Heritage Day

Saturday was the Heritage Day at the Montgomery Museum in Christiansburg. After grocery shopping, I went with Eva and Steve (apparently it's a lot easier for Steve if there is someone else to help keep Eva distracted and I can see why!). We started on the crafts.

Making a flower window

Checking out the end product (Which smells?)

After the crafts we headed towards the band and Eva and Steve got their grooves on!

Dancing

Happy father and daughter

"Daddy, what are you doing now?"

 Like last year, there were old machines and toys etc to test out and play this. The favorite was the corn shucking machine to take the corn off the cob.

Shucking corn

 There was also the bug display and my friend Bob was showing off his bees. (His honey is amazing!)

Bob showing off his bees

 I tried not to get too close to bugs (even if they were behind glass). But Eva insisted. Yuk!

Scorpion and tarantula

  We had a look at the animals (some goats and a pony) and Eva got a chocolate ice-cream. Which she mostly got around her mouth and down her dress but seemed to enjoy it anyway.

Chocolate mouth

hugs.

After the Museum, we went to the toy shop and Eva showed me some of the toys. We also went to a nice Organic food store and Oasis market, an amazing international food shop. I stocked up on Mochi, my latest addiction! I even managed to get the floor to try to make my own. That should be interesting. :-)

Today I had a small party for Cissi who has passed her phd defense and will be moving away soon. :-( It was  fun afternoon but I forgot to take any photos. Oops! 

Canoeing at Claytor lake

This weekend we borrowed a canoe from one of Steve's friends and headed to Claytor lake. We had planned to do this last weekend but the weather was awful. Thankfully we have the summer back for a while. We got the canoe to the dock and while Steve was parking the car, Eva played with my camera taking some great photos.

Eva's picture of the canoe

Me 

Getting in a pose

Eva selfie

Eva's photo of Steve

We got life jackets on and some snacks for the trip and headed onto the lake.

Getting ready

Getting in - Eva wasn't sure that this bit

Eva was a little unsure for some of the trip. There are a lot of bigger boats further out, making waves and she was not happy when the canoe bobbed up and down.

Out on the lake

But the weather was beautiful and it was a great day for canoeing. Though we went downwind first which was a mistake. It was a lot harder work on the way back!
Once back on dry land Eva was a lot more enthusiastic about the canoe.

A lot happier now the canoe was on dry land.

 Once we got everything stowed, we went to the beach for some snacks and a swim. I was pleasantly surprised how few people there were out. I was expecting it to be packed!

Enjoying the sun

Eva even ran into a school friend to play with. We playing in the sand (mainly eva destroying the sandcastle Steve was trying to build) and a bit of swimming. Eva is not very happy in the water but she did swim a little. And the weather was lovely so it was nice just to sit and soak up the heat. (I don't know how long the summer will last!)

On the evening I went with Steve to a wine night at the home of one of his colleagues. We had to explain a few times (and considering how often I mention him, I could probably mention here too) that we are just good friends (he's a bit like a big brother). It's just great having someone to go to dinner with or do fun things with on the weekend. It was a good night. The wine was paired with some amazing food and the people were lovely and fun to chat with. 

Sunday was once again work. Semester is starting soon. I am teaching and not looking forward to it one bit. My class has 130 engineers. So if some posts in the near future sound slightly mad, it's ok. I have gone insane but it'll all be ok in the end. (At least that's what people keep telling me!) :-)

Cascades walk

On Thursday after work, I went for a hike to the Cascades with Steve and Eva. The weather was perfect for it and we only saw a couple of other people the whole time we were walking.

We took the lower path to the falls which is a harder trail but it's along the river so a lot prettier.

Full river

The lower trail

We stopped to take photos as Eva's little legs (and my bigger ones!) got tired.

Eva posing by the river

Father and daughter moment

Me and Eva

Pulling faces!

There are lots of little rapids and waterfalls along the way. My favorite part along the walk was a rock we all agreed looked like a crocodile surfing down the river.

Rock croc in the river

I only got photos for the first 1.5 miles to the waterfall. I made it over all the tricky bits and then thanks to a bit of mud, a leaf and my usual grace and elegance, I slipped and twisted my ankle. :-( As the only choice was go back the way we came, or finish the 0.5 mile to the waterfall and then take the easy trail back, we decided to continue with the plan and see the waterfall. But I put the camera away to keep it safe! I only took it out at the waterfall when I wasn't moving!

the Cascades

The waterfall was really full thanks to the last 5 days of rain. We stopped and had a little picnic, with Eva bundled up in my jacket and scarf to keep her warm. (She thought that was great fun as you could fit 5 of her in there!)

Snuggled in 

After the snack we headed back down the easy path pretty quickly as they shut the park at sunset and it was getting late.

