Day: September 1, 2011

Leilani and Andy had spent a week in Ohio, and I joined them for a week in California right after. While Andy had to work, Leilani and I had a nice vacation, meeting our friends, and enjoying the unusually beautiful and warm California weather.

At the airport (in Ohio)

Our hotel room

Leilani met Liselle, they went to a bookstore

Fun at Millbrae Nursery School – Leilani got to spend a few hours at her old preschool

We went to friend’s Baby Shower

At the “Little Szechuan” in San Mateo

Dinner at Jeanne and David ‘s house


With Sofia and Ana

Monday we went to the Academy of Science:

Beautiful butterflies and cool effects on the thick glass

One landed on Leilani

We had to re-park the car and took a little walk in the park

We ate lunch and the dessert was the richest, most decadent, and just amazing Scharffenberger chocolate pudding. I think it was organic too. Leilani did not waste any and after we had eaten it washed the jar with milk to get every little bit. Most of the food there was of high quality… but as much as they preach carbon-footprint-reduction, their apples came from New Zealand.

Leilani and this fish became instant friends…

…and then posed for a portrait

I love these big clams

The snakes – especially the boas must have left quite an impression, fortunately the gift shop keeper was not looking…

We visited parks with old friends (photos taken on different days)
Millbrae Park

Narnia and Marianna


Victor and Sophie joined us briefly

Village Park

Playing “Store” with Ansel and Narnia


We had dinner in the park, (Jay, Lily, Sylvia, Rick)

Millbrae Park again
Lieilani got to play with Regina

Who needs playgrounds when you can also play in the dust…Mariana and Oliver


Grant joined us, (Lilian with Leila too)

Leilani and Oliver had so much fun at the pool

Oliver went twith us to the old Coyote Point Museum, which has reinvented itself as Curiodyssey



When the museum closed we went to the park:

Nubi Yogurt – which we will not eat anymore now that I saw the list of ingredients :-(
I kind of had suspected it and only allowed Leilani to eat what I thought of as white – but even that is made with food coloring…

On Saturday we hiked in the El Corte de Madera Open Space Preserve

Raquelina and Dwight with Sofia, and Ana hiked with us



Threasures!

Ana forgot to make a face on this photo…



The sandstone formations were beautiful.

Leilani found mushrooms – Agaricus augustus, the Prince. The looked so good and fresh, but were full of worms already.






More treasures

Leilani needed me to take the photo exactly like that.

“Farewell to Spring”, or Clarkia amoena is one of my favorite flowers.