The Barnum Parents Bunch: Momma & Papa

 Our last group of visitors recently were a couple of tired people desperately needing a relaxing weekend: my parents.  My parents both had a busy week and they decided that they needed some sunshine and to smell the ocean to feel better.  They drove down Friday night and we stayed up talking and laughing.  Step 1 for having a relaxing and restful weekend: Laugh.
The next morning we woke up and Mom and Dad were itching to head down and see the ocean.  For both of my parents, the ocean is their weakness.  They've walked up and down Newport a few time so we thought we would show them a different beach in town.  We drove them to Crystal Cove where we could look at tidepools and sea caves.  My parents might look like your average, healthy grandparents, but the second you say tidepools and they go bouncing from rock to rock like little kids.  Jason and I would stop to look in a pool and then look for my parents and would see them a mile away.  Step 2: Tidepools.
Here are a few pictures from Crystal Cove.

We always bring a Frisbee to the beach.    

We timed it just right so that we were there at low tide.  You can see all of the places you can go and look in the pools.

That's my dad in the distance.  

Look at all of these mussels.  

Jason next to a huge cluster of mussels.  

Here is a good perspective as to how far my parents would get ahead of us.  The closest person in this picture is my  dad, and then that person in the far distance that you can barely see is my mom.  

My dad checking out the mussels.  

My mom, dad, and Jason.  

A picture of Jason and me.  

A picture of Papa.  

Jason, dad, and mom.  It looks like mom might fall in this picture, but she didn't trip a bit being so used to tidepools.   

 We found all sorts of things in the tide pools.  There were anemones, abalones, and of course, sea stars.

This is the first sea star that we found.  

I loved this purple one.  I named him Patrick.  

There are a whole bunch of logs around the beach that you can sit on and just relax.  

Mom and Dad found a log and waterfall to sit by and relax.  

Jason looking great as always.  This spot is right outside the sea cave.  

 Early in the morning we got up and went to go see some of my parents favorite sites in LA.  The first stop was where I have been meaning to take Jason since we moved down here: The La Brea Tar Pits.

Here is Jason next to the tar pits.  

Here I am looking in on the pits.  

Yes, the tar pits tend to smell.  

 There is a small museum that goes with the tar pits, so naturally we had to go inside and see.

A woolly mammoth.  

 We also decided to go and visit a museum in town.  The LA Natural History Museum is a great one and so we went there for a bit and wandered around.  Step 3:  Good museums.

Watch out for T-Rex!  

We had some wonderful meals and even ended up stuffing ourselves one day for lunch that we completely forgot about dinner, and we didn't even miss it.  Step 4:  Good food.

Overall the weekend went by way too fast!  My parents had just arrived and then the next second they were packing up to leave. We went through the necessary steps to make my parents feel better, and by the end they look refreshed and ready to take on a few more weeks... until they come and see us again! :)