We had planned to go camping, taking E out for her first tent camp experience, and the little guys have been begging to go. Why didn't we? We packed up the car on Saturday morning and headed out to Markleeville because the elevation there is similar to home, so the mountain temperatures at night wouldn't be too chilly for E. And the best part? The GROVER HOT SPRINGS! We love to swim in the hot springs. Well... it turns out that since I'm not on maternity leave and not at the store, I have been out of the loop on remembering the bike races and I forgot all about the Death Ride. There were bikes everywhere and cars everywhere and people everywhere - all along the road just before Turtle Rock where we planned to camp. The bike registration actually took place at the campground. Camp grounds for miles and miles were all full due to the race. Darn, we said. What to do? We decided that we had already driven all the way this far, why not go to the coast and see the ocean, it's been a while. We headed out for Santa Cruz, CA.

I know, you're wondering what the death ride is. It's awesome and I wish I had the time and strength to train for it. "Ending at Turtle Rock Park just north of Markleeville, California, the five pass ride includes 129 miles and 15,000+ feet of lung busting climbing." That's taken from their website. The most I've ridden is 60 miles, along the hills in Sacramento last year. Not quite half of 129 miles, but I did pull the Chariot trailer on my bike with both boys in it and our gear, all estimated at 100+ lbs. Maybe someday I will do it, who knows?

Aren't these boys cute?

Gotta love the look on L's face. They loved visiting the ocean. L was a little more cautious, staying at the edge. J would have tried surfing the waves if I had given the okay. DH started a fire in a fire pit he found still smoking and set about making our breakfast early in the morning. It was chilly and cloudy early on. I love the pictures of him holding E. He looks like my handsome hobo sitting there, and like someone photoshopped E onto his lap. All that pink fluff looks out of place...


The waves were great and the small lighthouse was rustic and pretty.
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After the beach, we went to The Boardwalk. I've not been there before. DH has happy childhood memories of going there. Lots of rides and food at the amusement park on the beach. Expensive, but at least admission is free. Boys were given option of riding one ride each there choice. J chose the Haunted Mansion and L chose the helicopter ride.



OK, need to go. L pushed some keys on the compute and now the computer screen/desktop is all wonky and we can't figure out how to put things back the way they were. Love my kiddos.