San Francisco/Monterey

We were blessed to have more time with my brother as we toured San Francisco.  We walked around Pier 39, grabbed some great clam chowder, stared at Alcatraz and laughed at the seals (which were a bit stinky).

After lunch we made our way to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory and indulged in a giant sundae...Adam wanted caramel, and I wanted a banana split, so we settled on hot fudge.  :)

My sweet-aholic...less than 5 minutes after our gigantic sundae, my sweetie had to have a cupcake from Kara's Cupcakes, a bakery specializing in cupcakes made from organic ingredients.  Can we say kid in a candy store?

We spent a little bit of time walking around the stores downtown...I had to get a pic of the three-story Williams Sonoma!  Amanda, my dear cook-of-a-friend, this one is for you!  How I wished you were there to look around with me...I only stayed a minute or two because the boys weren't nearly as interested.  I could hear beautiful voices singing as I walked into this wonderland!  Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!  (Hallelujah chorus, Handel's Messiah, written 1741, am I making you music history buff's proud?!?!)

Our last day we drove around Monterey.  We started with a trip to the aquarium, which was incredible.  My brother used to read about this aquarium as a child, and now he has a student pass that allows him to visit whenever he wants.  We had a blast looking at the huge fish.

Then it was off to drive on Highway 1 and see the beach!  Did I mention Adam was sick?  The last day of our trip he woke up with a sore throat...by that night he had a fever and chills.  Poor baby.  He was such a trooper, standing on the cold beach with me!  You are the best! 

Last week we had a wonderful visit with our nephews and Adam's side of the family--I will post about that soon.  Right now we are in Chicago for a music conference at Willowcreek.  We are having a good time, but I am ready to get back to my little four-legged snuggle-muffin!  I miss her so and am ready to not leave her again for a long time!

Loving California!

Yesterday afternoon we left for California!  It has been a long time since we have had a vacation, and we decided to combine a visit to see my brother (who is finishing his PhD. at Berkeley) with a little vacay of our own.  We have tried to visit my brother since he moved to Berkeley 2 years ago, so it was thrilling to earn 2 free tickets and finally find the time to travel. My mom and dad kindly dropped us off at the airport and are taking care of our four-legged little one while we are gone.  

We hit the ground running (well, rolling on the plane :) and started sight-seeing immediately.  It was 5:30 California time, 7:30 our normal time.  The first thing we did was drove down the crooked street in San Francisco.  I loved looking at all the pretty houses-SO different from ours in Texas!-and also enjoyed the huge incline we drove on to get to the top of the road.  I am still amazed at the drivers who have to park their cars on this ramp of a street!

The crooked Lombard street, view going down

Then we headed to dinner.  Jeff has a favorite restaurant that overlooks the ocean.  On the way to eat, we got a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset...

Dinner at the Cliff House by the ocean...

This morning we had brunch at a delicious little restaurant, Sunny Side Cafe.  I had the most amazing french toast with peanut butter cream cheese and grilled bananas on top, yum!  I would eat here every weekend if I could!  Delish!

This afternoon we walked around campus and visited the Sather Tower.  The view from the top was amazing, and we even got to hear part of a bell concert as we toured.  

View from the tower

Huge bells in the tower

We also got to tour Jeff's research lab and see some incredible microscopes.  This one is worth somewhere between 3-4 million dollars!  That just blows my mind!  I can hardly believe he gets to work with such amazing equipment--it is right up his alley.  Jeff will finish his PhD this year and then return to Rice/Baylor in Houston to finish his M.D.  He has worked so hard; I am so proud of him.  It has been such a treat to spend time with him and his precious girlfriend Sara.  We are so excited to see them again at the end of this week!

No doubt one of my favorite things all day was our visit to the Rose Garden.  I have never seen so many roses so beautifully displayed.  It was incredible!  We walked around and stopped to smell as many roses as we could...the fragrance was lovely.

Berkeley Rose Garden

A few of the beauties

Jeff and Sara

Clowning around

Tomorrow we leave for the valley to spend a few days in Napa and Sonoma.  I can't wait to see that part of the country!  Wednesday we are going to Muir Woods to see the ginormous trees and hike a bit.

Did I mention the weather here is incredible?  We left 90 degree temperatures and arrived to 60.  The day warms up a bit, and the nights are chilly.  We love cold weather and are savoring every bit.

  

As for the fitness challenge, we walked 5 miles today around Berkeley, so I think we are going to make it.  44 miles down, 6 to go!