California, Here I Come!

I haven't seen the grandkids in.... forever! (Oh, and heck... I haven't seen my kids in...forever - but they don't really count anymore!)

So I booked a trip to San Fran, and included my B.F.F. in my plans. I decided I would present her with a "Grand Tour" by the Pride Travel Company.  Our motto is "Travel with Pride"!  (In the event you didn't know... my last name is Pride!)

This trip was called the San Francisco Sojourn.

Each evening I presented my B.F.F. with an overview of the coming day, similar to what one receives on her pillow on a cruise, perhaps without the chocolates! I think she loved the surprises that awaited her. We had so much fun, and there were so many things to do. Here are some excerpts from our travels. I am thinking you will wish you were part of this tour as well!

Day 1

February 5, 2020

Wishing you smooth skies on the first day of your San Francisco Sojourn! 

Tomorrow you will make your way to the Manchester Airport for your flight to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. 

My B.F.F. and I connected at the BWI airport. We hugged, and smiled, and boarded the flight to San Fran together. We watched videos on the iPad, and snapped a few photos of my former home in Parker, Co as we flew by. Wow! How amazing that my old home was right down there...under our wings!!! Do you see it?!

On our second day, we took it easy! We had breakfast in Point Richmond, looked at historic buildings, and then enjoyed Mahjong with friends. Oh.... my B.F.F. had the opportunity to experience online grocery shopping and delivery....something she has not experienced in her small town in NH.

Day 3

We went to visit the grandkids. I warned her!

We will escort the clan to a kid-centric venue;

Your choice of the following:

Oakland Zoo

The Lawrence Hall of Science

The Tilden Little Farm

The Chabot Space & Science Center

You’ll enjoy(?) the antics and abounding energy of 

the pre-schooler provocateur and her toddler, and some sort of lunch.

She chose the zoo. Following lunch we explored some fabric and art shops, had a nice, decadent hot chocolate before returning and watching the kids for the evening so their mum and dad could have a date night. 

My DIL texted to ask how the kids were enjoying the dinner we made for them.
My response was this picture:

Yum!

Our version of Mac and cheese was well received, and they even ate some veggies and sausage.

Following dinner it was bath time. 

We managed to keep most of the water in the tub.

Day 4

Your day will begin with breakfast at 8:30 AM at the Bayside Cafe near Sausalito, CA. 

Following breakfast you will enjoy a drive through Mill Valley to the Muir Woods National Monument. You will have the opportunity to hike among the towering, old-growth redwood trees. 

The woods were lovely, dark and deep...

and we traveled on to Mission San Rafael Arcangel in San Rafael.

Sunday was mostly a day of rest. 

Well... after I ran out to the hardware store to get pvc pipe to make the frame for the quilted tent I had made for the littles. 

Well... after a quick vacuum and clean up.

Well... after a quick trip to IKEA (is that ever "quick"??!!) to get authentic (?) Swedish food for dinner!

Well... after a visit to the Rosie the Riveter National Historic park.

Well... after preparing and enjoying dinner with the kids (who LOVED the tent!)

PS: I found a way to get K to eat Swedish meatballs after showing him the only way to eat them was by dunking them in lingonberry sauce first! I think he ate 8 or more!

Day 6

Today will be another busy day presenting you with a variety of experiences in the hills and valleys to the north of Richmond… and beyond!

Your car will depart at 8:20 AM and take you to Fairfield, CA where you will participate in an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the Jelly Belly Factory at 9:30 AM. The guided tour leads visitors through the factory for an up close and personal experience like no other! Participants must wear long pants, socks and shoes.

Following the tour you will be driven past historic vineyards in Napa wine country, Your destination is the V. Sattui winery in St. Helena, CA. Here you will make your selections for a picnic lunch on the winery grounds.  

Following lunch you will head into the hills to the the west for a 1:30 PM tasting tour at Pride Mountain Vineyards.  

Of course, we had to peruse the gift shop and partake in samples so we would know just what to purchase! 

We Dreamers stumbled upon V Sattui some years ago. 

The deli has the most amazing food.

The day was perfect for a picnic in the lovely setting around the winery.

Of course, we enjoyed our tour of Pride Mountain Vineyard, and had to partake in tastes from their barrels. We enjoyed a few extra tastes as the assistant to the wine maker wanted our feedback on two wines that were to be bottled the next day.

Day 7

You have been looking across the bay at the city of San Francisco for almost a week. Today you will venture into the city to see many of the sites close up. 

You will take the 8:40 AM Richmond Ferry to the Ferry Building in San Francisco.

From nearby, you will catch a “Hop-on Hop-off” bus tour that will take you to many of the notable San Francisco locations. 

And of course, we had to take the Powell/Hyde cable car to the top of Lombard street so that we could walk down the steepest street in San Fran. The views were magnificent!

We ventured into the bowels of the earth to catch Bart over to Oakland. After a stop for tea along College Avenue we ventured over to the kids' house for hugs and good-byes.

We enjoyed a fantastic dinner with my younger son and the other grandmother, and then returned to the sojourn home to pack and prepare for our early (3:45 AM) departure.

It was a most memorable week. We had fantastic weather... every day! We saw a lot, we ate a lot and had a ton of fun!

Ferrying

Ferry service between Richmond and San Francisco began in January this year, after being promised for years. We see the ferries as they go in and out of the channel in front of the house, as well as ferries from other locations out on the bay. The dock is about three miles from our home.

