Black Diamond Mines

Back in April after tax season was finished we joined up with 20 photographers of varying levels of expertise on a hike at the Diamond Mines East Bay Regional Park. We started at 8 am, which was very good since the weather was more than a bit toasty by the time we finished just before 1 pm. This turned out to be a good workout too.

We saw wildlife, if a cow laying around in the shade counts.  There were animals, snakes (we learned how to tell a rattle snake from a gopher snake, not that I'd hang around trying to determine which one was twisting in front of me), birds, etc.

We walked through a restored grave yard and learned quite a bit about the people who settled this area.

This was in late April when the hills were still very green..and there were plenty of wild flowers.

I think I've finally figured out how to take close up photos.

There's even caves...with bats.  Black Diamond Mines is where coal was excavated.  There's also plenty of silica that was used to make glass.  This also meant lots of loose grit that made it very slippery and dangerous walking around the steep hills.

Our "little gang" as Marla has named us.  We don't mingle too much with the others, but we're very friendly to all.

Good thing we're all in shape...this is a tougher hike than it looks.

Our friendly and knowledgeable naturalist.

Okay, I'm not too good at posting the photos in the proper order because this is where we went for lunch after the hike....Foster's Bighorn in Rio Vista.  The wall is covered with stuffed animals.  We stop here while we're riding bikes and thought we'd show it off to Pete and Teresa.

 Pete and Teresa enjoyed the lunch.  The food is good too.

This is the start of our day...it was still very chilly.

A Day at the Zoo

We continue on with our Thursday Adventures. That's the day we spend with E.Boy, giving his mama time to relax and we have yet another opportunity to LOVE (some might call it spoil) our oldest grandson. E is now asking to "go on an adventure". Not every Thursday is a big deal, but........

We all got a "tattoo", that's what E calls it

We learned all about elephants.  I have to tell you that we haven't been here since E's mama was under 10 years old.  I just couldn't stand to see the animals all locked up.  They have made HUGE improvements at this zoo.  The animals have a much better home.  It does make it difficult to see some of the animals though.  Still, it is so much better for the animals. The docents are very entertaining too. Wonderful place to visit for all ages.

G.Pa got reprimanded by the Gestapo zoo people for putting E up on the railing.  We were all "shooshed" for being loud in the quiet zone.  It seems the animals don't like noise and we are all to be quiet while walking through the area.  Yeah, like that's a good idea with a gazillion kids passing through.  We did learn the hand sign for the coyote which means to be silent.  Oh, and we were not the only people to be corrected.  There was a whole lot of eye rolling and snickering going on, directed at the zoo help....and a whole lot of reprimanding by the zoo help.

There's this tunnel with an observation window at the end so you can get a close up view of the meerkats.  E wanted me to go in there but there's no way I was going to do that unless he needed medical help.  I would need to crawl on my belly and probably not be able to move my arms.  Not something I will ever want to do.  The children LOVED this...as we all waited for them to come back out and there was nothing any of us could do to get them out because none of us could easily fit down the tunnel.

The giraffes are always a hit.  There were gazelles in here too....working on making more gazelles.

This is little fountain stream in the snake playground.  The maintenance guys were working on this so of course E took his cowboy boots off in a nanosecond and played in the water.  There's a concrete serpent with white snake eggs and metal embedded insects.....sounds gross but it's very cool..and the children LOVE to climb all over everything...the children who aren't playing in the water supervising the repair work.

Very cool bear display and the bears were kind enough to be up close and personal.

G.Pa even bought tickets to ride on the chair lift to take a tour of the zoo....which was very cool....and enabled us to view many of the animals that were hidden from street view.  This is the only way we could ever see the sleeping lions...oh, and the mating camels.  Do you think they smoke a Camel afterwards?  Do they still have Camel cigarettes?

When we were finished at the zoo we drove home, stopping at McDonald's in Castro Valley...which was an adventure too.  We hadn't been to a McDonald's in ages.  It hasn't changed that much, except the menu is much more confusing with the added items and menu deals.  We bought a big order of McNuggets, one small fry and "tap water" which they had no idea what that was and we ended up with Sprite which we tossed.

E Boy was in need of a long nap....so were we!  I can hardly wait to see what we come up with next....

Crown Beach Annual Sand Castle/Structure Contest

You may remember way back in January that I was going to shake things up and try some new things. One of those things is "Meet Up"...which I feared was a Singles thing, but turns out it's a legit way for people to get together over a common interest using the internet. We've been to a few "Events" and since I bring my "little gang" as one of my friends call it, I'm not meeting new people...which is not my intention. I want to learn how to better use my camera, learn to take better photos, and visit some new places. One great thing is visiting a few of the many outstanding recreational areas in the East Bay Regional Parks. This time we went to Alameda, to the Crown Beach, for the Annual Sand Castle and Sand Sculpture Contest. There were way more sculptures than castles. There were families and other groups and then a few singles....some were having fun and others were super serious about the whole thing.

The weather was a little breezy and warm.  Oh, and we also had Ezra.  He was a very busy boy.  He scooped sand from this "mountain" (which we named since it was nearly impossible to scale with the sand eroding) and taking it to the water.

Then he discovered water holes to sit in and dig sand.

Then he declared he was cold..that happens when you're wet and the wind is blowing.

Pretty amazing work was being done

This is an Olympic swimmer in the making

One of the few Sand Castles

We're done...Grandpa showered him off and changed him in to his shorts so he's warm

No photos but our friends Teresa (Ezra calls her Feresa since he needs work on his T's) and Peter were there too.  We finished off the day with a quick visit to Rosenblum Winery and then lunch at the great Mexican joint.  Alameda is really a great little town.

Fire Station Visit

Like most little boys, Ezra is fascinated with Firemen and Cowboys. Today we indulged his interest in the Firemen. I have a friend from my childhood that married a fireman and then their son has become a fireman. So of course I asked for a favor, which meant a little tour of the local fire station.

This is RJ with Ezra....the little guy said not one word during the entire visit.  He did tell RJ "thank you" at the end.  His mama told us he didn't stop talking about the visit and RJ for days.

Grandma sat in the back seat with E, he didn't move or touch a thing

Grandpa sits in the front seat and E goes crazy!  That boy LOVES to drive.

Theo Update - 9 Months

On Father's Day, Theo came over with his family to celebrate by eating, playing, and amusing everyone. He was able to join us at the dinner table so he feels like a member of the clan now. He can sit up in the Bumbo and feed himself. I really need to put a shower curtain down on the floor, he's a HUGE mess maker! Good thing he's also very cute.....plus he smiles at me and melts my heart.

Here's Theo creating a mess, he had every surface covered by the time he was finished

Here's Mr. Theo just beginning the mess.

This is how the guys clean the baby...in the sink....they hosed him off

Now for a little play time