Barb and Rosalie’s Excellent Adventure

Thursday June 24, 2010

Our trip to San Francisco to visit my brother and his wife started out uneventful. We arrived with plenty of time to the Omaha airport. We checked our luggage and while walking to our gate, we saw a man, who from behind, looked like dad! Dad loved to travel, so we knew that we were being watched over.??

Omaha???s airport had just received a brand new full body scan machine. Guess who was the lucky traveler to use that? Me! There has been so much media about this new security machine and I just found it kind of creepy that the officer kept calling me young lady. ???Step right up here, young lady.??? ???Make a triangle with your hands over your head, young lady.??? ??What, actually, did he see with that full body scan?

Mom and I both passed through the airline screening. We then went to our gate to wait for our flight. But, here was our first adventure. Our flight was delayed. They were waiting for a flight crew from Cincinnati. to come in to fly us to Minneapolis. When we saw a flight crew come off each plane, we held our breath to see if they were ours! Finally, our crew came in and they filled out the paper work to fly us. We were on our way to Minneapolis with just enough time to make our connecting flight to San Francisco.??

Once we got off the plane we checked to see where to catch our connection. It was very confusing and Minneapolis is a very busy airport. I snatched a wheelchair for mom and we dashed down to our gate. We were quite the sight with mom in the wheelchair holding all our carry on baggage and me running and pushing the wheelchair. ??We made it to the gate to find that the flight was delayed for several hours because of the dense fog in San Francisco. We now had time to catch our breath and eat. We enjoyed a tasty meal at TGIFridays and called my brother to let him know of the delay.??

We finally made it to San Francisco and met up my brother and his wife. We were so happy to see them, but it was a very long travel day. We finally got to our hotel at 1:30 am West Coast time, but our bodies were still on Central time and that was 3:30 am!Since we were checking in so late, the front desk was closed, but then I called the manager???s office, we discovered that they hid the key for us and asked us to officially check in in the morning.??

We stayed right on the coast at a famous hotel called the Seal Rock Inn. It???s a cool retro hotel with a restaurant attached which is known for its famous omelettes. It???s right by Sutro Park and the famous Cliff House restaurant.??

Friday June 25, 2010

Before we met up with my brother and SIL I took a quick walk around Sutro Park and took some pictures. We then had our first meal at the Seal Rock Inn Cafe and had omelettes. We started our day with a driving tour around some of the town. We stopped at the Legion of Honor museum for some pictures. Our next stop was to Sausalito. Which was a ???happy mistake???. My brother had planned on us taking the ferry to view the Golden Gate bridge but he made a wrong turn and we ended up driving over the bridge and paying the toll. It was fine with both mom and myself to not take the ferry. We both get sea sick. I did bring some Dramamine, but it was so foggy and cool, it probably wouldn???t have been a fun ride.??

We strolled along the streets of Sausalito and enjoyed the sun!I was able to put my hand into the bay water. ??We had a bite to eat at a cafe. I had a delicious bowl of clam chowder with fresh sour dough bread.??

Back in the car, we traveled to Crissy Field. It???s a National Park area reclaimed from the early days of World War II ??where is was a flight field for the air force. They let the area go back to it???s original state. We strolled around and tried to take pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was still shrouded in fog. We stepped into the Warming Hut for a cup of coffee and a cupcake. Californians take their environmental beliefs seriously. The trash cans were labeled as Compost, Cans/Bottles, ??and Trash. They practice what they preach!??

I really wanted to make a stop at a church today to light a candle for one of my former students. She was having surgery on Friday to remove a brain tumor. We tried to get into Star of the Sea church, but it was locked up. We drove down to St. Ignatius church and just made it before they were locking up. It was 4:59. I quickly lit a candle for her in the Sacred Heart chapel. It was a green candle and they even had a picture of St. Margaret Mary in this chapel. Checking my student???s Caring Bridge page later told me that she made it out of surgery just fine!

Now back in the car, we traveled to my brother and my SIL???s home. My brother wanted to make us Thai Pad for dinner. He and I grabbed 2 shopping bags and walked to an Asian Market. This was quite an adventure for this Nebraska girl to walk to the grocery store. It???s a common thing to do in this city. I enjoyed all the variety of food for sale. I also thought the live and fresh seafood was very interesting. They also sold pig???s feet and chicken feet! My brother knew his way around the market as he enjoys cooking. He didn???t like the carrots sold at this market, so we went to 2 other markets for better looking carrots. We also went to a cafe called the Blue Danube for Black and White cupcakes.??

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The dinner was delicious! My SIL also made a tasty and colorful Asian slaw with a homemade dressing. We enjoyed a glass of Chardonnay wine with dinner and this was the first of many toasts…to family!??

