Poppas and Panda...

...also known as Mike and Randa (Sean's dad and step-mom) came to visit us from Seattle last week. They stayed the first night at the Seven Gables Inn which was so fun because I walk
by it all the time and have never been inside. It was gorgeous. Thanks guys for giving us an excuse to check out the place. We had milk and cookies in the Victorian sitting room and Lily ate all of the Dove chocolates which I am sure left some guest pillows chocolate-less that night.

The next two nights they stayed at the Exclusive Conroy Condo, sorry about the downgrade guys! Who doesn't love hearing a baby cry 4 times a night, sharing a tiny bathroom, AND a clogged sink? Welcome to my world. It was true bonding time. Mike and Randa you are such good sports!

It didn't take long for Lily to hop into their arms and Daisy to keep trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

While Sean was at work we took the girls to a great kid spot in town called My Museum.

I think Sean got his sense of humor from his dad. (No offense Mike).

There is a network of pipes and cranks that send balls over to this maual release. Lily loves this thing.

This little theater has a backstage with costumes galore and mirrors to get ready. Then on stage it has buttons for sound effects and a TV so they can see themselves. So cool.

The Princess, the Parrot and the Poppas...coming soon to a theater near you!

That night, of course, was magic bag, a tradition with the grand kids that originated when Sean was a little boy. Kung Fu Panda was a result of the magic.

On Friday morning Sean took work off, Lily ditched preschool and Poppas and Panda treated us to a local attraction ... a whale watch! Sean and I tried to take advantage of one when we first moved here but it ended up being a 3 hour tour and no whales. We see spouts/sprays from shore all of the time, but there is something about being out on the water with them that is just so magical and surreal. So, we gave it another try.This was out on Fisherman's Wharf waiting to get on the trusty "Caroline".We start heading out in to the harbor and the captain says "we have a real treat today!" Before we even got out of the harbor a RARELY seen blue whale was spotted feeding in shallow water. SOOOO COOL! I caught it going under with the video camera and Sean got this one shot of it's back.

Behold, the biggest animal in the world! I know, this doesn't do it justice.

This is what we would be seeing if we were under the water...Ahhh, if only!

So this guy went down for a few minutes and reappeared right next to our boat. You could hear, feel and smell (ewww) the spray as it came up for a breath!! Talk about halitosis! Of course I was trying to put Lily's sweatshirt on and missed it on video. Dang those motherly instincts! :)

Mission accomplished after a whole 5 minutes on the boat. We could have gone home happy! The captain then headed north up to Moss Landing where the two mile deep Monterey Canyon begins in Monterey Bay. A lot of critters congregate here to feed in these nutrient-rich waters.
It took about an hour to get there and the water was SUPER choppy. Lily kept complaining about her tummy and soon thereafter lost her sprinkle donut she had for breakfast. She then fell asleep(she is on the bench next to me). Sean soon handed Daisy over to me with a ghost white face and followed suit with his maple bar. I did get a little queezy but wanted to keep that healthy breakfast inside me. After all, think of the rep a wannabe marine biologist would get if she threw up on a whale watch. Daisy, Poppas, and Panda amazingly had stomach's of steel!

Here we are inside the cabin feeling the motion of the ocean.
The sea sickness was worth it! I don't have the pictures to prove it but I have amazing video footage of two humpback whales that lingered around our boat for at least 10-15 minutes. I even captured the classic tail fin coming out of the water. Sean watched from the cabin and we didn't have the heart to wake poor Lily. She did already see one and could watch the video. Of course, I have no idea how to post a video on my blog. In fact I am looking at my video camera right now thinking none of the computer cords will fit into this thing. Dang I need to learn how to do that.

Needless to say, it was an adventure to never be forgotten! The evening was completed with Madagascar 2 at our little local theater and Papa John's Pizza (my fav!)

Here are us girls the following day saying good bye. Thanks for the memories!