(I’m climbing the Redwoods!)

Have I told you about my love affair with Redwood trees? I think it must have originated from my mother growing up in Redwood City, a town just south of San Francisco (which turns out doesn’t really have many Redwood trees at all in it), yet growing up in a New Yorker I kind of romanticized her California childhood amongst the giant Redwood trees. We’ve done a few family trips to visit the Redwoods since moving to San Francisco and the obsession with these magnificent trees continues! There’s something so magical about them, and Redwood groves are some of the most peaceful and spiritual places I’ve ever been. Aaaaand, yes, I did love this movie growing up.

(Hyundai Redwood Tree Climbing – Epic Playdate from Liz Stanley on Vimeo)

Above is a video they made when Jordan and I and our families ventured up north last month as part of the Hyundai epic playdate campaign– to climb Redwood trees! When they asked for ideas on what to do, I thought how amazing it would be to experience the Redwoods from up higher than eye level. Plus I knew Henry would love it and it would give him a chance to do something so completely different and new, especially since he spends most of his day in gated parks and schools. My favorite parts of the little video are when we got the kids on the rope and Jordan’s perfect expression sailing through the air amongst Redwood trees.

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This post is brought to you by The New Santa Fe from Hyundai.

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(All images in the post by Jordan Pay with the exception of my iPhone shots at the end)

The first part of the day was gearing up and training and since our climbing involved a full ropes course and zip line.

The boys got suited up too. They were so cute and super excited to climb.

The boys didn’t climb the actual trees the way we did, but they did have this great ladder course which they rocked at. I was surprised at how brave Henry was- he was pretty high up.

The adults climbed and zip lined through the trees next!

Fancy iphone behind the scenes shots:

The part at the beginning where we were filmed in the Santa Fe car required cameras mounted on both the front and side of the car. Plus, I was too short for them to get a good shot so they gave me a booster ‘crate’ to sit on. HA!

A few other shots from the day:

A mid-tree climbing walk while the adults were up

Pictures from The Founders Grove, where we stopped on the way home. It’s the best part of the Avenue of the Giants which is my very favorite place to visit Redwood trees-about 3 1/2 hours north of San Francisco.