Part deux Colorado

After our first night camping and then a hearty breakfast, we headed to Telluride for a hike. We took the gondola to our hike, only to find threatening rain clouds and thunder. We decided to go down into the town for some walking around and eating, in hopes that the storm would clear.

On our second gondola ride, with honey sticks.

But it kept sprinkling on us, and so we sort of killed time in town before taking the gondola back to the car to get back to our camp site.

(looks cloudy, right?)

When we returned to the site, it became clear that the rain we had experienced in Telluride had been hail at our campsite! It was chilly, and wet. It continued to rain that evening, as Gabi and Paul braved the elements to cook our dinner and the kids played card games in the camper. 

The next morning, we packed up, and decided to try for another hike on the way back to Cortez. We had much more luck this time, and beautiful weather.

The kids tried their hands at fishing.

And eventually touched a fish, but we put him back. Then we played in a little creek, looking for critters and throwing things in.

When we returned to Cortez, nobody felt like cooking, so we went out for some sushi and ice cream!

And Adam and Paul ended the day with some competitive ping-pong. Fun times!

Colorado Part 1

After the wonderful leg of our trip in California, we were on our way to Colorado! We had an evening flight from LA to Denver, then got into Durango around 11 or so, then to Gabi and Paul's home via car by 1:00 a.m. Surprisingly, Kaya stayed up for almost the entire trip, and was in a wonderful mood. 

The next day, after sleeping in, we hung out around the house, met the chickens, and went for a swim.  I didn't cover too much of that day, but...

Here are Kaya and Gabi enjoying homemade ice cream on the back deck...

...and Liora and Sam watching Paul commune with the chickens.

The next day, we were heading to our campground! So the kids played on the trampoline while we all tried to pack up.

Kaya had her own chance to feed the chickens:

And then we drove to our campground, and set it up.

Here's Kaya saying "hi" from inside the camper...

...and Sam saying "hi" from inside the hammock, upside down!

We explored the site some, and ate dinner. Then the girls had their first s'mores.

And they ended the day playing frisbee in their pjs.

More California Adventures!

On day three of our California visit, we headed to the Getty.

But first the girls modeled hats at home.

Riding the tram from parking to the top of the hill.

The girls had a fantastic time running around the gardens.

And so did we!

Then we headed inside to learn about art.

Kaya was particularly taken with this piece. (She said it was a princess.)

That afternoon, while Kaya napped, Liora and I took another short trip to the beach. It IS only two blocks away, and so we wanted to take advantage. The water wasn't too freezing for a short dip!

(watch a video of Liora running into the waves at http://lifewithliora.blogspot.com)

We really smushed a lot into this day! After the beach, we headed out to a fancy dinner.

The girls ready to go out.

And being silly during dinner. Thanks for a great meal out Meme and Amity!

On our last day, Amity made some yummy french toast!

Then we all walked to the marina in hopes of taking a boat ride. But, the boats weren't running yet, and we were running out of time.

And so, we headed to the beach instead! My dad would be proud of our drippy sand castle, a required Yaunches beach activity.

Adam even made a small crab friend.

With some more time to kill before our plane ride to Colorado, Meme took the girls to have their nails painted!

Kaya got purple with silver sparkles...

...and Liora got blue with sparkles.

And this was the only photo we got of us all together! We had a fabulous time visiting California. Thank you so much to Amity and Meme for taking such good care of us, keeping us well fed and well rested, and providing transportation (especially the "turbo boosts," which Kaya still requests).

Next stop, Colorado...