Table Mountain – Oroville, CA

Growing up on Yankee Hill, I remember this pervasive myth that Table Mountain was actually the bottom half of the Sutter Buttes, and that by looking at a topographical map you could see that the outlines of both match up perfectly, if set on top of one another. Even though I know that it is logically improbable and most likely completely false; I prefer the willing suspension of disbelief, even if I cannot help but want to try to line up those maps myself. I even remember hearing that there are species of plant that can only be found in both areas, validating this theory. I do know one thing for certain:

Table Mountain is a place of fairytales, and cows.

Table Mountain is just outside of Oroville, about 1.5 hours from Sacramento. On Sunday morning, we packed some lunches, kidnapped Nivek for some forced family time (you really do have to force that sort of thing nowadays), and headed there for a picnic and to fly our new kite. Unfortunately, imps stole a necessary piece to the kite while we ate, so we weren’t able to fly it; however, Kennedy did sing “goooooot tooo fiiiind the missing pieeeece” over and over again for much of the remainder of our trip, in what was most certainly an allusion to The Lord of the Rings, only further confirming my theory.

Sunday Farmer’s Market Flowers

Aside from the fact that I (practically) live spitting distance from the Sacramento Central Farmer’s Market (8th & W), more often than sometimes, Kennedy and I will venture over to the farmer’s market on Sunday mornings with the sole purpose of buying flowers and coming home to arrange them. Because this farmer’s market is pretty busy, and you can expect to get bumped abruptly pretty much around every turn, it definitely does not have the nice, calm, coffee-sipping feel of the smaller markets. While I do really like the broad variety of seasonal produce this farmer’s market offers, we tend to do more swearing than strolling, and just quickly head to the same few booths each time. Luckily, the best flower stand and our favorite fruit stand are on the same far end, so getting in and out quickly has become an art form.

Once we pick out our favorite bunch of flowers (15 dollars fills 2 large or 3 medium vases in our house), we head back home where it is Kennedy’s job to sort them into the vases.

Disclaimer:
This might be the truth. Kinda of. Maybe. Ish. I sort the bundle of flowers into stacks based on type, and hand her the flowers one by one while persuasively suggesting which vase each flower should go in (think: crazy micro-manager boss with the voice of your 90-year-old grandmother). Once she has all of the flowers in the vases, I might use the good ole “Look! Is that a pink elephant?! LOOOOOOOK!” so that I can perform a quick switcheroo, before helping carry them inside.

She is SUCH a great helper.

Shirt | Wren and James
Shorts | Vintage Wranglers
Monster Slippers | Carter’s

Lake Almanor, CA.

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We woke early Sunday morning, grabbed our coffee and hit the road. Usually we don’t drive quite so far for our Sunday road trips, but since this included some pretty great friends, babies, and a cabin on the lake, we were all in. It took us about 3 hours to get there; the roads were surprisingly clear and the babe slept like a babe. Our friends (Mcrae & Mark) were at breakfast when we arrived so we unloaded the car onto the porch and headed up the side of the hill to this pretty sweet tee-pee that Jeremiah “the strong” and Mark made the day before. After about an hour we brought all of or stuff inside and Mcrae and I settled into and afternoon of chatting and babies while Mark and Matt opted to gain a man-card by fishing on the lake. Eventually, the boys returned with 3 trout, dinner was made, the babes were in bed and we played “Cards Against Humanity” late into the night. In the morning Mcrae made coffee and breakfast, and we slowly made our way to the car and back home. It was a perfectly simple and satisfying weekend.

Jumpsuit | Cotton Bottom

Mt. Judah / Pacific Crest Trail – Truckee, CA.

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When we woke up this morning, we really didn’t have a plan as to where we were going. After eating pancakes and hearing about the earthquake in Napa, we knew that we would not be heading in that direction for our Sunday trip. This, of course, ultimately led to last minute stress and crankiness on my part; it was Kennedy’s nap time and she wasn’t about to let that fact go unnoticed… and we still hadn’t a clue as to where we were going. With a quick google and a grumble, we loaded up two kids and two dogs for Mt. Judah with zero expectations. It really wasn’t until half way there that I realized we weren’t going to South Lake Tahoe, and that we might actually have a good time… and I needed to drink more coffee.

