Our kayaking trip, Point Reyes trip, and new shirts!
Our school year is marching along, with the end now in view! Everyone is so busy these days, but we’re grateful for the opportunity to share these experiences with students. All the angst of planning and meetings and paperwork falls away once we get out on the trips with our students!
First off, we’re excited to finally be wearing our ESCAPE Club shirts for the year. Thanks again to our old friend Keith Dickson for the beautiful design. We have a few extras if you missed a chance to order.
In March, we drove down to Moss Landing, loaded into kayaks, and got out onto the water! It was a gray day, but it wasn’t cold. The kayak company provides life vests and all the clothes we need to stay warm and dry. Of course there was a range of ability (and motivation) to make the boats go where we wanted, but isn’t trying new things what this club is all about? We all paddled around the calm water in the harbor, but then ran the gauntlet against the tide, under the bridge, and into Elkhorn Slough. We saw otters and harbor seals, cormorants fishing under the bridge, and oddly, even a beached shark!
On our way home, we stopped by the wharf in Santa Cruz. We treated ourselves to some ice cream, and watched the sea lions under the wharf.
In April, we returned to Point Reyes National Seashore. For most of the past 20 years, we’ve hiked to Alamere Falls. But for a few reasons, we decided to shake it up this year, and see the more common sites around the park. We started the day walking through the Tree Tunnel, and we took our group shot there. Then we drove all the way out to the point, and walked down (and back up!) the 313 steps to the lighthouse. It was a beautiful day!
Our main hike of the day was out to Chimney Rock. It’s a three-mile loop that looks out over cliffs, and through fields of wildflowers. We saw elephant seals out on the beaches, gophers peeking out of their holes, and an osprey with a fish! From there (after dealing with some car trouble) we ended our day at the beach. We were enjoying the sun and warm sand, and then we spotted a whale out in the distance! It was nice to have some down time at the end of the day.
Our Yosemite trip is coming up very soon! We’re so excited to be back camping again after such a long break! Hopefully there won’t be any issues around flooding, and we’re aware of the issues with Highway 120. The waterfalls will be booming!!!
Thanks for reading this far, and for all your support! We love to hear from you! Videos are below if you have a few minutes to watch!
VIDEO: Kayaking in Moss Landing
VIDEO: Our day in Point Reyes