Not Quite Muir Woods

This morning we left early, hoping to beat the crowds at the popular Muir Woods across the bay in Marin County. We have heard it is a very beautiful, accessible forest trail, but also notoriously crowded and short on parking. By 9:30 it was already packed and the closest we could park was still too far for our kids relatively short hiking energy span. So we decided to do a less-travelled trail right near the car, which ended up taking us through forest and then into a pretty meadow. The kids loved helping Steve use his flower identification guide each time we came across a new wildflower.

Our lunch stop and turnaround point...

A few highlights from this past week: watching tree-felling across the street,

playing with the baking soda and vinegar tray,

and making this cake, which didn't taste all that good but got devoured anyway.

Last weekend we flew to Seattle and gathered with my mom's side of the family for a memorial ceremony for my grandparents. Their ashes are being placed in a veteran's cemetery near Seattle and it was a lovely time to remember them, and a fun gathering with family that I hadn't seen in many years.  Pictures to come...