Monarch Butterfly watching & Natural Bridges~ Santa Cruz

Over Winter break our friends took us over to Santa Cruz/Natural Bridges State Park.
 Which is world-renowned for its yearly migration of monarch butterflies.
 Visitors can see thousands during the butterflies’ peak season.
  It was pretty neat to see these beautiful, whimsical beasts in the wilderness. When you walk down the small canyon, you see a bunch of eucalyptus trees which at first the branches look like a bunch of dead orange, brown leaves...A closer look, they are actually tons of monarch butterflies huddling up together within the leaves to keep warm. It was really amazing, especially if you have never seen them before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When they felt brave enough you would see sudden bursts of fluttering
 butterflies throughout the canyon above you. magical really.

 

And perhaps you would be "lucky" enough to capture a glimpse of one really close up.
Like this sweet fella, who was much obliged to have his picture taken.

 

 

Our little group ventured around and took a nice little walk through trails and found an open area where people had built tee pees with fallen branches. The kids loved it and even built one of their very own. Freckles loved every minute of it. 

 

We also took a walk down to the beach area to see the ocean,
 the awesome Natural Bridge in the water and the tide pools.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a nice picnic with our friends too.. It was a blast.
We spent the whole afternoon there and enjoyed every bit of it.

Autumn Leaves

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The leaves are falling.
This is my favorite part of Autumn.
The chilly, crisp weather, the brilliant colors of
the leaves fallen from the trees.
Absolutely beautiful.
Happy Autumn
P.S. I will be sharing a few home tours from Instagram friends.....
 Come back soon to check them out.

By The Bay...

The last few days were coming to an end with Freckles, Grandparents. They are very active in their little community and have made many friends while they have been enjoying their life in retirement. Their friends had a potluck picnic by the bay where we went to feast in their community park and walk the shore just steps away from the grassy field. There were some very nice folks...It makes me so happy to see how very much they are liked and loved by their neighbors. They too give out lot's of love in return. They enjoy their quiet life in a quaint community nestled in the woods and the bay which is a part of Puget Sound. They enjoy walks together and kayaking in their kayak which my dad made with his talented hands. We are thankful for the time we had with them, they welcomed us in, gave us love, with chats and giggles and took us around town, as well as introduced us to all their friends. After the picnic, Freckles and I explored the grounds and walked down by the shore a bit. 

 

 

It was a gorgeous day. The beauty of it all....Breathtaking. We combed the shoreline for shells. But only brought home a couple shells to remember our time with them..
Freckles especially loved playing in the water.

 

 

 

 

 

We had a very nice time by the bay.
Perfect day with awesome people.