As most of you know, we returned to our homes on Monday July 25th. While we were excited to return, the letdown from the vacation begun almost immediately! Just like after my wedding, reception and honeymoon - I stood back and said "that's it, it's over?" And just like then, I get to remind myself that it has only just started.
I now have a million memories to file through and enjoy whenever I want to. I have visual memories of sites I visited, tastes from phenomenal restaurants, sounds from country and city, and layers and layers of memories from the states and parks we went to.
At work, I have been asked what my favorite thing was. How on earth could I ever pick just one from a list a mile long of new favorites? I can say that I thought I would like the Grand Canyon, but in fact was totally mesmerized by its beauty. The vastness of the canyon and the colors of each layer were amazing. I was surprised by how much we enjoyed the Grand Canyon. My favorite park may have been Bryce Canyon. Our perspective of seeing it from the top, the way down and from the bottom gave me an idea of how nature has worked to create these wonders. I really loved San Francisco too. But not enough to move there. Las Vegas - so/so. I can say I was there and don't need to go back.
I will continue to post up some of the pictures I haven't gotten to yet. The rest of San Francisco, Yosemite and Las Vegas (there are not many there).
I do want to thank our followers who sent us messages, enjoying the blog. I have loved doing this, and look forward to finding a reason to do another blog! Check in every once in a while and you may find a little post or set of pictures originally overlooked!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Yosemite or Bust
We made it here yesterday, without incident. We took our time packing up our condo/apartment and made our departure around 10:30. Our plan was to stop at the Olde San Francisco Creamery to sample their famous ice cream (Man Vs. Food episode). HOwever, the drive was shorter than anticipated and we pulled into town at 11:15, so walked around till they opened at 11:30. Once we were all situated, we ordered. Now, the Tewksbury's had decided that they might just have ice cream for lunch - so Connor, Tressa and Ian did just that. You should have seen the dishes of ice cream they were served. Ian took some pictures, and will try to send them to me to post here. Let's just say that one scoop is about 1 cup of ice cream, and Connor and Ian ordered larges = 3 scoops plus all the toppings! Ian was the winner - he finished his dish. Connor made a valiant effort, eating about half his. tressa was a real lady, and she and Carissa ordered a regular (2 scoops). Neither girl was able to eat more than half of their ice creams either! the rest of us did pretty well, enjoying every bite, but not quite reaching the bottoms of our dishes.
From there we headed to Groveland, CA which is outside of Yosemite by a a few miles. We got here, unloaded and set up camp. While Jean and I took the kids to the pool (thank the heavens it has a pool) Dave made dinner. ANother night of spagetti and meatballs. The only one not tired of spagetti is Tressa!
Here is where I must admit that I have thoroughly enjoyed being spoiled! No soft bed, no soft pillows, no curtains to block the sunlight or windows to keep out some of the sounds. Hard ground, with less than stellar upkeep (meaning there are rocks UNDER our tent) = not the best nights sleep ever. but we persevered. Today we headed up to Yosemite to see El Capitan (I know this is not how it is spelled) and Bridal Veil Falls. We took a beautiful path to Yosemite Falls and the kids and Ian and I hiked up the falls to feel the spray on our faces. It was outstanding! The kids loved the adventure of climbing up the side of the falls, and I loved the climb, the view and the joy in their faces.
Ian then left off on his own to try and meet some climbers who were ready to go up (or were comign down) El Cap. He did not have good luck, and while disappointed he was happy he tried. Meanwhile the rest of us went to a basket weaving demonstration in the Indian Museum and the kids played a Native American game of Walnut Dice. Pretty cool stuff!
Yosemite is as beautiful as everyone has told me it would be. But I cannot help thinking back to an article that asked if we weren't loving our National Parks to death? There were so many people there, so much congestion and cars - we had worse traffic here than anywhere in San Fran or Las Vegas! There was nowhere to go that was inundated with people. Beautiful, but you cannot even get a picture of your family without at least 5 others in it.
Maybe we need to reconsider how to enjoy our national parks. Maybe people need annual passes, and we restrict the numbers entering daily? I have no idea, but I do know that it will continue to become a greater problem.
We are now down to two nights here, and 4 nights in Las Vegas. Nick and Carissa are truly ready to come home, and are completely homesick. I think Tressa is as well. All kids are feeling the final countdown, and to be honest - maybe us adults are as well. This is a phenomenal adventure, that could only be taken with the very best of friends. However, a full month away from everything else is difficult. I do look forward to my house, my pets, my extended family.
