“So how do we educate the heart? There are really only two ways: life experiences and stories about life experiences, which is called literature. And the two forms of literature (fiction and nonfiction), the one that brings us closest to the meaning of life is fiction. Fiction forces us to concentrate in order to find meaning, and therefore deepens our engagement and helps comprehension.” – Jim Trelease
I’ll be honest with you, I always thought non-fiction books were a better choice but now I see I was wrong. When reading fiction books you tell yourself that you won’t do this or that. You learn from the characters mistake. You get inspired to do things differently and be more like a character you admired. Based of what you read you can predict on what the consequences will be for the actions you are thinking of making.
Since I can remember, I have always been drawn to the elderly. I would spend hours listening to stories instead of playing with children my age on the playground. I wanted to know what they learned during their life. From listening to so many of them throughout my life, I learned what people regret, what matters, what memories stick in our minds forever, what people are afraid of, I learned about betrayal, hurt, pain, joy, loneness, and most of all compassion.
Life experiences are learned by simply doing life. It is what stays with you forever. These are the stories you’ll tell your children and grandchildren. My heart got educated by making mistakes and learning from them. Some of you tell me that I’m a great wife or mother, but you didn’t see the education that my heart got to get there or how I still fail daily. I watched how my parents communicated with each other and told myself that I’d do this and not do that. I “people watch” daily and learn from others how I want to treat others by simply watching others interact.
Since fiction books educate our hearts, we have to read good fiction books. It matters what we read or watch because that is what educates our hearts. If I’m listening to an audio book or I am reading a book and it doesn’t align with my belief system I’ll stop listening to it or reading it. I don’t want it to educate my heart in a bad way. It is important that we teach our children to guard their hearts and that not everything that they watch or read will be beneficial for their hearts.
Kayaking at Contra Loma R.P Fishing Reservoir
We visited Contra Loma Regional Park one day and when we got there our kayaks got investigated. You don’t want to have any liquid on your water crafts if visiting here because they have to check your watercraft and if they find water, you wont be able to kayak here. They don’t want to introduce an foreign species to the water so to be safe they prevent any water crafts with water from entering. As long as you don’t have water on it your perfectly fine. This was a really fun lake to kayak on.
Located at 1200 Frederickson Ln, Antioch, CA 94509.
Hiking at Redwood R.P (French Trail Loop)
Redwood Regional Park is a pretty obvious location. We took the French trail loop which was such a green trail to walk on. The selection of plants in this terrain really compliment each other. The Redwood trees are not very large or tall due to the fact that they were logged in the past. This is a 3.7 mile trail. It is an easy and enjoyable trail to walk on. This is definitely the place to go to see Redwood trees in Contra Costa County.
Located at 7867 Redwood Rd, Oakland, CA 94619.
Camping at Doran Regional Park
Doran Regional Park is a location that we camped at. The camping is available year round which is convenient for whenever you are in the area. The camping area is extremely close to Half Moon Bay which allows for the walks back and forth to be very short. There are tables and fireplaces located at the campsites. During the Summer the visitor center is open. There is also a jetty where we attempted to go crabbing. We brought 3 nets and left with one. As it turns out nets get stuck under the rocks pretty easily so unless you have the time to wait for the current to change (which we didn’t) don’t use nets. Many people were crabbing using a fishing pool and crabbing in general seems to be a hugely popular activity for people who arrive here. There is a pretty large beach here and the campground layout is pretty comfortable.
Located at 201 Doran Beach Rd, Bodega Bay, CA 94923.
Biking Lafayette Reservoir Recreation Area
Lafayette Reservoir Recreation Area was a place we visited looking for something to do and we enjoyed it. We went bike riding and didn’t have to push our bikes often. The trail was relatively easy for our family of six. Though Eve was in a cart that was pulled by my husbands bike. It’s important to state that riding bikes here isn’t usually allowed. It is allowed on Sunday from opening to noon and on Tuesday and Thursday from noon to closing. When we made a full loop we went and checked out the dock. There are definitely plenty of things you can do here.
Located at Lafayette Reservoir, Lafayette, CA 94549.
Kayaking at Lagoon Valley Park
We originally visited Lagoon Valley Park to go kayaking. While kayaking we went around an island in the center of the lake. It was Elizabeth’s first time kayaking, she had some difficulty keeping up with everyone but that’s probably due to the fact that she has never used a paddle before without someone else paddling too. Peter and Esther were also kayaking while my husband, Eve, and I were on the canoe. We later revisited with some more family and used the disc golf course which has some nets near water. There is a large field here which is good for most running or ball games. It’s really easy to keep an eye on children while they are on the water. We certainly enjoyed this location and the large variety of things to do here.
Located at 1 Pena Adobe Rd, Vacaville, CA 95688.
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