I guess we have been M.I.A. around here lately. Life lately has been very “full”, so it is a bit crazy, but good. Two weekends ago, k’s basketball team won their first tournament. They went 3-0, and the middle game was a nail-biter! All of the parents were going crazy, but k seemed to handle the pressure well. After the game D asked if it was irrational for us to get so worked up about a fourth grade game. Looking back, it was, but it is difficult not to get wrapped up in the excitement!
Did you know D is on Instagram now? I find myself relying on him to take more pictures with his phone now, too.
I am so proud of these girls. They have come a long way. We will be adding three new girls to the roster this season, so it was nice to do well in our last tournament as the “original 7”.
To cap off my birthday weekend, we went to the California Science Center after church. The main reason for our visit was to watch the National Parks Adventure movie in IMAX 3D. We also wanted to check out the Spaceship Endeavour.
While waiting for the movie we checked out the gift shop. Is that Hello Kitty spaceship pin not the cutest? However, I resisted the temptation ($8.99 each).
The movie, narrated by Robert Redford, was inspirational and fun to watch. I am not sure how much longer it will be playing, but watch it if you have the chance.
If you buy IMAX tickets, you do not have to make timed reservations to see the Spaceship Endeavour.
Watching the short movie right before viewing the shuttle makes you realize what a crazy feat it was to transport it to the museum.
There is a lot to explore here. Pretty good deal since admission is free; parking is $12.
We found our neighborhood.
It’s a good thing that the Rams were not playing at home that weekend.
In the spirit of “keeping it real”, and so that no one is deceived into thinking that our kids are always perfectly behaved, they had a meltdown/argument on the way home. Over a water bottle…really??
D also grilled steaks in the backyard on Saturday night. We ate outside, which was n’s idea. Overall, it was a wonderful birthday weekend. So fun to adventure with this crew.
Our next stop was Willowbrook Apple Farm. They opened at 10 a.m., but there was already line at 9:30. I think it was especially crowded since it was opening weekend. It was definitely more crowded than when we went five years ago.
There was one large group already in line that was serious about their annual apple picking tradition, with matching shirts!
Once the gate opened, there are two lines, one for pressing cider, and one for picking apples. We opted for the cider line since I knew the line back up faster. We made a half gallon, so the kids were told to fill up the bucket 3/4 of the way.
I liked how the netting for the apple cider station kept the bees away.
There are two presses available, and we were second in line, so there was no wait! The kids took turns feeding the hopper and turning the crank.
Next came the pressing by turning the wooden handle.
And voila! Apple cider! This was our first time doing this, so it was fun and interesting.
The person helping us was friendly and patient, as were all the staff we encountered here.
Here’s some video footage of the process. It is not the most riveting to watch, but it does provide a better sense of the experience.
Next we had to stand in line to pick apples. We killed time by tasting some cider and honey samples.
It was warming up by then, so n found respite in some shade.
Once our group was let on the property, we were given apple-picking instructions. We opted for the three pound bag, which you are allowed to fill up as long as the apples all fit inside.
Because it was the very beginning of the season, there was a lot of low-lying fruit, and apple pickers were not necessary.
These Winesap apple trees are over 100 years old!
Love this pic! I’m pretty sure this will be the last year n will be able to sit on D’s shoulders!
Once we were done picking, there was a long line to pay on the way out. We had to hurry since k had basketball practice, so we were not able to make any other stops. As a note for next time, I am curious about the signs I saw for apple burritos.
The last time we went to Oak Glen, k and n looked like this. Are you kidding me? Time truly does go by so fast! In that post I thought we would go to Oak Glen about every other year. Well, it took us five years to return, and it was still fun! Five years ago I did not realize that our fall weekends would be filled with basketball practices and soccer games, making it difficult to fit in family outings like this.
I referred back to my original blog post in planning this outing. Our first stop was to buy a crumb topped apple pie at Law’s Coffee Shop since we did not have a chance to try it last time.
Our next stop was Snow Line Orchard for cider donuts and apple cider. Last time I did not let the kids sample the “gently pasteurized” apple cider. This time I did not give it a second thought.
I love how they let you sample different types of apples here. We ended up buying a mini bag of Jonagold apples. D also really liked the Shizuka apples, but they were only sold in a $18 bag, so we passed.
Eyeing the freshly fried mini donuts. I think the price went up about 50 cents since five years ago, but still a good deal.
D’s sportin’ his new Oakley transition glasses, which came in handy for this picture in the sun.
We sat right by the U-pick raspberry patch, which I think just ended. There were a few left.
I really like the property here. It feels spacious and not overly commercialized.
n found this fall leaf, which we do not see much of around where we live, so I took a picture.
Wokcano is part of a restaurant chain and one just opened up by our house. The building has been in the works for a long time now, and D would comment that he wanted to go there almost every time we passed by. I am not sure what appealed to him, but when I saw that there was a coupon for a free entrée on your birthday, I knew we had to go. D was traveling for business on his birthday and he was supposed to travel on my birthday as well. As it turns out, he was able to be home for my birthday on Friday. After I took k to hula practice, we went to dinner just after 7 p.m., which is VERY late for us.
The first thing I noticed upon walking in the restaurant is the noise level. This is not a place that my parents would like to visit! There is loud music, making it necessary for everyone to raise their voices in order to carry on a conversation. The décor is pretty upscale. It has a “club vibe”, which feels weird in this decidedly surburban big box shopping center. There were a lot of families, most of whom were quite casual, so we didn’t feel out of place.
Our waiter was an enthusiastic young Asian American guy. He was helpful in guiding us through the menu.