Tomorrow we are off to other parts of Yosemite, and I will be sure to post a bunch of pictures!
From there we headed to Groveland, CA which is outside of Yosemite by a a few miles. We got here, unloaded and set up camp. While Jean and I took the kids to the pool (thank the heavens it has a pool) Dave made dinner. ANother night of spagetti and meatballs. The only one not tired of spagetti is Tressa!
Here is where I must admit that I have thoroughly enjoyed being spoiled! No soft bed, no soft pillows, no curtains to block the sunlight or windows to keep out some of the sounds. Hard ground, with less than stellar upkeep (meaning there are rocks UNDER our tent) = not the best nights sleep ever. but we persevered. Today we headed up to Yosemite to see El Capitan (I know this is not how it is spelled) and Bridal Veil Falls. We took a beautiful path to Yosemite Falls and the kids and Ian and I hiked up the falls to feel the spray on our faces. It was outstanding! The kids loved the adventure of climbing up the side of the falls, and I loved the climb, the view and the joy in their faces.
Ian then left off on his own to try and meet some climbers who were ready to go up (or were comign down) El Cap. He did not have good luck, and while disappointed he was happy he tried. Meanwhile the rest of us went to a basket weaving demonstration in the Indian Museum and the kids played a Native American game of Walnut Dice. Pretty cool stuff!
Yosemite is as beautiful as everyone has told me it would be. But I cannot help thinking back to an article that asked if we weren't loving our National Parks to death? There were so many people there, so much congestion and cars - we had worse traffic here than anywhere in San Fran or Las Vegas! There was nowhere to go that was inundated with people. Beautiful, but you cannot even get a picture of your family without at least 5 others in it.
Maybe we need to reconsider how to enjoy our national parks. Maybe people need annual passes, and we restrict the numbers entering daily? I have no idea, but I do know that it will continue to become a greater problem.
We are now down to two nights here, and 4 nights in Las Vegas. Nick and Carissa are truly ready to come home, and are completely homesick. I think Tressa is as well. All kids are feeling the final countdown, and to be honest - maybe us adults are as well. This is a phenomenal adventure, that could only be taken with the very best of friends. However, a full month away from everything else is difficult. I do look forward to my house, my pets, my extended family.
Tomorrow we are off to other parts of Yosemite, and I will be sure to post a bunch of pictures!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Another great day in San Fransisco
Today Jean and I spent the morning attempting to get out of the apartment to go spend some girl time shopping on Market Street. It only took us two hours to get out of the building, but it was worth it. We found ourselves smack in the middle of nirvana - boutiques, street vendors and chain stores galore. We both bought a couple tops, and a few other necessities of life - I got a "jade" necklace that I successfully bargained down with the vendor.
We then found the Apple Store - and I was successful again! The iPod Classic of mine that was inadvertently dropped into a styrofoam cooler of melted ice while on our first overnight drive - was completely disfunctional. The Genius at the store very nicely replaced my iPod compeletely free of charge since it was so new and had both the warrantee AND the protection plan. I am now resyncing all my music so I can listen to some tunes! Yippee!!
We met up with Ian and Dave and the four kids who spent the morning in Chinatown buying the souvenirs that they had found earlier this week and still wanted to get. Both girls now have beautiful parasols and silk dresses from China (completely authentic I am certain). We took the bus to Little Italy and found a restaurant that served authentic (is there any other kind?) food from Northern Italy. We all ate well, and moved down the block slowly to the Italian Bakery. There we all found a delicate treat to have later - supposed to be after dinner, but they were gone before we got up the huge hill to Coit Tower.
Coit Tower, which used to be the tallest building in S.F. is now a legend in part due to history and Hollywood. They charge an arm and a leg for adults to go up, and just an arm for the kids. Needless to say, none of us went up opting instead for the views from around the tower on Telegraph Hill. The Tewksbury kids went through quarters like ducks through water, using the huge binoculars on poles around the circle. It took them a few coins to realize that all they could see was the trees surrounding the tower circle. Officials have not kept up the grounds as well as in other locations in the city and we found that we could not get a good view of the city as was advertised. We left there and returned en masse to Fisherman's Wharf. There we split up for a little and the boys all went to the NFL Sports Store while the girls all did a little more souvenir shopping. From there we crossed the millions of people and went to the Aquarium By The Sea. These tickets were part of our MUNI passes, which was money very well spent. The Aquarium was nice, well laid out and super quick to get through.
