Monday, November 5, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Cielle goes to School!
So Cielle has officially started school enrolled at St. Elizabeth School. A real pre-kindergartener! We were pretty nervous the first day (more nervous than her) and it was definitely tough dropping her off for the first time!
Its a real adventure. We're learning as we go!
Her teachers are Sister Sheila, "You can call her Sister Sheila, or just Sister," says Cielle, and Ms. Hartfield.
"Get in line." is definitely a Sister Sheila saying! She is quite an impressionable woman -- a bit stoic with adults--tall and thin, pale and old, very short white hair. When we asked how Cielle did the first day, her response was, "She is a good little girl."
Ms. Hartfield, in some ways is the Sister's opposite-- She is a tiny, young and somewhat soft-spoken Dominican woman in her first or second year of teaching. Ms. Hartfield is her official pre-k teachers she sees for the first part of the day (8ish-11ish); then Cielle goes to lunch and moves on to the second half of the day with the Sister (reinforces the pre-k curriculum but sprinkled with a bit of Religion I think!).
With a little preparation the week before, Cielle was in 'first day style' with a new haircut (whoa real short!) her beloved frog backpack, a fruit-stocked, gladware packed lunchbox, new dress and shoes, and a new set of school supplies (pink notebook, pencils, erasers, crayons, pencil box and even a few stickers!)
Its a real adventure. We're learning as we go!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Headlands Road Trip 2012: California's North Coast
The essential elements for "Headlands Road Trip 2012: California's North Coast"
- Catherine Sociology of Education Conference (the excuse!)
- NYCDOE's President's Day Week + cold weather (more excuse!)
- Let's Go! California Travel book awesome for traveling on a budget
- Great input from friends and family! (Jake and Carrie, Phoebe, Elissa)
- A Van
- An adventurous and loving spirit from my awesome family!
When I found out the conference and my teaching break coincided, I decided to propose a Northern California road trip. Catherine, for my 30th birthday, bought us the plane tickets to get out there which sealed the deal!
Our actualized itinerary:
- San Francisco
- Mendocino Coast
- Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park: part of Redwood National Park
- Avenue of The Giants: part of Redwood National Park
- Wine Country
- Marin Headlands (Sausalito)
- Monterey Peninsula
- San Francisco
Overall we had an incredible trip. Just before leaving we found out news that our cousin Luke had a tragic car accident. Our thoughts and prayers went out to him and his family all week. You are on our minds Luke! Below are some of the pictures and small stories from our trip!
San Francisco
After arriving late Saturday night, we met Jake and Carrie (soon to be married!) for a day in San Francisco. They took some time to travel up from L.A. to meet us for the day. It was a short but great visit: We had a nice brunch in the Embarcadero (near the Ferry Building). So good to break bread with family.
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| Starting the day in Fisherman's Wharf... Golden Gate Bridge in background |
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| Navigated to the Embarcadero via travel book (marked with post-its) and cable car |
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| Cielle said one of her favorite parts of the day was the cable car ride! |
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| Meeting Spot |
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| Cielle Dancing to the ''street drummer." Man she has some hybrid ballet and booty shakin moves |
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| booty shake |
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| Hangin out at the Ferry Building! |
The Mission District is a vibrant area of San Francisco with a definite Mexican influence. One feature are the murals painted on brick walls, garage doors, the sides of stores, etc. A neat experience
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| Jake and Carrie in the Mission District -- soon to be married! |
During the afternoon, we headed across town, via the many modes public transportation SF offers, to Golden Gate Park. While we were a bit too late to see the Japanese Tea Gardens, we got a taste of what the park has to offer!
Jerry's Children: Homeless coming off Haight-Ashbury during twilight to begin a night full of who knows what. We were advised by more than one local to 'not find ourselves on the panhandle of the park when it gets dark.' We witnessed the beginning of the festivities (drumming, stumbling in, gathering) as we were exiting the park. A nightly ritual I suppose!
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| Cielle on San Francisco Cable Car! |
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| A most extravagant late-night February ice-cream treat from Fisherman's Wharf: Cielle requested the sprinkles and was in heaven for a good 15 minutes |
The next morning, before departing to the North, we decided to take a bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge and into Sausalito. This as was definitely a most incredible and memorable experience!
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| As with our road trip, we made several 'pit stops' to enjoy the views and experience NoCal |
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| Alcatraz: We took a Ferry back from Sausalito and passed the ole prison! |
Mendocino Coast
Jughead Creek Farm "Orchard Cabin" equipped with a wood stove, ladder and loft! We had a late arrival and almost didn't make it into the cabin, but with some persistence was able to 'wake' the host up to let us in! Good times!
