California Dreamin' Day Three

A Skip in our Step

Sometimes you just have to look past the present to find the skip in your step. Today was one of those days. A rocky start due to tired minds and bodies and technology that was less than perfect gave us a rocky start to our day, but it wasn’t long before we found the skip in our step.

Emilee was a born to be a shopper. Inspired by a sweet friend with a very eclectic style, she had scoped out a vintage clothing shop online that was a must see for her in San Francisco. So we started the fun there. Ironically, we found ourselves driving through the Haight-Ashbury District with rows of closely packed houses with lots of iron bars up to the windows and doors. Not hard to tell this wasn’t the nicest part of San Fran. We made our way to Valencia Street and not far down the tight rows of small buildings was a shop front with a hand painted sign: The Painted Bird. Bingo. We were here. I would gladly have acknowledged the existence of the shop we had only seen online and continued on to a safer part of town to find whatever, but Emilee only saw the adventure of leaving the safe confines of our car and going inside the shabby looking establishment in pursuit of a vintage treasure. And of course, Dad was more than happy to go with her. I followed as the only practical member of this shopping party. But I must admit. It was a grand adventure. The Painted Bird was a delightful experience as we discovered treasures my mother would have worn when she was young and beautiful. Emilee easily found a dozen items to try on and we shared giggles and smiles as she slipped into each outfit. It was a perfect moment. We purchased a beautiful hand crocheted ivory top that fit her perfectly for $19. It was a great find and will be a lovely memory.

Ready for lunch, we set our sights on finding La Boulange, a bakery that promised to be a tasty treat delight. Of relief to me, it was not far but in a much better neighborhood that bought a skip to our step as we walked down the tight streets to our chosen lunch time retreat. La Boulange did not disappoint. The food was delish and reminiscent of a French Patisserie. I chose a sandwich with Ham and Bechamel Cheese with a side of creamy Mushroom soup. It was divine. And of course we each chose two sweets for the road. I chose Pain de Chocolate with crushed hazel nuts and a Lemon Turnover with Lemon curd filling. It tasted like fresh Meyer Lemons… soo good.

After lunch we met up with Cason's Family at Fisherman’s Wharf. Talk about a skip in our steps! How refreshing to be with those sweet little girls. We explored the Embarcadero shops, had a fun dinner… isn’t everything more fun with little ones? Madelyn’s birthday is Tuesday, and we had scoped out a Puppet shop the day before to take her to. Much more fun to let her pick her own puppet. We “tried on” just about every puppet before she chose her favorite… a penguin. Aubrey chose a white polar bear and the remainder of the night was spent with puppets in hand. We walked the long walk to Ghirardelli and indulged in huge decadent sundaes that surely will wipe out all benefits of the walking we have done in the past two days.  But it was so worth it.

We made our way back to our Hotel and checked Cason’s family into a room near us for the night. Tomorrow we’ll spend the day with them exploring a few more corners of San Francisco that will surely keep us skipping.

California Dreamin' Day Two

We Walked and Walked and Walked… and Walked

We spent most of the day in Prison. Literally. Alcatraz to be precise. Home of the most notorious very bad guys in history… Al Capone, Robert Strouse (the Birdman)... and others. We heard their own voices tell their stories. We felt an inkling of life with no agency. Fascinating, but so very sad that men through their own choices, lived the rest of their lives with none. A great audio tour allowed us to hear their thoughts and feel their pain. Most poignant to me was an inmate describing New Year’s Eve… if the wind was blowing their way, they could faintly hear the party at the Yacht Club way across the bay, the voices of girls laughing, the sound of the fireworks at midnight. Can hardly stand the thought of how hard it must have been to know that real living was so close… yet so far away. We’re anxious to rent the videos of Escape from Alcatraz and The Birdman of Alcatraz when we get home. Kudos to those who make this piece of history alive and accessible to all.

No, we didn’t walk to Alcatraz… it’s on an Island out in the bay. But we parked our car for the day… $18 for the pleasure, and walked and walked to Pier 33 where we caught the Alcatraz Cruise ship. It was a lovely day for a cruise, cool air, a bit of a breeze and again the sound of so many foreign voices around us. America’s Cup in San Francisco this year surely has brought visitors from all around the world. We had hoped to see a qualifying race on Friday, but apparently New Zealand edged the challengers out. The next race is on Sunday… and we will be on another leg of our California Dreamin’ Vaca. We did get to watch the US entry—sponsored by Larry Ellison of Oracle—make a practice run across the bay while we made the boat trip to Alcatraz. Amazingly fast! Later we walked down to the pier that is hosting the event, took some pics and reveled in what it must be like to live a different life. These are not your grandmother’s sailboats, carbonite construction allows them to skim along the top of the water… extreme high tech. We enjoyed exploring the America’s Cup Village and the exhibits that gave us a glimpse of understanding how the physics of sailing has changed. Remarkable. 

