We flew to SJC but the Kao’s were still driving up from SD so we spent some time in Monterrey.

Walked around the wharf.

Daddy enjoyed seeing some vintage cars.

Running in the morn for Mommy was pretty glorious!

Those windswept cypresses. :)

Then of course the Monterrey Bay Aquarium! It was actually E’s first time.

Hadn’t seen these before! They were flashing/emitting light… Couldn’t quite capture it w/ a cam.

There were quite interesting, too.

Also new to us sea specimens.

The size of this crab!

The views all around couldn’t be beat.

Otters are always so playful and cute!

Loved spending the day @ the aquarium and we will definitely be back. :)

We strolled around Monterrey some more after the aquarium closed. Daddy of course couldn’t resist this local bakery.

Then we found Chinese food close to our hotel… that was surprisingly fairly legit! Drove to Cupertino that evening as Daddy had to be at HQ the next morn.

Back @ our fave coffee shop in the area — Nirvana Soul!

Ube mochi donut was one of their new pastries.

Then back to his beloved Hyperspace. :P

He hit the jackpot on the Nerf game.

500 tix!

Might just be back again this trip, hehe.

Grabbed some you tiao.

Amongst other Chinese food. :)

Found this other arcade. It was kinda outta the way and inside a sports center but worth visiting at least once.

This Meet Fresh right next to our hotel was insanely busy!

Extra taro is two pieces of taro, sadly.

Just chillin’ on our hotel patio.

Elias and Mommy took a drive to Santa Cruz the next day. Parking was a beating (even on a weekday) but we made it to the boardwalk…

Duh, he made a beeline for the arcade.

Then we played some indoor mini golf. Really enjoyed this course!

Played a few games…

Went to a ‘shrooms shop. Mommy was in heaven!

After that, we also checked out their local farmers market (a bit small), walked around downtown and while driving back, spotted a fire.

Really loved our hotel this time… It’s hard to book this one since it’s always full (from Apple employees visiting) so we were grateful we got it.

Kao fam made it into town and we ordered TW food and had dinner on the patio.

Hanging out with Ah-Gong like old times. :)

Fire pit turned on just as it started getting chilly.

First time having these berries… SO sweet but forgot the name of them.

Ah-Ma had plans with her friend and Uncle Dan & Auntie Jesse went to SF so E and Mommy visited a gallery in Palo Alto while Daddy was at the office.

Beautiful landscape art.

E enjoyed doing some drawing/sketching himself.

They had some interactive art stations and we spent forever trying to finish up the scavenger hunt looking for specific objects the in the paintings.

We grabbed drinks at Wanpo, which we don’t have in SD.

Then off to check out the Intel Museum @ their HQ.

Then we went to get fresh fruit at an orchard.

Spotted the cutest kitty!

Got into this sticker event after a crazy long line!

Lines appear to be common here… For SomiSomi? We can walk right in for the SD locations.

Golfland with Uncle Dan!

Did some reading in the hotel lobby…

Matcha for mommy, Italian soda for E to start our day at this cute plant cafe in Mountain View.

More drinks (later in the day).

Nice mural outside a natural foods store we went to in Palo Alto.

Then to some of the free museums on the Stanford campus… YO — Daddy’s initials. :)

This startled us a bit — sooo life-like!

Stanford’s Hoover Tower.

How do they keep the grass so green?

Another smaller gallery…

4th grade was all about monkey bars, with blisters to show… so he’ll take on bars just about anywhere. ;-P

Then met up with the fam at the Berryessa Flea Market.

Grabbed food from food trucks… some fairly authentic Mexican.

Walked around Japan Town for a bit. He can’t resist a claw machine.

Taiwanese for dinner! Then they were off to Yosemite the next day and SF to go back to TW. :( Grateful for the family time but sad to say goodbye as always.

Rose garden on Mommy and E’s last day as they had to go back early for a sailing camp E had.

One more Hyperspace visit w/ Daddy this time.

