Point Reyes

My sister Janet and her four kids decided to drive to Point Reyes and meet up with us for the day.  Our kids couldn't have been more delighted at the chance to get together again so soon!  They all worked together on their Junior Ranger books, and then we walked on the Earthquake Trail.  We saw a small gopher snake in the parking lot on the way to the trail, and fearless, snake-loving Kyle picked it up!  At first we thought it was dead, but we determined he was just sunning himself.  "Reyes" provided a great deal of entertainment on the trail.  Even the little ones got in on the action, touching it.  Genna declared him "tender." :)  I think they weren't nearly so impressed with the way the fence had moved 16 feet at once in less than one minute as they were with "Reyes."  They were very careful to find the perfect spot for him to continue to sun himself in safety.  Yep, he was definitely the highlight, although they also had lots of fun exploring all the cool trees.

Kyle and his new pet snake

Grant is the big brother Genna wished she had.

This fence moved 16 feet in a minute during the 1906 earthquake.

We also drove out to the lighthouse, which is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and yes, we came on a Tuesday.  Nonetheless, we still walked out to the spot where the gate is closed at the top of the stairs that lead down to the lighthouse.  Wow....it was sooo windy!  40 mph winds are common, with gusts up to 100 mph; 133 mph winds have been recorded there!  The view is amazing though!  You can look down and see the waves continually crashing on the shore, and the sun sparkles like diamonds on the water.

Happy cows

This was as close as we could get to the lighthouse on a Tuesday

Posing with a whale skull

As we were walking back to our vehicles, the cousins were all frolicking together.  Alyssa was hanging with the boys, who were doing what boys do, climbing trees.  Alyssa joined them, of course.  Seeing she was going out further than I wanted her to, I called her back then turned away, thinking she was coming in.  Of course I should have remembered that it was so windy it was hard to hear; next thing we knew she had fallen out of the tree.  Ouch!!  We decided it was time to wrap up our fun & games, put some ice on Alyssa's back & arm, and say our goodbyes.

We were bummed we didn't get to check out the beaches, but we knew we needed to go and keep an eye on Alyssa.  It sure was a treat to get to spend one more day with family!!