Mama Foley's annual "before the snow" trip

We try to get Mama Foley out to California in the late fall every year to give her one more big dose of sunshine and vitamin d before she settles into winter in Minnesota. In 2015 our travel schedules were too crazy to make the trip happen, but we managed to make it work in 2016. She has been here enough times that she has some favorite spots that we visit every year. Her visit often coincides with the peak of the monarch butterfly migration into Santa Cruz and the beach and redwood forests are always a must. 

a cluster of monarchs at Natural Bridges State Park

monarchs warming themselves in the sun

barefoot on the beach

one of the many redwood giants in Henry
Cowell State Park near our house

tiny mushrooms sprouting on a downed tree

We ventured into some new territory this year too. I usually visit the UCSC arboretum in the spring but knew my mom would enjoy it any time of year. There was the additional draw of the possibility to see a colorless hummingbird. We didn't see the white hummingbird, but we did see lots of colorful ones and many plants in bloom. The arboretum was also hosting a sculpture exhibit, which was a fun addition to the gardens.

South African protea in bloom

Australian banksia with an Anna's hummingbird

bright, beautiful male Anna's hummingbird

hummingbird guarding his patch of grevellia

My mom loves kayaking on her lake when it isn't covered in ice, so I thought she might enjoy kayaking with some different critters at Elkhorn Slough near Moss Landing. They don't have these critters in Minnesota...

a raft of sea otters

Brandt's cormorants

harbor seals

brown pelicans

Mama Foley leading the charge

We also toured the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, a local-ish attraction that Pete has wanted to see since he was a kid. It was the house of Sarah Winchester, wife of gun-toting William Winchester. Sarah moved west after the death of her husband at the urging of her psychic to distance herself from the bad karma associated with all the killing her husband's family business had caused. The other part of the psychic's advice was to build a house and keep adding to it until the end of her days. She was making serious money as a shareholder in the Winchester company so this was not beyond her means. She started building in 1884 and continued until her death in 1922. She was the primary architect throughout, which made everything well suited to her short stature. But eventually things got weird. There are stairways that lead to ceilings, doors that open onto walls, and secret passages for very small people. There are doors that were never used and rooms never finished. It is definitely reminiscent of Hearst Castle a couple hundred miles to the south, which we visited in 2012. 

front of the Winchester mansion. Sadly, no
photos inside are allowed.

Thanks for visiting, Mama Foley! Until next fall...