We returned home to fog and new pajamas. I was treated to a fashion show when I returned home from work one weekend - which involved catwalking up and down the hallway, wearing sunglasses indoors, beat-boxing, and proudly flashing a new wallet from the treasure box at the pediatric dentist's office.
We lucked out with a pretty day on another weekend, so a bike ride with our neighbors expanded to include a stop for boats, and eating lunch at the food trucks by the Golden Gate Park bandshell. Which allowed me to finally get around to trying 2 Bay Area institutions - paddle-boating around Stow Lake AND getting food from Sam's Chowder House - all in one outing.
July also marked Lucie's first foray into week-long summer camps. We eased her in with the first week - she was in the same camp as her brother and Beck, her buddy from next door - but then she was solo for the other two. Sadly, I have no photos from horse camp, but she's already informed me she's going again next year. I did catch the celebratory s'more at the final day of Junior Ranger camp. Lucie is now the only member of the family who has been to Point Bonita, and she has promised to take me to the lighthouse with the suspension bridge, hike to the Marine Mammal Center (it takes "forever"), and show me the "spooky volcano".
For the most part, though, if you want summer to feel like summer, you need to get out of San Francisco. Which is why I make sure to stack July and August with a decent amount of time away - and it doesn't have to be as far as Michigan or Wisconsin. Just crossing a bridge will put us in a whole different climate - like Healdsburg's:
We rented a house with friends and had a big day at the Coppola pool. The water was perfect, the kids had a blast, and I discovered how lovely an aperol spritz tastes on a nearly 100° day.
Best of all, we didn't have to drive our damp, tired selves all the way back to the city - our house was just 10 minutes away. It had some unusual amenities that made it a big hit - like outdoor ping-pong:
And a pair of curious horses next door who would show up at sunset and beg for carrots. We may have exceeded the recommended one carrot per horse per day.
Lucie especially got carried away trying to feed and pet the horses, and got a little nip when the greedier of the pair probably mistook her finger for a carrot. This wouldn't have been too bad, except she then yanked her arm back through the barbed wire fence. (I was briefly baffled as to how a horse bite - because I've received my share - could make long cuts in her arm) Luckily, Enzo's mom is a nurse AND she has the good sense to bring a first aid kit on trips.
Tears dried and arm patched up, she's ready to go back and pointing the way to the horse pasture! She's a pretty tough little girl, and clearly determined to hold onto her Future Stuntwoman title.
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