David Multer

For my birthday this year, Charlotte and I decided we would spend the day together doing something fun outside. Our destination was Elkhorn Slough in Moss Landing. We got up early to take advantage of the tides and then headed out in our kayak. It was a beautiful and peaceful day for a paddle. Our tour was very interesting and there was no shortage of birds and other wildlife. We saw a huge jellyfish in the bay just beyond the US-1 overpass. I’ve been to the slough in the past as part of a school field trip with the kids. This place really goes way back into the mountains. There’s also a very nice beach on the other side of the bay. ...

Now hail in January might not be an extraordinary thing in other parts of the country, but I can’t think of when it’s ever happened here in Santa Cruz. We used to get killer hail when we lived in Colorado. The kind of hail that totals a car. We tried to save some pieces, but it really was too small and melted as soon as you picked it up. Quite a treat.

Now you might be asking yourself, why are they trying to feed crickets to a bird? Well that’s the cage we keep our leopard geckos in, but today it’s home to a wild bird. It appears that this bird hurt himself flying into our window, and the kids wanted to nurse him back to health. Our cats would have taken the bird down in an instant if Charlotte hadn’t come to the rescue. ...

We met up with George and his family this weekend. The rendezvous point for this part of the day was a place called Maverick’s. If you’re any kind of surfer, I’m sure you’ve heard of this spot. Normally you don’t think of Half Moon Bay as a surf mecca, but some of the biggest waves on the planet roll in here and it attracts only the most fearless. There’s even a book on the place. ...

We decided to meet up with George and his family a little further north this weekend. Low tide at at the James Fitzgerald Marine Reserve at Moss beach is a great adventure. We first had lunch (from the Garden Deli of course) at the picnic area and then headed down for the beach. There’s also a very popular restaurant nearby called the Moss Beach Distillery. It’s a pretty interesting ghost story if you want to check it out. Anyway there are some good shots of Lindsey, Zachary, and Caroline as well as our kids Nick, Monica, and Gabe. ...

Winter is a pretty brutal thing in the Upper Penninsula, but there’s actually a lot less snow up there than usual for this time of year. Rose’s cabin and the clubhouse look great with their new yellow trim. We still call it Rose’s even though it’s now Valri’s. Grandma’s cottage and the main house have gone through a whole lot of winters. We usually stay at Grandma’s cottage when we’re up in the summer. ...

Toodles is Valri’s cockatiel. It’s really a very nice bird and he gets along great with the kids. He even whistles the theme to Ed, Edd n Eddy. Here he is hanging with Gabe.

An always popular destination when family or friends are in town is Carmel. There’s loads of shopping, art, food, and great beaches. I normally would have to include golf, but given the scarcity of anyone that can play in the family prevents me from mentioning it. There are a few very cool trees at the top of the hill above the beach. A few of these are great shots. ...

While my dad was in town, we filled our days with a pretty good variety of trips. We weren’t ready for the long trip up to Napa, but the Santa Cruz area is home to a few good wineries. Here we’ve stopped at the Boony Doon Vineyards tasting room. They have a very large variety of wines and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. We definitely need to head up to Napa the next time they’re in town. ...

It’s pretty common for us to have Christmas dinner at our house. Valri, Kim, and their family joins us as well as George, Ellen, and their family. This year we have the great pleasure of having my dad(Ira), Karen, and Max in town also. Ellen and Kim enjoy some conversation before dinner is ready. George hams it up for the camera. My dad has got a big smile on his face. Max is playing it pretty cool. Charlotte is happy having so much family over even if it’s a bit overwhelming. Hey, that’s what Christmas is all about. ...