San Diego: In transit and PARC Conference 2014

Bryan had an opportunity to attend and speak at an Amphibian & Reptile (PARC) Conference again. The last time we went, it was held in Albuquerque, NM. This time it was in sunny California! I feel lucky that we get to shadow him and join in the adventures! It's especially fun to have the kids experience and see new things and places. These conferences are great for professional networking and learning about new science and research ~ and of course conservation.
It's always a chore to pack for a week long trip with kids. But, we managed to remember everything and headed to the CA/NV state line: Buffalo Bills.

We always make it a point to stay somewhere with a pool. So, in the morning we got cooled off and exercised before buckling up for another long day of driving.......

The Mohave Desert was hot and dry of course. I'm sure these dust devils are a common sighting.....

We were blinded by three large solar panels in the middle of the desert. Apparently birds fly into the light/heat and "poof!" nothing but toe nails..... I'm only exaggerating a little.

Isn't it ironic; don't 'cha think? 

We made it to our destination. Bryan had a busy schedule of meetings to attend. Ava, Isaac, Willow, and I sat in for his presentation and a few others that followed......

Here's Ava and Isaac with their special name tags for the (upcoming) field trip.

Willow thought the presentations were an appropriate time to take a nap, under the table.....

Isaac and Ava made a new friend named Dylan at the conference...... they enjoy each other's company  all week. That was nice.

Most of the time while Bryan was in meetings, the kids and I would go to the pool.

We went to a fantastic Brewery one evening with people from the conference. The had a great outdoor play area. We had fun playing jenga, checkers, and connect four.....

San Diego mostly remains in the 70's all year. It actually cooled down a lot at night. A couple of days I thought it wasn't warm enough to swim at the hotel. But, we did ~ in the hot tub :)

It was going to be a great week!