June 23, 2011 - Vacation Part II

Vines against the golden hills

The girls in Santa Barbara wine country

Daddy tasted wine...

...while Mommy and Riley played outside.

Each winery had some unique toys,

pretty views,

and lots of space to run run RUN!

We enjoyed an outdoor picnic

Riley in a Davy Crockett-style coonskin cap

Posing next to vines and roses

A morning hike in the foothills of the Santa Ynez mountains

Crossing the stream

A really big oak tree

Riley got out of the backpack and hit the trail

Family photo

Carrying her bucket and shovel around East Beach in Santa Barbara

At first she needed Daddy to feel brave enough to walk towards the water and waves

Getting a lift as the water comes in

Digging in the sand

She stopped to watch every time Chad flipped a bucket upside-down

A sandcastle, amazing!

After a while we couldn't keep her out of the water

Running with bubbles

Dancing to the beat of some drums

3 pairs of feet in the sand

After a busy few days in the LA area we were happy to go to Santa Barbara where the pace was a little slower. The eye infection I had last year prevented me from seeing very well, so I was amazed at how pretty the area was. It was quite cool along the beach; the marine layer never really burned off, so it was a nice change from the heat in Anaheim.

We spent 1 day in Santa Barbara wine country, which is inland and warm and sunny. Chad tasted wine and made some purchases for us to drink once the baby comes while Riley and I played outside. We went to some beautiful estates with lots of room to run, places to explore, and delicious wines (according to Chad; I'll get to judge his choice in November) so we all had a lot of fun.

One morning we went on a hike with beautiful views of the area. We also spent some time on the beach, which was a lot of fun. We all enjoyed walking along the water and getting our feet wet. Riley was amazed by the sand castles Daddy built for her, she got excited every time he pulled up the bucket.

We drove home to the bay area on Father's Day. Chad took a few extra days off so we could leisurely unpack and enjoy some fun at home. Temperatures were in the upper 90's, which made us appreciate our cool beach weather even more. We found a new park with a lagoon that is very toddler-friendly: shallow and full of younger kids. We all enjoyed this outing. We're very lucky to have this wonderful time together as a family of 3!