Sonoma Field Trip part 2

If you missed it, part 1, The Mission, was posted over a week ago.

There's a park in the big plaza across the street from the barracks.

When I was a little girl, my grandmother used to take me to this park.

It was neat to come back and be able to appreciate more of the historical significance of various monuments that didn't really mean anything to me as a child.

When Grammy was a little girl, she used to always visit the horses here.  So we took a peek at the horses, too.

I wonder if the horses are 29 like Grammy is.

We talked to some of the docents who were dressed in historical garb.  When they told us how many people used to sleep in this room, all I could think of was how dreadful it must have smelled.  Some mornings, I crack the door to the boys' room and am hit with a green vapor of ick.  I can't imagine multiplying that many times over with grown men who work all day and seldom bathe.

The exhibits at the barracks were interesting.  The kids learned what a yoke was.

Interesting to see how our California bear flag has evolved since 1846.

We were amused to find these very little doors.

There was, of course, a gift shop.  Most kids in California make a model of one of the missions as part of the grade school experience, so it was nice to get to see a couple of those.

Grammy and Katie in the gift shop.  You can see how wide the walls are by the incredibly deep window sills.

I tried a bonnet on Hannah.  She was so not amused.  Maybe after we read the Little House books she'll feel differently.

In the barracks courtyard.  The open spot behind the kids is a walk through, with beautiful old wood beam floors.  You get a wonderful sense of history looking at their worn texture.

The kids had a really great time being able to explore everything, and I had a fabulous time, too.  It's almost like having a small family.  No stroller, no diapers, they stay with me, they don't whine...  It's kind of a first for me.  In the old days when I took 3 kids out, one was in a stroller, and another was only a toddler/preschooler, so it's a very different dynamic.  It's a lot easier now.

So this is the view from the other side of where the kids were standing above.  You walk through the opening, and you can see the flagpole from a previous picture, the rock monument, the statue, and in the distance, even the playground where we played for a little while.

And this is the view of the courtyard.  You can see ovens on the left.

Grammy thought it would be fun to get a picture of the kids in the back of the wagon, but I was worried we'd get in trouble for climbing on an artifact.

We got an extra educational experience on this trip, because Grammy locked her keys in the car, and we got to watch the tow truck guy get them out.  Which was pretty cool.

It's probably one of the prettier city hall buildings I've seen.  It was such a gorgeous day, I felt like I'd stepped into a postcard.

Right behind where I took the City Hall photo is a koi pond.

We only saw one koi in there, but he was enormous.  Easily the size of Katie's entire leg.

We walked over to the duck pond to feed the over-fed ducks.  I was surprised to see how much they've trimmed back the bushes.  The mama ducks used to hide their ducklings in those bushes when I was a kid.

That pretty much sums up part 2 of our big field trip day last month.  After we left the park, we went to General Vallejo's Home, which will be the third and final part, coming soon.

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