessert at Ghirardelli.

Yum!

Doesn’t that sound like a great trip so far? Well, I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet.

The next day, I spent the entire day learning from the BRILLIANT people at LeapFrog.

I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

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A Vacation Close to Home

Becca — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 03:02:00 +0000

I’d love to tell you all about my vacation to Hawaii or California, but there’s a problem. I didn’t actually go to either of those places over Spring Break. We stayed close to home this year, but booked a few nights at a hotel, just to get away. We took a twenty minute ferry boat ride across the water, and after a short drive, arrived at our destination. We stayed at Discovery Bay, which is close to Port Townsend and Sequim. Our first outing was a very easy hike. I was glad it was easy for two reasons. 1) I had just finished my antibiotics for the kidney infection I’d had the week before. 2) My daughter whines… enough said.

If you’re not from the Pacific Northwest, you probably haven’t seen trees like these. The moss covered trees line the hiking path. It’s an absolutely stunning sight. I never get tired of it. My kids, on the other hand, got really tired of hearing me say, “Ooooh, look at the cool moss on that tree!”

The trees in our area can be huge and totally interesting.

I can only imagine the creatures that find shelter in here, during a storm.

The hike was fairly flat. (good for whiners in the crowd) There were only a few stairs toward the end. Check out this bridge, made from a fallen tree. It was a little freaky, walking across the river on a slippery log.

After a short (1 mile) walk, we arrived at our destination. The waterfall was beautiful.

I brought my 50mm lens, and had a fun time playing around with it.

When I asked my son about his favorite part of the hike, he said it was throwing rocks in the river. Such a boy.

There were lots of interesting things for me to take pictures of, while the kids were throwing rocks.

On the way back, we took a different trail (after asking the ranger about it), which led to a lake. It was so beautiful! The sun was just starting to peek through the thick gray. You can see there’s still snow on the mountains, not too far from us.

Again, moss was everywhere.

It was a short hike, but a good one.

Did I mention that it rains a lot in the Pacific Northwest? It was a pretty muddy hike.

The following morning, this is what we woke up to! It was an amazing sunrise. My hubby, of course, was still sleeping. But, the kids and I enjoyed the beauty of our waterfront view of Discovery Bay!

Ahhh, mud on my hiking boots and a touch of sun on the water. Life couldn’t be better.

Next up, Dungeness Spit.

Dungeness Spit is a sandbar that jets 5 miles out into the Puget Sound. It grows 13 feet in length each year. It was an awesome place to spend a sunny day. We were surprised at how powerfully the waves came crashing onto the beach.

You can see, the storm clouds weren’t too far away, but the sun stayed out until we got back to our car. Then the downpour began.

The night ended, just as it began. The moon reflected off the water and lit up the sky. Now, if someone could just teach me how to take a good moon shot, I would be completely happy.

There are so many more stories to share. Stay tuned to find out why this guy is sticking his head in my car window.

Happy wondering!

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Alpacas

Becca — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:00:00 +0000

Last week we took a trip to Idaho. We visited Silverwood Theme Park and Boulder Beach Water Park. All I need to say about that is LAZY RIVER AND SUNSHINE.

My brother-in-law had a friend who lived near by, so we went to visit his alpaca farm.

Looking at these little guys makes me want to sell my house and buy a farm.

They ate out of the kids’ hands and were actually very friendly.

The owners shear the animals once a year, spin the wool into yarn, and make things to sell in their shop in Post Falls.

Here are a few more pictures I took around their property. It was an amazingly beautiful area! There were wildflowers, a lake with a beaver dam, turtles sunning themselves on the logs, beautiful blue sky, and lush green trees. Amazing beauty.

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