Claymation

Went to Zeum and made some clay figures with the kids and was able to get the last spot on the waiting list to make the following Claymation featuring Tigger meeting ET, a bunny, and a girl doing her cartwheels (can you guess who made each figure ?). Enjoy:

2011 Summer Road Trip - Day 5

On our way back home, we stopped by Solvang, then made impromptu stops to a lavendar farm and Nojoqui Falls after checking out ostriches and emus. Nojoqui was such a nice spot that we definitely want to go back after a rainy season to see it at its full splendor.

2011 Summer Road Trip - Day 4

After a leisurely tour of San Diego and La Jolla, we spent an entire day at Legoland:

2011 Summer Road Trip - Day 3

After a full day at Sea World, we thought about hitting the San Diego Zoo or kayaking at La Jolla, but opted to take it easy and went on a harbor cruise. We would have never considered it had it not been part of our lodging package, but it was a nice interesting leisurely ride. Hanging out at Balboa Park and La Jolla (both last-minute decisions) were also fun:

2011 Summer Road Trip - Day 2

Visiting these mega parks on a weekday kept our day sane and smooth. We were able to leisurely see all 4 shows (Shamu, Cirque de la Mer, Sea Lions, Pets), a 4-D movie, ride on the cable car and Sky Tower, feed sea lions, touch a dolphin, get on a wild arctic ride, check out sharks, penguins, polar bears and various marine life and around the park, all with minimal wait times and crowds. Enjoy:

2011 Summer Road Trip - Day 1

This trip proved that kids don't always need big amusement parks to have lots of fun. Sure - they enjoyed Sea World and Legoland, but playing at beaches and skipping rocks underneath a waterfall brought just as many giggles (if not more). I also found last-minute spontaneous activities can end up being highlights of a trip. The stops at all the beaches, an obscure county park, and many other places were totally unplanned, but many of them were what made the trip special.

Originally we were going to hit the major attractions using a discount pass that required going to different theme parks on consecutive days, but then decided to take it easy and play it by ear as we go. After finding a good deal at a Newport Beach hotel, we stopped there the first day to break up the long drive to San Diego. The ferry ride, beach, and museum the following day were all last-minute destinations. It happened to be a free day at New Children's Museum that day, and a couple of hours there before closing was a perfect way to end our first SoCal day.

Backyard Sighting

The kids were arguing what type of bird is in our backyard one morning - imagine my surprise when I saw this:

Although we've had a couple of wild turkey sightings in the neighborhood - they were quite a few miles away and little did I think one would come roam right in our yard !

Lunar New Year Flower Market

I've always wanted to check out the SF botanical garden, so this Flower Market event was the perfect excuse to go. Although we did so much in the pavilion that the kids got exhausted and we didn't get to walk around garden much, we had lots of fun watching acrobats, lion dance, chinese instruments, dancing, making crafts, and trying out chinese painting.

Although this 花市 is not very traditonally "Chinese", it's very nice and airy and much less crowded than the one in Chinatown - highly recommended - we'll probably go again next year :)