On Friday we took a great hike through the adjacent regional park, through the forest and over a creek and down to the ocean. Jack walked almost the whole way down. Daddy carried him back up, because it got dark pretty quick.
On Saturday Jack woke me up saying "Ocean! Ocean! Hit the rocks!" There was no time to dilly dally in bed. There were things to see! We tried to go the other direction on that same trail, got caught in a sudden deluge, and so hightailed it back to our cabin with Jack ensconced safe and dry in Danny's coat. Jack fell asleep on Danny during that madness, and woke up the instant we laid him down on the bed. Of course. Then the sun came out. Of course! So we played in the sun for a while.
And then it started to rain again, so we took a long drive up the coast while Jack slept and we all enjoyed the rolling countryside. When we returned, the animals had all come out to eat and/or roost and/or be milked. Jack followed the sheep as they were shepherded to their pasture, he chased the peacocks and the pigeons with delirious delight, and he got to watch a cow get milked (which I think almost caused his head to explode, he was so excited). Honestly, I think this is the best vacation Jack has ever had, by Jack standards. It's like going to Little Farm, or the petting zoo, except you get to live there.
We need to find a ranch like this we can keep returning to, we decided. Like summer camp. Unfortunately for us, this particular place we just discovered is closing down. Or not closing down, but closing to the public. The family has decided they've had enough of us obnoxious tourists and just want to go back to it being a ranch. Which is sad for us, but nice for them, and agritourism is a growing industry, so hopefully if we poke around we will find another place just as good. Maybe not with quite as stunning views of the ocean, but if we're lucky, with as many animals friends for Jack.
Sunday morning was the most beautiful day yet, and we took another hike on a trail we almost missed, which my mom had discovered right before we were about to leave. I'm so glad she found it because this was probably the best part of the whole place! Seriously stunning. And right out our front door. Goodbye, Stillwater Cove Ranch. We sure will miss you.
One more photo. We stopped in at Pt. Reyes Lighthouse on the way home, which I had been to about three times in my life and never actually made it out to the dang lighthouse because it was either closed, or too cold, or too foggy or something. This time I was determined we make it, despite the fact that there were 100 mile an hour winds threatening to blow us into the ocean. Jack was cold. He's never cold, and he was cold. He burrowed into his daddy's jacket so deep, I think he would have crawled right into his shirt if he could have. But he got a huge figurine of a grey whale (which he grabbed onto in the visitors center and would not let go of, and is lucky to have a grandpa that spoils him) that goes with his killer whale, which has now been dubbed "tiny whale" because it is, by comparison. And I got this great photo.
Yeah, so the lighthouse is distant and out of focus. Turns out that wasn't the part I was most excited about.
1 comment:
Great pictures -- you've captured our short weekend stay very well. I love the sheep in the pasture overlooking the rocky shore. That one deserves an enlargement.
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