Snoqualmie Falls and Salish Lodge

May 17, 2009

A friend wanted suggestions for a romantic getaway to celebrate a 1 year milestone and I thought but a minute before coming up with Snoqualmie Falls and Salish Lodge, located about 30 miles from Seattle, Washington. Grandpa Ron and I enjoyed a weekend there many years ago and we still talk about it! It is where we adopted Bear, our first of now very many bears. He was sitting in the middle of the pillows on our bed when we arrived. We paid his adoption fee in the Gift Shop and he has gone on almost every trip we’ve taken anywhere ever since!

Salish Lodge has many scheduled activities that you can participate in. Even if the lodge is too high end for yur budget, Snoqualmie has other hotels and there are other nearby cities to stay. There is hiking, biking, horseback riding, kayaking, whitewater rapids, fishing and golfing galore – and a Railroad Museum!! We loved the train ride and the informative interpretive tour.


Gardening Moments With Your Kids

May 16, 2009

Check out the Kid’s Gardening website for ideas to make gardening moments to share with your kids or grandkids. The Parents’ Primer is the Family Resource Room feature for this month. From the site: “find out how to engage your children in outdoor explorations that cultivate their love of plants, gardening, and the environment.” The first resource of the Parent’s Primer is age expectations for what kids get out of ‘gardening’ depending on their age group. Just as Michelle Obama created the White House Garden with school children, you could have your own special garden to share with your favorite kids. Interesting aside: Two bee hives will be part of the organic White House Garden plan!


Order Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too! In Time For Father’s Day!

May 13, 2009

Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too now has the Look Inside! feature on Amazon! Order now for Father’s Day! It is perfect for grandpas! Austin and Grandpa Ron play around the house and outside in the dirt, play at the river and the seashore, watch big trains and play with little trains, rest and fall asleep after a big day of new adventures together. It really is cute.


Great Smoky Mountains National Park

May 12, 2009

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is celebrating its 75th anniversary of its opening in 1934 with all kinds of special events. Of course there is the normal hiking, horseback riding and bicycle riding and other outdoor activities as well! It is the most visited of all the national parks. Jerry Shriver had an awesome article Power to the people’s park in the May 8, 2009 USA Today paper.


May is National Bike Month

May 11, 2009

The League of American Bicyclists website has a list of the Bike Friendliest States. The top five states are Washington, Wisconsin, Maine, Oregon and Minnesota. Bike On!!


Kids Active In Nature – Lehigh Gap Nature Center

May 6, 2009

The Audubon Magazine is one of the most beautiful magazines I get. I just read the Citizen Science article in the May-June 2009 Audubon on Whiz Kids by Susan Cosier and photographed by Chip Simmons. Eastern Pennsylvania kids help collect butterflies, moths, bees and flies for real, hands-on scientific research at the >Lehigh Gap Nature Center. Nature is so important for our well-being. Birding is a great way to get kids interested in science and to learn scientific methodology. It is a great article. Now that I’ve teased you, click on this link to get more….

This all folded into another article in the same Audubon magazine on a Guide to Birding Trails (Part 3 of a series). This link sends you to a list of birding guides on the Audubon website. You can probably find a birding trail for your area of the country there.


My Book is on Amazon!!!

May 4, 2009

Woo! Hoo! Forgive my excitement! It’s my first time!! Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too! is now available at Amazon! The page will get more interesting as they add content to it over the next week or so.


Quail Botanical Gardens – Chocolate Festival

May 2, 2009

The Quail Botanical Gardens is located in Encinitas, CA, just twenty minutes north of San Diego. There is a special Children’s Garden (The Seeds of Wonder) that opened to the public in April, 2003, as the West Coast’s first interactive children’s garden. Other gardens, covering over 35 acres of exhibits, include rare bamboo groves, desert gardens, a tropical rainforest, California native plants, Mediterranean climate landscapes, the Undersea Succulent Garden, the new Mexican Garden, Landscaping for Fire Safety, a subtropical fruit garden and a Miniature Railroad with a 1920-1930 local Southern California layout.

On Saturday, May 9, there is a Chocolate Festival with children’s activities, chocolate tastings, cooking demonstrations and Mother’s Day gifts.

On Saturday, June 13, from Noon to 4 PM the Public Grand Opening of the Hamilton Children’s Garden will take place. There is no admission fee.

Ongoing Programs from the website:

Ongoing programs complimenting the new children’s garden are rotated periodically. Most are geared toward children ages 18 months through 6 years old, although all ages are welcome. Ongoing programs are free with regular garden admission and pre-registration is not required unless otherwise noted.

Programs for Preschoolers:

2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th Tuesday: Tales and Tunes 10:30am – 12 noon
Children and their caregivers participate in stories and songs at 10:30 – 11:00. Play in the garden and pot plants to take home 10am – Noon.

Every Wednesday: Garden Arts and Crafts 10 AM – Noon
Children may participate in a variety of arts and crafts at 10:00 – 11:30. There will also be plant potting and other fun activities.

1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Thursdays: Plants, Wings, and Crawly Things 10 AM – Noon
Children will discover the plants and bugs that live in our garden. Preschoolers will participate in special science activities from 10:00 – 11am.

2nd Friday of each Month: Friday Fun! 10 AM – Noon.
Children may pot a plant and play in the garden… Presented in cooperation with the San Diego County Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures.


Tanaka Farms Strawberry Tours

May 1, 2009

Tanaka Farms in Irvine, CA, is holding Strawberry Tours through June 21. Kids can learn how fruits and vegetables are grown. The whole family could come pick strawberries! There is an hour-long tractor-pulled wagon ride around the farm. Lots of locals have lots of memories of going strawberry picking at Tanaka Farms!


Saguaro National Park

April 29, 2009

The Saguaro National Park outside of Tucson, AZ, is a majestic place to hike around. The tall – and very old – Sagauro cacti reach for the sky and you feel so very small – and young – in comparison! So many outdoor activities are available to do: hiking, biking, camping, birding, horseback riding, and wild flower seeking ( in the spring ). Grandpa Ron and I really enjoyed the park.