Interesting Sights in Moraga...

After Jimmy left to head back to Holland, us girls hung out for another week at my dad’s. Luckily we were able to work out an afternoon to spend with Stacie and her family, who we met in November 2005 when we’d all just arrived in Holland. We had a delicious Chinese lunch, went to the pool with her kids, then had dinner at their house. We saw some interesting sights in the short time we were together. Sadly, above you'll see an ever changing hillside across from the Moraga train station that shows the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq.
This was a happier sight, solar panels on a hill in Stacie and Lon’s backyard. While it was a big investment, they’re thrilled that their electrical bills are now only $30/month. Now they just need to figure out how to start selling electricity back to the grid.

This Year's Family Play...

While we were in San Francisco, the girls were busy practicing a play that they’d written together. They were very tricky pretending that they were performing Little Red Riding Hood, but they really were doing a story about a girl from 1859 and another from 2009 going through a time warp to 3009 in Travel to the Future. Grandma was thrilled that she didn’t have to play multiple roles this year. And Grandpa had a very simple role as Ashlynn’s mother, which was quite hilarious. What fun it is watching them all acting in such a creative story.

Interesting Sights in San Francisco...

After our happy hour at Boudin’s, we started making our way back to the hotel to change for a romantic dinner. We made a detour to see Lombard Street and were surprised to find not just the crookedest street, but also the craziest running group. Of course, we were disappointed to discover that we’d missed the San Francisco Hash’s Red Dress Run (never dawned on us that they’d run on Mondays). Being the good hashers that we are, we gave up on the idea of a gourmet dinner after being invited to tag along for the end of the run, and had M&M’s, Red Vines and chips instead at the On-On at a park.
We once again crammed a lot in the next day with a walk up to Coit Tower, a self-guided tour of Boudin’s giant bakery, more clam chowder in a sourdough bowl and a crab cocktail from Fisherman’s Wharf. Finally had to catch a cab to swing by the hotel for our stuff or we would have missed our train.

A Jam-Packed Day Away...

Jimmy and I were exciting about sneaking away for an overnight in San Francisco. We only had a little more than 24 hours, but we sure did cram in a lot. We started with a walk to Chinatown, where we had a snack at a roto-sushi restaurant and Jimmy got a $5 haircut. Then we walked down to the Ferry Building for lunch along the SF Bay. After a wander through Pier 39, we decided to rent bikes so we could cycle across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a beautiful day, but rather windy on the bridge and I was a bit freaked out.
Silly me thought we’d cycle back as well, but after doing some major downhills into Sausalito, taking the ferry back was looking better and better. As you can see, we weren’t the only ones with that idea. Unfortunately, we didn’t time things very well, so there wasn’t time to enjoy a drink in this cute town before having to line up to catch the last ferry back before the rental place closed. Martinis and clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls at Boudin’s (the best sourdough bread in the world!) helped make up for our poor planning.

A Birthday Pool Party...

My birthday just happened to fall on a Saturday this year, which was the perfect excuse for a pool party at my dad’s. Lucky for us, we had several old friends from school to join us. The girls were happy to see Hannah and Tenaya, classmates from Holland that had moved to Tokyo in 2007. James and I enjoyed catching up with their parents Susan, who’s from California, and Masaya.
I was very thrilled that Holly, my friend since 3rd grade, made the trip down from Sacramento to spend the afternoon with me. It was fun going through our final high school year book and the 25th reunion recaps that she’d brought along. Later in the trip, I further reminisced with my old college buddy John.

And Finally, California...

We spent the final leg of our trip in California at my dad’s house, where he and Ann gave us 5-star treatment for over 2 weeks. We went to see my dad play in two concerts, had some great sushi and spent lots of time in the pool. I failed to get any photos of my sisters, but we spent a night with Leigh and Mike, and saw a great Shakespeare comedy in the park with Eden. The girls completed their first scrapbook telling the tale of their dolphin adventure at Discovery Cove. And I helped complete my first issue of Going Dutch for the American Women’s Club from afar.

Our Final Day in Florida...

I booked our flights to California to leave in the afternoon so we’d have a full morning with Sharon and Brett, Jr. The kids begged us to take them to the corny science museum housed in the cool upside down WonderWorks building. We all survived laying on the Bed of Nails, playing virtual reality games and trying to psych out our opponents on a mind game. After lunch, Sharon was sweet to play taxi driver to the airport and we were finally really on our way to see Grandma and Grandpa.