Armstrong Redwood Forest + A couple more field trips

Sunday, we went to Armstrong Redwood Forest which is about 20 miles from school. It was incredibly beautiful. If not for the tourists, it would have felt like being in a cathedral. The trees were as big around as a VW Bug (or larger) and reached so high to the sky we literally couldn't see the top. It was quiet and peaceful, the ground had a thick layer of pine needles so sounds were muffled. Since very little sunlight gets to the ground there's hardly any underbrush and the forest is really open. There were some trees that were 1400 years old!! Breathtaking!

Monday we went on a field trip to Target and Sports Authority, today we went on a field trip to a mall (different from last week). I think we're starting to get the hang of things! At least, I don't feel near as exhausted as I did with the first field trip (although Chrissy is sacked out on the bed as I write). Yesterday, the challenge was to get your dog to hand over your money/credit card if you decided to buy something (we tried, but Chrissy isn't quite there in her training) and today the challenge was eating lunch in the food court at the mall. Why is this a challenge, do you ask? Well, let me tell you, you must be able to handle on your own: your dog, your wheelchair, buying your food, your tray which contains food and drink while handing your chair/dog on your own. Whew! Thankfully Chrissy and I pulled through with flying colors. (The trick is to balance food and drink in the middle of the tray on your lap while you wheel the chair and handle the dog.)

This morning we also practiced loading and unloading on a city bus. This bus was reserved for us to use this morning, but tomorrow we will be field tripping to the city bus depot and going through the procedure for real. Then, we'll go to the movies, out to dinner and to the Wednesday Night Street Fair downtown. The fun continues!

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