By now, I was beginning to slow down a bit. We had been walking all day with the exception of our boat ride to the Island of Alcatraz. I know we walked for miles and miles. Wish we had a pedometer to track our steps. We were a long way from our car so we began making our way back through the embarcadero shops and sites. Emilee would have liked spending more time in the shops, but by now I was dragging. We’d been too busy to stop for lunch so we were not only tired but hungry. We had bought a loaf of sourdough bread before heading to Alcatraz and enjoyed eating it French style on the cruise ship. But that was hours earlier. We were now being fueled by sugar from the salt water taffy.

We kept on walking… and walking… down to Fisherman’s Wharf where we finally decided on a restaurant to get some real food. We enjoyed our meal and the rest and again delighted in the many languages around about us. A father and his two teenage daughters with a language we didn’t know, kept us entertained, taking pictures of their American Cheeseburger… apparently a real treat.

We finally made it back to our car and on the drive home, happened upon the famous Lombard Street. Loved the thrill of the zig zag. Made our way back to our hotel… thankful we didn’t have to walk. What will tomorrow bring? More walking for sure… this time we’ll be smarter about our food choices.

California Dreamin' Day One

A Sweet Start

Waking up to already packed luggage was a great way to start our day and our trip. It gave me time to do the really important things… like feeding the fish, freshening up the Caterpillar Castle and making sure the little guys have enough milkweed to last through Friday when Becca comes to their rescue with fresh leaves. I’ve seen at least a half dozen or more eggs in the garden and knowing we were going on vacation, I realized I couldn’t protect them all, so I only brought two in the house. They will both become chrysalis by Sunday so all should be well… my small measure to save the world as we know it. Oh except for the tiny guy.

I discovered the third egg on a very small milkweed plant several days ago in the garden. When it hatched, the hungry little caterpillar, only an eighth of an inch long, was quickly eating his self out of a home. So I brought him in to the castle for a few days to bulk up before we left, with the intention of taking him back outside. In my haste to clean up the castle and give the two big fellas fresh leaves, the tiny guy got lost. I didn’t realize he was gone until 15 or so minutes after. Frantically, yes, you can now worry for my state of mind, I retraced my thoughts as to where he might be. The counter was clean of everything except the freshened castle. The only sure place he could be was in the garbage can. I carefully sifted through the contents… found him! Clinging to the leaf for dear life. My mind flashed back to Rebecca clinging to that tree we accidentally left her at the ball park when she was only four… yes, the thought still haunts me. Hopefully he won’t be scarred for life. The tiny guy, now doubled in size since he hatched a few days ago, will have to survive on his own in the garden. I placed him on the perfect milkweed outside. When we get home, he will be a beautiful Chrysalis, although it will be unlikely that I will be able to find him. Maybe I’ll see him as a butterfly floating through the blooms.

With all the important stuff taken care of, we loaded up the car and left for the Frontrunner station. This would be a new experience for me… my first ride on this train. Thankfully, Dad, knew the ropes… he rides it weekly to the Church Office Building. I must admit, I was a bit pessimistic about this, but I consented to the adventure as it saved us a grundle in airport parking fees. Actually it was quite fun, and such a metropolitan experience. The scenery was quite engaging, especially around the point of the mountain. I saw that area in a completely new light… beautifully picturesque farm lands complete with cows. The trip was not only enjoyable, but very efficient and quite painless. Many thanks to our excellent guide… take a bow, Dad.

We arrived at the airport as planned. This would be our maiden voyage on Jet Blue. From now on, this will be our “go to” airline. It’s the way air travel should be. Everything about the experience was top notch. The leather seats were comfortable and there was more than enough leg room. Each seat had a small TV screen at no additional cost to the traveler. No peanuts with Jet Blue… your choice of gourmet chips, Doritos, cookies… so many choices.

