On Monday, we headed to Newport Beach for the morning. The plan was to start at the Environmental Nature Center. Exactly two seconds (ok, it was several minutes) after we drove off with Chris' family following behind us, we got separated. As I frantically tried to call his mom's phone (there was no answer) and then his dad's phone (there was no answer), we continued on our way hoping their GPS would be merciful to them. It was not. It put them on a toll road briefly. But I suppose we should be grateful that that was the worst of the problems--they could have actually gotten lost after all. Eventually we also learned another fact--Mom Bissonnette left her phone back home, but the twins had a phone. The knowledge that they possessed a phone did help later.
All this to say that we did get to the Environmental Nature Center and it was really neat. There were displays about the various habitats/climates throughout California. There was an interactive section where you could try to spot camouflaged animals and view furs and nests of some local wildlife and birds. And there were more snakes (and some other animals) in glass cages to check out. The girls also loved the table where you could color pictures of some of the local wildlife and read books about animals and nature. It was really neat, but that is just a little overview of the first section...as is the case with all these types of things, it's all much better if you go in person.
Outside they had a winding trail you could follow which moved you through the various plant communities (habitats) found in California. The girls weren't able to name them all (and we forgot to grab the map before heading off on the trail), but they were definitely really familiar with some of them, especially the desert. haha. They knew the answer to that one before I'd even finished asking what habitat we were walking through...
You will notice that it's not all clean and "landscaped". I assume that is done purposefully because it gives you an idea of what real habitats would actually look like and if you go back in different seasons you'd get a really neat overall picture of what each plant community is like. You can't see them, but there are several dragonflies buzzing around over the water in this picture.
After we left the Nature Center, we headed to the beach. It was a cloudy day with a small chance of rain, but we were fortunate that is never did. And there were some waves which made boogie boarding fun for the boys. The twins especially were all about boogie boarding and they spent a good part of our time at the ocean out on the water, often with Chris. At one point, they all came back to the sand to convince me to try. Yes, I am the California girl who has never been boogie boarding. My parents didn't take us to the ocean often, what can I say?
I tried it out and though I swallowed a decent amount of ocean water (or at least got it up my nose), I was able to catch a few waves and take them them. Definitely a fun time even though I know Ethan and Evan were both totally laughing at me and shaking their heads. :)
Picture to document my first boogie boarding experience (and yes, Ava dressed herself)
fun was had by all
Sophie didn't dress herself this way; she got sand on her face and I was wiping it off with my tank top and it got caught and she crawled away and didn't pull it off, so I said heck let's turn it into a make-shift sun hat for a bit of extra protection for her bald head. Plus look her. She's adorable. And ridiculous!
I love that picture of her with Grammy best of all. One of my favorites (perhaps my very favorite) from their entire stay out here.
After separating and both families heading to their own abodes for naptime, we met back up at In-N-Out for a classic California fast food experience.
Sophie going in for the kill on the animal-style fries
And then we made a beeline to Laguna Beach to barely catch a lovely sunset and take mediocre pictures. My phone battery was dying and it's a camera phone and it was dusk, so poor quality all around, but I'll share a few anyway.
Evan practicing handstands
Chris and his parents are grainy in this shot, but everyone has a very happy smile, so I consider it a great picture anyhow capturing good times and making fun memories
It got dark fast as we walked back up from the beach toward our cars. Good night again, California!
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