We went to Santa Barbara for a long weekend. This was Tyler's first trip down there as Shawn and I had been nervous about how Tyler would do on the long drive. He slept most of the way which made for a pleasant drive. We stayed with Andrea and Tyler couldn't leave her dog, Hannah, alone. Poor Hannah doesn't like little kids much and Tyler doesn't listen to us much so it was an on-going struggle keeping those two apart.

We went to the zoo down there and saw way more animals than the Sacramento Zoo had to offer. Like elephants, gorillas, turtles, sea lions and more. This zoo features a giraffe with a crooked neck which we couldn't take our eyes off. Just as the highlight of Tyler's first visit to the zoo was chasing the pigeons, this time around it was a seagull he chased back and forth. We went to the brand new Chase Palm Park which featured the fastest carousel I've ever seen. Grandpa, Andrea, Mommy & Tyler rode the carousel while Daddy stayed back to video tape it all. We didn't want Daddy getting motion sick. As Tyler's horse started going up and down, round and round faster and faster, he began shaking his head no and saying 'no, no.' Luckily, we were able to distract him with watching for Daddy each time we spun by him and that took Tyler's mind off begging to get off the ride. Phew.

Tyler also had his first encounter with the beach. He loved the sand and figured out how to walk barefoot in it pretty quickly. Not an easy task for a toddler. When we got down to the water, he was quite awestruck by the ocean and the waves. Eventually, he and Daddy walked to the water and when Tyler felt the cold sea cover his feet and sweep across them back out to where it came from, he had the biggest smile on his face. Remember how fascinating it was to feel the sand change shape beneath your feet as the water rushed over them? That's what I think Tyler was experiencing. I think I took two rolls of film, this was such a neat first in his life.

I know we'll be back to Santa Barbara for many family vacations as the kids get older. Grandpa can teach them to respect the ocean like he taught me. They can go off to junior lifeguard camp and volleyball camp, both of which Tyler saw. We stopped by the volleyball camp to visit my old high school coach and Tyler found himself surrounded by volleyballs. He definitely had an affinity toward them. Good! I see beach bum in this kid's future.