Reno

The half way point between Anchor Bay, CA and home was Reno, NV.  On our way to Anchor Bay we stayed at Circus Circus.  It was fun!   Here they had candy jars full of banana runts!  Who would have thought!  It was awesome.  The boys also had a great time playing in the arcade.  We come away with about 20 bucks worth of stuffed animals and a cool orange mustache ;)  On the way home we stayed in Reno again and went to the live show of Greece.  I love the music, but it was a little risky with two teenage boys.  Not sure I would recommend it.  We will chalk that one up to a good learning experience and a conversation about what NOT to do in school and in life!

Happy Birthday to Mom!

It was fun to be on vacation for my birthday.  The boys were very sweet.  They each found me a cute, singing card, and two very large yummy cupcakes.  It was very thoughtful and one birthday I will always remember ;) 

Kayaking

I was soooooo scared to do this, but soooooo glad we did it!  Definitely something we will never forget!  We kayaked through some neat caves and right out to a nesting spot of some sea lions.  We were only a few feet from them.  We got to hold a starfish pulled right off of the sea cave wall and held a jellyfish.  The boys even tried eating some seaweed.  Some of it is ediable - who knew?   The boys rode together in a kayak and Trav and I together.  The boys fought about how to paddle, and when to paddle, and who was not doing this and that right.  Obviously they need to spend more time together in confined areas so they learn to get along!!!  No, it was quite funny actually.  Trav and I got pushed into one of the cave walls as the tide was coming in out and almost fell out!  It was scary - but I am so glad I didn't go in.  The water here was filled with so much seaweed.     

Bucket List #3 - S'mores on the Beach.....check!

One of my favorite things to do on the beach is to build a bonfire and sit back and relax and watch the boys play in the sand and water and hang out with Trav.  We found a great little cove to build a fire.  it was a gorgeous evening and a moment worth remembering.  Loved it!

Trail Exploring

As we were leaving the lighthouse area, we noticed a little side trail where you could go explore along the cliffs and shoreline.  It was very cool.  I took a photo of Trav standing on this slab of rock with the waves crashing behind him.  Along this shore line were cliffs and little nooks and coves and rocks that went out into the ocean you could climb on and feel like you were standing in the ocean.  You could feel the power and energy of the waves here.  It was neat, but kind of scary too.

Point Arena Lighthouse

Point Arena also was home to one of the oldest standing lighthouses.  We climbed 145 stairs to overlook the ocean.  It was very neat!

Point Arena

 The Chowder House - overlooking the ocean and fishing pier

The Movie House

Point Arena was a small town just north of Anchor Bay, this is where Franny's bakery was, they had a really cool movie theater where we got to see Despicable Me 2, we also wanted to try out the food at a restaurant they called the "Chowder House."  We were really looking forward to good chowder here, but I wasn't too impressed.  However, this is where we got to try our Salmon.  Right out the door from this restaurant was a large fishing pier, the only one we really did see on our trip.  The fisherman would bring their fresh catches right into the restaurant to be cooked.