We made two of our entrees a complete dinner for $4, which adds on a salad, bowl of hot and sour soup or miso soup, and rice. Since the entrees are priced so high, I would expect this to come with the entrée. The dressing was good, but there was too much. I always like hot and sour soup, which worked out since the kids preferred the miso soup.
Black Pepper Beef Mignon (very tender) & Chicken Lo Mein (kids’ favorite).
Grilled Seabass (most expensive dish, used birthday coupon). This was ok…kind of dry, and not too much flavor.
Even though this picture is grainy, I like it because it conveys the extra happy mood that k was in that night.
D insists that if he had an unlimited amount of money, he would eat here every week. Since I do not foresee that happening anytime soon, it will probably be a while before our next visit!
When I picked up n from school today he had a sly smile on his face. He then told me that he lost his tooth! It had become pretty wiggly the past week, so it was not too surprising. However, we have been waiting a long time for this day. In kindergarten and first grade, teachers made a big deal about losing teeth, but n’s teeth were not budging back then. I thought I was in third grade when I lost my first tooth, which would have been really late, but maybe my memory is not the most accurate. Because n lost his tooth at school, he was able to get a treasure chest from the nurse to keep his tooth in!
His adult tooth looks huge in comparison to his tiny baby teeth. He’s growing up! sniff, sniff.
I made this tooth fairy bag just a couple of days ago, since I knew the day was coming soon. Too bad he already knows the tooth fairy story thanks to having an older sister who started losing teeth four years ago.
D turned 40 yesterday, while he was on a business trip in San Diego. We had a small family celebration the day before. He was gone for most of the day at the Rams game (also with work), so the kids and I had a lot of time to buy presents and decorate.
I found the idea on Pinterest to thread baker’s twine with a needle through the balloon ends to make a garland. It worked out quite nicely.
I won this Ugly Christmas Sweater, which D will be proudly sporting once the weather turns cooler. We also bought him khaki pants, socks, new water belt bottles and Shot Bloks. Hopefully we’ll be able to go on a fun vacation to properly celebrate. D always says he values experiences over things. Maybe we can make it a joint celebration since I will be turning forty next year!
I wonder how long this revegetation project has been going on?
Sea kayaking in the caves seems like it would be really fun, but I think the kids are a bit too young. Plus, there are no rentals on the Islands. You need to arrange to have kayaks brought on the boat from the mainland and it is not cheap.
Our boat was already waiting for us, but we still had some time. I was able to change our departure time to 4:00 from 5:00 even though it was already when I made online reservations.
k found her initials on a rock.
To finish our day, we did some exploring near the water.
The water was so clear!
They waded in, and n’s slipper was swept away by the current!
Luckily, this nice gentleman was nearby and was able to rescue it!
The facilities on the island are pretty bare bones, as expected. The visitor center is more of a kiosk. There are only pit toilets.
There was a docent who led a guided tour with our group that just landed. We started out with him, but we soon departed for our own self-guided tour.
He had a lot of knowledge about the plants on the island.
These cherries looked good, but they tasted awful.
We found a cozy table near the campsite to eat our Subway sandwich lunch.
D experimented with this head scarf thing that I won. This is the “bandit” look.
This is the “headband” look.
We were fortunate to have several spottings of the island fox near the campsite. n wants me to mention that this fox is endemic to the island, so there is a fun factoid.
After lunch we started on the Cavern Point Hike loop. A good tip is to go past the campsite and go clockwise to avoid a really steep climb.
Our load was somewhat lighter after we ate our lunch, but we still had to carry more than usual.
When we reached the top of our hike, we went to the left a little for a glimpse of Potato Harbor.
The cliffs are quite dramatic.
I need to remember to clear our junk for pictures!
We had reservations with Island Packers to leave from Ventura Harbor at 9 a.m. The plan was to buy breakfast and some Subway beforehand. I had thought that the dock was about 20 minutes away, so I had a mild panic attack when the GPS said it would take us an hour! Fortunately, it was just a glitch, so we were able to arrive on time (i.e., early).
There was a large group of students from Pomona College that had a bunch of camping gear, so they loaded first. Our plan was to just stay for the day since we were not up for a hike-in camping experience.
Having had some boat experience, we grabbed an inside table first thing. Once the boat started, we were free to roam the cabin and surrounding deck. I am prone to motion sickness, so I prepared myself by taking Dramamine beforehand. I also had an arsenal of mango ginger candy from Trader Joe’s and ginger ale. Almost as soon as the boat started, it was a REALLY bumpy ride. The waves were incredibly choppy, so I headed towards the back of the boat and kept my eyes on the horizon. Meanwhile, the kids were thrilled and headed to the front with D so they could fully experience the impact of each wave. I think it is safe to say that our kids do not get seasick!
The captain called everyone’s attention to a school of dolphins that were nearby.
There were so many of them and we were told that they like to “play” in the wake of the boat. So cute!
Because they are so fast, it was difficult to get good shots of them. D took a video which captures more of their movement.
Yes, we had some Chinese tourists with us. Yes, we can laugh at their accent/comments, but only because D is also Chinese! haha.
Our destination was Santa Cruz Island, Scorpion Ranch. Because a recent storm damaged the landing pier, we had to unload by skiff. I was a little apprehensive about this after watching the video on the Island Packers website, but it turned out to be quite easy. We wore flip flops on the boat and skiff and brought socks and running shoes for the island.
This where the boat usually lets the passengers off.
On the skiff…
It was about a 1 hour, 15 minute boat ride (with dolphin watching stop), and then another 20 minutes to unload by skiff. I was relieved to finally be on land!
