The Sea Ranch
We got back yesterday from a few lovely days at The Sea Ranch on the northern California coast. Sea Ranch is about three hours from San Francisco (although with Devon, it's more like 4+ hours) and is right on the coast. Every house has to be built adhering to specific architectural guidelines that require it to be integrated into the landscape, and in addition, each lot has a view of the ocean (regardless of how close it is to the actual beach). It's kind of in the middle of nowhere to some extent, but it's a beautiful place to go if you want to spend some quality time outside (or indoors, next to a roaring fire).
For the last couple of years, my mom and Jon have rented a house there the week after Christmas; and for the last couple of years, we've gone up there with them. This year Aaron, Jon's son, also came for a couple of days. Aaron brought his dog, Bella, a big black labrador with him. Devon was totally thrilled with this, since she loves any dog and especially loves Bella. Luckily for her, Bella is calm and good natured, since Devon was literally harrassing her the whole time we were there -- giving her "hugs," trying to ride on her back, yelling "Bella! Bella!" contstantly, etc. Most of the time at Sea Ranch, Bella was trying to get away from Devon and Devon was trying to find her. I don't know how Bella felt about this, but Devon was thrilled with the situation.
The rest of the time was spent swimming (Sea Ranch has some terrific lap pools, and this time around they were warmer than usual, so Devon could use them too -- last year it was really chilly in the water, maybe 78 degrees, but this year it was more like 82...), walking on the cliffs of the beach and lolling about by the fire. Devon had even more fun here this year than last year since she's a lot more mobile (and so can take walks of more than 10 minutes in duration) and she got to go swimming. She's also much more cognizant of her surroundings; she kept saying, "Go to ocean," and other references to the beach, which she clearly recognized (probably from the recent time in Hawaii). Sea Ranch has great trails on the cliffs above the ocean, and we took some fun walks with Devon along the trails (including some with Bella, which were probably the highlight for Devon). Walt and I had one walk with her where she refused to put on her pants for at least half of it, even though it was December and cold -- and wind was blowing in off the ocean. But she was having a grand time nonetheless, stomping and cavorting along the trail.
The ocean at Sea Ranch was a bit of a disappointment for her, though, since she was expecting a Hawaii beach -- in other words, a nice, warm swimming beach -- and got a northern California beach -- a cold, windswept one with lots of riptides. I don't think she ever quite figured out why she couldn't swim, although after stepping in the water for a few minutes, she realized that it was really cold. One day we went to Mendocino and spent about an hour on the beach there. Devon insisted on taking her shoes off and spent at least 45 minutes running barefoot on the sand and getting her feet wet. She braved the cold up until the very end when she finally said, "My feet cold," as we went back to the car. I was amazed, since I was bundled up in a sweater and coat and I was still cold.
Devon also loved spending time with "Mama Lynn." My mom actually performed some amazing Devon feats while there, including getting her to open her mouth so I can brush her teeth. Up until now we've had huge battles about tooth brushing, with Devon crying "My do it, my do it!" and then having a teeth brushing session that consisted of sucking the toothpaste off of the toothbrush. I don't know how my mom did it, but last night and tonight were the first times Devon has ever let me brush her teeth. It's left me nothing short of dumbfounded (although as my mom noted, there are some things that your parents just can't do although you'll let others do them).
The best part about the whole trip was that the weather was fabulous -- sunny and clear every day. Last year it was really rainy and windy, and it took my mom and Jon several hours to get home because many roads were flooded. It almost put them off from rebooking, but this year redeemed everything; it was glorious.
We came home last night and ushered in 2007 quietly. We picked up some crabs in Bodega Bay and had roast crab with garlic and watched part of a movie (despite my pokes in the ribs, Walt just couldn't last through it all). We missed the fireworks -- a shame, since I love a good fireworks show -- but I got a good night's sleep in my own bed, which is worth a lot.
I hope that 2007 is a wonderful year for everyone -- I have very high hopes about it myself.
For the last couple of years, my mom and Jon have rented a house there the week after Christmas; and for the last couple of years, we've gone up there with them. This year Aaron, Jon's son, also came for a couple of days. Aaron brought his dog, Bella, a big black labrador with him. Devon was totally thrilled with this, since she loves any dog and especially loves Bella. Luckily for her, Bella is calm and good natured, since Devon was literally harrassing her the whole time we were there -- giving her "hugs," trying to ride on her back, yelling "Bella! Bella!" contstantly, etc. Most of the time at Sea Ranch, Bella was trying to get away from Devon and Devon was trying to find her. I don't know how Bella felt about this, but Devon was thrilled with the situation.
The rest of the time was spent swimming (Sea Ranch has some terrific lap pools, and this time around they were warmer than usual, so Devon could use them too -- last year it was really chilly in the water, maybe 78 degrees, but this year it was more like 82...), walking on the cliffs of the beach and lolling about by the fire. Devon had even more fun here this year than last year since she's a lot more mobile (and so can take walks of more than 10 minutes in duration) and she got to go swimming. She's also much more cognizant of her surroundings; she kept saying, "Go to ocean," and other references to the beach, which she clearly recognized (probably from the recent time in Hawaii). Sea Ranch has great trails on the cliffs above the ocean, and we took some fun walks with Devon along the trails (including some with Bella, which were probably the highlight for Devon). Walt and I had one walk with her where she refused to put on her pants for at least half of it, even though it was December and cold -- and wind was blowing in off the ocean. But she was having a grand time nonetheless, stomping and cavorting along the trail.
The ocean at Sea Ranch was a bit of a disappointment for her, though, since she was expecting a Hawaii beach -- in other words, a nice, warm swimming beach -- and got a northern California beach -- a cold, windswept one with lots of riptides. I don't think she ever quite figured out why she couldn't swim, although after stepping in the water for a few minutes, she realized that it was really cold. One day we went to Mendocino and spent about an hour on the beach there. Devon insisted on taking her shoes off and spent at least 45 minutes running barefoot on the sand and getting her feet wet. She braved the cold up until the very end when she finally said, "My feet cold," as we went back to the car. I was amazed, since I was bundled up in a sweater and coat and I was still cold.
Devon also loved spending time with "Mama Lynn." My mom actually performed some amazing Devon feats while there, including getting her to open her mouth so I can brush her teeth. Up until now we've had huge battles about tooth brushing, with Devon crying "My do it, my do it!" and then having a teeth brushing session that consisted of sucking the toothpaste off of the toothbrush. I don't know how my mom did it, but last night and tonight were the first times Devon has ever let me brush her teeth. It's left me nothing short of dumbfounded (although as my mom noted, there are some things that your parents just can't do although you'll let others do them).
The best part about the whole trip was that the weather was fabulous -- sunny and clear every day. Last year it was really rainy and windy, and it took my mom and Jon several hours to get home because many roads were flooded. It almost put them off from rebooking, but this year redeemed everything; it was glorious.
We came home last night and ushered in 2007 quietly. We picked up some crabs in Bodega Bay and had roast crab with garlic and watched part of a movie (despite my pokes in the ribs, Walt just couldn't last through it all). We missed the fireworks -- a shame, since I love a good fireworks show -- but I got a good night's sleep in my own bed, which is worth a lot.
I hope that 2007 is a wonderful year for everyone -- I have very high hopes about it myself.
posted by Devon Szalva at
8:53 PM
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