Kennedy snoozed the whole way. Phew. We arrived around noon and were immediately taken by how green and beautiful it all was. We parked just up the street from SugarBowl Resort, and walked back toward the Pacific Crest Trail. The beginning half of the hike was a long zigzag up the mountain. It really doesn’t take long before you want to pull out the camera. The views were beautiful, really. You would have no idea that the state was in droughtville. Kennedy spent most of the trip on my back, until Henry decided to poop out. Normally Huckleberry is the fatso of the group. This time Henry was panting heavily right off. I think the high altitude affected him more than the rest of us. As you can see, Matt ended up carrying a baby this time too. We wandered until about four when we decided to head back toward home.

Our trip ended with a few burgers from In-N-Out (and a grilled cheese). It was one of my more favorite hikes that we’ve had. Even though I wasn’t expecting much, I would really like to go again. Definitely recommend.

Harem Pants | Sweet Lucy Jack

Helen Putnam Regional Park – Petaluma, CA.

Graffiti

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Knowing it was expected to reach 101 degrees in Sacramento, we left early hoping to beat even the smallest bit of heat, and headed toward Helen Putnam Regional Park in Petaluma, California. Before arriving at the park, we stopped to take a few photos of the awesome graffiti behind the Phoenix theater and pick up some sandwiches at the Tea Room Cafe. Unfortunately, the Tea Room Cafe only serves brunch on Sundays, so, we got back into the car and just headed for the park. When we arrived, it was about 80 degrees and the dogs were eager to get out of the car. We chose this park because it looked a bit different than some of the others we had been to recently. Instead of traipsing through trails filled with trees, it had wide-open fields that flowed into the valley. The hike started out with an uphill climb that edged up to a large pond (small lake?). Henry (Le’ Boston) is part Alligator, so I think this was his favorite part of the whole trip. Huck pretended to like the water to fit in, and we headed out. It wasn’t long before we were all roasting in the noonday sun though. Overall, the trails we not too treacherous, though had we went the opposite way I might be saying otherwise. In the end, we sat at a picnic table and cooled ourselves; I am guessing it was in the high 80’s at this point. We loaded up and stopped for sandwiches (again), but this time at Ray’s Deli , which did not disappoint.

Navajo Harem Pants | Two Little Kings

Amador Flower Farm – Amador, CA.

Flowers

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Today we took a trip to the Amador Flower Farm. If you like lilies, this is definitely the place for you. It took us about an hour to make the drive. We arrived a little after 11:00am and the overall atmosphere was quite beautiful, the weather–ideal. We strolled through the rows of flowers, and noticed that there were thousands of varieties of lilies, but little of any other type of flower. I was really hoping to see a few fields of tulips or wild flowers, seeing I am not a big lily-girl, but that was not the case. After taking some photos and having a quiet lunch in the grass, we decided we would head toward a “family fun farm” that we spotted on the way. Once there, we enjoyed some killer lemonade before heading the rest of the way home. Lovely.

Hidden Falls – Auburn, CA.

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We decided that today would be a great day to get the dogs and kids and head for a hike. We waited until 10am, when Kennedy predictably would be sleepy, made some bottles, loaded the canine children, and headed out. Hidden falls is located near Auburn, CA and is about an hour drive from Sacramento. The trek to the falls wasn’t too far (1.25m) and downhill almost the whole way there. The falls themselves were pretty-ish, but not spectacular. I would guess if you made the hike during a non-drought time of year, maybe they would be more exciting. The highlight really was simply playing down in the creek with the other 20+ people dying of heat stroke. Kennedy loved it, and the dogs loved it even more. The way back was much less casual. With Kennedy snoozing in the carrier on my chest and an uphill climb all the way back, I was much less enthusiastic. I will definitely return with Nivek and the family for a longer trek when it’s a little cooler. There are a lot longer trails, and I’m guessing lesser-known and more interesting sights to behold (according to the map), so it’s definitely worthy of a return trip.