Day 7 - Part 2

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Kent done good! The minute we received our room assignment, I knew we were in for a treat! The room # is 1900! Anytime your room number ends in a zero, I think you will be getting a larger area...well, it worked in this case.
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We are on the 19th floor and from the left bed, you can see the stadium - Petco Park. Home of the San Diego Padres MLB team. We were psyched!
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The bathroom area has granite tops and the decor is Asian inspired. A sliding door...what a nice touch!!!

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Across the room, at the other window is a seating area for computers. Room for a roll-a-way bed...Teagan's room!

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Leading from one area to the other.

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The roomiest by far. Everyone's favorite hotel, so far.

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PCH Tour 2007 Day 7

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After getting settled into our room, we walked across the street (rough life) to enter the stadium. Game time 7:05 pm LA Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres
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The sun was setting right before our eyes. We only had about 5 minutes of game time before the sun went down behind the stadium.
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Two shots of the game. San Diego came back in the bottom of the 9th down 5-1 to beat LA 6-5!!! It was a great game to be at!!! We were feeling the crowd's excitement!

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During the game, we all got a text message...

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My niece is officially getting married to Jeff!!! (What a lucky guy!)

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Day 6 - Part 5

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What a contrast from yesterday! We have now seen the deep blue sea and some of the most spectacular mountains in CA. The Sequoias are a site to see for all their grandeur.
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Day 6 - Part 4

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When I was 10 years old, my father took me to California from Chicago (my home town) on a train. Sequoia was one of the places we visited. I wanted to "recapture" that image that I vividly remembered having taken when I was up there for the first time. So, in my hand is the picture that was taken back in 1971. The second picture is the original. The caption is from a woman that I showed the original picture to as I got off the "General Sherman" sign. She said ,"Oh, now you have completed your circle."
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Day 6 - Part 3

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These two pictures were taken from a vantage point high above Moro Rock. KJ took the first one with his camera. The second one was taken with Kent's Canon digital SLR. The winding turns you see in KJ's picture were the actual road we took to get up to the forest!!! Not for the faint of heart, mind you!
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Day 6 - Part 2

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Here are just a small sampling of the views we saw today. The sequoia trees are majestic and beautiful to witness.
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PCH Tour 2007 Day 6

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He smiled for the camera!
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This was taken with an extremely high powered zoom lens!!!
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The best thing about nature is that you can enjoy it when you can see it readily. Not the case with this one... (Arrow points to the head...the tail is above and to the right of the exclamation points!!!)
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Just a bug on the van.

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Day 5 - Part 2

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No words can describe today with enough emotion to convey what we felt and saw! It was spectacular!!! There are two sets to today's pics. Ten in all. (Every picture on this blog will enlarge to full screen if you click on it.)
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PCH Tour 2007 Day 5

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A picture painted a thousand words today...let's just see, shall we...?
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Day 4 - Part 2

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Just to let you all know, if you put your cursor over any of the words that are a different color, it will take you to a web site related to the word(s).

K

PS I'm waiting here at 1 am for the clothes in the dryer. Someone went into the laundry area and opened our door and the jeans sat for at least 15 minutes not drying and using up our quarters...(makes Karen nutso)!!!!!
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PCH Tour 2007 Day 4

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Okay, today was All About Karen Day!!! I have been looking forward to this day for a long time. Napa Valley of California is a place I've only heard about for years. And I saw the movie "Sideways" which made me want to go even more. We took the Napa Valley Wine Train Tour which was a 3 hour lunch tour through Napa Valley and many of the wineries. We could see rows and rows of grape vines for miles on the rolling hills and ridges. Some were almost close enough to touch! We didn't get off of the train at all but we did return by car to visit the two favorite White Zin makers of mine! First was the furthest out...Beringer. We went to the wine tasting room for samples of some interesting varieties. I had the less dry, white/blush samples. Kent mixed some reds with a blush. All were tasty (but I already knew that!) My favorite was the Sparkling White Zinfandel.
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The other winery I was anticipating was Sutter Home. We got there 7 minutes before they closed! We tasted a Reserve White Zin and a White Merlot and White Cabernet. All were delicious. That's why I prefer them at home. I'm never disappointed.
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On the wine train, the kids sat across from us so we took some pictures of them. They had an "okay" time. I think they were being nice. It wasn't something that they were interested in, though. And the food was a gourmet style that they weren't used to. They couldn't wait to get their hands on some "real" food....McDonald's for dinner!!!!! (We were happy about that, too!)
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Karl goofing around.
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A picture of a random vineyard from the train. There weren't any fences around these vineyards. Trustworthy place to live?
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Tomorrow will bring the most spectacular pictures of the trip...PHC from San Francisco to Big Sur. And over to Visalia for two nights to visit the Sequoia and King's Canyon National Park.
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Day 3 - Part 2

