The wonderful world of Disney

It's a 7 hour drive from San Francisco to Anaheim. The I5 was long, hot and surprisingly straight with barren, dry fields as far as the eye can see, dotted with incredibly lush (as a result of heavy and apparently contentious irrigation) farmland.  Los Angeles lives up to its reputation and is one big traffic jam from start to finish.

For the next four days we will eat, sleep and breath Disney. From the moment we wake up to the minute we crash out in the evening, Disney will be our life. I for one am very excited!

Princesses Rose and Isla with Snow White

The girls donned their princess dresses and we entered the gates of this all consuming land at 9.30am this morning. The children were stunned into silence as Alice and the Mad Hatter danced around to the brass band just inside the main gates. In fact, Rose has been wide eyed and open mouthed for most of the day. There are princesses everywhere  - Aurora, Snow White, Ariel, Cinderella, Jasmine. It's magical (with a lot of rules to control the fun!).

.....................!!!!

Day 4
We have managed to leave Disney unharmed and full of happy thoughts. Honestly, it was really good fun and the children loved it.  We have discussed 'best bits' and they are as follows....

Star Tours - The new Star Wars 4 minute simulator. The queues were up to 2 hours long but we got Fast Passes for Dave, Owen and Rose. C3PO saves the day.
Total number of visits: 3

Buzz Lightyear Lazar Challenge - We ALL loved this. In 2's or 3's you are sat in a car on tracks and propelled round the course. Nothing special so far... but each player is equipped with a laser gun and instructed by Buzz himself to defend the little green aliens and attack Zurg. There was a lot of red light beams directed at who knows what but we all scored points and became super star pilots or something like that.
Total number of visits: 5

Princesses on Parade - Disneyland would not be complete without its princesses and Isla and Rose managed to find quite a lot of them over our visit. We have signed autographs from Cinderella, Snow White, Tiana!!!!!, Ariel and Sleeping Beauty. Isla was a bit sad to miss out on seeing Jasmine but did manage a lesson in drinking tea with Tink and a dance lesson at the royal court.
Total number of visits: Loads

Jedi Training - Young Jedis received their training from a true Jedi knight. They were donned with cape and training light saber and taught the correct moves to defeat the DARK Side. Suddenly, during the  training who should appear but Darth Vader and Darth Maul!!! WOW so cool. And then, each of the young Jedi's got to fight them with their newly obtained skills.
Total number of visits: 2

It's a small world: And it surely is. The people in this are little but oh so cute. This was Isla's favorite ride. She waved at the little dancing dolls all the way round.

Total number of visits: 2

Dave liked the white water ride best!

Watering hole

Many find the beauty of Yosemite unmatched by anything they have every encountered before that they return again and again, year after year, finding new trails to explore or stunning landscapes to photograph. The more  agile are compelled to climb the exquisite mountains and find new angles in which to scale the infamous El Capitan.  There is an article and video in the National Geographic about an athlete called Dean Potter who has live in Yosemite for 17 years. For an adrenalin junkie he is quite amazing and we have been inspired and a little frightened by his skill and lack of fear in the search for new ways to explore Yosemite's greatness.

"It feels like I'm hovering in space," says Dean Potter, perched on a highline above Yosemite Falls. Gusting winds and blinding mist make it tough to balance on the inch-thick rope 2,600 feet above the valley, but a tether attached to his waist protects him from disaster.

The draw of Yosemite is so strong that we have returned a second time for an extra long weekend of trekking and scrambles. We have no chance of climbing a steep hill let a lone El Capitan or base jumping off Half Dome but we have come to explore none the less in the Webster's own special way.

We are back at Yosemite Bug and it is everything it was a few months ago. We are in the next door cabin from last time (which is a hit as it has bunk beds) but it still offers the same quaint charm with antique furniture and patchwork eiderdowns. Diner is a wonderful collection of fresh and well seasoned home cooked food exploring the flavours of mexico and the med and some wholesome American blueberry pie. Breakfast offers American pancakes, eggs with anything and everything and fruit. An energy building start to the day.

Its HOT.
As we drove to Yosemite Bug the temperature on the car thermometer reads 96 degrees. So much hotter that we have been used to in San Francisco or even inland in Marin County. After the 3 hour drive the children didn't want to get back in the car for a further hour into the park so we followed one of the trails here at the Bug.

A steep sandy, quite unstable, and rather fun path lead us to a fresh water stream. After a few wrong turns, a bit of rock climbing and some rather traitorous sand slides we eventually found the ever talked about Watering Hole.

WOW..........

An oasis of calm with the constant accompaniment of a 8 foot waterfall. The water is deep and crystal clear. It is surrounded by very slippery rocks and enclosed in a forest of pine. There was no one around. After laying down a few safety rules (very boring and not worth mentioning) we took pleasure in yet another 'first'. Although the romantic idea of swimming free from inhibitions in a crystal clear pool rather appeals, the reality of the water temperature put a stop to that silliness and I left the craziness up to the children. Owen and Rose found that by soaking the rock with water it became the most fantastic water slide and Isla found the whole experience hysterical as usual.

