CA Adventure Part 2: Ventura

The unique beauty of a farm mingled with the functional aspects of growing food always amazes me.  The vista overlooking acre after acre of avocado, lemon, and lime trees is breathtaking.  The massive water pumps and miles of irrigation pipes serve as reminders of just how hard it is to grow good food in a land of drought.  The combined effect humbles me every time, this tree-to-table production I tend to take for granted as I select avocados and citrus off the grocery shelves, year-round.

Each visit to the ranch results in new discoveries.  This year, I learned just how different the ranch is in July than it is in early June.  The most shocking discovery I made was that avocados are harvested just once every year.  Once a year!!  And the differences between east coast farming and west coast farming aren't actually all that different after all - for the strawberry season had long since ended when we arrived in mid-July.  

The view from the ranch house - such beauty!

Still, some things were just exactly as we've always known them to be.  Pax made a beeline for the very same John Deere that every other boy has ridden and loved in past trips.

I ran beautiful 5 mile routes each morning, different every time.  I started each run near the eucalyptus that borders the property, then turned at the avocados.  I snaked my way up and down each row, then headed over to the lemons one day, the limes another.  I criss-crossed the barren strawberry mounds, and marveled at the reservoir water in this drought-stricken land.  The tread on my shoes filled with lemon thorns, bark from the trees, and the ashes from small fires made by the pickers in the field who, at lunchtime, warmed their tortillas over the small open flames.

When one of Jeff's most favorite cousins, Mark, arrived on the Ranch, he brought the mischief along with him.  Within minutes, the two grown men had launched an attack on Leo and Aidan, continuing a long-standing tradition of lemon fights.  Apparently, rotting lemons are best both for their (relative) softness and for the stinky residue they leave behind:

A dog toy, intended for launching tennis balls, is repurposed as a lemon launcher.

About to be pummeled.....

Pow!

TWO GROWN MEN waiting quietly and patiently for their targets...

Their intended targets - inexperienced, loud, and impatient -
but thrilled nonetheless with the lemon fight.

Pax wisely joined Jeff and Mark's team.

Time slowed in a most delicious way during the hours we spent with Grandma and Grandpa:

I never miss the opportunity to dip my toes in the ocean, and getting to visit the Pacific always feels like an extra-special treat.

Our kids have developed their own list of "must-do's" during these trips to California, which was pretty cool to realize.  I said to Jeff, "I love that we've been doing this trip long enough now that they have come to expect certain things, that they know this area and these people well enough to have set ideas of what needs to happen."  Thus, our first stop on beach day was at the huge pirate ship with a zip line.

A short time later, we met up with the whole crew at a great little area of the beach that is home to myriad creatures, including sea anemones, hermit crabs, and even the occasional dolphin in the bay.

Predictably, Mark was there with more mischief.

That night, we had a family dinner.  Back at home, "Family Dinner" consists of 7 people, and when we're really lucky, that number goes up to 11 people.  In California, 27 gathered together that night, with 14 others too far away to make it for dinner.  Wow!  The best part for me, aside from time with Grandma and Grandpa, was watching how quickly our kids were welcomed back into this village of kids and adults who so lovingly care for one another, include each other, and delight in each other.

 Before our bittersweet farewell the next morning, we met up with Mark and Gwen one last time for breakfast at a wonderful little cafe at a local airport.  The kids could watch small planes take off and land and run around in the specially-designed play area, complete with speakers to hear the air traffic control on duty at the moment.  Mark and Gwen's oldest daughter claimed Aidan as her own, and he reveled in acting as her big brother-cousin.  Personally, I was super-excited to see a real, live motorcycle gang member, having watched waaay too much of Sons of Anarchy before heading west.  

With hugs and kisses all around, we said farewell to Grandma and Grandpa, and to our fabulous hosts, Uncle Charles and Aunt Laurie.

