Ollie's Santa Cruz adventure

This was Oliver's (and Katie's) first visit to Santa Cruz. We started with a ride  down Highway 9 through the mountain towns (Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond, Felton) and then began our Santa Cruz adventure at the venerable Upper Crust with some pizza and beer.

Next, it was off to the Santa Cruz Surfing Monument and then Natural Bridges State Park for some beach time (where, per usual, Oliver made lots of new friends).

Finally, Thai food with my dear old friend Marie.

We're looking forward to going back soon for a ride on the steam trains!

                                        Pizza & Beer at the Upper Crust.

                              Heavy wind at the Santa Cruz Surfing Monument.

                                                    Thai food with Marie!

Lots more in the galleries starting on this page.

Ollie has a play-date with Jackson, Will, and Chloe

Oliver recently made some new friends at one of our local playgrounds and they are some very special friends, indeed. Nine-year old Jackson and his five-year old brother, Will, really hit it off with Ollie last week. It's quite unusual for kids who are so much older than Oliver to take an interest in him to the extent that they did, spending hours indulging his every whim and treating him like family. I don't think Ollie ever had as much fun at a playground as he did with Jackson and Will.

Everyone had such a good time that we all decided to meet again for another round of fun! This time, Jackson and Will brought along their friend, nine-year-old Chloe and, once again, a wonderful time was had by all. Thank you Nathalie & Bob for sharing your very cool kids with Oliver!

Clicking on any of the photos below will open a larger version in the galleries.

               Ollie does his special trick of letting out a primal yelp while levitating. ;-)

There are more photos from Ollie's play-date in my galleries, beginning on this page. There are also photos from last week's playground session with Ollie, Jackson, and Will, all of which are on this page.

Ollie & Mei have a footrace at the playground...

...to see who can jump into the bushes first. Looks like a tie to me.

Ollie's (temporary) new hairdo

This is what happens when you turn your back for even one minute at a party...

Oliver takes a hike in Muir Woods

And hike he did - almost all the way to the top of the Oceanview Trail! He would have kept going (in fact, he tried to) but it was starting to get dark and the park would soon be closing, so we had to turn around and head back to the parking area before the ranger came and eighty-sixed us.

Ollie was very curious about all the different types of flora he saw along the trail, and was equally enamored of the fauna we encountered: a baby deer and a banana slug.

A wonderful time was had by all. Ollie got to experience nature up-close, Mommy got to hug some trees, and I got to practice my photography in some very challenging, high-contrast light.

 

Lots more pictures of Ollie at Muir Woods are in the galleries beginning on this page. Any of the above images can be clicked to view a larger version.