On our last full day in the Bay Area, we got to take the girls to Children’s Fairyland in Oakland! I had heard about Fairyland while we lived in the area and that it was a really great place to take kids, but we had moved away before Mio reached the age where she could really enjoy a mini-amusement park like that. It was the first time going to Fairyland for all of us (even Dan!), so it was a new experience for all of us, and we fell in love with the quaint and charming mini-amusement park from the 1950’s, with its whimsical storybook sets, gentle rides, and friendly animals.
“There was an old woman who lived in a shoe…”
Inside the mouth of a whale!
The girls rode on the ferris wheel by themselves!
It seemed like they weren’t sure what to make of it at first, but they had a good time and Mio wanted to go on it again.
Mio & Mirei dancing in a hut!
Mirei crawling through a tunnel:
Mirei and Daddy by Rapunzel’s tower
Clothesline and windmill:
Mio at the “Fountain of Youth”
There were llamas there!
Sitting on the flower chairs at Fairyland. The girls look elated (especially Mio!) to be on their little petal thrones.
Mio insisted that Dan sit on it, too.
Sitting on the dragon’s back at Fairyland
Mio loved running up the ramp to slide down this giant Chinese dragon slide.
Mio’s the piggy with the straw house in the Three Little Pigs
Mio and Daddy going through the Alice in Wonderland maze.
Train ride at Children’s Fairyland
The girls riding with Daddy
Loved the rainbow of colors on the train ride… π
Snack time. Eating a push-pop is serious business!
Mio is getting better about sharing with Mirei. So proud of her being such a sweet big sister!
They even had a Western-themed town at Fairyland. Here’s Mio going down the spiral slide.
Mio cranking at the well
Mirei riding the carousel
Mio LOVES carousels right now, so she was ecstatic to find one at Fairyland! She didn’t want to get off!
There was even a Japanese tea garden there that can be rented for private birthday parties! I loved that the mural had depictions of Japanese folk tales I grew up with, like Momotaro, Saru-Kani Gassen, Bunbuku Chagama, Kaguyahime, Shitakiri Suzume, and Urashima-taro. Mio recognized a lot of them too, since I’ve read a lot of the stories to her.
Mio looking into the Japanese tea garden:
Bookworms coming out of a wall of books
Daddy reading to Mio in the reading room
Mirei doing some reading of her own
Looks like Miss Mirei is going to be a little bookworm, too!
Boat in the sandlot
This pirateship playground was so neat! I love that Mio is steering the ship.
Mio’s obsessed with Beanie babies right now, so of course she was delighted to find them in the gift shop!
Fairyland was truly magical, and the girls had such a fun-filled day there! Our trip to California had been fairly grownup-centric with all the people and sights we wanted to see and places we wanted to eat, so I’m glad that we could set aside a day to dedicate to doing something that was all about our girls enjoying themselves. It’s too bad we no longer live in the area anymore, as Fairyland is definitely the type of place we would love to take the girls often!
Wednesday, May 20 was the last day of our vacation within a vacation, and we packed up at the beach house in the morning and spent the earlier part of the day at nearby Moss Landing before starting the drive back to the East Bay.
Mirei eating grapes at the beach house while everyone packed and cleaned.
Phil’s Fish Market & Eatery at Moss Landing
Pretty cool place!
We had lunch there and the food was pretty good!
Mirei was imitating the sea lions she saw earlier in the morning by barking like them:
Mirei is loving the attention from Ted & Jackie
Getting lifted in the air by Jackie & Ted
One last family photo in front of Phil’s Fish Market on the last day of our getaway!
We’re so glad that we could spend this time with Dan’s side of the family, seeing the beauty of the Monterey Bay and Big Sur and enjoying each other’s company. They will be memories we’ll cherish for years to come!
Tuesday, May 19th was the highlight of our family getaway with Dan’s family, as we explored our main destination of the trip — Big Sur! We got to go to Point Lobos, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, and Pfeiffer Beach. Dan and I had gone to Big Sur three years ago and we fell in love with the gorgeous sights there, especially the waterfall at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. We have been talking about coming back to see Big Sur for a while now, so we were thrilled to be able to return, and to get to show our girls the sights there, too.
