Grandpa Ron and I just finished planting 4 trees – to replace ones that died this winter and for Earth Day. Boy, are we tired!!! They are all different sizes. I’ll again try to get some pictures!
Grandpas Are Sharing Their Favorite Moments
April 24, 2009I have added a Shared Memories page to record some of the stories I am hearing as people react to my book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too! It has been great fun to hear some great grandparent and childhood memories. Do add your own comments if you have a story to share, too!
Oregon Garden
April 24, 2009Austin, Bella and Madison enjoyed looking at the birds, insects, koi, frogs and squirrels at the Oregon Garden in Silverton, OR. There are several themed gardens to wander through. So, maybe kids would do fine at the Hortense Miller Garden or other garden spots if mom and dad, or grandma and grandpa, would point out creatures of interest while they enjoy looking at all the plants in the gardens. The Oregon Garden has a special Children’s Garden to play in. Trees are shaped like dinosaurs. There’s a troll house to visit. The kids can also do an adventure hunt for a prize at the end of their visit. Doing the hunt kept them very busy and they learned some new things, too!
Hortense Miller Garden & Oregon Garden
April 24, 2009Following up on my interest in her article on Miriam Johnson’s garden, Lori Basheda sent me another story about a special person, Hortense Miller, in Laguna Beach, CA. She started her garden in 1959 and you can take two hour guided tours by reservation for free. Hortense, who passed away at the age of 99, gave the land to the city in 1976.
Austin, Bella and Madison enjoyed looking at the birds, insects and squirrels at the Oregon Garden in Silverton, OR (This is well worth a visit as well – I gave it its own note!!), so maybe kids would do fine here if mom and dad, or grandma and grandpa, would point out creatures of interest while they enjoy looking at all the native plants in the gardens.
Kennedy Space Center (Orlando) & International Spy Museum (Wash DC)
April 23, 2009The ladies at Triana’s Book Club highly recommended two places that their children really enjoyed.
The first one is the Kennedy Space Center. The museum is really interesting.
The second place is the International Spy Museum in Washington D.C. The kids loved it!
Wayfarers 11th Annual Art Show
April 21, 2009Wayfarers Chapel is holding their annual Art Show featuring top artists from all over the Los Angeles area. There will be a Musical Service with a Clavinova piano dedication at 12 noon. Uncle Jake will entertain children of all ages at 1 pm. At 2 pm Eric Lloyd Wright will speak about his father, Wayfarers Chapel Architect Lloyd Wright. The talk will be followed by a book signing at the Visitor’s Center. This is a chance for you to enjoy the views, the grounds, the chapel, the children’s activities and a snack in the Visitors Center – all for free.
Orange County Model Engineers
April 20, 2009Michele told me about this train ride when she heard about our train activities yesterday. The Orange County Model Engineers give free public train rides on their 7 1/2″ gauge Mackerel Flats and Goat Hill Junction Railroad over 5 miles of track on the second full weekend of every month. They are in Fairview Park in Costa Mesa, CA. Here’s a bird’s eye view of the layout.
Skunk Train – Fort Bragg and Willits
April 20, 2009Grandpa Ron and I took the Skunk Train from Willits to Fort Bragg and back several years ago. It is a great family trip through the redwoods. Here’s their photo gallery.
What is a skunk train??? Here’s the explanation from an April 1, 2009, Skunk Train press release:
With the occasional whistles as it chugs through tunnels, over bridges and past open meadows, the train follows the coastal “Redwood Route” as it has since 1885. Built as a logging railroad, the Skunk line began that year as a logical vehicle for moving massive redwood logs to Mendocino Coast sawmills from the rugged back country. Steam passenger service was started in 1904, extended to the town of Willits in 1911, and discontinued in 1925 when the self-powered, yellow “Skunk” rail cars were inaugurated. The little trains were quickly nicknamed for their original gas engines, which prompted folks to say, “You can smell ’em before you can see ’em.”
National Museum of the American Indian
April 20, 2009The National Museum of the American Indian is one awesome museum with buildings and activities in Washington DC and in New York City. Since this is one of my interest areas, I have been a member of the NMAI even before it opened the DC museum. I have only enjoyed the magazines and on-line material but friends who have visited said the museums are great, too. Here is the calendar of events for both New York City and Washington D.C.
Griffith Park Travel Town
April 19, 2009Today Grandpa Ron surprised me and took me to Travel Town in Griffith Park in LA. He hadn’t been there in a VERY long time. We strolled around all the old steam engines watching the kids climbing all around wherever they could. We rode the train where we sat behind a little boy who was very concerned that we didn’t bring our son with us. We explained we had no sons, just daughters – but we do have two grandsons. They just lived too far away to come with us today!
We visited Walt Disney’s barn and the Los Angeles Live Steamers, too, since it was right next door to Travel Town. We rode around behind the steam engine and enjoyed the trip around that part of the park. We saw Thomas the Train and got some pictures I’ll have to post later.
The visits were free except for the modest tickets to ride the trains.
I’ll write more later….
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