We had adjusted our minds to accept the fact that we had a four hour layover in Long Beach on our flight to San Francisco. It was the only choice we had at booking with our ridiculously low fare we found. When we arrived in Long Beach, we realized there was a flight to San Fran in an hour and it was our same plane. Jet Blue has a large blue (of course) sign labeled “ASK ME” that is highly visible as you walk off the plane. So we did. “What are the chances we can take that flight instead of waiting for four hours?” So glad we asked. Not only did we get on the flight, but since our luggage was already on that plane, it was the same one we flew in on, our luggage went with us. Yes! Thank you Jet Blue.

With four extra hours to play in the big city, Emilee chose to go to China Town. A good day to go, not too crowded, a delightful stroll down streets of shops that all looked very much the same… filled with pretty much the same cheap merchandise. It certainly brought new meaning the phrase… Made in China. But since this is most likely the closest I will ever get to the real deal, plus the fact that we had been sitting most of the day… it was all good. Emilee found a three buck t-shirt to add to her collection. Having had a terrific experience in New York’s China Town last Spring, she was quite disappointed with San Fran. There, she felt she had mastered the art of arguing price and was anxious to give it a go, but none of that seemed to be taking place here. It was most delightful to hear the many languages around us and I found myself trying to guess where they were from. Several times we watched as the Chinese clerk tried to explain the value of coins in these customer’s hand. It was a sweet exchange to see them patiently trying to communicate with people with limited language skills. I would go again just for that experience.

Today was a more than perfect start to our California adventure. What will Day Two hold for us?

Stay tuned!


Near the end of August we took a ten day trip to the greater San Francisco area with our youngest daughter, Emilee. This would be a celebration of sorts before she left for college when we arrived back home. I kept a daily journal to send to family members scattered across several states. I decided to post them all here for posterity... and for me!  You can read all ten days by accessing the side bar. We had a marvelous adventure.

"Well Done"

I have always loved butterflies.. 

I'm fascinated by their quiet beauty, 

their vibrant colors, 

the simple grace of their movement, 

the stillness of their existence. 

They are a gift from Heaven.

Whenever a butterfly enters my gardens, 

a sweet peace fills my heart. 

I know my offering has been accepted 

and the whispering of "well done" fills my soul.

Lessons Learned from a Spider

In my perfect world I would have taken a wonderful picture of the post I'm about to share.

A spontaneous experience, with no camera in hand... 
so here are my "a thousand words".  

May you see the picture within them!

I don't like spiders. 

There, I've said it. 

Let me say it again with more emphasis... I don't like spiders.

Spiders have never been invited guests to my gardens. I have actually formed an alliance with all garden snakes, whom I don't really like either:   

"All garden snakes may live here 
as long as they eat the spiders."

They do quite a nice job, as I rarely see spiders in my garden.  But on occasion I do. 

One such occasion happened last week as I sat on the grass, carefully removing the debris from the garden's edge. Little children often roam my gardens, so at times, I  find all sorts of hidden prizes among the crackling leaves. On this occasion, my eye spotted a curious looking quarter inch bead.  It was easy to spot as its brilliant blue seemed to shout "I do not belong in this garden." 

I scooped it up with the surrounding debris with my gloved hand for further inspection.  I was intrigued by the pattern of indentations on the surface of this little bead, somewhat like that of a golf ball.  I brought it closer to my eyes to view the tiny details. As I shifted the handful of debris in my hand to view it more carefully, I quite suddenly became aware that there, in my hand, next to the bead, was a spider.  I could not empty my hand fast enough! 

As the contents of my hand fell to the earth, I discovered that the spider was actually connected to the bead.  "How curious", I thought.  As I strained to look closer from my now safe distance, I soon realized that the bead was not a bead at all, rather it was the spiders egg sac.

My first instinct was to step on it... fair consequence for all spiders who enter This Grandmother's Garden.  No sooner had I thought the thought when a wave of unexpected compassion spread over me. I found myself pausing... "You can live," I said to this little mama with her expectant babies. I gently replaced the cover of debris in which she was hiding.  "You can live." I repeated aloud, somewhat surprised with my actions and I slowly walked away.

I've reflected on this experience several times since its occurrence and each time a smile comes to my face as I feel a sweet connection to this little spider family... to all things living, all creatures great and small, the Lord God loveth all.  Hm-m-m... not so sure I can love spiders, but I've certainly taken a step toward tolerance. Is there a greater lesson to be learned here?