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