While the changing seasons bring new sights in the living nature that inhabits Yosemite, many things stay the same, as they have for hundreds of years. On our previous visit in May the early spring sun was melting the frozen mountain snow resulting in the most amazing waterfalls we have ever witnessed. The Merced River ran fast and deep, collecting the melted snow and dragging it along. In late July the air temperatures are up in the 90s and The River is calm. The power of the current is still evident and the water is still coming from the last of the frozen snow high in the mountains but the water level is much lower and it runs clear over the rocks. ( We heard that there were still people skying on the 4th July). The lower level reveals beautiful coarse granite beaches that invite us to the waters edge. Here the challenge was set. For an undisclosed financial bribe and after a little wading, Owen, Rose and Isla stripped off for a full body submersion in the freezing water. Owen even swam. I am in awe and he is my hero!!!!!! Although he had to go commando for the rest of the day.

Owen, Rose and Isla are now Junior Ranger at Yosemite National Park. The most exciting bit of becoming a Junior Ranger was having to pick up a bag of 'trash' from along the trails. To become a ranger they had to go on a trail, write about what they could see, hear, smell and touch and then attend a ranger lead programme writing about what they learnt. Buckshot (that's the name he gave!) took us on a wonderful stage coach ride in Wawona imparting loads of useful facts. Did you know that the name Wawona comes from the indian word for Hoot of an Owl or that it takes 36 hours by stage coach from Yosemite to San Francisco or a whole day to the Yosemite valley with 3 changes of horses or that each traveller was allocated 15" of shoulder room....?

The final question was to contemplate the reasons why people become rangers. Both Owen and Rose came up with well thought through reasons but Isla still doesn't really know what their job is let along why they would want to do it.

The Junior Ranger Pledge:
“I am proud to be a National Park Service Junior Ranger. I promise to appreciate, respect, and protect all national parks. I also promise to continue learning about the landscape, plants, animals and history of these special places. I will share what I learn with my friends and family.”

Wine Country and Sea Stars

Time is running out so we are squeezing as many trips away into the next two months as we can.

Last weekend took us to Monterey and Pacific Grove. Our trip was mainly focused around Owen's awesome diving experience. A two hour session at the aquarium with a team of experts giving tuition in small groups of 3. We have all been looking forward to this since before leaving England when we were showing the children some of the places we might visit in California. The children weren't actually able to go 'under' the water, more surface diving, but awesome all the same to be able to wear a dry suit and all the breathing apparatus. Owen saw a monkey faced eel which his instructor fed, they also saw numerous sea stars including a pink one and of course hermit crabs. One of the instructors told the children that if they didn't see hermit crabs then they needed their eyes tested - Owen found this quite funny. 

The girls didn't miss out either, while the dive was in progress there was the opportunity to go 'bucket diving'. This basically consisted of Rose, and Isla, putting on goggles and being able to experience breathing under water in a bucket using the same breathing equipment the older children were using.

I would fully recommend this experience to any child between 8 and 13 years old. Totally cool. The Great Tide Pool is the aquarium's superb outdoor classroom that literally drops off into the Pacific Ocean. It is designed in a way that it is constantly connected to the sea but it is difficult for the wild sea otters and sea lions to get in.

We stayed a short distance out of Monterey at the Asilomar Conference Centre. This is an historic site in Pacific Grove with picturesque boardwalks through the dunes leading to a beautiful white sand beach littered with shells, obscure seaweed and beautiful tide pools ready for exploring.

For me this beach IS California. What I imagined anyway. And this is the same for many of the beaches along the famous 17 mile drive (Pebble Beach Golf Course and the US Open if you are into golf, which I am not). 

This weekend we have headed in the opposite direction, north over the bridge, and have landed in Wine Country. Calistoga to be exact. Its about an hour and 1/2 drive from the city if we'd have put the right destination in the sat nav. Instead it took about 2 1/2 hours. Beautiful countryside though.

Mountain Home Ranch is a bit like Yosemite Bug but a little more 'rustic'. The cabins are basic but adequate and the buildings are a little tired but the atmosphere is laid back and outdoors. Its 9pm as I write this and there are still children playing in the outdoor pool. Ironically our cabin is called Peace.

The owner took us up to see the horses today and the children were allowed to groom one of them. There is a basket of carrots in the dinning room to take (one for each hand) and feed the goats and horses too.

Today we have swam in two pools ( a heated one and a "refreshing" one), looked for eggs, played basketball, drunk hot chocolate, eat tea looking over the valley circled by turkey vultures and fed the horses and goats.

Tonight we are reading on our veranda and preparing for our next adventure.........

