Weekend Fun

We had a nice relaxing fun weekend here in Alameda.  Yesterday we spent the morning at the playground and the afternoon hiking in Redwoods Regional Park in the Oakland Hills.  O spent about 3/4ths of the time in the backpack and the other quarter hiking himself.  He really likes hiking, which makes me happy, of course.  We tired him out so much that he actually fell asleep in the car on the 20 minute ride home.  Not a big deal for some kids, but O almost never falls asleep in the car, even when we want him too!

Today, we went out for breakfast at a cute restaurant in Alameda called the Little House.  We sat outside because, true to it's name, the Little House is very very small inside.  Yes, it is August 19th,  and yes, that is a fleece jacket I am wearing.  It was really chilly out this morning!  It seems crazy when so many people are in the grips of record breaking heat waves and here we are, in jackets and long pants.

                                    

                                           

Hyabob!

After breakfast, we headed to the farmer's market in Jack London Square in Oakland. There is a pretty neat play structure there, O was having a blast climbing and balancing.  He is getting pretty good at it, too.

Here he is down by the water looking out at the boats in the Alameda Estuary.

It was a nice weekend.  Tomorrow, Tom gets underway for a week of AtoN work and O and I are back to our regular week day routines.  I think we all prefer the weekends...

Muir Woods

We took a day trip to Muir Woods today.  Our friends from DC, Paul and Kerrie, are here for a couple of days to see the Bay Area (and us).  O is very fixated on Paul, it is pretty cute.   Tom and I took off work today to get out and see a little more of the surroundings.  I have been to Muir Woods before, but it was nice to go with O and with our friends.

O had a great time riding the backpack.  We were able to get off the main boardwalk trail onto one of the shorter side trails too. I got my workout and O got to see the big trees up close.  He really liked the "tunnels".

His favorite part of the day was going in this tunnel with Daddy.  He was so excited and happy.

After Muir Woods, we drove back through San Francisco and made a quick stop overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge.  The day could not have been more perfect, it is unusual to have such a clear day in the summer here.

O seemed to like the view, too.

Happy Birthday Coast Guard

Today is the 222nd birthday of the U.S. Coast Guard - also known as Coast Guard Day.  Yesterday, we went to the Coast Guard Day celebration on the Coast Guard Island in Alameda, or as O called it - the pic-mic.  It was a really big Coast Guard Day picnic, O's favorite part was the fire truck that was there from the Alameda Fire Department.

Look at that smile!  The nice fireman took O down from the truck, and O turned to him and said "Can I stay for one more minute?"  The fireman obliged, of course and told him that he could stay all day if he wanted.  What a little charmer.

O also got to sit in an old Coast Guard surfboat.  He practiced his rowing, if he keeps practicing maybe he will be ready for the Olympics in 16 years or so...

 In other exciting O news, he got a new sand and water table for the garden yesterday.  We have been keeping an eye on the local toy consignment shop, and scored this find yesterday.

He is pretty thrilled with it.  I think he played there for over an hour last night, and that was before we bought sand for it!

Happy Coast Guard Day!