Recently I took the time to take the ferry to San Francisco.

Ferry at the dock in Point Richmond with San Francisco visible through the fog behind the boat

The "Mr." watching as I board the ferry. 

A view from the stern of the ferry as we left the dock.

The view of my neighborhood from the ferry.
My house is one of those "little boxes" on the hillside.

Ferry Point near Miller Knox Regional Park.
Before bridges and tunnels, trains would ferry across the bay to San Francisco from this point
I walk by this building every morning, but have never seen the view from the sea

The Richmond bridge across San Francisco Bay 

Getting closer to San Francisco
Here's a great view of the city and the  Bay Bridge extending to Oakland 

I had such an enjoyable time. If I were working in San Francisco, I would love taking the ferry back and forth. What an amazing, relaxing way to travel to the city.

I'm on Top of the World

Our new home is built on a steep hillside. The road out of the development has an 11% grade.... going up from the house... and going down. You might get an idea of how high the hillside rises above the house from this picture. 

Or, perhaps this will give you a better idea of the "lay of the land". I circled the house, in yellow. There is a lot of hill behind it!!

We are surrounded by the Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline park. There are 295 acres with trails all over the hillside above the house. At the far end of our street there are a series of steps going up to the top of the trail. I am thinking there are at least 80 steps. I'll count them next time I venture out!

This marker is basically at our house. The altitude is 75 feet. If I walk down towards Brickyard Cove Pond I will shortly be at an elevation of about 20 feet!

At the highest point of the trail the elevation is 327 feet. My iPhone claims I traveled 25 flights of stairs!

The views from the trail are spectacular, although you just don't get the perspective in pictures. Wow! Here I am at the top of the stairs, near the spot where the pin is marking the highest elevation. I am looking southwest, over the basin and yacht club. 

This view is directly south of us. That's Treasure Island on the left and San Francisco on the right. 

Looking south and a bit further west. Alcatraz is just left of center.

Looking west and a bit north one sees the Richmond Bridge on I-580 heading toward San Quentin and San Rafael.

I am looking forward to exploring the trails in the park.... as long as I can stay upright!

Wine Train

Fantasy RV Tours sent me an email weeks ago about a Napa/San Francisco rally. Since we were going to be in the area we decided it would be fun to explore this area with a group. We had a busy schedule. 

We saw a lot. 

We drank a lot. 

We ate some fine food!

Some of my favorite experiences included:

• Dinner on the patio at Frances Ford Coppola's Winery.  
• Beach Blanket Babylon revue.
• Lunch in Sausalito and ferry ride to the pier in San Francisco.
• Walt Disney Family museum.
• Chinatown walking tour and dim sum at The Oriental Pearl
• Lunch in the dome car of the Napa train

Here's a look at the Napa train experience:

Our menu:

Food arrives by dumbwaiter

(the machine, not the guy!):

Lamb appetizer:

Salad:

Beef short ribs entrée:

Cornbread pudding and popcorn dessert:

And after dinner, a walk through the train:

A vintage dining car

Some of the many vineyards we passed:

 A view from the end:

As I walked through the cocktail car I was tickled by the sound of the suspended wine glasses:

I wrote this post weeks before fires broke out in the Sonoma area. The fires here, and in Santa Rosa are terrifying. It is hard to conceive of so many acres, homes and families impacted by the fires. We can only pray that the fires are brought under control soon, and that the 200 people on the "missing" list are found alive at a shelter. 

Eight Weeks

Our sweet granddaughter is 8 weeks old. This momentous occasion was not marked with much fanfare. No Birthday cake. No presents. Just us. I felt lucky to have the opportunity to visit the kids and hold their sweet little girl.

We ventured to San Francisco on Thursday, and spent the weekend tiling the kitchen backsplash. The kids will need to do the grouting, as the tile needed extra time to set. Awww, too bad. Gosh darn it... I love grouting......
(actually, I do!!)

The "Before" shot of the kitchen.

A "During" shot of the project, and a closeup of the not so fun to set tile.

Z tries her hand at putting mastic on the wall.
She's a whiz at it. It's in the genes.
Z's Grandfather and Great Grandfather were both masons!

The only way to get the tiles into the corner is...
 to get in the corner.
Our son is flexible enough to do this with ease!

Ta da!
The project is complete. (Well, almost!)
Let's have friends over for dinner!

In between setting tiles, and resetting those that decided not to stick, we had our share of time with sweet little baby. She is beginning to spend more awake time checking out her environment. She is just beginning to make some cooing sounds.

She waves her arms and legs, but hasn't quite figured out how to connect with or hold a toy.

And she spends some time fussing. OK, babies fuss. How else are they gonna tell us they are cold, or wet, or hot, or hungry, or just plain tired! Our little BaBa seems to kick up a fuss when she is trying oh, so, hard, not to fall asleep!

Going....

Going....

Gone!

One evening we even let her parents go out to dinner all by themselves! Our son provided us with detailed instructions....

Doesn't he get it? We were parents once upon a time!

We managed to take care of him just fine!

So....

We played with her.

And put her down to nap.

And picked her up when she cried.

And fed her.

 

We put her down to play.

We picked her up.

We bathed her.

And fed her again.

Mom and Dad walked in after having a nice meal, all by themselves.

All was quiet.

All was fine.

I'm not sure who enjoyed the evening more....