A Spring Trip to Gilroy Gardens and Carmel

We really enjoy going to Gilroy Gardens. I think this is one of the best kept amusement secrets in California. If we account for traffic, we can drive to Gilroy Gardens in the same amount of time as Disneyland. And while I am not comparing this park to Disneyland, I must add that there are LOTS of fun rides with little or no lines and it is always a relaxing, fun, enjoyable time for our family. I think this visit was the best yet. And with our season passes, all we had to pay for was our meal (and gas and a hotel(optional)). On this visit, we had the pleasure to meet up with good friends Maddy and Gwenny from Double Happiness. In case you may have missed previous posts, Chloe and Maddy are from the same orphanage in China and were probably there at the same time. By my calculations, it's a 3-4 month overlap. They are about 6 months apart and both are exactly 42" tall (which is a critical height for some of the rides). Chloe is a bit heavier with her stocky build, but I do see some similarities in these Southern Chinese girls.

Later in the day, we met up with some other friends of ours and it really was nice for us parents to visit and share stories. Someday, Donna and I are going to get together and share all our photo-editing secrets with each other.







After a couple of nights in world-famous Gilroy (LOL), we headed for our favorite place, Carmel (and Monterey). We ate at some of our favorite restaurants, hopped from beach to beach and hung out at the toy store and the hotel. We don't really do much, but it feels like a second home to us and we really enjoy every moment.

While the girls were at the beach, someone started feeding the seagulls (are they insane?), so that is why there are so many birds in some of these pictures. At least none of them left any presents behind as they flew over our heads! We came home Wednesday morning to spend one relaxing vacation day at home before heading in the opposite direction, to visit the grandparents in Nevada for Easter. Keep in touch for future posts about the grandparents' visit and another trip in search of wildflowers.