Back home I spent the rest of the evening icing my ankle. :-(

Roanoke and cake

After another great Friday night at the Monkey House with some amazing live music, on Saturday, I went with Steve and Eva into Roanoke to visit a few of the museums. We started off with the Taubman art gallery which is frankly just odd. I have been there once before and can't say I enjoyed it any more this time. The exhibits are odd. I decided not to take photos of the main exhibit. They were really creepy (with human heads on animals, blood, etc) and really not suitable for a 4 yr old!

Weird morphed redoes climbing on other teddies

The nicest thing there.

They did have a children's play area which was ok.

Being a butterfly

Making noise

Putting on a show.

 We didn't spend very long in the Taubman. Most of it was really not good for little eyes and pretty boring to be honest. After lunch at a Lebanese restaurant (the best thing about Roanoke is the wider variety of restaurants than in Blacksburg), we went to the Science museum in the square. It was way too expensive for what you got. It seemed aimed at too old an audience inside compared to the advertisements. We were not very impressed.

Checking out minerals

turbulence

 One of the best things was a planetarium globe. It displayed lots of different things, even the WMAP results. But it didn't explain any of them! Fail.

planetarium

There was also a sensory area where you could dig for fossils. Eva spent some time there, mainly throwing the rubber. Then we sat in the reading area going through books while Steve tried (and failed) to take a nap.

Digging for fossils

 After the museums and an ice-cream we headed back to Blacksburg. They dropped me off home where I took a well deserved nap! Children are lots of fun but exhausting. They came over to mine later that evening for dinner and Eva and I baked a blue Frozen cake. Eva was great mixing everything together. And we decorated it with sparkly icing! It was very pretty and blue and tasty.

Our frozen cake!

She was happy with the cake. Honest!

We were going to watch Frozen to go with our Frozen cake. But Eva changed her mind and we watched Despicable Me 2 instead. A fun evening to end a great day!
Today I spent the day working, so not nearly as much fun but necessary. :-(

Wine and design

Last night I dragged Steve to my favorite restaurant and wine shop, Zeppolis, for a painting class through Wine and Design. The idea is you got a glass/bottle of wine and someone teaches you to paint. (Though as the class goes on, you have to be more careful about which glass you are drinking from and which you wash your brush in.)

Steve contemplating his blank canvas

 Thankfully they sketched on the basic outline first (or it would have been a little daunting). I used to do a lot of art when I was younger but just haven't had the time in the past few (well 5+) years. Though I was never great at painting even then. Always got more on me than the canvas.  :-)

The class at work

Steve putting the final touches to his masterpiece

 The instructor explained each step and the different techniques to use to get the effects. It was great fun and I had a really good time. The wine of course helps with the artist process! :-)

My masterpiece (left) and Steve's (right)

And as with any masterpiece, it had to be signed (fair bit of wine at this point).

My signed piece

I think everyone had a good time. All the pictures were a bit different and most people (though not all) were quite happy and impressed with their new found skill. :-)

The class and their creations.

Monterey + Big Sur return trip

On the way back to LA on Sunday morning, we stopped in Monterey to have brunch with Rachel's cousin and her husband. The sea front at Monterey is quite touristy but lots of fun. We walked down to the front, sampling the clam chowder from every restaurant along the way to decide which was the best.

To the sea front

Parrot display

Monterey Bay

 The marina was very pretty (and finally the weather started to clear a bit).

Sea Lion pile

Poser!

Shark imitation competition

 Lunch was very nice on the harbor front.
After lunch we started the drive back. It is ~400 miles from San Francisco to LA and Sunday we did the whole drive. It took about 10 hrs in total. But it was along the Big Sur again and the weather was a lot better this time. So we stopped at some of the vista points on the way for photos.

Little flowers

The Big Sur 

In the sun

One of the many beaches

 At the base of the Big Sur we stopped at Morro Bay before getting on the Highway.

Morro Bay

 There wasn't a lot there. They had a nice little restaurant on the bay front with a live band and we stopped to try some BBQ oysters which were a lot tastier than I expected.

Live music at the restaurant. 

BBQ oysters

 We had a little walk around to stretch our legs and get an ice-cream.

Confused pigeons.

 The way back took a bit longer than expected mainly due to a fire. I think everyone was stopping in case it was a wild fire. It turned out to just but a gas company burning off some excess we think. Still everyone had to stop and look and delayed us ages!

Fire!

The trip was a very long weekend but worth it! I want to go back to the Big Sur and spend more time there. It's so pretty and wild. I loved it!

The last few days on LA were working and getting everything sorted. I am going to miss the suns and warm. It's raining already back home! :-( But now to start planning the next trip!