Monthly Archives: March 2010

Dorothy & Judy’s visit

Kevin’s mom (Dorothy) and a family friend (Judy) came up for a visit this past weekend and we had a blast! They drove down on Thursday 3/25 and stayed until Sunday 3/28 morning. Thursday night we took them to Goood Frikin Chicken (ummm, can you tell we love that place?) and Friday morning we got out of the city for the day…destination: Point Reyes Lighthouse!

Friday, 3/26

First stop: Muir Beach overlook



They were filming a music video (I think) which was kind of neat to see…except we didn’t get down to the very edge of the cliff! 🙁
Me, Dorothy and Kevin (Judy took this from the other side of the cliff)
Dorothy, Kevin and Judy…and the gorgeous ocean!



The Visitor Center was in an old farm house…gorgeous!
Dorothy keeping the walrus in check, haha
Yum, picnic lunch!

Final stop: Point Reyes Lighthouse

Dorothy and Judy taking a break from the hike to the lighthouse

They were in LOVE with that beach…but can you really blame them??

The fact that there was a Caution sign about the walk back up from the lighthouse should have made us nervous…they weren’t kidding about the strenuous part! But we lived to tell about it.
All 308 steep steps up from the lighthouse…but totally worth it!
Breath-taking view.


On the way home we drove through the town of Inverness (very cute, by the way…we’d love to check out some of the adorable bed and breakfasts there!) There was this cool old boat on the shore that I had to get out and take a photo of.

Overall, a superb day in Marin County!


Saturday, 3/27

On Saturday we stayed local and spent most of the day in Golden Gate Park.


Cherry blossoms outside of the Japanese Gardens (we didn’t feel like paying the fee to get in…)

The main attraction of the day: The California Academy of Sciences! Kevin and I had visited there when Jessie first moved up to SF (about 6 years ago!) and the museum had gone through a major renovation and reopened in 2008 so we hadn’t gotten a chance to check out the new place. It is a FANTASTIC museum and we really enjoyed ourselves.

The indoors rainforest: A 4-story rainforest complete with butterflies, macaws, frogs, and sweat (it was super humid in there!)

Kevin got this shot of this butterfly…beautiful!
Fish ‘n lily pads

Kevin also captured this awesome photo when this gecko was looking right at him and seconds before he jumped straight towards him!

We got tickets to the 3pm Planetarium show (included in admission price, score!) and it was fantastic. The video was narrated by Whoopi Goldberg (who doesn’t love Whoopi??) and it was extremely informational and awe-inspiring. Plus we learned that each of us has about a teaspoon’s worth of star particles in our bodies…oooooh!


The CAS boasts of its “Living Roof” which we really enjoyed checking out…



Another picnic lunch, this time in Golden Gate Park…

Kevin juggling oranges and me goofing around.


Our only group picture from the trip:


We had SO much fun with those two and can’t wait for another adventure in the near future!

Sunny days in SF!

We have been thoroughly enjoying the past two weeks of sunshine in the city. Some mornings when I get up and the sky is blue and clear of any clouds and the wind is nice and warm, I honestly feel as though I’m back in Long Beach! It’s been so great to be able to spend so many sunny days outdoors (and I’ve regained some of my tan back, woohoo! 🙂 ) Here are some of the fun things we’ve been doing with our beautiful days…

Nothing says “warm weather” quite like a BBQ!

Lola and I spent one afternoon with Jessie and the boys she nannies for (McKinley Square Park)

Brandt showing off his static-y hair
Jess and Colby

Lola is a huge fan of the warm weather and she’s been spending a lot of time outdoors. She’s had her way with her basketball and it’s not much of a ball anymore!



We’ve been frequenting Golden Gate Park lately and have been taking our time exploring Stow Lake and Strawberry Hill and the surrounding areas with all of the great trails.

Kevin, Lola and Stow Lake

A waterfall in the middle of Golden Gate Park

Wine barrel tasting in Sonoma

Our friends Mika and Matt invited us to join them and their friends during the annual Wine Road wine barrel tasting weekend in Sonoma. We only went up for the day on Saturday, March 14th but for $20 a person (pre-sale cost) you can enjoy the amazing wineries that participate in Wine Road all three days–Friday, Saturday and Sunday! Plus you get a cool wine glass. Well worth the money!

Neither of us had ever been to Sonoma and all I can say is that it is G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S! Rolling hills, green everywhere you look, beautiful weather…we were in love!

The above there photos were at Forchini Winery
Matt and Mika
Terri and Scott
Kevin impressing Mika and Matt with his wine-tasting skills 😉
So I didn’t realize that we’d actually be tasting the wine straight from the barrel! Very cool. Obviously I’m not a big wine-aficionado, haha.
Enjoying the river behind Truett-Hurst Winery (the above five photos were taken there)
Apparently, Kevin’s a Dan Fan. Who knew? 😉 At Teldeschi Winery.
Hop Kiln Winery was our favorite because of the amazing historic building and the awesome food they provided! 😉
Did I mention the food? 😉 They had mustards and curry sauces and chocolate to dip pretzels in while you tasted their wine. Delicious!




After the fun-filled day soaking in the sun and enjoying the tasty wines, we had dinner at Mary’s Pizza Shack in Santa Rosa. Santa Rosa is home to the Charles M. Schulz museum so I had to take a photo with my buddy Snoopy. 😉

We had such a fantastic time in Sonoma and can’t wait to go back when the grapevines are in full bloom in the fall!

Adventures with Lola

I don’t have much to report but wanted to post something since it’s been a while! Here are some fun photos/videos of our Lola girl…enjoy!

Drunk with happiness!

What’s up, Dad?

She’s one jolly dog!

Here are a couple of videos of her playing with a huge cardboard roll that she’s in love with. She’s intrigued by how our voices are thrown when we talk into it:

Proud wife

I just wanted to take a moment to tell the world how proud I am of Kevin. As you all know he’s in the Aviation Mechanics program at City College of Alameda (he’s in the middle of his second semester of four total semesters) and he has once again ACED his test! Each week they have quizzes on Friday and I think it’s only been 1-2 times he’s gotten lower than 100% (and then it was only like 98%). Tonight he got the results back from his mid-term that he took last Thursday and he got 100%!!!!

I’m so proud of him and just wanted to tell the world. 🙂

Kevin, the future airplane mechanic!
(I don’t pretend to know Photoshop so this is my sad little photo edit 😉 )
Loading...
X