Multitude Monday: One Thousand Gifts

174.  Wonderful flights from GA to CO, CO to CA.

175.  A fantastic day spent in Santa Cruz, CA.

176.  Day One – All going smoothly at home.

177.  A wonderful grandfather who stayed at Beck’s Bounty with the Cherubs.

178.  Maggie is feeling better (our adopted Great Pyr) after a rough start.

179.  Big waves in the Pacific, but no tsunami waves despite warnings (Chile earthquake).

180.  Witnessing a mother and baby otter in the wild – how precious.

181.  A great day in San Fransisco, CA.

182.  A fantastic vacation with DadToCherubs and Dumma in CA.

183.  The blessing of friends who helped transport Cherubs while Mom and Dad were away.

184.  Buds on the daffodils.

185.  Leaf buds swelling on some trees – spring is getting closer.

186.  A very informative class for DadToCherubs (in CA for work).

187.  Warm spring days, and windows with screens !!

188.  Strong male Cherubs to carry their Momma’s luggage after a long trip.

189.  A full basket of fresh fruit on the counter.

190.  Successful transplanting of garden seedlings into bigger pots.

191.  Invitation for Cherub 5 to play soccer for the Junior High Soccer Team.

192.  A dear family friend who helped Cherub 6 build his Pinewood Derby Car.  B.G.

193.  Cherub 6 winning FIRST in his division, and FIRST overall at the Pinewood Derby (B.G.).

194.  Watching Cherub 5 ride Bandit solo for the first time (horseback lessons).

195.  A wonderfully patient and dedicated horse trainer / teacher. R.G.

196.  A roast and veggies cooking in the crockpot at the end of a really busy day.

197.  CoffeeHouse Creamers.  Carmel Macchiato, Chocolate Mocha, and Vanilla Latte.  Yummy !!

198.  More snow in Tennessee for the Cherubs to play in (last week).

199.  Finding seals and sea lions while driving country roads in CA on our trip.

200.  Horseback riding on the beach of the Pacific Ocean – WOW !!  (Manchester, CA).

201.  A successful Camporee (BoyScouts).

202.  Three boys swimming hard to complete rank requirements for Scouts.

203.  SCM Organizer – keeping school “on track” through all of our busy-ness.

204.  An authentic Chinese meal with DadToCherubs’ boss, W.C.

205.  The marriage of N.B. and P.E. – we just love a happy ending.

To find out more about

Multitude Monday:  One Thousand Gifts,

visit Holy Experience.

Day 5: California: The Egyptian Museum in San Jose and An Authentic Cantonese Meal

On our last official day in California, we were exhausted.  We decided to visit the Egyptian Museum in San Jose.

A Bird of Paradise in bloom -- it was amazing !

A grand entrance ... the Egyptian Museum (San Jose).

A real Mummy.

Written on this replica stone was the Code Of Hammurabi.

The exit walkway.

After our Museum tour, we headed out to do some last-minute souvenir shopping, and then went back to the hotel for a much-needed nap.

In the evening we were treated to an authentic Cantonese dinner with Mr. W.C. (DadToCherubs' boss).  He ordered in his native tongue, and shared about growing up in a Chinese village, his exchange student visit in 1983 in the United States, and then his emigration.  It was fascinating to hear about his life, and the food was remarkable .... so different from our "American" chinese food.  We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with him.  Thank you Mr. W.C. for spending such a wonderful evening with us.

Early in the morning on March 2nd we boarded our plane .... laying over and changing flights in Denver ... all while watching the news of snow in the Southeast and flight cancellations.  In spite of it all, our flights went smoothly, and we arrived home on time late Tuesday afternoon to find a cold and snowy Atlanta.  I stayed overnight in Atlanta so as to miss potentially icy roads on the journey back to Tennessee, and drove home the next morning to find Cherubs who really missed me while I was gone.

We had a wonderful trip to California -- beautiful weather, wonderful people, and fantastic sights.

Thank you to everyone who made it possible .... Barb for her fantastic recommendations .... MamaLion and Kimbo for keeping close tabs on the Cherubs while I was away ....Scoutmaster T for ensuring our boys didn't miss their scout campout .... Grandpa for babysitting and running the show ... Dumma for accompanying me on this fantastic journey .... Mr. W.C. for making our trip possible ... and DadToCherubs for allowing us to tag along.

Day 4: California: San Fransisco

We rode over the Bay Bridge from Oakland to San Fransisco.
After seeing the local traffic, we opted for a Tour of SanFransisco on a red open-top bus,
on which we could see the "sights" and not hassle with the traffic.  And the added bonus was that we could get off and on the bus as many times as we wished to explore areas more.

Clipper Ship docked near Fisherman's Wharf, and Dolphin Club swimmers in the colddddd water.

The Cannery.

Home (from back side) to Ghirardelli Chocolate.  Yummy !!

This park was built for the World's Fair when San Fransisco hosted the games.  Today it is surrounded by beautiful homes.

This strip of land used to be the airstrip for the Pressidio, a former military base turned State Park.

The light yellow'ish building at the top center of this photo is Alcatraz.

The Harbor on the far side of the Golden Gate bridge.

In Sausilito we saw so many sailboats ... a really adorable little hamlet on the bay.

A gorgeous photo of the Golden Gate bridge taken from a vantage point located in the Pressidio.

The entrance to Chinatown.  We shopped and ate an authentic dinner here.  WOW !!  What an experience.

Back to the Fisherman's Wharf area .... the sun was beginning to set, and the winds were picking up.  It was getting CHILLY !!

We visited SanFransisco Coffee, Hardrock Cafe, and did a lot of window-shopping.  There were street musicians on nearly every corner, a Mime act, trollies, delicious smells, and even seals in the harbor.

We had a wonderful day in San Fransisco, thanks to the tour company.

Day 3: California: From Manchester To Bodega Bay

We watched as the tide overtook the delta, sending the seals out to the ocean ... and then saw one of the most beautiful sunsets we had ever seen .... over the Pacific.  WOW !!

We stopped in Bodega Bay for a delicious seafood dinner ... and then headed back through Oakland to San Jose for the night.

The waves were HUGE along this whole ride .... partly due to the tide coming in on a full moon night ... but we kept a watchful eye open because this was also the day that the Tsunami Warnings were issued .... thankfully nothing more than full-moon high tide ever happened.

Day 3: California: Trip To Manchester And Beyond

For our 3rd day in California, we headed 4 hours north to Manchester .... and along the way we saw many Vineyards that are part of Wine Country.  The rolling green hills, the twisted curving roads, more Redwoods ... it was beautiful.

The scenery in the country was gorgeous ... and then our route took us along the water's edge .... through natural spaces that we did not realize existed anymore.

Much of the land in this area is zoned agriculture so codes prevent building against the coast.  We saw cows, horses, sheep, goats, and llamas grazing in front of million dollar views.  It was incredible.

We headed to Manchester for a dream .... my mother's dream since childhood to ride (for the first time ever) a horse on the beach.