Day Tripping

Jac and Leanne have been staying with us since Monday while we awaited their mom’s (thankfully negative) Covid test results.

We like to keep things interesting for the little girls (and for us!) 

so on the days we weren’t baking, we day tripped.

Wednesday found us in Santa Barbara, 

lunching on the sand

while the girls played on the beach and in the sand under our table.

Then we headed to the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum

 In the belly of the whale

and the butterfly exhibit. 

The new entry rules required waiting in line for entry to the pavilion, 

in the shade, fortunately, with lots of climbing rocks to entertain the girls. 

I worried how Jac would react to the butterflies - 

Naia was terrified of them when we took her for the first time -

but Jac and Leanne were both fascinated.  

Time in the exhibit was limited -

a gong sounded when it was time to move to the next section -

so it wasn’t as relaxed as previous trips 

but we were able to get closer to the flutterbies 

with no one crowding in front of us.

The interior exhibits were all closed 

but the “backyard” area was open

with lots of open spaces to explore.

 Jac demonstrates the ‘touch with 2 fingers’ rule

The girls loved getting to touch sea stars and sea cucumbers on display courtesy of the Sea Center on Stearns Wharf. 

It was a super fun day 

and a very quiet drive home. 

More butterflies . . .