Bubbles in Tiburon

Next stop, Tiburon. Taking the ferry to Tiburon to Sam's Cafe for brunch is the best. Again, perfect day for my friend from Australia. All we needed was an appetite and a full bottle of bubbles and we were off.

Michelle's in Town! First Stop: Monterey & Carmel

Michelle is finally here. My dear friend from Australia who made the experience there worthwhile. She only had a couple of days so we made the most of it by going to the 17-mile drive to Carmel then had lunch in Monterey. The most gorgeous day of the summer. We found the most photographed Cypress tree in the world, had coffee in Carmel, then headed to Monterey pier for some seafood and salt water taffy.

Relaxing in Half Moon Bay

We definitely did not get into the water though many kids did. Sydney was too busy getting the sand out from between her toes most of the time and enjoying the picnic. Nothing beats fresh ocean air whether it's overcast or sunny.

After the beach we did our nursery stop at Half Moon Bay nursery - the best garden center in the Bay Area. Packed the car with hydrangeas, blueberries, cosmos, and cone flowers. During the ride back home, Sydney got her first experience with a big black bug. The discovery happened on her arm at the midspan of the San Mateo bridge. At the first exit, we calmed her down. The bug, however, was not forgotten in her dreams. Cries of "bug","bug","bug" haunted her for the next week. Let's just say, bug is one of the first ten words she learned.

Sydney's First Concert - Raggs

Never failed, every day around 5pm, Sydney would say some of her first words, raggay, raggay, raggay. That means Raggs - the life size dog puppet band playing on PBS. So, of course, when we heard Raggs would be playing a concert at the Oakland Zoo, this was a great opportunity to start her life long love of live music. The place was packed. They played 6 songs, their oldies but goodies - Wag and Wiggle and my personal favorite, Hey Ho What's the Dealio. The free DVD we got at the end has been the most played movie in this house now and for months to come.

Paws Up!