Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

Ziplining... that's what we did.. YEP.. me too! Can you believe it?

Our adventurous crew!

I didn't want to be left behind so I had to swallow my fear of rehurting my knee and I dove into the challenge.

Mt Hermon in the Santa Cruz Mountains offers Canopy Tours through the redwoods:
"A zip line canopy tour uses specialized equipment and cables to allow guests to experience the upper reaches of a forest. Each participant wears a harness and uses a pulley system to guide along interconnected zip lines that stretch between elevated platforms."
From  http://mounthermonadventures.com/faq

Yep that's me.. and  it's actually holding me up!

I was too cheap to buy the picture so I sneaked a shot of it on the computer..

 We had some great guides.. Robert and Hilly

The 2-hour tour consisted of 6 zip lines and 2 sky bridges at heights up to 150 feet. Each zip line was different: there's one that was the highest, the lowest, the longest, the fastest, the slowest and one that you can't see the end point.. the mysterious.

Marcus getting clipped in!

You were hooked in with two cables with at least one always hooked on to something either the cable or the tree. The whole contraption can hold up to 2,000 lbs! (YES! It can hold me!)

Robert catching Emily as she was coming in.

There was a guide at each end of the zipline either clipping us in to go or catching us and clipping us off the cables.

At first I did not want to look at anything other than the face I was going towards which was Robert's. He said to me, "I know I'm good looking but try to look at the surroundings.. it's much more beautiful to look at!" As the zip lines got longer I was able to really see God's creation.

The kids were naturals..

Hannah hanging over the ledge.. it's about a 150 foot drop there!

Hannah zipping in on our 2nd to last run in which she needed a little bit of help from Hilly.. the lighter ones seem to get stuck before they get to the end, I was told. Not that it happened to me.

Emily posing for a photo finish

Emily cannon balling in

Shawna has no fear.. hanging over the ledge

Shawna ziping through

Marcus is a natural...

...and also a Ham for the camera!

The younger folk walked the suspension bridge with no problem

While the older folk had a little sillier time.

Matthew so cool on the ledge

It was hard to get pictures of him because he always went first or last since he had the video camera.. but I took a picture of a picture again

Willie contemplating.. "If I jump, will they catch me?"

Willie had a great time! I don't think it was high, fast or long enough for him!

Before we went, my friend Stephanie gave me the 4-1-1 on ziplining, warning me to never ever get stuck or stop before you get to the end of the line... Because if you do stop before you get to the end you naturally will go backwards and then stop where the cable is flat which is usually in the middle of the line. Then the guides have to stop the course and go out onto the cable to grab you and pull you in. Not an easy task! And very embarrassing, Stephanie warns.

Well I did not have a problem with that issue because I found out that those who do stop or don't get to the end of the line are usually the 'lighter fared' ones.. which I was not one of!

Sandy is petite and slim.. she is definitely a 'lighter fare' one.

She zipped along quite nicely until she got a few feet from the end.. and stopped!

Fortunately, our guides prepared us well and taught us what to do if we do get stuck!

Sandy expertly turned around and pulled herself in! She was a pro!

Matthew with his handy video camera on his helmet!

A Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

Zip-A-Dee-A

My oh my what a wonderful day!

Check out a little of the action here...

You can't say we didn't show Marcus a fun time here in good ol' America! 

Organics, Light and Whales

Earthbound Organic Farm started here in Carmel, CA and continues to offer fresh organic produce and flowers.

A brief lesson on 'Organic":
What is Organic?
The USDA's National Organic Program prohibits the use of harmful synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, as well as GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and irradiation (process by which an object is exposed to radiation).

Dirt defines Organic! Organic farming is focused on building healthy soil by building healthy ecosystems in the farms such as cover cropping, crop rotation, composting and planting beneficial insect habitat and host crops.

How do you know what is truly organic?
It has the USDA Organic Seal.

The Farm Stand

We strolled their organic gardens...

Map of the farm

Lovely Lavender.. smelled so good!

They had all kinds of berries to pick from all fresh, sweet and delicious! My favorite was the yellow/golden ones.

I was most impressed with the their Cafe. I had the most delicious panini sandwich and Hannah had two bowls of chicken noodle soup.

Did you know that Earthbound Farm was the first company to successfully launch pre-washed bagged salads for retail sale in 1986?

Their Organic Kitchen is only the 3rd certified organic kitchen in the US serving all handmade foods from all organic salads, soups, bakery treats, smoothies, yogurt and ice cream!

After lunch we had to check out the lighthouse. Since the house was just right across from where we were staying, we had to check it out! It's the oldest 24/7 working lighthouse on the west coast!

Point Pinos Lighthouse celebrates 159 years in operation. It is a continuously operating lighthouse and it's beacon flashing nightly as a guide and warning to ships off the CA coast.

Going up the tower..

But the highlight of the day was our evening whale watching tour!

Traveling on the Sea Wolf II run by Monterey Bay Whale Watch Center

We were very lucky this weekend because there had been a high influx of anchovies into the Monterey Bay which was attracting a lot of whales to feed on.

It was slightly chilly.. Sandy was smart and brought some towels!

The Monterey Submarine Canyon is close to the shore allowing deep water species of whales, dolphins and seabirds to be near the coast.

These are humpback whales that travel in pods of 4-6 mothers with their calves.

These waters are an extremely productive feeding area for many whales and dolphins. Plus with the uniqueness of the canyon these beautiful large creatures can get as close as one mile from the shore.

Humpbacks will eat 4,400-5,500 lbs of food a day.

These humpback whales are 'gulpers', filter feeding as they swim and gulp mouthful of fish as they rise up from the waters.

It was so amazing to see them come up out of the water!

You can see where the pods of whales were. Just follow the seabirds and seals. They know the whales will share their leftovers.

Pelicans up above!

The waters were also abundant with lion mane jellies. Hannah said her and the rest of the kids counted 500 of them at least during our 3 hour trip.

We ended the cold but fruitful trip with an incredible sunset!

Heaven's shining through!

Gorgeous!

LAST ADVENTURE: Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

Riding High!

We first took Marcus to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk..

Of the many times we visited here we never saw this sign until now!

 Where you can get jumbo everything...

Gigantic donut and corn dog and yes I did finish both!

 ... and fly in the sky!

Cliff Hanger ride

Sky Glider

Then we checked out the new Jellies and Tentacles exhibit at.....

giant pacific octopus

neon jellies

cuttlefish

MBA is one of our most favorite places to visit. We've been taking the girls here when they could walk.

Well.. when at least one of them could walk

Too big to both fit in this year!

As we were walking back to the parking lot Marcus found $1 on the ground and picked it up..

Unnoticed by him, a $20 bill dropped to the ground as he picked up the $1 and Hannah grabbed the $20! She generously agreed to split the $20 with Marcus. So each of them got $10. Marcus replied, "I LOVE America!!"

NEXT ADVENTURE: Organics, Light & Whales