Peter chafes at absurd rules, and one of these is the rules that we can’t buy or shoot off fireworks for the fourth of July in our Californian town, despite the fact that budget cuts have also cancelled the annual downtown festival where we had a public display. So, one recent weekend, he drove all [...]
I have an entire blog about the upcoming, er, proposed, closure of selected California State Parks, but it is out of context without a rant about the cynicism, demagoguery, and manipulation of the members of the California State Legislature. We have, after all, been at this point before. In 2009, our then-governor vowed to close [...]
A few years ago, we saw Disney California Adventure’s Grizzly Peak Recreation and mocked it for being a weak imitation of one our favorite redwood destinations, Big Basin Park. As it turns out, I was wrong. It’s clearly a Disney-fied Yosemite National Park, albeit missing the massive crowds and cold climate. Inarguably, Yosemite Park has [...]
We just spent two days in Yosemite, enjoying its spectacular beauty. We drove up to Inspiration point and enjoyed the view: We drove further up the mountain near the Badger Point and played in a huge fresh snowfall, throwing snow balls at one another and creating all sorts of snowmen, from a wizard, to a [...]
Before my life took a few unexpected turns last year, I often took Neil and Kelly on field trips, especially when there were school vacations. That wasn’t the case so much at the end of last year, since I was busy working, but now my work is in, as I think of it, a state [...]
I love Arastradero Preserve in Palo Alto, but normally we keep our hikes close to home, especially if we have others joining us. But this week, Neil was at a camp at Stanford, so I figured I’d go on a hike with Kelly while I was there, and invite others willing to make the drive [...]
One of my homeschooler groups organized beach days, but so far, most of the people involved have wussed out on going to the beach unless it’s truly hot. But this Tuesday, I was going to go to the beach, rain or shine, with or without anyone else. So we ended up being the only people [...]
Last Saturday, I went to one of the state parks that’s been threatened (whether genuinely or in the latest round of stupid politician kabuki theatre) with closure, Henry Coe Park. I’d wanted to hike up to Frog Lake for years: it’s a popular fishing hole, according to lore, especially since it’s the lake closest to [...]
A few weeks ago, we went for a homeschoolers’ hike at Villa Montalvo, and to our surprise, we found a banana slug on the way, which delighted the children, particularly the younger ones. So this weekend, I thought I’d take Neil and Kelly out to someplace with loads of banana slugs to look at and [...]
When my fellow homeschooler Kay invited us to ride along with her on a trip to visit the new California Academy of Sciences yesterday, I jumped at the chance. For years now, peering out from the De Young Museum’s observation tower, we’ve watched it being constructed, and it looked awesome. A huge science museum with [...]
