Our Oceanside Oasis...

As promised, I've been working to update the blog with tales of all of our summer adventures. This effort was compromised a little this week by the fantastic Cricut machine Brandon gave me for my birthday. It's been hard to tear myself away from playing with it to upload all of our vacation photos and finally get this blog back on track! But, after a little not so subtle urging from Nana, I decided the job had been put off long enough.

A Week at the Beach
What started out as an idea for a simple weekend trip to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium turned into quite a trip for the Peterson side of the family this June. The whole family ended up spending a week in Bolinas, Calif. Due to Layla's dutiful searching, we found a great house just up the block from the beach, with plenty of room for everyone.

Which Way to Bolinas?
I had heard rumors that the locals try to keep the crowds down by removing the road signs directing visitors to their beach and was surprised when we discovered it to be true. But, thanks to our handy GPS, we were able to find it without too much trouble.

It was great being so close to the ocean. Simon had no fear of the huge waves and it was quite a job to keep him from running right into the water.

The Long and Windy Road to San Francisco
We came up with a plan to keep our days filled and ensure we saw everything there was to see on our trip, but the one thing we didn't account for was the very windy road between San Francisco and Bolinas. I think everyone felt the pain of taking those many turns.

We made the trek into San Francisco quite a few times and were able to show Simon Fisherman's Wharf, the zoo, China Town as well as give him his first ride on a cable car. But, I bet if we asked him, the stop at Ghiradelli Square for some delicious ice cream would definitely be the highlight of the trip.

The adults also headed into the city another time to watch the Giants game while Grandma, Auntie Charissa and cousin Lea stayed behind to watch the kids. I'm sure they had quite an adventure of their own!

Amazed by the Woods

Our day trip to Muir Woods was beautiful. Luckily we planned the visit on a less crowded weekday, I can't imagine what it would be like on a weekend. Simon liked exploring the trails from the comfort of his stroller, but he loved getting out to see the sights with the other kids. It was a great place to spend the day.

The Big Bonfire

Of course, our trip to the beach wasn't complete without a big bonfire. The signs forbidding them and threatening fines caused us to pause just for a minute as we made our way down the beach where it was obvious we weren't the first to ignore the posted warnings. Once the fire was up and running, the kids set out to make their perfect smores. It was the perfect end to a great trip.

Check out the rest of our photos here!