July 4th and Russian River After

On a nice warm Sunday July 4th, we went to Century 25 Cinema, Union City, to watch Toys Story 3, which came out 2 weeks prior, I think. Both kids enjoyed the movie, each one recognising the characters from their Lego sets. Even though J sat through the whole movie, he didn't seem too excited about the whole experience. I think he prefers to be able to move around while watching a movie. He didn't understand why people would come to a cinema when they can do the same thing at home with their TVs. I wondered the same thing myself. While I enjoyed the movie, I too, prefer the comforts of my own home so I can enjoy the movie in any sitting position; unlike at the movies where you are confined to the upright seat.

That night, we drove to San Jose Giants Stadium to catch the fireworks. After driving around for about 30 minutes in slow traffic, we finally parked on the side of a busy road where "No Parking" signs were posted. I kept envisioning traffic police slapping a ticket on our car. Nothing like that happened, thank goodness. The fireworks were spectacular. The finale was an eye-popping, colorful display, complete with loud bangs from the fireworks going off which also jolted our hearts, literally. As we headed to our car, L asked to go again tomorrow night. It was the kids' first fireworks and I guess they really liked it. :-)

Next morning, we headed to Guerneville which is about 1 hour 45 minutes north of SF. We stayed at a place called Rio Villa. We rented a single-bedroom with full kitchen. L and DH slept on the sofa futon convertible in the living room while J and I were in the bedroom at the back. The place was a bit small. Disappointingly, the fridge was a mini-size. We had to use our cooler to store some food and the ice melted on the last day.

Where did we go? We went to Armstrong Redwoods State Park. Hiked on some easy, flat trail. Within the redwoods was the Armstrong Tree and Forest Theater where a stone stage and rows and rows of stone benches were surrounded by tall sequoias. I loved the place. It was cool and damp. The only live creatures we saw were snails and slugs. Still, it was fun.

The rest of the trip was spent on Russian River. L and I paired up for a paddle boat ride while DH and J paired up for another. $20 per boat for an hour. I thought it would not be enough but I was wrong. 45 minutes into the ride, I was ready to paddle back to the shore and get off. The days were cool and breezy so the boys couldn't really dip fully into the river. L did however. He became quite brave and actually walked to the middle of the river. I was so scared but realized that it was REALLY shallow! L really had fun. I suspected he was cold but didn't want to stop. He had a HUGE smile on his face. I had not seen such happy smile on him. It's like he was able to do something fun for once. He can't swim in a regular pool, so this was the next best thing. The next best NATURAL thing. I allowed him to be in the water until the winds became stronger and the clouds were starting to roll in. I felt sorry for him but we had to go. L came out with his teeth chattering but continued to have that happy grin on his face. I felt ... joy. I wish he could have more of such feeling in his everyday life.