More in Mendocino

Our second venture up to the Mendocino area was vastly more successful than the first.  It turns out that a baby with an ear infection can make all the difference in the world!  We just had a great time all around. This is such a beautiful area and the kids both slept and ate well and were happy. As Jeremy and I drove home we just kept saying, "That was awesome." We couldn't quite believe it had turned out so well.  The train was a hit with all of us, and the next day's adventures were utterly lovely.  After baths and breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and headed for Russian Gulch State Park. Gorgeous.

A misty but sunny morning at Russian Gulch State Park

Oscar needed a nap so into the bjorn he went for most of the duration of our exploration.

Finn loves a family hug

With Oscar in the bjorn on me, Jeremy got the task of trying to keep Finn contained as we walked the coastal cliffs.


 This is the type of place where every turn of my head introduced an awe-inspiring view. We couldn't stop taking pictures.  They are going to do a lot of the talking on this post.

 This white water reminded me of royal icing used on British Christmas cake that my Grandma Bates would make every year.

Being out here did my soul good, I tell you.  Even with a 19 lb baby strapped to my front for 2 hours, I felt like a million bucks.

 We spent a good while playing near the water under the scenic bridge--the perfect spot for rock throwing and finding sticks to poke in the sand.

 

Next we headed up a muddy, wet trail for a little hike.  There was such great variety of mushrooms growing everywhere. It took great effort to protect them from Finn's deliberate trod.

We walked under the bridge pictured above and admired it from this different perspective.

I'm telling you--it was so glorious being out here.

Oscar awakened from his slumber to gaze at the trees towering above him.  Love this.

And at mama.  Love this even more.

We were all beyond hungry by the time we made it back down from our hike to the car. We just went with the tried and true and returned to Egghead's restaurant where we knew there was something for everybody....and Wizard of Oz props for story telling at the table.  This time I tried the grilled cinnamon  bread and had eggs benedict again.  I think I ate 2200 calories in that one sitting. Seriously.  Jeremy had a crepe stuffed with all sorts of spicy and savory goodness.

The kids were awesome on the drive home (which always seems so much longer to me for some reason) and even tolerated a stop off to grocery shop at Trader Joe's so that we could stock the empty cupboards that awaited us at home.