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| Dad 'spotting' Cielle, "Spot me Dad!" |
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| The Van |
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| The Headlands |
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| Glass Beach in Ft. Bragg: Before the 1960s it was a dump. The ocean has recycled the bits of glass... The 'sand' on the beach is literally composed of naturally recycled glass! |
Pacific Coast Highway
From Mendocino and Ft. Bragg, we headed north along the Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy1). The curving roads along the coast are both mystical and breathtakingly beautiful. In Northern California Nature seems to still dominate over human society: Parts seem virtually untouched, uninhabited, and natural. Scenes make one imagine what the world to have been thousands of years ago.
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| Drive Thru Tree |
Eureka California KOA: Not exactly what one imagines as 'rustic' but well equipped with Kamping Kabins, mini-golf, and bathrooms. An economical stop, fun in it's own way, stop en route to The Redwoods. Again, we made a late arrival and had a bit of difficulty finding the place... Good stuff.
Prairie Creek Redwood State Park
The scene here IS ancient. One of the main destinations of our trip was to see these natural giants. The pictures below do not do justice to the enormity of these "Old Growth" redwood trees. Some trees are over 1800 years old. The scene was incredible:
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| The trees that have naturally fallen are some of the most amazing sights: With the tree down, one can get a sense of how huge these things are |
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| Spot Cielle? |
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| The View when you look up! |
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| Spot Cielle and Dad? |
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| Catherine's favorites were the trees along the creek that were literally carpeted with a green-yellow moss. |
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| Elk: They Charge when you encroach their territory! Carful! |
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| We had a love-hate relationship with our GPS. She spoke to us giving us directions, sometimes leading us to 'finish lines' that were not exactly accurate. Overall she was a good asset though! Above you will see we have 'left' the road heading toward Fern Canyon and the Pacific on a gravel road! |
Fern Canyon, part of the Redwood parks, was the location of a scene from Jurassic Park 2. Again, this stuff just has an ancient, untouched feel. The Pacific mist creates a microclimate that allows for this unique canyon lined with ferns from top to bottom. We got our feet a bit wet rock hopping and zig-zaggin across fallen trees. Fun stuff.
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| A natural waterfall along the fern walls |
Avenue of the Giants
On the way back down the coast, we drove through the Avenue of the Giants: a second 'grove' of Old Growth Redwood trees. The windy 'man-made' roads were an interesting contrast these ancient Giants.
Wine Country: Russian River Valley
On the drive back toward San Francisco and Marin, we took a pit stop in Wine Country. We stopped in a few wineries just off the 101 in an area known as the Russian River Valley--very close to Sonoma. We did a bit of wine tasting! 70 degrees and sunny is tough to beat in February!!!
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| Picnic in the sun! |
Marin Headlands (Sausalito)
Just across the Golden Gate Bridge is Marin county. You cross the bridge and find a natural paradise with Pacific views and an almost Island feel. Amazing that such beautiful country resides so close to the big city. We stayed in the unique Marin Headlands Hostel, one of the only areas open to stay along this side of Marin County!
Cielle a natural Hosteler... She made quick friends with another little girl a bit older than her, Aspen. They hung out quite a bit during our 'in house' stay!
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| Cielle doing interpretive dance on the beach |
Monterey Peninsula: Asilomar Conference Grounds
Our last stop, and the 'excuse' for our travel, was the Monterey Peninsula about 90 miles south of San Francisco along the PCH. We drove a bit along Pacific farmland near Salinas -- which is the unattainable 'paradise' in Of Mice and Men and the heart of Steinbeck country.
We stayed at the Asilomar conference grounds just about a mile away from where the Pebble Beach Golf Tournament is held. Catherine attended several sessions Friday night and Saturday. Meanwhile, Cielle and I hit the beach. Cielle enjoyed the low key day: Hiked along the water, scaled some rocks, and hung out!
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| For about 30 minutes straight, Cielle 'jogged' along the water path! |
Monterey Aquarium
Our last stop was at the Monterey Aquarium. This may have been Cielle's favorite part of the weekend! The neat part about the place is that it is right up against the Pacific Ocean. Part of the aquarium actually includes a tide pool from the Pacific.
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| Curiously looking at the 'touch' tank and the rays |
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| An inside look at a tide pool. Cielle loved the anticipation as the wave would come crashing in every 2 minutes or so! |
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| Jellyfish!!! |
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