blue whales! and other adventures

my niece madeline arrived in california on thursday and is spending two weeks with me and pete. maddy is the first of four (currently) nieces and nephews who will make this trip the summer after her/his 13th birthday as a way to introduce them to another part of the country. 


in three days we have: toured san francisco, including the golden gate bridge; taken a steam train through the redwoods; walked through a grove of giant redwoods; picked 25 pounds of strawberries (!); and watched blue and humpback whales feeding in the monterey bay. we're on a food adventure too - sourdough, thai cuisine, and fresh veggies from the farmers market. no canned mushy peas in this house! :)


on monday maddy will start five days of young women in science camp at the monterey bay aquarium where she will have many more adventures. the schedule for the week includes kayaking, boogie boarding, SCUBA diving, and sea otter tracking. i volunteer with this group a few days during the summer so i'll get to accompany maddy on the boogie boarding day, but i wish i could join her for the whole week! 


here are a few photos of our adventures. more can be found at my picasa site (link to the right).

 a balmy summer day in san francisco!

 our mode of transportation around the city

 300 foot tall redwood in henry cowell state park

 my little tree hugger! :)

 steam train adventures

 our trusty steed, dixiana, the 100 year old steam engine

(note to the dal ferro's - we made it to the top!)

 the strawberry bounty. we might have gotten a little carried away...but there is nothing more delicious than sun-warmed strawberries straight off the plant.

 a blue whale!!!! a first for both of us. "see largest animal that
has ever lived on the planet" - CHECK!

 humpback whale (also a first for both of us)

mile buoy outside of santa cruz complete with california sea lions

wishing you were somehow here again...

who knew a hallmark holiday could be such a harsh reminder of loss? i guess we all know that there will come a day when we won't have a living parent to celebrate on days like today. but i never would have guessed that it would be this year. 


my dad collapsed from a heart attack eleven months ago tomorrow...and yet it seems like yesterday in many respects. some days it doesn't even seem real, despite the very real sorrow that i feel to my core. 


i went for a long hike today in my favorite place in the santa cruz mountains - fall creek. i hugged a giant redwood and walked beside moving water...water that helps me feel connected, brings me confidence, and gives me hope. 


as i was nearing the ridge i came across this orchid. the unfurling stem reminded me that in spite of everything, we grow. even through sorrow, we grow... i miss you every day, dad.  

key largo adventures

my days in key largo were vastly different than my days in miami...and for that i am grateful. i arrived in key largo midday and immediately boarded a dive boat and enjoyed some time underwater checking out the local reefs. life always seems less complicated underwater. i was back on the boat the next morning for a deep dive on the US coast guard cutter duane (intentionally sank as an artificial reef in 1987) and a drift dive along another section of the reef. the dives that morning delivered some big beauties - an eagle ray and several goliath groupers. very cool! 

this isn't my photo, but just to give you a sense of
the magic on the USCG cutter duane (the crow's nest)

after i got back onshore, i visited a wild bird rehabilitation center. the birds on display have permanent disabilities, but the center releases around 400 birds a year that they have nursed back to health. the most common birds they treat include hawks, owls, pelicans, and turkey vultures. at the edge of the facility, wild birds congregate...at one point there were six different species of birds in one 10 foot x 10 foot space. 

 an egret showing off its plumage

 the curious peregrine falcon

the menagerie of wild birds - ibises, cattle egrets,
great egrets, pelicans, gulls, and turkey vultures

amazing spikey spider!

my last stop of the day way the dagny johnson botanic garden. it is the largest contiguous track of tropical hardwood hammock in the US. i was ill prepared, however, and did not bring any bug spray so i was swarmed by mosquitoes the second i stopped moving. i also made the mistake of taking the unpaved nature trail at one point...which was mosquito heaven. i think i killed five mosquitoes at once with a single slap of my hand. ugh. pete usually attracts them all so this was a new experience for me! i managed one photo of the giant spiders that were dangling between the trees before the mosquitoes got the better of me...

sadly, this photo doesn't do this spider justice. the body is about two inches long by three-quarters of an inch wide. the longest legs were close to three inches...these things overall were at least as big as my whole hand! 

vizcaya gardens - miami, florida

pete and i headed to the airport early on saturday morning for our flights...to different cities on the east coast. his travels took him to pittsboro, north carolina, for a week-long woodworking class; my travels took me miami, florida, for a conference. any guesses as to who is having a better time?!


i manged to escape my hotel room and the conference for a bit today to find a gem hidden near downtown miami. visiting botanic gardens is one of my favorite travel activities and the vizcaya museum and gardens certainly did not disappoint. the property sits on biscayne bay and is a mix of native plants (mangroves included) arranged in the style of an english garden with a backdrop of florida limestone (aka coral). i have to say that miami earns a gold star for this locale.

garden entrance

 the orchidarium (that's what the sign said)

 the ship and tea house

 limestone bridge

 marine themed alcove (check out the shells on the ceiling)

 crazy manicured english-style gardens

the wild-hair caterpillar!
(i don't know what it is really called, but isn't it cool?!)

alcove in the "secret garden"