I walk on the Pajaro Dunes beach as pelicans glide silently overhead. Delighted, I spy sand dollars. These aren't the broken, bleached white ones. These are brown and fuzzy. They are alive. I methodically reach down to "save" each sand dollar and heave it back into the blue abyss. Such is the life of a beachcomber.

Fifteen-year-old Sara Kaiser has been returning to Pajaro Dunes since she was nine. Her Moraga family rents a condo from friends every summer. In addition to excellent birding opportunities and day trips to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, the nearby Elkhorn Slough offers kayak and water-based touring. And if you like affordably priced seafood, a visit to Phil's Fish Market on Moss Landing is in order. Bring your own container and order the Cioppino to go!

"It's very secluded," notes Kaiser. "The scenery is gorgeous. We always watch the sunset and you get to see pelicans."

Lafayette's Mimi and Ed McBride, along with Daniel and Gabby, look forward to their yearly visit to this gated Watsonville beachfront community. "We rent from a company called At the Dunes. They are very nice," adds Mimi. "We take walks on the beach. We go to Jalisco's Mexican restaurant in Watsonville & Phil's. We usually just hang out at the beach."

If you are looking for a more action oriented beach outing, consider Capitola. This surfer town, filled with quaint shops, restaurants, bars and live music, is great for day trips. Stop at Gayle's Bakery for picnic items.

Two miles further south some Lamorinda soccer families join Dave and Carol Berlier for their annual beach trip to Seascape. "My wife likes it because it's a self contained resort," says Dave. "We've been going for 12-15 years with 3-4 couples. The kids walk down to the beach, go boogey boarding and look for shells. We take turns making dinners and build fires on the beach. It's a very clean place with large rooms and everything's there."

Another Lafayette family spotted in Aptos, Mike and Jeanne Williams, recently purchased a Seacliff beach house. "The antiques along Soquel Avenue are a major draw," according to Jeanne. Their Campolindo kid's, John Robin and Jenna, like to walk to Snow White Drive In for old fashioned hamburgers and shakes with little brother Stephen.

Moving down the coast to Monterey's Cannery Row, foodies will want to check out the Culinary Center of Monterey  for cooking classes or weekend dining options. Chef Mary Pagan recommends reservations for the Friday night dinners as she doesn't want to overwhelm the students.

I sat in on a cooking class where non-professionals were prepping, cooking and eating their way through a four course meal. This would be a great place for a girl's getaway weekend with classroom water views.

"Monterey is a very easy place to live," reflects Pagan. "How lucky am I that I sit in one of the best agricultural communities. I'm surrounded by viticulture, agriculture and aquaculture and the infrastructure to support it."

If you're in the mood for pampering and privacy, cruise into Carmel Valley for sunny days and balmy nights at Bernardus Lodge & Winery.  You'll feel like a celebrity when you don the terry robe and step into the warming pool before your spa treatment. I went mid-week and had the entire pool to myself. The rooms are pricy, but if you divide the cost between girlfriends or have a special occasion to celebrate, it might be just the ticket for some much needed R&R.

Next month we'll hear about Margaret Stithem's recent trip to Ethiopia and Lorelee Mogg's cruise to China.

Nancy Brown grew up in Moraga and lives in Lafayette with her husband and children. She looks forward to hearing of your adventures at NancyBrownConsulting@comcast.net

The students were on the plane, headed for New York, when Robin Album got the e-mail asking for help. Seems a volunteer had dropped the ball and some teens, including Sweden's Denise Larsson, needed homes. Robin and Jeff had considered hosting an exchange student and now the opportunity was knocking at the front door.

"It's been a great experience for us," notes Robin. "Acalanes has been welcoming to Denise." Their 15-year-old daughter, Micayla Album, will visit and work in Sweden this summer with Denise's family.

Happy Valley's Ann & Peter Appert's daughters have experienced international travel through exchange programs. Grace, an Acalanes junior, spent a month in very rural, poor Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. She was a volunteer doing trail maintenance and rebuilding a playground destroyed by a hurricane. Twin sister Jane lived with a family in Spain for a month studying Spanish. Freshman Caroline visited Denmark when she was eleven with Children's International Summer Villages, CISV, but that's another column in itself.

Dana and Ken Yzurdiaga welcomed a Barcelona teen into their Burton Valley home last summer for a month. They showed him the west coast and then daughter Linda, a Campolindo senior, went to Spain and toured the coast of Brava and Catalonia.

"Because he was a family friend," notes Dana, "it was a different experience than an unknown student. It was a real cultural exchange."

