Animal Tracks

 On Saturday morning, Violet and I went up to Agua Dulce, to take a guided tour of Animal Tracks, a rescue/sanctuary. Many of the animals should have been wild, but were unfortunately kept as pets. We watched a pack of wolf/husky hybrids in another large enclosure.

Violet was able to feed the horse and donkeys lettuce.

We started with an introduction to the organization and to a few animals, including this cheeky marmoset with the crazy hairstyle.

This cockatoo was LOUD! I can understand why an owner might not be keen to keep it for the long haul.

Did you know armadillos are great diggers, and like playing with balls? 

The fennec fox was so cute!

The porcupines were so sweet! We learned about their habits and got to see some quills up close, as the lady passed some loose ones around.

Some people try to keep red kangaroos as pets. One man who did so kept one of these guys with his large dogs. Well, in Australia, a kangaroo's natural enemy is a dingo, so this kangaroo was very stressed all the time prior to his rescue.

There were lots of capuchin monkeys, and a macaque.

Chrissy the baboon loves playing mama to the monkeys.

Violet was most excited to see the sugar gliders, tiny Australian opossums. They weren't part of the normal tour, but the owner took us into their little cabin and gave us a private look at the normally nocturnal animals mistaken for flying squirrels.

Animal Tracks also houses rabbits and ferrets, in the top of this photo.

These piglets were recent arrivals. They were so loud!

After Animal Tracks, which was right next to Vasquez Rocks, we went to a farm shop in nearby Acton. We bought a soap, jam and bread. Then we got a drink at a local coffee shop.

Before returning home, we stopped at River's End BBQ and shared a big hamburger.

We had a great Saturday together!

Meanwhile, Stace played golf with his work friends and they went to the Local for lunch; he then helped Christina with a Finally Family Homes project.

Weekend Work and Play

 On Friday night, we went over to my friend Liz's neighborhood, where she organized an HOA food truck night. We got some yummies and visited with friends.

On Saturday, Stace helped at the tiny house, while Cora and I went to Culver City to help Melanie with a wedding.

We were mostly in charge of laying down the greenery on the dining tables.

Meanwhile, Stace and Violet went to the Santa Barbara Zoo. Violet took this photo of a monkey (on a sign) because it reminded her of a particular gray cat.

They got Japanese food on the Santa Barbara Wharf after their zoo trip. I'm so pleased they had a great day together.

Stace watched the England-Spain Euro Cup Final, and was disappointed with England's loss Sunday. 

Winston took an interest in the Argentina-Colombia Copa America final later that day. 

We've not seen him take this kind of interest in the television before, so it was quite entertaining. He was trying to get the players as they ran.

I got to take home extra flowers from the wedding, and had some helpers as I made a couple of arrangements. (See Winston in the middle, underneath?)

Winston was licking Seb's head here. So cute! Winston generally licks his friends the wrong way, against the grain of the fur.

On Sunday, after the England game, I met up with my girlfriends for lunch for Sue's birthday. It was great catching up.

Family and the Zoo

We chose this mid-March weekend so we could celebrate the birthdays of both Melanie and Grandpa. 

With the recent passing of Dodger legend Tommy Lasorda, Mom, Melanie and I all went in together to get this official Lasorda jersey as a gift for Dad.

The group!

Violet's one goal of our weekend away was to play Telestrations with the family. It was a lot of fun, with lots of laughs.

Violet made a birthday cake, which we enjoyed Saturday night (and Sunday morning before we left).
 

Beautiful Big Bear Lake

On Sunday, after packing up and leaving Sugarloaf, we went to the Big Bear Alpine Zoo. Lots of neat animals, including foxes, bears, coyotes, wolves, snow leopards and mountain lions.

After the zoo, we said goodbye to the family, and went into cute Big Bear Village for a walk around the shops before heading home. It was a great weekend away!

Bearizona!

On our last day of our vacation, Grandma and Grandpa wanted us all to experience Bearizona, a drive-through wildlife park they'd visited with Melanie and Nick a few years ago.

You first drive through various areas, where the animals are separated by species. Here are some adorable bears.

The wolves were awesome to see.

Mountain goats!

You then park and enter the rest of the attraction, with smaller animals on display, a bird show, and a petting zoo. Violet took this photo of  Joe the turkey.

The youngest bears were in this area, too. Look high in the trees. It's a bird. It's a plane. It's.. a baby bear! This, despite the wraps around the trees at the bottom to try to prevent the bears from climbing them.

Cora bonded with this gorgeous jaguar.

We then started on our long drive home. The girls stayed busy watching movies on their personal DVD players we bought as a family Christmas gift. The sound of silence from the girls across the 430 miles was quite a gift to us! We were home before 9 p.m. - not too shabby.

Friday and Saturday Fun

 Now that we're officially a Marvel Family, Cora and I were very excited to watch Captain Marvel when it opened. Violet decided she'd rather wait to see it at home, so we took Jake and Charlie with us. Char is there - look hard.

We loved this movie! What a great, strong female lead character.

The boys came over to play after the movie - these three have so much fun together.

 Cora finished her frame project, and we printed pics to put in them - her favorite friends! Vivian on the left, Violet on the right, and Jake and Char in the middle.

Friday night, I met up with my mom and dad at our new music venue, the Canyon, and watched the veteran star Gordon Lightfoot perform his hits. I grew up on his music and saw him 20 years ago, so it was special to see him again.

My dad took the photos for the Canyon - what a great shot, Dad! Thanks for working for free tickets for us! Gord sounded different from his heyday of course, but performed ably and had a great presence.

On Saturday, Stace, Violet and I drove up to Santa Barbara so Stace could stop in at Moss Motors, an MG parts manufacturer and showroom. He'd bought something a few months ago that wasn't quite right. 

After making the return, Violet and I went to the Santa Barbara Zoo, while Stace went to a drag racing event.

 Vi and I had a lovely day together! (Cora was spending time with Grandma and Grandpa and doing an aerial class.)

 The Fennec Fox was awake! So cute.

Sliding down the hill is always fun at this zoo.

 On our way back home, we met up with Michelle, Rob and Brooke in Ventura for dinner. After eating, the dads and daughters played around, doing track and field activities.

 Always good to see Michelle!

Quite a long jump, Stace! He and Rob always have a good time together, too.