Slide Ranch

With absolutely beautiful weather and Tia Mercy and Tio Brandon along, I took Mateo to the Spring Fling at Slide Ranch in Muir Beach.  Unknown to me before today, Slide Ranch is perched right on a cliff overlooking the ocean off of Highway 1.  There were goats, sheep and chickens roaming around, an organic garden to walk through, live music, and picturesque trails to hike.  We started our morning by milking two goats.  I thought that Mateo was not going to enjoy it, given how squeamish he can be, but he clearly proved me wrong - he was fascinated with the whole process!!  

Then, for another first, he had his face painted like a puppy.  Again, I was amazed at his willingness to let someone paint his face and he was delighted with the result.  

Tia Mercy and I then took him to see the chickens, roosters and chicks.  We put grains in his hands and he fed them.  Of course, he chased them and even tried to catch them, but with no avail.

Lunch was a struggle as he was busy putting rocks in his pockets and just roaming through the garden, looking at spiders, bees and butterflies.   When we are outdoors he prefers to continue his nomadic ways instead of sitting down and eating (except for dessert - of course!!!), which makes feeding tough when we have picnics.  After lunch, we headed down to the beach to the tide pools.  The trail was dotted with wild flowers and fennel and a magnificent view of the ocean glistening with the sunshine - absolutely perfect.  

On the beach, we spotted starfish, sea anemones, crabs and some sort of sea snail, which Mati tried to eat after he saw it come out of its shell!  And then, he took off his shoes and socks and braved the cold Pacific Ocean ... at least for a little while!

Whenever Mati sees as incline, he is overcome by laziness and requests to be carried or taken on the stroller.  I've managed to convince him, most of the time, to walk up, even if it means that I have to pull him up because he always wants to hold hands as we go up.  But on the trail, he had an easy victim: his Tio.  Brandon carried Mati up the whole way, which was no easy feat since the terrain was pretty rocky.  Once in the main area, we did some arts and crafts projects and finished our excursion by petting the goats.  Mateo is in love with animals, he loved petting them and after he woke up from his nap, he asked to go back outside to pet the goats!! 

On a final note, kudos to Slide Ranch! They organized the event very well, with volunteers helping out with the animals, the garden and activities. It's certainly a place worth visiting and coming back to again and again!!