Birthday party and Taste of Fallbrook.

There is the special mom to all these kids!

 We helped some very special girls celebrate their 8th birthday.  It was fun to host a kid's birthday once again!

Kenny

Karissa

The Rowland family - 2 of their boys helped celebrate too.

Siblings need presents also- right? It was like turning back the clock- Dave building a Lego set with a boy again!

The birthday girls- Kaitlyn and Katrina

  Friday night we went to a local event- Taste of Fallbrook with Duane and Verla.  For your $15 ticket you received food from several restaurants and you were to vote on the best ones. Luckily Verla knew that 1 ticket provided plenty of food for 2 people.

This massive burger was on display at the " Oink and Moo".  What a great name for a BBQ place!

Our Vegas Guests

   We sure enjoyed having this couple and their pup come visit us.  We have a long history with them…. Dave and Kathy grew up near each other in Illinois. Dave worked for Ron for awhile right out of high school. Dave and Kathy share an aunt too.  Kathy's niece is dating our son and we have been friends for a long time.  They live in Vegas and we have stayed with them more than once.  They came to visit and weren't a bit concerned that it was overcast most of the weekend.  They seemed to enjoy the 30+ degree difference in temperature!

Zoey made herself right at home.

 We explored the world famous San Diego Zoo on Saturday.  So much to see that we just don't get tired of going.

Kind of fascinating creatures! They are the oldest residents in the zoo.  Their heart only beats 6 times per minute at rest.  It ramps up to 15 beats per minute when they are in full "sprint"-ha!  This fellow or gal is in trance mode waiting for a neck rubbing.  

Got to rub Grandma's neck- she is a mere 120 years old.

The new Koalafornia exhibit is pretty nice- many koalas.

Ron seemed to be telling us about his tooth…. there is a story there.

Hoping these folks come to visit us again soon. And we look forward to some Wisconsin guests arriving soon…..

San Francisco and the Pacific Coast Highway

    The city by the bay- San Francisco! I have travelled a lot but I have never been to SF.  Dave had a work convention to attend and was driving to SF.  So like a good wife I agreed to go along to keep him company!  Now for those non Californians out there you may think this was a quick jaunt- nooooo! It is an 8+ hour trip depending on what wonderful traffic you get to endure.  We went the HOT route which is through the central valley.  A very fertile place if watered- groves and fields of every crop imaginable.  We passed at least 50 trucks all hauling tomatoes.  When we arrived in SF the temp was 47 degrees cooler than the valley.  We stayed at the King George which is right in Union Square and convenient for the convention and for sightseeing.  Built in time for the World Fair in 1916.  The rooms were tiny as in only one of us could be walking around at a time. This was fine but the mattress was also very aged!
    In my 2 days of walking around SF I heard more foreign languages and accented English than anywhere I have ever been! I guess SF must be a popular destination.

   

Hydrangeas on Lombard Street

That very crooked street

Looking toward Coit Tower

SF is famous for it's sourdough bread and it's seafood. A very popular dish is clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl.

Me and Alcatraz

When I asked where the sea lions were I was told they were vacationing in SD!

Need a souvenir of Alcatraz?

Ahhhh…. the original location for this delicious company. I tried to resist but oh well!

That prison in the bay

Saw this too

Golden Gate Bridge.  I had planned on walking across it that day but my feet were very tired so I saved it for Day 2 and headed back to King George on a historic cable car. Pretty fun and fast whipping up and down those same hills I had walked all day.

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Day #2 I hoofed it over to the Ferry Building.  Not terribly exciting unless you are hungry.  Lots of food stores.

The Bay Bridge as viewed from the Ferry Building.

To save my feet for the GGB I hopped a street car to Fisherman's Wharf and….

…..dined on Dungeness Crab! Yum!

Then on to the GGB.  I was fortunate since only the very top of the bridge was encased in clouds.  It was very windy and cool during my 1.7 mile walk across.

Looking back at SF from the GGB

From the bridge I walked an additional 2-3 miles into Sausalito

After a few hours I hopped on a ferry back to Fisherman's Wharf

I met this good looking guy for a seafood supper.

Since I didn't want Dave to miss out I took him back to this wonderful place. I can highly recommend the sea salt hot chocolate!