"These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it Now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph." ** Thomas Paine, The Crisis(December 1776)
Most of the United States begins Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March --- which happens to be coming up very soon --- it's THIS Sunday, in fact.
So, don't forget to change your clocks --- and be sure to change the batteries in your Smoke Detectors too, this weekend, as recommended by Fire Departments.
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.
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.
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.
Thomas Jefferson said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
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