By now, we were all exhausted and headed down the main street to catch a bus home. This route took us past a small beach area where I suggested that this might be a good opportunity for the Szabo kids to put their feet in the Pacific Ocean (albeit the bay). All four kids ran down, and proceeded to splash around for a few minutes. Connor was the one who got his shorts a little wet, but they all had fun and can now say they have been in the Pac Ocean. The bus brought us very close to our door, and gave the girls yet another opportunity to open their eyes to the world around them. A very talkative and friendly gentleman who had thoroughly enjoyed his day off (I think he has all days off) with a good bottle in a brown bag explained to the girls (yes, we were right there too) the importance of learning to play the piano and music theory, the importance of doing everything their mom's told them to, and to certainly not drink or do drugs because he does - and look where it got him. He then told them to always remember what the black man on the bus told them. The girls politely took this all in with their mouths agape and eyes wide.
You learn something new everyday - Tressa and Carissa are now all set for the next week!
We then found the Apple Store - and I was successful again! The iPod Classic of mine that was inadvertently dropped into a styrofoam cooler of melted ice while on our first overnight drive - was completely disfunctional. The Genius at the store very nicely replaced my iPod compeletely free of charge since it was so new and had both the warrantee AND the protection plan. I am now resyncing all my music so I can listen to some tunes! Yippee!!
We met up with Ian and Dave and the four kids who spent the morning in Chinatown buying the souvenirs that they had found earlier this week and still wanted to get. Both girls now have beautiful parasols and silk dresses from China (completely authentic I am certain). We took the bus to Little Italy and found a restaurant that served authentic (is there any other kind?) food from Northern Italy. We all ate well, and moved down the block slowly to the Italian Bakery. There we all found a delicate treat to have later - supposed to be after dinner, but they were gone before we got up the huge hill to Coit Tower.
Coit Tower, which used to be the tallest building in S.F. is now a legend in part due to history and Hollywood. They charge an arm and a leg for adults to go up, and just an arm for the kids. Needless to say, none of us went up opting instead for the views from around the tower on Telegraph Hill. The Tewksbury kids went through quarters like ducks through water, using the huge binoculars on poles around the circle. It took them a few coins to realize that all they could see was the trees surrounding the tower circle. Officials have not kept up the grounds as well as in other locations in the city and we found that we could not get a good view of the city as was advertised. We left there and returned en masse to Fisherman's Wharf. There we split up for a little and the boys all went to the NFL Sports Store while the girls all did a little more souvenir shopping. From there we crossed the millions of people and went to the Aquarium By The Sea. These tickets were part of our MUNI passes, which was money very well spent. The Aquarium was nice, well laid out and super quick to get through.
By now, we were all exhausted and headed down the main street to catch a bus home. This route took us past a small beach area where I suggested that this might be a good opportunity for the Szabo kids to put their feet in the Pacific Ocean (albeit the bay). All four kids ran down, and proceeded to splash around for a few minutes. Connor was the one who got his shorts a little wet, but they all had fun and can now say they have been in the Pac Ocean. The bus brought us very close to our door, and gave the girls yet another opportunity to open their eyes to the world around them. A very talkative and friendly gentleman who had thoroughly enjoyed his day off (I think he has all days off) with a good bottle in a brown bag explained to the girls (yes, we were right there too) the importance of learning to play the piano and music theory, the importance of doing everything their mom's told them to, and to certainly not drink or do drugs because he does - and look where it got him. He then told them to always remember what the black man on the bus told them. The girls politely took this all in with their mouths agape and eyes wide.
You learn something new everyday - Tressa and Carissa are now all set for the next week!
Friday, July 15, 2011
Golden Gate Park
Today was spent with the men playing frisbee golf at Golden Gate Park in the early morning hours. Both stated that it was one of the best courses they have ever played, a hard 18 hole course. Dave won both times, I might add!
I took Nick and Carissa to a great little hole in the wall diner for breakfast this morning where we had a diner style breakfast at a counter. The Tewksbury's hung around the apartment until we left to meet Ian & Dave at Golden Gate Park for the rest of the day.
