Hangin' out with the pandas

Into the redwoods

We took off to one of our favorite summer spots: the Redwoods in the Santa Cruz mountains. It was warm there, unlike most Northern California locales this summer. This year's camping highlight was the nightly campfire: Grace was doing her comedy routine as we roasted marshmallows...as she got higher on sugar she got funnier and funnier.

Crossing the San Lorenzo River.

Grace and Hannah hike a trail leading to the river. You may have seen this shot two years ago. Now they are 12 and 11.

A beach vacation in Encinitas

We all got into the ocean and rode the waves even though the sun did not grace us with warmth. More coastal fog. The air temperature was around 70...but in the sub-tropical San Diego region that felt warm...and the ocean temp was 64. Those wet suits definitely came in handy.

Grace rode plenty of waves, and as you can see here, there was some sun.

Here is evidence that I did get some relaxing in.

The San Diego Zoo is a must!

Here is the beginning of the new elephant exhibit. The zoo has expanded the area for the gigantic critters, and developed an Elephant Care Center...very cool.

Watch them on the Elephant Cam:
http://www.elephantodyssey.com/video/

Approaching Panda Canyon

Watch the pandas on the panda cam:

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/pandacam/index.html

The newest exhibit at the Zoo is the Polar Bear Plunge, one of the largest polar bear exhibits in the world. This bear has lots of room to swim and play, and we were able to get up close and personal behind glass...it was fantastic!

Watch the polar bear cam:
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/polarcam/index.html

This is Su Lin, the large female panda, who is almost 5 years old, weighing 182 pounds. The little one is Yun Zi, a 10 month old male panda weighing 45 pounds, both born at the San Diego Zoo.