Lafayette's John and Sally Breul and their trio of blonde boys have learned a lot about the civil unrest in war-torn DR Congo since they "adopted" their fourth son in 2004. Campolindo Senior Wilita Sanguma came into the Breul's life in 2001 when John met Mossai Sanguma through his involvement with Moraga Presbyterian Church. The church sponsored Sanguma while he earned his PhD. at Pasadena's Fuller Seminary. Upon Sanguma's graduation his family returned to the Congo, but with the war, there was no school for Wilita to attend. The schools were burned because the youth were supposed to fight, not attend school.

"Living here has been a cornerstone for me," reflects Wilita. In Pasadena he didn't feel safe. "People have respect here," adds Wilita. He feels he's lucky to have his African family and his American family.

"Since Wilita's been with us, our kid's have a sense that the worlds a bigger place," notes Sally Breul.

Student travel isn't the only way to experience another culture. On a recent visit to the Lafayette Health Club, conversations in French could be heard from the tread mill. Native Francophiles Carole Hagglund and Catherine Maiden were discussing Hagglund's role as a community counselor. With her fluent French and as a mother of a teen daughter, Hagglund can relate with the au pairs, as well as represent the Connecticut-based agency, Au Pair in America.

Orinda's Freddy Moran continues to expand her quilting empire and has given new meaning to taking her show on the road. Unless you consider a cruise ship the path less traveled!

"I was teaching quilting on board, but now I'm focusing on the West and East coast,"states Moran. Known for her use of vibrant fabric colors, Moran says the mid West tends to prefer neutral tones such as brown and black. "I don't seem to appeal to the mid West," laughs Moran. She teaches in Maine every year for a week. "I go the first part of October with the Leaf Peepers." She's off to LeConnor, Washington, home of the tulips, for a three month quilt show. LeConnor reminds her of how Sausalito used to look in the 1950's.

Have you experienced travel from a service-oriented perspective? That's our focus next month.

Can you name the big five? No, we're not talking top college or even sports teams; we're talking lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and Cape Buffalos. Oh my! These are the majestic animals one hopes to see on safari in Africa. Orinda's Deanna & Randy Carey recently returned from a 10 day trek to Cape Town, South Africa. "I had been dreaming and planning this trip for five years," notes Deanna with a grin. "But intermittent dangers such as governmental conflicts, tribal disputes and terrorism delayed our plans."

The wait was worth it as Carey relates tales of viewing a variety of animals, reptiles and birds up close and personal from the safety of an open land rover, accompanied with an experienced ranger and tracker. "In a private reserve, you are allowed to go off road to view the animals," adds Carey. At the Lion Sands Private Reserve, the lodge housed 20 large rooms on the banks of the Sabie River, west of Kruger National Park. The day began at 5 a.m. with beverages and pastries and then they were off on a three hour game drive. After numerous pictures were captured it was back to the lodge for a fantastic breakfast and lunch, followed by a second game viewing at twilight. Additional land tours such as wine tasting in Cape Town, a visit to a colony of African penguins at Boulders Beach and some time spent at Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned are also an option.

The Carey's chose Brendan Tours, after much research into the venture. The "South Africa Journey" covered flights, hotel, private reserve lodge accommodations and transfers, in addition to several land tours.

Another hot spot for Lamorindan's is Costa Rica. "With zip lines running throughout the jungle canopy, hanging bridges and howler monkeys scampering about the restaurant tables, the kids are in for a real treat," says Craig Isaacs of Lafayette. Craig, his wife, Margaret and teen daughters Maureen and Eva, loved the exotic flowers and animals, as well as the food. Craig noted that it was helpful that they spoke Spanish. They also appreciated the Costa Rican's eco-friendly activities and respect for their environment. "To be able to visit the volcano one day and lounge on the beach the next," reminisces Craig, "that's living!"

Being in the tech business, Craig relied on the internet for his travel planning, purchasing airfare and lodging on the web. He said that www.arenal.net was helpful for finding hotels and pick up at the airport during the busy Winter Break travel time and lamented that he had less than four months to put together the trip.

The Kennedy family of Walnut Creek had tired of the Hawaiian Spring Break get-away and wanted an adventure travel trip. "We worked with Costa Rica Expeditions because we heard it was difficult and sometimes dangerous to attempt this trip on your own," offers Sherry. The family of four visited the Finca Rosa Blanca coffee plantation and the Poaz Volcano and waterfall, among other places. They took a tour bus through a cloud forest and were amazed at the cold and humid variations within the numerous micro climates. One of the highlights was the Tortuga Rain Forest Preserve and the Tortuga Lodge. "It was right out of Indiana Jones with the monkeys, pythons and bats," remembers Sherry. "You couldn't go in the canals because of the bull sharks and eels lurking in the water." But don't think they were roughing it. Their vacation wrapped up in relaxing Punta Islita on the West Coast of Costa Rica where their hotel offered individual, infinity-edged dipping pools.

Nancy Brown grew up in Moraga and lives in Lafayette with her husband and children. She looks forward to hearing of your adventures at NancyBrownConsulting@comcast.net