After the Euro trip in late 2008, we were both quite exhausted and did not start venturing far from home again until October 2009 when we made our first trip with the kids to Disney Land in Anaheim.
My daughter was quite elated, though my son was a bit subdued in comparison, perhaps due to the age. Ariel has been my daughter's favorite princess, and she waited in a long line to have her picture taken with the princess.
We also made a second trip to Sea World. And this time around, my daughter really appreciated the animal shows. Shamu and the seal shows were her favorite. Of course, she could not really understand it when I told her that mermaids are based on manatees :-).
We visited Legoland for the first time on this trip. They had a great time, especially at playing the water fight on the pirate ship.
During my daughter's spring break in 2010, we made our first trip to Cancun, Mexico. We stayed in an all-inclusive resort, and in a way, it was a departure from our spirit of seeking advanture. However, with the kids, one has to compromise at times, I suppose.
We had a great experience, though. The kids loved the beach and swimming pools in the resort. I still remember the shell seeking trip my daughter and I made along the beach, and we did uncover an enormous and relatively intact conch shell!
Sitting under a cabana, watching out to the ocean.. Isn't it beautiful! The Caribbean blue can really melt your heart :-)
We took a day off the beach to visit the nearby Chichen Itza, and that was the day the two kids were the most unhappy. They were too young to appreciate the ancient civilization:-), especially given the hot sun..
At the end of our stay in Cancun, my daughter exclaimed her love for Mexico without realizing the irony that Cancun is not really representative of Mexico :-).
Then came the Fourth of July weekend during which we brought along my parents and went to Lassen National Volcanic Park.
Both kids tried out canoeing on this beautiful lake.
My daughter was a real trooper. She went along all by herself on a fairly lengthy hike with the grown-ups.
One noteworthy accident was that I was hit by a twister right in the middle of it while hiking up the Cinder Cone with my hu*****and. Good thing that the only thing blown away was my hat!
While I was attending a conference in Laguna Niguel in October 2010, my hu*****and and the kids tagged along. We stayed at the gorgeous Ritz Carlton right on the bluff overlooking the Pacific ocean. 
The following two pictures capture sunset on the beach on the premises.
In December 2010 just before Christmas, my daughter made a second, and my son a first, attempt at skiing. This time was at Mount Rose. Both enjoyed it very much. The only unpleasant event was that, due to the dry atmosphere, my daughter had a sever case of nose bleeding, and we had to spend half a day at the emergency room to fix her up. 
We made our second trip to Cancun during my daughter's 2011 spring break. The Caribbean sea was eternally beautiful, in the view from our balcony.
Good time was had by all.
Swimming with dolphin was quite a powerful experience for my daughter.
We also spent a day at the archaelogical park, Xcaret, where it combines nature and culture. We swam the underground river there. It has a variety of culture events such as traditional folk dancing during the day and into the evening. 
The evening performance, held in an open hair theater, is a must-see. When we were there, the evening performance told the epic story of the Spanish colonization. It was spectacular, and once again, our camera could not capture an ounce of it :-).
This was, unfortunately, the only trip we made in 2011 due to my busy schedule.
We look forward to more traveling the world this year!
The End
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