Woodland & Grandparents

Grammy and Grandpa (a.k.a. Jennifer and Charlie, Andy's parents) live just outside of Sacramento, a little over an hour's drive from our previous wine country stop. Although the day felt cool to them, we were happy to soak up the afternoon sun once we left behind the drizzles of Sonoma County. We crowded into the backyard as Minerva joyously reacquainted herself with the other members of the Rhyne Black Dog Club: resident pooch Tye, and Molson, Zach and Karen's dog who is temporarily housed with the grandparents.
Grandpa and Andy darted out to get haircuts (hey, that mohawk of Andy's is not going to trim itself), then home again to light the barbecue and start going on upright "beer can" grilled chicken, minus the beer can. With the water in the outdoor spa tub heated to a cozy 101 degrees, Grammy was happy to use it as ammo with her little co-conspirator.

We all had to keep our wits about us as Alton's aim with the water shooter varied in skill--he made targets out of the backside of the grill, the bushes, occasionally (accidentally?) our pants, and often, the dogs (whose reactions ranged as follows: sad[der] looks from Minerva, dramatic and hyperactive jumps as if he were getting a leg full of shrapnel from Tye, and no acknowledgement whatsoever that anything had happened from Molson).

Grandpa saved us all from sporting "accident" pants for the rest of the night by teaching Alton how to transplant flower starts.

Little Mr. Green Thumb was entranced!

Then came more watering, which he couldn't help but enjoy, of course.

The next day was Monday, which saw Grandpa back at the salt mines, but Grammy had the day off to visit with us. I'd heard from other Sacramento-area folks about Fairy Tale Town, a park themed around children's stories and nursery rhymes, and since the weather was fair we opted for a visit. It had been years since Grammy Jennifer had visited this place, and then only with chaotic field trip groups, so she was dubious about how nice we'd find it. She was happy to be surprised by how tidy and fresh it all looked, and since it was a school day we meandered through fairly crowd-free, save for one small field trip group that cut out early.
Alton and Grammy on a throne at King Arthur's court.

Admission a paltry four dollars, Fairy Tale Town is a collection of play structures with slides, ladders, stairs, and paths to take you into a literary world amalgamated out of characters ranging from Cinderella to the Three Little Pigs, Winnie the Pooh to the Crooked Man who walked a Crooked Mile, Peter Rabbit to, um, Pirates. Scattered throughout are animal pens, some "petting zoo"-style and some not, housing (among others) a donkey, two sheep, a calf, four rabbits, a tarantula (not for petting) and some newly hatched chicks.
Farmer Brown's barnyard had a tractor for Alton to pose on.

The Little Engine that Could captivated his attention, of course.

He popped his head down the White Rabbit's Hole.

We went around and around the whole place, earning our picnic lunch!

Alton shows off one of the twistier slides on the property.

Heading home, Andy prepared to attend an evening work function in a nearby city; a worldwide summit of energy managers (one of the many "hats" he wears) from his employer was happening a short drive away. Although he was on sabbatical, Andy was extremely personally motivated to attend the conference because of the opportunity he'd have to meet folks from other worksites (Ireland, Switzerland, and Singapore, to name a few). We welcomed the chance this event would give us to spend more time with Alton's grandparents and enjoyed our stay at their house splashing in the hot tub, barbecuing, re-organizing our belongings and soaking up the free wi-fi, and doing laundry, of course. The couple days flew by, and soon it was time to take one last shower and wash/dry one last load before decamping to the dirt once again. Here we embark upon another nine nights of camping at three different locations. And something tells me that the two pairs of long johns EACH that we packed are about to come in handy....