Went to the HQ store to see if there were any good products/gifts to pick up.

How creative is this? Made from air pods!

The SJC lounge is meh but we got to grab a bite before boarding.

Then Daddy had a couple of days to himself, mostly working but some food-ing, too… Singaporean food @ Killiney.

Otak otak!

And chicken rice…

Annnnd another line… for Salt & Straw. Again, no lines for us!

Katso sando the next day.

‘Til next time, Apple Park!

For the second year in a row, Daddy hosted a ultimate frisbee clinic @ school. Their P.E. coach wanted to expose the kids to different sports.

Then the day before school ended, the Kao family — including the newest member, Uncle Dan’s wifey — arrived. We were hoping they could come in August but they had some schedule limitations.

In front of our dirt lawn, haha. We’ve scheduled landscaping for September.

Uncle Dan enjoying the Oculus. ;-P

Brought some local eats back for them to try.

Took them to this Japanese/fusion resto with ocean views. And also known for character buns — these were matcha red bean turtles.

Duck ramen — Grandma and Y ordered.

Found a little shortcut to La Jolla Cove.

Auntie Glo does not like walking… we all took turns pushing her around in her wheelchair.

Everyone enjoyed feeding this little feller.

Working those quads on this steep incline. ;-P

Took them to Torrey Pines/Blacks Beach another day.

Uncle Dan and Y decided to take the sketchy (surfer) path down…

Can you spot Uncle Dan and Y? :)

Unintentionally and spontaneously was back on the Ho Chi Minh trail… arguably one of the hardest in SD.

The amount of scrambling required, hehe.

No filter on the beautiful color of that patch of rock with the sun shining on it!

On Thor’s throne. :)

After lots of scrambling, we made it… again. And it felt just as difficult as the first time.

But the views sure make it worthwhile.

On pins & needles whilst snapping photos, hehe.

Elias was running ahead on the trail and then fell hands first into some bushes and acquired a bazillion splinters. :(( ‘Twas not fun attempting to pull out as many as we could.

Coronado Island on another day to see the SD skyline.

They wanted to check out our community gym.

And a walk on our trails that are still being developed…

Uncle Dan saying niteynite. :)

Annie’s Canyon for another hike…

Pretty flowers were blooming.

Flowers on cacti are always interesting.

We did one loop and asked Uncle Dan if he wanted go for another… he opted out, lol.

Took them to the bunny cafe.

And Mommy’s fave completely GF resto. They really enjoyed the food!

We got a text that these two just happened to be at a park around the corner so we stopped by and played for a bit.

Stroll around Old Town the next day.

Blacksmithing demo.

J joined us for a Cowles hike before he was off to China.

These two were the first to the peak! We’ve trained them well. :))

Bidding their last farewells in the car… like they’ll see other in a couple of weeks, haha.

One of my Mommy’s fave coffee shops after a morning @ the Little Italy Farmers Market.

Uncle Dan wanted Jesse (wife) to try a crawfish/seafood boil. This ain’t Louisiana but we found a place! And the owners were from LA (as in Louisiana). :P

Experience was legit w/ the bibs. :)

Next stop: San Jose/Cupertino! Daddy needed to be there for a week for work so the Kao’s are driving up to join us. They wanted to do some side trips in NorCal like Monterey/Big Sur/SF/Yosemite anyway.

More to come…

E & Dad, along with a friend and his dad, spent a night at the Safari Park.

They stayed in little tents.

Private evening tram ride.

Nature at its best!

They also did a nighttime guided tour through the park.

Evening games, dinner, campfire and s’mores before bedtime.

Rise and shine! Daddy said he was woken up pretty early by the roaring elephants.

They had a special viewing of the wildlife ambassador of the day — the cheetah, who did a few crazy fast runs, apparently too swift to catch on video!

Then they got the whole park to themselves for a bit before it was open to the public.

Scary eyes, haha.

Gorillas are always such a riot.

All in all, such a great program and experience!