What I did on my Thanksgiving holiday.

I live down near Los Angeles, and my wife and kids and I drove up to my in-laws place in Occidental, CA. They live in a redwood grove that's surrounded by the most beautiful farmland--rolling green hills and cows for miles.

Their house is a one room school house from 1890 something or other. Anyway, it's old. It's been expanded a bit, but it's a really nice place to visit. It's hard to get a good shot of it, what with all of the redwoods.



Their backyard is kinda nice, too:




If you look close in the shot above you can see their buddha. Here's a closer shot.




One of our favorite things to do on our visits is to walk the winding streets of their neighborhood, and enjoy the redwoods and wildlife. This guy, burrito, was particularly wild as we approached, hee-hawing really loud. Once we gave him a carrot he was quiet.



Later in the afternoon we went for a walk on the beach at Bodega Bay. It was really, really windy.




Just as my son snapped this picture, the tail of a kite whizzed by. I have to work with him on his framing.



It was beautiful.



This was taken from the top of a sand dune that the kids were running down, then walking back up, and running down (at full tilt--it was really steep!)



Resting at the top.




It must be windy a lot here.




Afterwards, it's time for salt water taffy.




Next day we took the ferry into the city.



We like to take photos in front of the murals in SF.









They're all over the place.

Looks like you had a great holiday.

Originally Posted by JenW Looks like you had a great holiday.

Thanks, Jen. We had a place set out for you and everything!

Maybe next year.

LOL yeah well I got caught in traffic around Dallas.

Oh, I forgot to mention:

we had a great time!

Originally Posted by DavidTO Oh, I forgot to mention: we had a great time!

that animation is icing on the cake! Looks like a great place for a visit, and a fun looking gang you've got there. Thanks for takin' us along.

Originally Posted by DoctorIt that animation is icing on the cake! Looks like a great place for a visit, and a fun looking gang you've got there. Thanks for takin' us along.

Thanks, next time I'm going to shoot the animation at small jpeg, so I get a longer burst. I'm shooting L, and I'm just tossing the resolution, anyway when I make the gif!

Looks like it was a great Thanksgiving.

But it looks like it was colder there in California, than it was here

Originally Posted by pathfinder Looks like it was a great Thanksgiving. But it looks like it was colder there in California, than it was here

It was chilly. Especially in the middle of the redwood grove where the sun doesn't penetrate, and on the beach, where the wind was howling.

David,

Thanx for sharing your journey. In my mind at least, a journey represents some continous life expedition. It's been awhile but I remember when dgrin was quite young ( maybe around 2,000 members ) you posting and telling us about the "walks" you liked to take with your daughter alaina and son benjamin. I always found those personal snippets you shared with us to be heartwarming and fun to look at. I have a deep admiration for family values and i found myself lucky that you share with us some of your family journeys. I guess what im getting at is most people probably look in the threads under journeys for exotic places to visit but i much prefer these more personal life adventures that you share with us. It brings us ( im sure i can speak for other dgrinners ) all closer together and i like that. Ive never met you, probably never will, yet i seen your kids grow. I remember the day you daughter appeared in the banner on top dgrin's threads and i remarked to you back then what a great picture that was and how blessed you are. well its cool to see how she has grown. There are a small handfull of other people kids i like to follow on this site. and if i stop to think why some and not others, for me it has to do with more of a unique quality some kids naturally have to draw us in... some of the most beautiful childrens pictures ive seen of kids are to me - quite literally flat. then there are the others, be it beautiful or not ( it really doesnt matter ) that seem full of life and ready to jump off the page. I much prefer the second! Although it might not be your intention, i personally am appreciative that you allow us ( strangers for the most part ) to be a part of your journey. May G_d bless you and yours.......



troy

That's a cool spot for a house? Does it have a sleeping porch? If it
does, sleeping outside under the redwoods is awesome!

Thanks for taking us along.

Nice family set mate...looks bloody cold though !

David love the trip.
Looks like a very beautiful place to visit.
And a great place to unwind.

Fred

Originally Posted by windoze David, Thanx for sharing your journey......... troy

Wow, Troy. Thanks for that. I guess we're of like minds, as I really enjoy watching yours growing up, too.

Gus, Fred,

Thanks.

Yeah, Gus it was pretty nipply there. Musta been in the low 50s at night, but it was a balmy 70 in the afternoon. You've heard, maybe, the famous Mark Twain quote: "The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco."

I do wish I could live up there, though.

Well said, Troy!!

David,

Lovely shots and a lovely family... looks like everyone had a wonderful time!

Very fun shots, David! Like Troy, I am very family-oriented and I'm a big sucker for family photos and family gatherings. My very first goal when I took photography classes was to become a better photographer in order to take photos of the people I loved as I saw them. Looks like you had a lot of fun and I see a lot of love in those photos as well. Thanks for sharing with us!

Great family outing! As the kids grow it gets harder and harder to get them all together. Cherish the moments. Thanks for taking us along.

Thanks, all. I really like family outings for this very reason. It's the only time I really get shots of the kids, otherwise they're too ornery.