The Delta

Saturday was a beautiful Fall day. Mom was feeling better, wanting to get out of the apartment. She was talking to Axle and Dash's Mom, Linnaea, and they decided to go to the local Sandhill Crane festival, a celebration of the return of the cranes. These threatened species, which average up to five feet in height, migrate to the Delta wetlands every Fall and stay through February.

After reading about these animals and seeing them portrayed in beautiful artwork, Mom, Dad and Linnaea drove to the Delta to see these birds firsthand. They enjoyed the scenic drive, looking for wildlife and taking in the peaceful scenery.

Mom and Linnaea were inspired by the photographers and artist at the festival to take some magnificent pictures of the Delta and its wildlife. However, I am sad to report that this is the only bird they saw, except for a few ducks in the water.

But the reflections off of the water as the sun was setting made the trip worthwhile.

They also enjoyed watching the horses graze at sunset.

Mom, Dad and Linnaea ended the evening by enjoying a nice seafood dinner overlooking the water. Meanwhile, Axle, Dash and I patiently waited for their arrival back home. As a reward, we were able to play on the tennis courts together the next day.

Happy Halloween

Mom has been sick with the crude all week, lying on the couch. Although, it was nice having her home, she was not the most pleasant person to be around - coughing, sneezing, blowing her nose and just plain bellyaching. So, I needed a little pick me up and this package did the trick!

Great Mamaw sent me not one but four new plush toys!

I love hanging out with them on my bed . . .

and in my chair!

They even inspired me to be a ghost this Halloween.

Boo!

Thank you Great Mamaw!

Old Sacramento

Mom and Dad went to Old Sacramento, a place that was the commercial district during the gold rush. Unfortunately, this was their first disappointing adventure during our stay in California.

As you can see, the old historic buildings are located right in the center of downtown Sacramento, which gives you a unique perspective of the development of the state capitol.

Notice how busy and crowded the streets are. Mom complained about how difficult it was a get the "old town" feel with cars and commercialized shops everywhere. Dad just complained about trying to find a place to park.

Basically, they just walked around on wooden sidewalks, window shopping into the touristy shops. Lots of candy stores.

Mom did say that it was nice to see a horse drawn carriage but she felt sorry for the horses having to dodge all of the cars, weaving in and out of the traffic.

Here's a picture of the Sacramento River and the riverboats.

Mom's one and only favorite part was seeing the old schoolhouse. Since it is fall, there was a small pumpkin patch for kids to choose a pumpkin to paint inside.

Too bad Dad did not see the schoolhouse. At this point, he was sitting outside on a bench ready to go.

This is one adventure that I was glad to miss out on. Oh well, Mom and Dad can say that they have been to Old Sacramento. Now, they are busy planning their next excursion.

San Francisco (with Friends)

Well, Mom and Dad left me again yesterday with Linnaea to play with Axle and Dash while they went to San Francisco for the day. A couple of Mom's friends from her previous job came into the San Francisco for a long weekend so they wanted to show them the city.

First stop was Lombard Street. Mom had only seen this crooked, one-way street from a distance so she wanted to see just how steep and curvy it really is.

Lindsay, Erin and Mom were surprised at how well this street was landscaped, full of beautiful blooming hydrangeas.

And, of course, the buildings surrounding this street were gorgeous. No telling what it cost to live here. One couple thought Lombard was so pretty, they decided to have a wedding pictures taken here. But, there was a lot of traffic that day.

Notice the bride on the left and all of the cars traveling down the street.

Next stop - Golden Gate Bridge. If you are going to come to San Francisco, you have to see the Golden Gate.

After driving across the bridge, the third stop was Muir Woods.

This national park is a quiet, peaceful sanctuary just a few miles outside of the hustle and bustle of San Francisco.

They just strolled along this paved paths, catching up with one another.

Everyone admired the heighth and sheer size of the Redwoods, which range in 800-1000 years old.

Mom told me over and over again how these pictures do not do these trees justice.

They enjoyed listening to the crystal clear water moving down this stream.

Dad waited patiently as Mom, Lindsay and Erin took lots of pictures.

The beauty of the Redwoods turned Lindsay into a tree lover, crawling inside of tree stumps

and hugging them!

They caught a glimpse of the fall as the weather was cooler underneath the thick canopy of the forest and a few trees were changing colors.

Then, they left this tranquil setting to face reality and the San Francisco traffic along the narrow streets of huge buildings.

Overall, everyone had a good time but time was too short, as always!

Monster Trucks

Mom, Dad and Linnaea (Axle's and Dash's mom) went to the monster truck show this past weekend. They met up with some of Mom's coworkers there at the fair grounds.

First of all, I need to apologize for the poor picture quality. It was dark, dusty, and these massive trucks move surprisingly fast (at least that is Mom's excuse).

If you look closely, you can see a gentleman standing on the front tire of the truck called Obsession, which gives you an idea of the size of these vehicles.

In case you are like myself and have never been to a monster truck show, these trucks compete to see who can go around the arena, hitting ramps and jumping over cars, the fastest.

Notice the difference in the cars parked in the arena. They got smashed to pieces throughout the show.

The competition consists of Obsession and Maximum Destruction, which are pictured above.

The Bulldozer at full speed getting ready to jump over the cars.

The Ninja doing figure 8s, stirring up the dust.

And, of course, Grave Digger, who won the show.

During intermission, motorcyclists came out to entertain the crowd by doing tricks in the air. I know that this is a bad picture but this guy is hanging onto the handlebars as he stretching his body up and over the bike. According to Dad, they did flips and all sorts of crazy stunts.

Although they had fun, Mom said that it was not worth the sinus infection that she has been fighting all week. It has hardly rained in California since we got here in March and everything is so dry and dusty. But, rain is in the forecast for the beginning of the week. Mom and Dad are excited for it to rain, but I am not because I hate to get wet and hate wet grass even more.