Traveling Circus: Bodega Bay

 Each morning at the beach house, Titus would awake before everyone else (of course.)  In order to get him out of the house so everyone else could rest (and try to squeeze in a little exercise,) he and I would go for a walk every morning. 

 On our second morning there, these friends greeted us as we came down the driveway.

 I felt like I was in the botanical gardens or something because everywhere I looked there were different kinds of plants and flowers.

 These wild daisies were, of course, a favorite.

 I couldn't get over how green it was everywhere we looked.

 The photos are grainy because the light was bad when we would hike early in the day, but it was so refreshingly beautiful.  These English-isle-like rock formations were incredible.  The boys loved hiking down and climbing on them.  Brian thought he was Braveheart.

 When Titus and I would return to the beach house, the boys would be planning an adventure and Rachel would be making breakfast.  She took care of the whole clan the whole time we were there.

 On our second day at the beach we drove north to Bodega Bay. 

After driving around the bay we hiked all around Bodega Head.

Thanks to the generosity of our great friends the McKinley's, Siena got to ride in this comfy backpack for the duration of the hike.

The combination of colors, plants, rocks, and fog was unlike any coastline I've ever seen before.

 This strangely-shaped grove of trees was nick-named Terabithia.  The kids could have used their imaginations all day in there.

 These California poppies were everywhere.  Sometimes orange, sometimes yellow, sometimes both, always smiling.

Bodega Head is known for it's fantastic whale-watching this time of year.  Our clan wasn't quite patient enough to wait for the whales, but we got to watch TONS of seals playing in the water.  We could have watched them for hours.

 Isaac got tired of hiking quickly (he still tires very easily) and begged to be carried.  Titus, however, did not want to be carried but thought it would be fun to see what was over the edge of the cliffs we were hiking so very close to.

 After hiking Bodega Head, we went to a local fish house for lunch.  It was built right on the pier so we could watch the seals play in the water while we ate.  The crabs and lobsters in this photo were fresh from the bay.  I had one on my salad for lunch.

 After lunch we went to the UC Davis Marine Biology Lab located right in Bodega Bay.  We lucked out that we were visiting on the very day they open to the public.  Our docent was SO GREAT with the kids.  They learned a ton about the ocean.

 We even got to hold sea stars and sea urchins and learn about how they eat and move.

 I had never touched one of these before and always called them starfish, but the docent informed us that their proper name is "sea star" since they are not fish.

 
Our day at Bodega Bay was a grand success.  We are so thankful for this family for showing us such a good time.
And I am so thankful that this family is forever mine.