Half Moon Bay State Beach

Monday morning I woke up to the sound of rain on my tent...and not the sounds of my children. What!! That's right! Emily and Samantha slept a full 12 hours in the tent. Corey and I were both shocked, as we had figured that the sleeping arrangements would be the hardest part of the trip. Apparently, our kids were built for "roughing"it.
As I was saying...I woke to the sound of rain, gently falling on the tent. I got dressed and grabbed the camera to take some shots of the campground. We had such a great time at this campground, rain and all, that I think we might try to stay again on our return trip.

This fellow and his posse, gave Corey a hard time at breakfast. When it comes to eggs and doughnuts, these guys have no shame.

I told you it was beautiful! I bet right now, you are wanting to visit! (And thinking that our "crazy" camping trip wasnt so crazy after all!)

I will give a dollar to anyone who can tell me what "National Lampoons" movie this reminds me of.

Due to the rain, we loaded the girls up in the van and drove to San Jose to visit the Winchester Mystery House. This place is incredible and unique and such a great stop if you are ever in the area. There is a great deal of background story to this house, but I will quickly run through the main points.

Sara Winchester was married to William Winchester, the heir to the Winchester (as in rifle) fortune. She bought the property shortly after the passing of her only child and husband. The story goes that she was haunted by the souls of those killed by Winchester guns. She believed her punishment was this house. She also believed that she had to keep building...forever, or she would suffer great tragedy. (She held herself personally responsible for the 1906 San Francisco earthquake that practically leveled the city. Apparently the ghosts thought the house looked too finished...or so she thought.)

She had builders continuously working on the house (24/7) for 38 years, and to this day, it is not complete.

The house is beautiful. For having no architecture or engineering training, I think Sara did an amazing job. She designed the entire house by herself except for one room.

Although, things like this did tend to happen. The home is loaded with these quirks. Stairways that lead directly to ceilings and walls, windows for windows, doors that lead to brick walls..or to your death (open a door and plummet down an elevator shaft, or fall completely out of the house all together!) Sara had a love of spider webs and the number 13, and these symbols can be seen all over the house. Spiderweb designs in the windows, 13 coat hooks, or 13 windows in rooms. Even 13 ceiling panels in her ballroom. She had 37 fireplaces of which only 7 were actually functional due to her design.

The house has over 10,000 windows, more then the empire state building!

It was a really cool stop for us. I wish I had some good inside photos for you, but with two small kids, it was amazing that we even made it through the 65 minute tour. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend seeing this place. There are so many great stories there, and is such a wonderful part of American history.

This is the back part of the house in the garden. The grounds here were beautiful as well.

Emily and Sam having fun in a fountain.

I would love to come back here again, but without the kids. They have a "Behind the Scenes" tour that takes you to different parts of the house...and it requires a hard hat. Fun times!

After the Winchester house we were all pretty beat. We headed back to the campground and lounged by the fire. We had to get rested. The next day would bring another new adventure...The Redwoods!!!!