Summer Visit

Where did summer go? That is what I'm asking myself lately. The days are getting shorter and a touch cooler and breezier. It rained recently (so I hear) and there are also rumors of leaves changing colors (I haven't seen it yet). It's a far cry from the beautiful falls in Michigan, but while there are no cider mills and the air doesn't have that pleasant nip of fall, I've already had three pumpkin chai lattes from Peet's Coffee and am looking forward to more of the fall goodies! :)

But anyway, summer is almost gone, so I'll set out to update you on my summer in the next few posts, starting with a quick overview of one of the highlights.

I was so excited to have two visits from friends this summer. One was Memorial Day weekend, which was (sadly) my last post. The next visit was from dear friends from Michigan who made a week of touring the Northern California beauty! Whew, we sure did pack a lot in there (ask my car's mileage for proof!)... From San Francisco to Monterey, Carmel, and Big Sur, a day trip to Santa Cruz (with Steve), Yosemite, and Napa Valley! Phew!

We started in San Francisco, where we explored Fisherman's Wharf (including a yummy seafood lunch), Ghiradelli Square, a Bay tour and a bus tour! That gave the girls a good overview of the city, and then they checked out some of the other nooks and crannies in the city, including the Japanese Tea Garden, Golden Gate Park, and a cable car ride! (Not to mention witnessing San Francisco's lack of a public nudity ordinance! Yikes!)

Near Ghiradelli Square after enjoying lunch at Fisherman's Wharf

Gorgeous weather to enjoy a Bay Cruise in SF Bay

Enjoying many of the delicious offerings of the Ferry Building

Cable car ride that ended in their trolley breaking down!

Then we spent an afternoon at the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz (with special guest, Steve) where we stuck our toes in the Pacific (burrrr!) and enjoyed the lively atmosphere. This visit included a ride on the hang-glider ride and a sampling of deep fried Twinkies and Oreos (so bad and yet so good!).

Mindy's first time touching the Pacific!

Love!

Next, the girls and I drove down the coastal highway to Monterey, Carmel, and Big Sur. The grey skies didn't stop us from enjoying the immense beauty of God's creation in Big Sur or the quaint beauty of Carmel (or the pastries in Carmel!).

 

Then we adventured to Yosemite (and thankfully did not stay in the camp that had the Hantavirus outbreaks!) where we were awed by God's creativity and majesty in his creation there. Amazing! (If you've read other blog posts about Yosemite, you probably get that I think it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been!) We did some hiking (er, some of us did some hiking) and exploring by car and "glamped" (glamorous camping) in a sweet cabin with a wood-burning stove (which I managed to keep a fire going in thanks to my sweet Girl Scout training... haha, that's a joke, folks! Girl Scouts was social hour for me and my friends!).

View from Olmsted Point, including the back side of Half Dome, upper right

Meredith and I climbed Lembert Dome and were rewarded by amazing views

And finally, we made our way to Napa and Sonoma Valleys and explored some gorgeous vineyards there (including, apparently, the one owned by one of the former Bachelors...ya know, the TV show). And we feasted on a lunch of fancy cheeses and salami with fresh bakery bread. So good!

Lunch at V. Sattui Vineyard

Arriving for our tour at Mondavi Vineyards

It was so fun to have friends visit and to show them a bit of Northern California! These are only a few photos from the week (this post is already long enough!), but I may post more someday on Facebook when I get around to it!

So long, thanks for reading! Next time (hopefully soon!) I'll tell you how Steve needed a trip to San Francisco after hearing about the fun we had there! :)

Whirlwind Memorial Weekend

Wow, I'm so delinquent in my updates! In my defense, it has been not very busy and also very busy. Make sense? I guess what I mean is, when it rains, it pours! Long periods of not-much-going-on (hence no updates) followed by crazy busy-ness (hence no updates). Oh yeah, and not to rub it in, but the weather's been pretty great and I try to get outside (to the pool) as much as possible :)

Anyway, enough excuses... here's the overview with a few photos here and there to keep it interesting.

My friend Katie from Detroit-via-Denver (she now lives near Denver) came and visited over Memorial Day weekend. We hit the big city to ride the cable cars, see the wharf/beach/bridge, and trek back to our car making stops in North Beach (Italian district) for some gelato and espresso, and getting a glance of Chinatown.

We also went to Yosemite and went on the Mist Trail (to see Vernal Falls) but then were rained out the second day after "glamping" at Curry Village...

Our lunch spot!

Awesome tent cabin at Curry Village with heat and electricity (and equipped with a bear box)

And then also visited Monterey and Carmel (and Steve got to come, too!). Isn't Carmel just beautiful?

Whew! That was a lot of fun to have in one weekend (and a lot of driving... and the CR-V is still holding up fantastically!) I had a great time... thanks for coming, Katie! :) More fun this coming week as three more friends from Detroit are coming tonight/tomorrow morning!

Don't give up on me yet, more blogs from beautiful, sunny CA soon!

The Hills are Alive!

In the East side of the SF Bay ("The East Bay"), our hills are brown most of the year (refer to this post for proof). But after some rain, we now (temporarily) have the most beautiful green hills! Aren't they so pretty???  It almost makes me want to hike up Mission Peak again... almost.

And this is just the creation... what a wonderful, majestic, beautiful Creator we have!

Psalm 104:1-18

Bless the Lord, O my soul!
    O Lord my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
²     covering yourself with light as with a garment,
     stretching out the heavens like a tent.
³ He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
    he rides on the wings of the wind;
⁴ he makes his messengers winds,
    his ministers a flaming fire.

⁵ He set the earth on its foundations,
    so that it should never be moved.
⁶ You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
    the waters stood above the mountains.
⁷ At your rebuke they fled;
    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
⁸ The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
    to the place that you appointed for them.
⁹ You set a boundary that they may not pass,
    so that they might not again cover the earth.

¹⁰ You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
    they flow between the hills;
¹¹ they give drink to every beast of the field;
    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
¹² Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
    they sing among the branches.
¹³  From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

¹⁴ You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
    and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
¹⁵     and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine
    and bread to strengthen man's heart.

¹⁶ The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
     the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
¹⁷ In them the birds build their nests;
    the stork has her home in the fir trees.
¹⁸ The high mountains are for the wild goats;
    the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

February swimming

A few weeks ago, on a Friday in February, it was so warm and sunny that Steve spent some time on his day off doing laps in the hotel pool.  (I opted out... the pool is heated but the air was still too cool for me for swimming, although I did stick my feet in!)  We had an extremely mild winter, even for this part of the world...until last week when it cooled down and got rainy and gray (which is the norm for winter).  (Yeah, that was the week where it was near record highs back home in Michigan so, me being selfish, it was no fun seeing that the temps were quite a bit higher there and that everyone was outside doing things...  But I am glad my Michigander friends and family got a visit from the sun, too!)  Hard to believe Steve was swimming in February but this past Monday at BSF I thought my toes were going to freeze off!

Anyway, it looks like spring is trying to return once more (although we actually do need the rain), so I thought I'd post these pics to remind me of what's in store soon (and why you should come visit)! Looking forward to some nice, sunny days! :)