Mom and Dad are home!

Yesterday was our day off. We ventured west from the farm to Fort Bragg (cool right?) and then south through a dotting of small coastal towns. Pretty amazing and breath-taking. The whole vibe was quite unexpected - very progressive and a real interesting mix of people. The scenery, on the other hand, was out of this world. Rocky cliffs, pounding surf, and a fog that was omni-present - it's something the pictures sure won't do justice. The temperature was something that was a little surprising as well. It was probably in the low 50s throughout the morning and then it probably dipped into the upper 60s by the time we left. As for our adventure, we traveled west from the farm over to Fort Bragg, one of the larger coastal towns in northern california. We walked around the downtown, had coffee, and stopped at a few viewpoints along the way. Then we traveled south down Highway 1 (spectacular) towards Mendocino - very progressive small coastal town with a cool vibe. Then we headed to Big River which is a river that flows into the ocean (or out of depending on the tide). That and one of the Redwood parks we stopped at were the major highlights. The ocean was way calmer there, the water was a tad warmer (the air temperature, too), and it was extremely beautiful. Then after quite a while at Big River, we headed to Hendy Woods which is the park of Redwood trees - by no means the biggest in the state but probably the closest to where we were heading. The woods were pretty amazing. My camera decided to be dumb in the shade so I have to wait to get pictures from Bettina. The whole vibe was just really peaceful and some really beautiful trees. I think I'll go to Montgomery Woods (this other park) on my other day off.

So we got back to the farm around 8:30 or so (Cali time). Emily and Luke were there. And to be quite honest, I am a little nervous, because it's the first time I'll be working with them. Prior to this, it had been the blind leading the blind (and almost like a mini-vacation). I'm excited/anxious to be better oriented with the animals from Luke (who is the main animal farmer besides the goats) and pretty psyched about the gardening with Emily. I just got the okay from my principal to have a few raised beds behind my classroom to grow some vegetables/flowers. That should be quite an exciting venture. I better start taking in as much knowledge as possible.

Anyways, it's back to work time. I'm sitting here, eating a banana and waiting for the next direction. Emily and Bettina went on a run/walk this morning. Betti just came running in to get her camera to capture the moment that the hens/roosters jump out of the henhouse in the morning. Luke is up and running around, making coffee and walking around the farm. I guess I'll just wait around and see what the deal is. The other wwoofer Katie is here, too, now. Should be an interesting nine days.