We loaded ourselves into the car and began the trek out to Palm Springs for a visit with our long-time friends, the Grants.  The sadness at saying goodbye in Ventura gradually and eventually gave way to excitement, especially as we drove thorough this part of California - not only do the wind turbines signal that we are getting very close to Palm Springs, they are also really, really awesome to see!  They are enormous, and there are hundreds (thousands?) of them covering vast portions of the desert.  The turbines always provide rich fodder for discussion on conservation, ingenuity, and creativity.

Part 3 of our trip began shortly after the turbine sightings....

California Adventure: Disney

The best part of our 4th bi-annual California Adventure was, most obviously, the time we spent with The Legend Leo Vanoni.

Perhaps I should just leave it at that... but the 800+ photos of the adventures that spanned 8 nights in 3 different areas of Southern California, and the memories we made with family and friends are important as well.  Here is part 1 (of 3) of our awesome adventure:

The trip began with an easy-breezy direct flight into LAX; our stay in a hotel near Dulles made for a (nearly) stress-free commute to the airport.  (Note the subtle foreshadowing here).  Jeff and I managed to a) sit next to each other for the first hour and a half of the flight; b) watch an entire movie during said flight; and c) enjoy what is possibly the easiest travel we've ever done with this crew. (More foreshadowing).  Our flight landed before noon, California time.  I couldn't believe how easy the whole thing was!  (Of course, I was forgetting science and law, and that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.  Or in this case - every travel day has and equal and opposite day of travel.)

Once in SoCal, we headed to Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel, where we found out we'd been randomly selected as the "Big Kahuna" winners of the day.  We received a room upgrade, some Disney schwag, a bunch of balloons, and an official photo of our winnings.  I was as equally embarrassed as Jeff was elated by this little hotel surprise.  And Pax slept through the whole thing.

The room *did* have a great view of California Adventure.  By Day:

 And by night:

 Downtown Disney was a fun afternoon.  We visited the Lego store where my kids spent a good TWENTY MINUTES building Legos... at a table... and I kept scratching my head and saying "People!  What are we doing?  WE HAVE THESE SAME THINGS AT HOME!! WE'RE IN DISNEY!!!  LET'S GO CHECK OUT OTHER STUFF!!"  

 We ate an exorbitantly priced but pretty decent "linner" at a Mexican joint, then headed back to the hotel to hit up the uber-cool water slide that even Pax rode!

We went to bed as late as we possibly could (a hard task, given our East Coast rhythms) and awoke early, ready for our day at Disneyland.

All I have to say about Disney is this:  I get it now.  I get the hype, the fanaticism, the excitement.  It exceeded my expectations; it was a wonderful day.  At the end of the day, when we were sharing our best parts, mine and Jeff's were the same: watching our kids have so much fun at the park. Space Mountain was I think our third ride of the day, and I was shocked when Pax agreed to give it a try.  With his face a mix of fear and elation, we asked him afterward, "What did you think of Space Mountain?" He answered, "It was AWFUL" with a huge grin on his face.  And asked to go again - so we did.

2 minutes post-Space Mountain, which he later dubbed his favorite ride.

Driving at Autopia

Sweeeet 3-D glasses for Star Tours

During Jedi Training Academy, Aidan was chosen to be a Jedi.  This was pretty spectacular for him - and fun for us to watch - but it was also a hard time for Leo, as he was hoping to be selected as well.  Still - a huge highlight.

What's not to love about the teacups?!

I adore this pic of Aidan, because it is one of his most genuine smiles I've seen in a photo.

Small World!!!  My all-time favorite... as a child.

In response to the question:  "What did you think of Pirates of the Carribbean, Pax?"

A crappy photo of an awesome day.  For the record, though, that "No Crying in Disneyland" is bullshit.
There were some tears - for the record.  

After a long and fun day, we left the park and headed to another Disney - Disney for Grown Ups, also known as the Anaheim Brewery.

We ate an incredible dinner from a burger joint called Umami, and it was a most perfect ending to a wonderful day.  Satiated and content to the core, we headed toward Ventura, where lemon fights, a day at the beach, a huge family dinner, and quality time with loved ones awaited us....