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Now, comes the good stuff!!! Our picture of the day was in front of Ghirardelli Square. It is the old building where they used to make this decadent chocolate. It has since moved and this location is becoming another tourist mecca. We were going to enjoy a famous Ghirardelli Hot Fudge Sundae experience but since we ate dinner late and it was a Sunday night, the shoppe was closed. So, tomorrow is another day!!!!!
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After taking the pic of the day, we walked around GS for a bit and then sat down for breakfast (or lunch, for the guys) at a place called Lori's Diner. There were several in the downtown area, as well. KJ purchased a book the day we went to Alcatraz and reads it every sitting moment that he has. (see that Kimmy - summer reading!!!)
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After eating, it was a short walk to the cable car starting point. We purchased our souvenir tickets/postcards and waited about 15 minutes for our turn to ride one of the coolest modes of transportation in the world. Run on an underground cable, this thing goes up and down steep hills, and safely, I might add!!! Our conductor was a hoot. He even let me ring the very nostalgic bell-I was in heaven!!!!! (Rice-a-roni...)
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The kids were hanging on the outside on the way back to the hotel. They really had a great time!
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Ah, yes, no trip is complete without a stop at T & Co.!!! LOL Karl told Teagan she wouldn't be getting anything there because she was with him and the T gifts were only for when he went away somewhere without her!!! She pouted, to say the least!!!! (Just for a second, though!)
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Dinner was the low of the day...very expensive and not so good. We won't return and I let the manager on duty know why!!!

All in all, another wonderful day!!!!
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PCH Tour 2007 Day 3

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Okay, before I show the picture of the day, I have to show you the actual first pictures that we took today! Just by chance. Today happened to be the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon!!! Why anyone would subject themselves to this torture is well beyond my capacity! However, in their defense, they will probably outlive me!!! LOL

The first pic is of a group we saw near the water doing their final run. The second picture, well, you can see for yourself, she must be missing a few brain cells!!! What are these people thinking?!!! I froze just watching them! Anyway, we ate lunch at a nearby restaurant and one of the senior participants came in with his family. He had finished 6th in his age group (just under 3 hours) and was happy to just finish!


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Day 2 - Part 2

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My observations about San Francisco that are different:

(1) People seem much nicer here. (Especially Kimmy's people! LOL)

(2) There are more homeless people here than anywhere I have ever seen. Every street we are on, they are there sitting on the ground, against a tree or on a bench with their shopping carts or bags. Many of them have dogs, too. We even saw a homeless person sitting at an outside table in front of Starbucks (yesterday morning around 9 am). He had a half full bottle of Vodka on the ground in front of him and (this is the really gross part), vomit down his pant legs and on the ground in front of him. YUCK!!! And there were 3 or 4 others within the same block. Most of them don't interact but one or two asked for something or tried to get our attention. There was even one that had a sign he held up and turned it from front to back. On both sides, it read "Why lie, I need a beer"!!! He had a airline bottle of something that looked empty sitting on the ground in front of him. What a site this is to see!

(3) The cable cars are a fun way to get around. And the only ones in use in the US. I love the bell ringing. I sing the Rice-a-roni song. ;O)

(4) Tourists are everywhere!!! Most of them came unprepared, like we did...about 2/3 of the people are wearing the same fleeced jackets we bought!!!

(5) This should be called the Windy City, not Chicago!

(6) I can now associate with all the chase scenes from "Streets of San Francisco"!

(7) Alcatraz had the most interesting audio tour. We learned so much about it. One of which was that the guards who worked there had families that lived there since the guards had to be ready for any escape attempt. So, there were kids who stayed on that island 24/7 and could see the inmates up close. (That would have been so spooky.)

(8) It is much drier here than in FL. I will probably have to buy another tube of Chapstick while on vacation.

(9) No Coke with Splenda makes Karen a very unhappy girl! :O(

(10) Sometimes you can't tell if the person waiting on you is the same gender as they were born!

(11) Pictures can be worth a thousand words....
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PCH Tour 2007 Day 2

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Today was a great day for fun, adventure and sore feet! We walked just about everywhere. Alcatraz Island was fabulous. I would recommend it to anyone. The weather wasn't too warm but after purchasing some fleece-lined jackets from an outdoor vendor ($17.99 each-a bargain!), Kent and I were ready to go. (The kids didn't want any further layers.) The temp was overcast and 61 degrees for a high, with strong winds...especially on the island.

Alcatraz is something everyone should witness. It was entertaining and educational. One of the best audio guided tours I have ever taken. The walk up from the dock was equivalent of 13 floors in a bldg! And the view of San Francisco from the island is spectacular. It's one of those things where a picture doesn't quite cut it. You really have to see it for yourself to get the full effect. Yesterday's pic was of Alcatraz from the city. Today's pic was of the city from Alcatraz. Either view is amazing. I could relocate here in a heartbeat...(hence, the lament I will be singing when we return home...."I Left My Heart..."!)

After spending half the day on the island, we returned back to the dock and decided to walk. We ended up at Pier 39 where there was a tourist mecca much like the Gatlinburg, TN main drag. People everywhere and street performers as well. Singing, playing instruments, juggling, walking a tight rope, balloon sculptors, living statues, you name it. Plus, every type of food you could think of. Mostly seafood at the restaurants but we were able to eat at a place called "Wipe Out". It was much like Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. Good food and a great atmosphere.

After walking about an hour more after we ate, we decided to head back to the hotel, drop off our bags and return out for more walking and dinner. We bought many souvenirs, ate pizza and now, we are dozing from the excitement of the days' events. Tomorrow will add more excitement to the blog as we cross the Golden Gate Bridge, take the cable car around the city, shop in Union Square, eat chocolate in Ghirardelli Square (mmmm), see the Victorian row houses and drive to Berkeley. Until then.....
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Word of the day....awesome!!!
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Day 1 - Part 4

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Still waiting...so, here is the evening's activity. Teagan's first MLB game.
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