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Año Nuevo Reserve

We got 2015 started with our annual return to Año Nuevo State Park down near Santa Cruz. The weather, as most of you know, was spectacular. A little too spectacular for January. Forty of us made our way down the coast, and hiked out to see the elephant seals. We saw all the usual sights–males fighting, females raising their pups, pups calling out for milk, and dodging the 5000-pound behemoths around them. It’s sometimes hard after so many years to remember that this is a really unique place to be close to wildlife and see them act like we aren’t even there.

The highlight of the day for most of the kids was after the tour, when we walked down to nearby Cove Beach. The tide was way out, so we had a long and wide swath of beach. The sun was warm and bright, and the ocean felt cool on our toes. The kids (and adults) had an hour of free time, and it was hard to accept that we’d have to keep our day moving and head back north.

We did receive special ‘funding’ for an ice cream stop in Half Moon Bay. Some kids said it was their first time ever to Baskin Robbins. We love giving the kids ‘new experiences’!

We’ve found that the Pacifica Pier is a great place to stop and see something different (and free!). Lots of people were crabbing and fishing, huge waves rolled in far below us, and the sun was setting off to the west. We fought the bridge traffic, made a quick stop on Treasure Island, and called it a day.

If you have an extra few minutes, the slideshow video is here:

We’re still hoping for a trip to the snow this year at the end of the month. The only thing we’re waiting on, is, well, snow. A big storm is coming this weekend, you may have heard, so we’ll see if it gets cold enough to drop what we’re looking for. Otherwise we’ll have to get creative!

Our new shirts are being printed, and should be ready in the next couple weeks.

Thanks for reading, and we’ll talk to you soon.

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Monterey 2014

Hey Everyone,

Hope you’re having a safe and fun rainy season.  Last weekend, we got a break in the weather and enjoyed a great time in Monterey.  We sorta forgot how long the drive was, having taken a bus the past couple years.  And the “storm day” off from school caused us to miss our meeting before the trip sending us into a bit more chaos.  But we had willing chaperones, and a nice group of 33 kids, and the day was a success.
We started off at the Monterey Bay Aquarium at the Open Sea feeding.  It’s really a spectacular show, if you haven’t seen it in the past few years. There’s the usual narrator, but lots of interaction, lots of video, and it’s really fun to see how the fish behave in the million gallon tank.  But it also was our first taste of the crowds.  As the day went on, we noticed how crowded the aquarium was becoming.  It turns out that we were there during a promotion where residents of the three counties around Monterey could all enjoy free admission.  Which is a great opportunity for the community.  But not a good day for us to visit!

Obviously, it was harder to move, and harder to keep track of kids.  But we did our best.  There was a really nice temporary exhibit on cephalopods (octopus, squid, cuttlefish, and nautilus, etc.)  Kids loved the touch pools, as usual, and the jellies are always a hit.  It was hard to get shots of kids actuallydoing things, compared to the last trip to Slide Ranch.  But still a great experience in a world-class aquarium.

In lieu of our usual afternoon trip to SLEWTHS, we decided instead to walk Fishermans Wharf in Monterey.  We sampled lots of clam chowder, and then found a guy willing to let us hold any of his many parrots and take photos.  We got to see a wild sea otter at the end of the wharf, who would dive down for mussels, come back up and bang the shells on a boat to help crack them, and then float around on his back to eat.  We watched him for about a half hour, and wandered back to our cars for a snack before leaving.

The slideshow/video of the trip can be viewed here:

January’s trip is back to Año Nuevo to see the elephant seals.  Hope you have a great holiday season, and thanks again for all of your love and support.
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Slide Ranch 2014


ESCAPE Club fans,

The ESCAPE Club at DeJean is really rocking this year!  We’re on Instagram (follow us @escape.club ), we’ve got a YouTube channel, we’re in the newspaper, REI sees us, there’s snow in the Sierras already, our website is almost ready for official release, and most importantly, kids are getting to do some great things outside!

November’s trip was to Slide Ranch near Muir Beach.  8:30am at DeJean and the drive to the ocean was cold, wet, and blustery.  36 kids and 9 drivers ignored the weather, and showed up anyway, hopeful for a fun, worthwhile day.  Driving through the rain, I have to admit I was wondering what I was leading these kids into.  But once we parked the cars and got out, the sun broke through.  We shed our rain gear, and felt once again like we were being favored.

The staff at Slide Ranch divides us up into small groups, and then spends the day giving the kids an intimate look at life on a farm.  In particular, we spent time learning about and discussing sustainable living and where our food comes from.  The groups rotate through several activities, including milking a goat, visiting the chicken and duck coops, making bread and butter, touring and tasting in the organic garden, digging in the compost pile, and seeing how a bee hive works.  Each activity is completely hands on, and a new experience for almost everyone.  The land at Slide Ranch ( slideranch.org ) is open to the public if you ever want to visit.  We’ve just had a great time every time we’ve visited.

After our time was done at Slide Ranch, we walked down the hill to the beach.  The tide was out, but there wasn’t a whole ton of wildlife that captured the students’ attention.  A few starfish, a few crabs, a few anemones.  But that didn’t matter.  It was just fun to climb over the rocks, dodge the waves, and enjoy the sand and the view, and whatever oddity they saw.  Back home by dark, the kids were tired and could look back on a great experience.

Jason’s slideshow video can be viewed by clicking on the following:

December’s trip to Monterey is coming up next week, so we’ll be back in touch soon!
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Mount Diablo 2014

We got the year off to a great start with our trip to Mt. Diablo and Rock City.  About 35 kids got to get out of town, and go up ‘On Top of the World’.  The students were wide-eyed as we drove up the narrow roads, looking down the steep slopes, gawking at the cyclists daring to ride UP to the top, and counting the 1000s of feet above sea level.  We arrived at the summit around 10am, and enjoyed a clear view.  The museum there is well done, and interactive.  And after a couple years of construction, the observation deck on the roof is again open for business.  We spent about 30 minutes there, and then headed back down the mountain to Rock City.

After a brief meeting together, the kids went their separate ways to find a good spot to eat lunch.  Some opted for caves, while others opted for the views.  One group mapped out all the peaks they wanted to climb, found their way to each of them, and made it up each one.  Jason and I were both encouraged by the enthusiasm of the kids.  They explored all the trails, and got up to as many cool hangout spots as they could.  It was warm and sunny on the mountain, but it was easy to find respite in the shade, and we drank plenty of water.  The blue sky and scattered clouds made for some nice photos.
The only disappointment was that we didn’t get to see any tarantulas.  (I guess not everyone was disappointed, but I was.)

November’s trip is a return to Slide Ranch–the teaching farm near Muir Beach–on the 22nd.  Space for this trip is limited, but let us know if you’re interested in coming along, and we’ll see if we can make it work.
Thanks again for all of your encouraging words, and support.