Ladd Photos

Our boys had quite the view during lunch, from up top of Bishop Peak. You could see all the way to the ocean.

Hanging out in downtown San Luis Obispo, looking for some books and checking out the mission.

We spent the first full day of our time on the Central Coast exploring the tide pools and beach rocks of Moonstone Beach by Cambria. Then we headed further up Highway 1 and took a short hike to Salmon Falls.

Connor needed a box for his Valentine’s Day party, and ended up building a really cool aquarium. There was a hidden section in the back, with a slot on top to deposit the Valentine’s Day cards.

It was a long hike to the top of one of the area’s tallest mountains, but the views were worth it. A gopher welcomed us at the very top.

We spent a beautiful afternoon exploring the Leo Carrillo Ranch, learning about the former actor and exploring the grounds.

I took my camera with me on a hike out at the grasslands.

Out for a nice stroll along the newly opened trail at San Elijo Lagoon.

The boys had a nice Christmas morning opening their presents. Then we actually go to go down to have Christmas dinner with the Loera clan this year, which was nice.

The county has a beautiful park a few blocks from Old Town, where they relocated and restored a bunch of old Victorian homes from early San Diego. We spent a nice afternoon looking at them, before heading over to Old Town to walk around.

A fun day at the zoo, visiting the animals and checking out the holiday decorations in the afternoon, then seeing them all lit up once the sun went down.

The band got to show off all the hard work they have been doing to learn to play their instruments. Connor sounded great.

Connor playing a few songs:

We got up early and headed to Calsbad to see the “King Tide”, which was predicted to be 7-ft. I expected bigger waves.

High in the mountains above Pasadena, we visited the famous observatory, including getting to learn about how the solar telescopes work and getting to see it in action.

The boys had a bit of altitude sickness when we made it to the top, which is why they look unhappy in the first few photos. On the way back we stopped by the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

The boys hadn’t been to Knott’s Berry Farm since they were much younger, so we felt it was time to visit again. They whole park was decorated beautifully for Christmas.