I must admit self pride in my ability to get the four kids and Jean and I to the park independently. Any of you who know me, know my sense of direction is weak and my ability to get lost is strong. Therefore, I do not usually mind taking the "long way" to get places. But today, we made a straight shot and got there even before we were due! The guys met us and we went off to the Conservatory of Flowers. Jean has been looking forward to seeing gardens and the flowers all vacation so today was special. The conservatory at the park was beautiful! The special exhibit was Wicked Vines, about plants that could be poisonous or killer, and Connor couldn't wait to see the Venus Flytrap.
The Conservatory does a fabulous job of laying out their floorplans to keep people of all ages engaged in the variety of plants and flowers. I found the exhibit explanations to be very well written and easy for all of us to understand and enjoy reading.
From there we took our picnic lunch to the park/playground at GGP and ate while watching at least 5 summer camp groups running around and playing. Unfortunately, the weather was less than perfect as it was windy, foggy and steady sprinkles. Once we were all done and the kids had a chance to run around and play with 250 other kids their ages, we took them on the carousel. They all loved it!
From there we used our City Pass to go to the California Academy of Sciences. Tressa and Jean really wanted to see the penguins, but we all honestly enjoyed the other parts of the museum better. There is an amazing rainforest exhibit that goes for at least three floors up the center of the building. It takes you through all the layers of the rainforests - floor, lower, upper and canopy. There were flowers, trees, birds, butterflies and many examples of wildlife that live in the forest. We were all safe though, as they kept the snakes, poisonous frogs and monitor lizards behind glass.
The other most interesting portion of the CAS was the aquarium. You went from the rainforest to underwater. The variety of fish, rays, sharks and jellyfish was outstanding!
The ride back on the bus was long, but easy. Two of the four kids fell asleep, but were amiable upon waking (this in iteself was a miracle!). We had a great day today and tomorrow is looking pretty excellent too! If only the weather would cooperate a little more.
I took Nick and Carissa to a great little hole in the wall diner for breakfast this morning where we had a diner style breakfast at a counter. The Tewksbury's hung around the apartment until we left to meet Ian & Dave at Golden Gate Park for the rest of the day.
I must admit self pride in my ability to get the four kids and Jean and I to the park independently. Any of you who know me, know my sense of direction is weak and my ability to get lost is strong. Therefore, I do not usually mind taking the "long way" to get places. But today, we made a straight shot and got there even before we were due! The guys met us and we went off to the Conservatory of Flowers. Jean has been looking forward to seeing gardens and the flowers all vacation so today was special. The conservatory at the park was beautiful! The special exhibit was Wicked Vines, about plants that could be poisonous or killer, and Connor couldn't wait to see the Venus Flytrap.
The Conservatory does a fabulous job of laying out their floorplans to keep people of all ages engaged in the variety of plants and flowers. I found the exhibit explanations to be very well written and easy for all of us to understand and enjoy reading.
From there we took our picnic lunch to the park/playground at GGP and ate while watching at least 5 summer camp groups running around and playing. Unfortunately, the weather was less than perfect as it was windy, foggy and steady sprinkles. Once we were all done and the kids had a chance to run around and play with 250 other kids their ages, we took them on the carousel. They all loved it!
From there we used our City Pass to go to the California Academy of Sciences. Tressa and Jean really wanted to see the penguins, but we all honestly enjoyed the other parts of the museum better. There is an amazing rainforest exhibit that goes for at least three floors up the center of the building. It takes you through all the layers of the rainforests - floor, lower, upper and canopy. There were flowers, trees, birds, butterflies and many examples of wildlife that live in the forest. We were all safe though, as they kept the snakes, poisonous frogs and monitor lizards behind glass.
The other most interesting portion of the CAS was the aquarium. You went from the rainforest to underwater. The variety of fish, rays, sharks and jellyfish was outstanding!
The ride back on the bus was long, but easy. Two of the four kids fell asleep, but were amiable upon waking (this in iteself was a miracle!). We had a great day today and tomorrow is looking pretty excellent too! If only the weather would cooperate a little more.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Alcatraz and the Prisoners
Today we left early (which in San Fran means 8:45 a.m.!) to catch the trolley and buses to Fishermans Wharf and the ship to the infamous island. We had such an interesting experience with the MUNI system here yesterday, not being able to catch one when we wanted it, that we added in lots of time to make sure we didn't miss our reservations. Needless to say we were at the wharf before 9:30 and had time to enjoy delicious and not inexpensive pastries at the wharf snack shop.