Our first stop in the morning was Whaler’s Cove at Point Lobos. It was pretty cloudy and overcast in the morning (typical of Northern California), which only intensified the unsettling aura of the cove.
Whaler’s Cove at Point Lobos… where fishermen used to bring in whales they hunted at the turn of the century.
The place looked a bit of ominous… maybe it reminded me too much of a show we watched recently, The Killing
Sea lions beaching at the foot of the cliffs.
A small cabin built by Chinese fishermen from that era still remains and is now a cultural history museum.
With the whale bones by Whaler’s Cabin
Huge whale bones
I liked the inscription on this bench: “Tell them how special they are.”
We then took a walk around the cliffs of Point Lobos, and took in some of the prettier sights there. It was my first time at Point Lobos, but I observed that it has a very rugged beauty to it.
Point Lobos
The Allens at Point Lobos
With the grandparents Point Lobos
Look at the color of that water!
Enjoying a picnic lunch at Point Lobos
After eating lunch, we drove over to my favorite part of Big Sur — Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park! It was a bit of a drive from Point Lobos, but it gave the weather time to clear up, and by the time we arrived, the sun was completely out, making for a gorgeous day to see one of California’s most scenic locations.
Auntie Hyo holding Mirei as we make our way to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
The Allens at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
Our family at Big Sur’s Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
Happy we could come back here after three years!
Gorgeous view of the waterfall… this is my favorite view in California.
The girls taking a break on the bench
Beautiful Pacific waters crashing onto the shore…
With our little Mirei, almost 16 months old at the time.
Our last stop in Big Sur was Pfeiffer Beach, which looks like a beautiful beach set straight from a movie, with light shining through the Keyhole Arch rock formations and almost purple-looking sand.
Stunning Pfeiffer Beach
Mio walking with Auntie Jackie at Pfeiffer Beach
Mirei with Uncle Ted
The girls got to play in the sand with the beach toys that Grandma thoughtfully brought along for them.
Big Sur is so gorgeous! It was wonderful to be able to come back here with the whole Allen family, including our sweet girls.
After spending much of the first day of our mini trip in Santa Cruz, we headed down to Pajaro Dunes, where we would be staying at a beach house for the next couple days. It was a beautiful and spacious beach house right by the shore, and we had a great time relaxing there, enjoying the view, and easily taking walks on the beach as it was only footsteps away.
Jellyfish on the beach at Watsonville
Our beach house at Pajaro Dunes
Mio and Mirei unwinding at the house
Mio and Grandpa
Mio drawing
Mirei coming close!
View from the beach house window
Exploring the loft at the beach house
Our little climber loved it!
Mio and Mirei with their gift of handmade zabuton from Grandma – so impressed that she sewed them herself!
Taking a morning walk on the beach the next morning…
During the week we were in the Bay Area, we went on a mini-getaway (a vacation within a vacation for us) with Dan’s family for three days, and we chose to explore the Monterey Bay area, including Santa Cruz, Point Lobos, Big Sur, and Moss Landing, renting a beach house for two nights at Pajaro Dunes Resort in Watsonville. It was a fun few days in which we could really spend some quality time with Dan’s side of the family, and the girls had a blast!
Here are some photos from Day One, which was mostly spent in Santa Cruz.
Mirei enjoying the breeze!
There were clouds overhead and it was a little chilly, but still beautiful!
Mirei with her aunties
Santa Cruz strolling with Grandpa
Picnic lunch at Santa Cruz
Mio with Grandma on the boardwalk
Mirei with Auntie Jackie
The sun came out to make it the perfectly sunny day!
Mirei and I at the Santa Cruz Wharf
Sunbathing sea lions at Santa Cruz Wharf
Mio and Grandpa looking down at sea lions
Mirei with Grandma
After thoroughly enjoying Santa Cruz, we headed over to Pajaro Dunes in Watsonville to settle into our beach house where we’d be staying for the rest of the trip — we’ll share photos from there in our next post!
