Adventures in Skydiving

As summer is here I thought I'd share what I'll be doing almost every weekend this summer: hanging out at the Drop Zone and watching Papa skydive. It is one of my favorite places. (I spend most weeks talking about skydiving and airplanes). Let me share the airplanes with you. My favorite is the DC-3 (this one no longer flies, but it's still my favorite, I love to go touch the wings). This is the King Air (I get to practice jumping out of it, while it's on the ground of course). The one Papa jumps out of most often is the Twin Otter. (And yes, my parents are very proud that I can name each one of them.) I love to help Papa before his jumps by helping him do gear checks on his parachutes and encourage his tandem students to, "Have a good jump!"

My favorite part is when Papa lands. I yell "flare, flare, flare, Papa," as he comes in for a landing, and then as soon as all the parachutes are down I get to run out and meet Papa.

So, if you're in Northern California any weekend this summer (and are ready for some fun) stop by the Lodi Airport (just off of Hwy 99 about 30minutes south of Sacramento), or go ahead and stop by here to find a Drop Zone near you.

"My Darling AK"

AK’S BEDTIME ADVENTURE SONG

-sung to the tune of “My Darling Clementine”

(Chorus)

Oh my AK, my little AK

It is time to go to bed

You’ve had your dinner and your kisses

So rest your weary head.

There’s an AK a little AK

With a loving mom & dad

They live together and play together

And are hardly ever sad.

Chorus

The AK the little AK

Traveled with his mom & dad

They traveled to deserts and to mountains

And it was totally rad.

Chorus

They traveled far, they traveled wide

To lakes and rivers and shores

They traveled to beaches and to valleys

And to oh so many more.

Chorus

They drove on streets both wide and narrow

Dirt roads they loved the best

They drove all over in that Rover

But sometimes took a rest.

Chorus

They saw animals of plenty

Squirrels, snakes and moose and deer

Even once they saw a bear

But had only a little fear.

Chorus

Baseball games they really loved

Padres, Dodger, Oakland A’s

They saw the Angels and the Giants

But they haven’t seen the Braves.

Chorus

Springtime!

Yeah Spring is here, and spring in the mountains means water, and boy is it beautiful. Last weekend Auntie Mem came to visit me (and my mom, but mostly me). We took her out to Emerald Bay (see post below for more Emerald Bay).

With all that the snow melting Lower Eagle Falls was really flowing. It was fun to play in, but a bit cold.

With less snow on the ground, we did a little hike behind the bay up to the higher Eagle Falls. There was even a fun little bridge to cross right over the falls. We got to see wildlife, they were after the cracker crumbs I'd dropped. Thanks Auntie Mem that was a fun weekend. We've also started driving down the mountain a lot, and there is so much to see right now. Right along Highway 50 (heading towards Sacramento) there are beautiful flowing waterfalls all along the road and the river is flowing fast. We even did a little off roading to what use to be an old bridge and played down by the river. Dad and I sure loved throwing rocks into the river. On our way back up the mountain we took Highway 88 for a different view. There was a beautiful view of Bear River Reservoir and just across the Highway were many little waterfalls finding paths down the rocks. As we climbed higher into the mountains it felt less like spring and more like winter, especially looking at the still frozen snow covered lakes.

Boy is it beautiful!

Emerald Bay

Last week we had some warm sunny days (50 degrees, nice), so we took the opportunity to do some exploring. I've showed you pictures of Emerald Bay in the summer, but the snow adds another layer of adventure and beauty that must be shared.I sure had fun throwing rocks and playing in the melting snow.

Lower Eagle falls was especially beautiful!

So, we decided to have a closer look.What a beautiful day!
Springtime adventures, here we come!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Adventures in Skiing

Before I decide whether I'm a boarder or a skier (or both) I might as well try out both. So adventures in skiing! We found these fun little skis on e-bay and I don't even have to wear those terribly tight boots. We tried them out first in the house Then in the snow on the driveway. Then up to the slopes. We live pretty close so we take the free bus up to the lifts. That's me waiting for the bus. We tried out the ski school slope. Easy so up we go. I got to ride on the chair lift. That was fun, there is so much to see. Even on the beginner lift there is a beautiful view of the lake. Mom skied with me, and Dad was my personal photographer.

You gotta love it when the photographer eats it at the end. Check out the family on the mountain. After a long hour or two on the mountain, time to get back on the bus for the 5 minute ride home. Whew, I am tired. Guess what, I love skiing. I get my boots on all by myself, grab my skis and say, "SKI" "SNOOOW."

Maybe we'll see you up on the slopes!