Owen (and Daddy's) Birthday Present

Owen is Harry Potter mad. Actually, that's a bit of an understatement. He lives and breathes HP. He's on the fifth book, having started reading them only a couple of months ago when Kitty Taylor came to stay. And he was Harry Potter crazy before he'd even started reading the books. So when July 2 came around, we thought we'd treat him (yes him, not me) to what appeared to me to be one of the all time most exciting Lego sets.

Come the morning of the big day, we started working our way through the presents (order specified by a very, very excited Rosie). Only a few presents in and Owen opened the Lego

Quidditch from Keith and Halycon. This was a monster hit as he'd actually seen this just a few weeks ago and said how much he wanted it. Halcyon had already decided on this present for him so that must be fate, right? Last up was the big box - Hogwarts. We assembled Quidditch before we headed off out for the day and began Hogwarts on our return that evening. Jo thought it would be good to record our progress through the 1290 pieces in 10 bags, so here goes.

10 bags in the box...

Bag 1...

....done

Bag 2...

... done

Wearing PJs for bag 3...

... done

and from the other side.

Last one before bed. Bag 4...

... done

and from the front.

Next day and after dull stuff like breakfast and a bath we're on to bag 5...

... done and now for Book 2 of the instructions!

Bag 6 turns out to be 6 & 7.

but hunger calls so we take a break...

We return after lunch and jazz to complete the dining hall.

Bag 8 next...

... done!

It's looking good now.

Nearly there now - bag 9...

... done.

and a close up.

Last but not least. Bag 10...

... finished (the back)

and the front.

AWESOME!!!!

Now, what other sets do they have?

Adventure Playgound

Totally Inspired. 

We have just had the best day and I have to write about it right now.

The Adventure Playground at the Berkeley Marina is a work of genius. The playground encourages children to build their own play equipment; forts, boats, towers, tents.....

Under adult supervision, children are given access to hammers, saws, clamps or paint in exchange for finding discarded nails, litter, large splinters or Mr Dangerous!!! 

Dotted around the playground are large racks of wood to be used in any which way the children want. There are already well established constructions that can be added to and played on or you may just choose to start your own project from scratch - we did a bit of both.

The concept for Adventure Playgrounds apparently originated in Europe after World War II, where a playground designer studied children playing in the "normal" asphalt and cement playgrounds. He found that they preferred playing in dirt and lumber from the post war rubble. He realized that children had the most fun designing and building their own equipment and manipulating their environment.

At first the children didn't quite know how to get involved. They were unsure about the 'rules' and where they could add their own design ideas. But as the hours ticked by they soon got the hang of things and were backwards and forwards to the workshop exchanging tools and collecting nails for the next wooden addition. By the end of the afternoon, Owen had moved on from adding to existing projects for making his own tent using and old windsurf sail.
        
















I'm thinking that this would be a fantastic addition to Southwold, Reydon or Wrentham. It has definitely inspired me to allow the children a little more of a free rain with the tree house when we get home. I see painted rainbows and home made flags, little wooden chairs and a whole host of 'secret camp' things made with scraps of wood and the odd nail.

Liquid or solid?

I have been searching in vain for appropriate activities to do in a wet city with the children. San Francisco is such and 'outdoors' city that most of its attractions and adventures feature being outside. And to top that, ALL the museums are closed on Mondays - and today is monday, and its raining and the girls are on holiday from nursery for a week together with Owen.

Then I found 'Gak'. So much fun......messy, but fun. Defiantly not an activity for when Dave is at home!
There are lots of variations on this theme but this seems to be the easiest and more of a 'store cupboard don't need to leave the house' kind of recipe.

You will need:

• to be calm in body and mind before embarking on this project. Its fun science but be prepared.
• cornstarch
• warm water
• food colouring (optional)
• a plastic container and spoon for mixing
• a BIG plastic tablecloth

Start by measuring 1 cup of cornstarch into the plastic container.

Gradually add up to 1/2 cup of water to the cornstarch. You can mix this with a spoon or hands!

The consistency of the mix will go from a powder to a smooth liquid that is not too runny. It needs to be able to run smoothly but slowly.

Add a few drops of food colouring and mix through.

And then have lots of messy fun!

'Gak' turns from a liquid to a solid when touched and then back into a liquid again.  You can form it into a ball and, if the consistency is right, you can snap it. The photos do not do it justice as it always looks like a liquid but it was amazing.

We could pick it up and mold it into a ball and then when it was dropped on to the mat it turned into liquid again. Apparently the scientific word is a polymer.

Owen has thought of loads of uses for it and games to play in the garden with friends, even tricks for halloween. We have also carried on our science experiment by mixing dyes together and then coloured 'Gak' to see what different colours we can make. We even have a pot in the fridge to see what effect temperature has on the mix.

The mixture will store in an air tight container for up to two weeks. If it dries out then just add a little more water and mix well. If you spill it in unwanted places then just let it dry and brush it away. It returns to a powdered form.

I hope you have enjoyed this and that you try it too. So much fun....

Love Jo