San Francisco

13 years ago Eric asked me to dance in a big crowd of swing dancers jumpin' to the tunes of a couple of our favorite local bands playing at a place called Bimbo's 365 Club (not a strip joint, I assure you!) and the rest, as they say, is history. 12 years ago, exactly 1 year after we met, we were married. This weekend we took a long stroll down memory lane and remembered just how much we love San Francisco. Well, there are a few things we don't miss, like the fact that you have to turn right 3 times to make a left turn, and you have to circle blocks for quite a while to find a parking spot big enough for more than a motorcycle, and that oh-so-gross smell we refer to as "beurine" (you know, half beer-half urine) that overwhelms you when walking near certain less fortunate folks.

So we took full advantage of the opportunity to eat at some of our favorite places, and were quite sad to discover that some were no longer there, and "Specialties" (by far my favorite sandwich and cookie shop) which is located in the financial district and therefore closed on the weekends. We had noodles and sushi in Japantown, pastries and gelato in North Beach, breakfast in the fancy old victorian Queen Anne Hotel where we had a room, REAL burritos and nachos at "Casa Mexicana" in Noe Valley, and Chinese food at "Alice's". We would have loved to also go to "Pluto's" and "House of Nan King" and "Lucky Pot" and "Little Italy" and several others, but we just weren't there long enough!
In between our delicious meals we revisited some favorite places around the city. We walked along the cliffs at Fort Funston, through Golden Gate Park and the Conservatory of Flowers, from North Beach to Chinatown to Embarcadero and back to North Beach, all around Japantown, and Noe Valley (which is the neighborhood we lived in). And after all that walking literally up and down streets we decided to ignore our aching feet go dancing at Cafe Du Nord where one of our old favorite awesome jazz bands was playing.
Such an amazing city. I wish we could have stayed for a whole week instead of just a weekend, but alas, we do have responsibilities (and a limit to our cash flow!). Many thanks to my mom who stayed in Clovis with the kidlets while Eric and I had a blast in the city. It will be a very different trip next time when kids are with us! But I can't wait to show them so many of the amazing things that San Francisco has to offer.

Our room:

Outside the Queen Anne Hotel:

Outside Bimbo's 365: (unfortunately no favorite bands were playing)

Fort Funston:

The studio apartment (on Ellis at Van Ness) that I shared with a friend at the time Eric and I met:

Castro Srteet leading to the top of the hill where we lived just half a block to the left on 22nd Street. I waited here for the bus every day on my way home from college, or if I was impatient, and not too tired, I walked up:

North Beach at night:

P.S. I would have taken a ton more pictures but Eric was getting a little irritated by my wanting to bring the camera everywhere (especially when we were wandering the city after dark) so I exercised great self control and curbed my desire to photograph EVERYTHING! Next time...

Monterey

A couple days before Christmas we decided to hit the road and visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The kids had never been there before and we knew they would absolutely love it. From the super cool touch pools to the sea otters, to the beautiful jellies, to the sharks, to the penguins, to the awesome new sea horse exhibit... Yes, we'll be going back there again before too long.
And no trip to Monterey is complete without a stop at the beach. Even if the wind is bitterly cold!

REAL Family Portrait...

Taken by fellow local photographer Duane Lutz instead of my camera on a tripod with the timer set. Quite an improvement! Many thanks to Duane.

Boy, it sure is quite a different experience being on the other side of the camera. A lot more work goes into preparing, picking clothing, keeping kids fed, clean, and bruise and scratch free, getting everyone looking good, and making sure all are happy (despite kids having woken up at 5:30 that morning!).

3 Ninjas

Daphne has joined her brothers and now seeks to earn a purple belt. Only about 3 more years to go!

Sequoia Kings Canyon

Fresno may not be a jewel in California, but there are so many gorgeous places near by. We took a day trip to the Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park and did the tour through Crystal Cave. Awesome. Very cool. I highly recommend it. The kids did really well with the hike to the cave entrance and were quite intrigued by the water dripping and the sparkling formations through the dimly lantern-lit curving passageways.

Waterfalls on the way to the caves:

Here's the cave entrance:

The Hook

Poor Ben. This little hook spoiled our fun Labor Day trip to the King's River east of Fresno. We weren't even fishing! 4 hours in the ER to get this thing out of Ben's leg...painlessly being the most important factor. I could have pulled it out the way the doctor did, but the wait was worth it for the shot to numb the area. And it was a good thing Ben didn't want to watch because, YIKES! I had no idea just how tough skin can be!