Early Fall

The girls have had a good time outside lately, now that the weather is cooler. More photos posted here: Early Fall


And here is a video of Elizabeth and Anna doing an Elvis-inspired kitty-cat thing:

Back to School

Elizabeth started Kindergarten this year and Anna is a Redbird at West Ghent School. Elizabeth has been very excited about learning to read and enhancing her writing skills. Anna has enjoyed meeting new friends and occasionally eating lunch with her sister and the other big kids. Photos are loaded here: Back to School

Santa Barbara, CA

We drove back to civilization about 20 miles south and stayed for two days and nights in Santa Barbara. What a beautiful city. We thoroughly enjoyed relaxing on the beaches and exploring the many sites of this very Mediterranean-like town. Photos from Santa Barbara and the rest of our trip mentioned in the posts below can be viewed in several albums here: California

El Capitan Canyon

We spent the next two days and nights up the coast past Santa Barbara at a place called El Capitan Canyon. The Canyon has a creek that empties right into the Pacific where a nice state park and beach are located. Camping here is very "comfortable" with cabins that have all the amenities and a market on site to cook all of your meals. The girls were able to ride on a horse for the first time at a nearby ranch. Our last night there we enjoyed cooking hotdogs and s'mores on the campfire.

Disneyland

After our weekend in Pasadena, we went to Disneyland for the day and stayed the night. The girls were so excited to have a private meeting with Sleeping Beauty, to see the Parade of Dreams and to ride in a submarine to find Nemo. I think Rusty and Kit has as much fun as Elizabeth and Anna.

Malibu, CA

On Saturday, several of us went to Malibu beach to the point break made famous by Mickey Dora and Hollywood in the 1960's. There was a perfect SSW swell coming in and it was so much fun to ride. Very long waist to chest high sets that peel off of the point. There was also some very inspirational activity going on as pro longboarder, Jimmy Gamboa and friends gave kids with autism some awesome tandem rides as part of the Surfer's Healing program. Take a look at the highlights here: Surfline

Pasadena, CA

We spent several days with Ashley and Jegit in Pasadena to celebrate his completion of medical school residency. The weather was over 100 degrees, but its a dry heat. The beauty of the mountains and hospitality of our hosts made for a wonderful visit.