A Train and a Zoo Too!

Guys, this is the last post for July!  (Go ahead and remind me that it’s March, it’s okay.)  Hooray for any kind of progress!

                        
End of July means it’s almost time for Grammie to leave.  Sniff.

Before she does though, we have one more place to explore.  Logan had taken to checking out maps, including some maps on tourist brochures I brought home right after we moved here.  On his own, Logan picked out the picture of the train, matched the number of the picture with the location on the map, pointed it out to me and told me, repeatedly, “I want to go here, number eight on the map”.  (Seriously, it’s been how many months now and I still remember specifically that this was #8.)

       
So here it is, the train that inspired this particular trip.  In related news, Logan’s fascination with maps has largely continue since this time—the map-of-the-moment has changed frequently but he spends large chunks of time either reliving adventures or plotting out new ones with his maps.

              
The train, if I remember correctly, is a 1/3 scale model working steam engine and it makes a generously scaled loop through the rather large park.

            
Highlights of the mini-train trip include the “dawk tunnow” (dark tunnel in N-speak), the old American village with mining camp and water wheel, the real “ding-dong gates” where the train crosses over the road, and the fishing pond.

We don’t grant our children’s every wish, but every now and then it’s nice to be able to do something that one or the other of them has really wanted.

                            
But Logan’s find turned out to be even better than he expected because there was lots more!  There are a couple of playground areas of course, although I didn’t get any pictures of the one we visited on this trip; there was ice cream and . . .

a zoo!  A small zoo, admittedly, focusing almost exclusively on So. Cal. wildlife, but a pretty nice little place.  They’ve got two mountain lions who were rescued as cubs—their mother had either been killed or abandoned them—and because the cubs entered captivity so young, they don’t have any survival skills and can never be released.  But we got to see the zookeepers hand-feeding them, which was pretty neat.

                    
Both the kids were excited about the zoo, but Naomi was especially intent on a very active ferret (or similar burrowing rodent creature, I can’t recall specifically).  We had a hard time drawing her away from that one, but a few interactive exhibits distracted her again pretty quickly.

                                 
There was a very photogenic bear, 

                            
a small selection of birds (although I’m pretty sure peacocks aren’t native to the area),

and this handsome fellow among the zoo’s other offerings.

 
The petting zoo had a number of very friendly goats that you could feed and brush, and if you didn’t feed them fast enough and happened to be absorbed in taking pictures of your children, they would walk up behind you and take a bite out of the map that was sticking out of your purse!

In their defense, it was getting close to lunch time.  We left the zoo area, had a picnic in the park and headed home.

            
Time for one last story and then Grammie has to head home too! 

And with that, we finish out July, the month-that-took-me-six-months-to-blog.  Next up: all of August!

Moving Along

Mom had been to Mission San Juan Capistrano before, albeit 20 years ago, so we took the morning to explore the historic downtown area of San Juan Capistrano instead.  
            
It was a gray day, but we made the best of it, starting at the old train station.

                
Frankly, the historic homes weren’t all that impressive but at least the gardens were nice.

                
We had a bit of fun at the old jail cell, then stopped to wave at the trains before getting some lunch.

A quick peek over the wall at the Mission caps it all off before we head home for naptime.

                          
The following morning (I think?  It was a long time ago.) we headed out for one of our classics: whale watching.  Some good bird watching at the harbor as well.

The sea lion station was extra-crowded that morning.

   
It’s not the greatest picture of the whale itself, but it does give you an idea of how close the whale is to the boat.  And the paddle boarder should give you some idea of how close we still are to shore.  Also, can you imagine paddle boarding and having a whale pop up next to you?  (Or worse, under you?)

Jackpot!  These guys got an even better view.

          
It’s hard to really tell, but there are two separate humps there: a whale and her calf.  They were easier to distinguish when you saw them in motion.  The kids saw them clearly though!

Then there’s always time for one more story.

Finding Marshall

             
This is life around here.

                               
Until it's time for another field trip.  There’s a Marine Mammal Rescue and Rehabilitation Center up the road in Laguna Beach.  That seemed like it would be worth a look.  Of course, we got there and the kids were immediately entertained by the colorful rocks in the landscaping.

Admittedly they were really pretty.

Eventually we (Mom and I) convinced the kids to head over and see what all the noisy barking was about.  Yep, sea lions.  They can also host various types of seals and dolpins, as necessary, but the current crop was solidly sea lions.


There were several different enclosures where the animals were grouped based on health.  The cage closest to the viewing area contained those who were nearly ready to be released back into the ocean.  A couple of very friendly volunteers were on hand to answer questions.

The kids enjoyed observing feeding time.

It’s very rare for us to purchase souvenirs of any sort, but there was no admission here and they collected donations at the souvenir cart, so we ended up with a stuffed sea lion.  It was immediately christened “Marshall” after one of the sea lions we had heard the volunteers talking about.  I have to say, Marshall has been well-loved around here; he still frequently winds up in Logan’s bed and/or comes on adventures with us.
  On the way out, literally in the ditch between this place and the parking lot, we witnessed another round of wildlife feeding time.  This appears to be a Great Blue Heron, not at all a small bird, meaning that the frog was also massive.

                                      
Random shots of Laguna Beach life taken from the car window on the way home.

As soon as we got home, Marshall had to be properly introduced to the rest of the crew.  And now you’ve met Marshall too, congratulations!