We then lined up to board the Islander - the ferry we would take to Alcatraz -for our 10:30 departure. What none of us knew was that while in line, they take a cute picture of your group. You then get to see this shot on your return, and have the option to purchase it for $22. But wait, there is more! You get not only one, but TWO 5" X 7" copies for that price! We did not come home with any of those shots.
The ferry ride was beautiful, if foggy. The weather here is holding steady at 60 degrees, cloudy and breezy. I hear it is much hotter at home, and some of us were right in making sure we wore pants and sweatshirts/windbreakers. However, Jean and I again neglected to bring sunglasses which we needed in the later afternoon.
Alcatraz was awesome! I did not know much of the history of the island, and found out that it was first a military base to help guard the Bay against potential attack. It was later that the Department of Defense shifted to housing prisoners, and when the money ran out, it changed hands again to become a maximum security prison. As one sign said "If you don't follow the rules, you go to prison. If you don't follow prison rules, you go to Alcatraz."
We went throught the entire walking audio tour, which is exceptionally well done. All of us were impressed at the ease of the information presentation, the pace of the audio tour and the great details they included. The narrators included former guards, former prisoners, and former children who lived on the island. That might have been the most surprising fact I learned today. The guards and their families often lived on the island, the kids taking a boat to school each day.
All four kids were very well behaved, if not hungry. You are not allowed to eat or drink anywhere after the dock and a couple kids were ready to have a snack within minutes of starting. But, once they got the headset they were all fine until the ride back.
By 2:30 we were ready to hit the waves and head back to the wharf for lunch. We went to the Eagle Nest for what we thought would be a quick bite. good food, but neither quick nor cheap. Ian said the San Fransisco White Clam Chowder was delicious, and Jean really liked her lobster bisque in a bread bowl. I skipped the seafood, didn't feel like going into anaphalyctic shock today.
We were pretty lucky in catching a ride back on the various busses and were home by 4:00. Now, I see Dave and Ian playing cribbage, Nick is checking out lego's online, Connor, Tressa and Carissa are playing cops and robbers, Jean is asleep on the couch and I sit here mentally chilling with a plan to make dinner.
Tomorrow is another day, another adventure! Oh, and we all came home from the prison, so obviously we were all behaved!
We then lined up to board the Islander - the ferry we would take to Alcatraz -for our 10:30 departure. What none of us knew was that while in line, they take a cute picture of your group. You then get to see this shot on your return, and have the option to purchase it for $22. But wait, there is more! You get not only one, but TWO 5" X 7" copies for that price! We did not come home with any of those shots.
The ferry ride was beautiful, if foggy. The weather here is holding steady at 60 degrees, cloudy and breezy. I hear it is much hotter at home, and some of us were right in making sure we wore pants and sweatshirts/windbreakers. However, Jean and I again neglected to bring sunglasses which we needed in the later afternoon.
Alcatraz was awesome! I did not know much of the history of the island, and found out that it was first a military base to help guard the Bay against potential attack. It was later that the Department of Defense shifted to housing prisoners, and when the money ran out, it changed hands again to become a maximum security prison. As one sign said "If you don't follow the rules, you go to prison. If you don't follow prison rules, you go to Alcatraz."
We went throught the entire walking audio tour, which is exceptionally well done. All of us were impressed at the ease of the information presentation, the pace of the audio tour and the great details they included. The narrators included former guards, former prisoners, and former children who lived on the island. That might have been the most surprising fact I learned today. The guards and their families often lived on the island, the kids taking a boat to school each day.
All four kids were very well behaved, if not hungry. You are not allowed to eat or drink anywhere after the dock and a couple kids were ready to have a snack within minutes of starting. But, once they got the headset they were all fine until the ride back.
By 2:30 we were ready to hit the waves and head back to the wharf for lunch. We went to the Eagle Nest for what we thought would be a quick bite. good food, but neither quick nor cheap. Ian said the San Fransisco White Clam Chowder was delicious, and Jean really liked her lobster bisque in a bread bowl. I skipped the seafood, didn't feel like going into anaphalyctic shock today.
We were pretty lucky in catching a ride back on the various busses and were home by 4:00. Now, I see Dave and Ian playing cribbage, Nick is checking out lego's online, Connor, Tressa and Carissa are playing cops and robbers, Jean is asleep on the couch and I sit here mentally chilling with a plan to make dinner.
Tomorrow is another day, another adventure! Oh, and we all came home from the prison, so obviously we were all behaved!
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