The Travelers are Home! (Part 1)

Hello and big hugs to all!  We're back!  Yay!
I can't wait to catch up with you again!
I've missed you all dearly! How have you been?

It's amazing how quickly a month goes by...
...and yet, it is incredible how much can be squeezed into it!

I think it best to break this post up into 2 parts.  I have over 40 pictures to share with you...and I'd like you to still be awake at the end of them...haha!
Let's begin, shall we?

We started our trip in beautiful Santa Barbara.  Nothing like the feeling of the first days of vacation....all the worry of travel arrangements and packing, bills and mundane life behind you....all the thrill of adventure and promise of relaxation ahead...
I love to not only look around me, but up, as well...to soak in every bit of delightfulness.  I remember snapping this picture, taking in a deep breath....and being filled with such contentment :)

Maggie is the main focus of our journeys, so we try to plan lots of things that she'll enjoy...

The Santa Barbara Zoo had this great hill for the kids to slide down...

I love taking photos of animals and nature...so catching the gorgeous eye of this Hornbill was really neat for me...

We also visited a few Aquariums on our trip.  These were taken at the Monterrey Bay Aquarium near San Francisco.

Our little Wildlife Defender...haha!

We spent some of our time in the camp doing some crafts...

I was so impressed by Maggie's concentration!  Look at these stitches!

5 years old....and she only stuck herself once :)

The critters in this campground were very bold...coming extremely close searching the grounds for scraps.  We were ultra careful to keep everything locked away....

But even the car wasn't safe at this campground!  That was an unopened package of Nutter Butter cookies that some little creature nibbled.  We still don't know how the rascal got in and out of the car...

Maggie had made a cornhusk doll at a children's museum and decided to leave it in the nook of a tree right by our campsite for some other little girl to find... A curious Banana Slug came by to check out his new neighbor.

....and you just can't take a coastal trip without visiting lots of beaches!  Here's the start of a Sandcastle Fort in Santa Cruz...

We continued up the coast to visit a spot I've been excited to get back to!  Glass Beach in Fort Bragg...

This is where I collect all the sea glass I use for my handmade hair accessories.

Maggie played with seaweed and splashed around while Jim and I scoured the sand for treasure...

Here's what wet glass shimmering in the sun looks like close up....

As you can see, most of what you'll find are clear/white pieces, with brown being 2nd...greens are a distant 3rd with soft blue-green being scarcer.

Pink and blue glass (the blue you see in this pic is mussel shell) are the rarest of all here, and I actually managed to find a few pieces :)  Intermingled with these are broken pottery, the occasional milk glass or jadeite glass pieces and shiny shells.  I've started a few new hair clips, I promise to show you soon!

When we were back at camp, we'd take walks and explore the woods around us....

I'd look for places with what I like to call "fairy holes" in the trees....where fairies (and children) might like to play...

....and appreciate the beauty we found everywhere....

Flora and Fauna alike....

We stopped at a little town called Ferndale.... a favorite place to see charming houses...

...and be awed by one of the most beautiful cemetaries I've ever seen....

Maggie had never been to one and asked us if we could go in.  She wanted us to read the names as we passed each marker....  I think we all felt a little closer, a little humbler while walking hand in hand through this serene place to the top of the hill...

...and as we took in the view from the top, we held eachother a little tighter....

Life is truly a journey...and an amazing gift...

I'm so lucky to be here with a family that I love beyond measure....and to be able to share a part of my life here with you...

Kindred spirits....

I'll leave you now to absorb....

Then pounce on you again with more pictures...heehee...haahaa!

So glad to be back,

Cam