Saturday June 26, 2010

We started out our day, again at the Seal Rock Inn Cafe with my brother and SIL and 2 special visitors. I was able to meet one of my long time Twitter friends, @CreativeSage and her husband @Marantzguy. This was such a treat! I just knew we would hit it off. We ended up ordering the same meal! But on the serious side, we have so many of the same interests and I also knew my brother would enjoy meeting her. He shared the most recent Social Justice project he???s working with. We had a very lively conversation and my Twitter friend suggested someone for my brother to connect up with to further his project. As we ended our meal, I gave my Twitter friend a handmade twine Rosary using the Our Lady of Guadalupe twine. She???s an artist and I knew she would appreciate the pretty colors in the Rosary. Although she???s not Catholic, it was fun to pass something on that I enjoy making for my new ???In Real Life??? friend.??

Our next stop was to the beach, although it was a cloudy foggy day, I really wanted to put my hand in the Pacific Ocean. I did and I photographed it! We then drove by the Presidio and saw the famous pet cemetery.??

Next we went to their apartment to hang out. My SIL gave me a modified tour of Golden Gate Park. What a great park to live close to. We took the elevator up the DeYoung Tower to view the city 9 stories up. We were able to see a good portion of the city, but it was still foggy. We walked over to the San Francisco Botanical Garden and I really enjoyed the knowledge my SIL had of so many of the plants.??

Next up, in our day, was Mass. We walked over to the Star of the Sea church. It???s a very pretty older church built in a traditional style. The church was only 1/3 full with mostly older people. Perhaps the younger people go to the Sunday morning Mass.??

We walked over to the Clement Street Bar and Grill for another delicious meal. This spot held a special place in my brother and SIL???s life. This was the first place they stopped after my brother proposed to my SIL. I had a lemon linguine with shrimp and prawns. My mom had lamb chops. It was very good. We also had a bottle of Merlot and made another toast to family! Of course we had to have dessert. I had a Creme Brulee. Yum!

Sunday June 27, 2010

Our final da
y was spent traveling to Santa Cruz. We have relatives who live here. It was a picturesque drive down Highway 1. I loved seeing the coast on one side, and the hills on the other. It was a sunny day and many people were enjoying the sand and surf.??

We made it to my cousins??? home. They are in the process of moving and it was so kind of them to take the afternoon and evening off to visit. We had a blast visiting. ??We were charmed with their beautiful children and lovely wives. My brother and I did find 2 heads up pennies in their parking lot. I think that was a penny from Heaven. Thanks, Dad!??

My cousins took us to see the Santa Cruz mission. It???s a neat historical site and I???m very glad we stopped to see it and take pictures. I also lit a candle for my student.??

We ate at a local restaurant called Crow???s Nest. But before we got to the restaurant, we had a tour of the highlights of the coast. What a beautiful area! The meal was once again very good. I ordered the local Swordfish. They even decorated the plate with a flower as a garnish! Since we were a bigger group we ordered 2 bottles of wine and once again toasted to family! We shared some great family stories and had a great time. I ended the meal with a local speciality, a slice of olallieberry pie.??

We took some photos of everyone on the dock and walked back to our car. It wouldn???t start! The battery was dead. Luckily, everyone had jumper cables. That didn???t work, so one of my cousins ran his family home and picked up some supplies. We cleaned off the battery with water and Diet Pepsi while we waited. Their father was a mechanic and I knew that the cousins would know what to do. After he returned, he tightened a bolt with a wire. It looked to them that the battery had a crack near the connections. This time the jump worked! We were on our way back to San Francisco.??

Because we weren???t sure if my brother???s car would start ok in the morning, we made arrangements with SuperShuttle to bring us to the airport in the morning. We said our goodbyes and headed to bed.??

Monday June 28, 2010

We woke up with plenty of time to get ready and eat before our flight. We were ready to go down to the Seal Rock Inn Cafe for our last omelette around 7:45. But we heard 2 big booms and felt 2 big jolts! It seemed like something heavy fell in our hotel. Unfortunately, the WiFi was down at the hotel because I would have checked Twitter to see if it was an earthquake. Minutes later, the local news confirmed that it was an Earthquake! It was only measured at 3.5 and was located 3 miles off the coast. We were very near the epicenter which was closer to the San Francisco Zoo. Because the area we were at, it just felt like 2 short jolts, not a long rumbling, swaying feeling like I had imaged an earthquake to be like. This was my first earthquake!??

Then our plans were drastically changed by a phone call from Delta at 8:00 am. Our 1:05 pm flight was cancelled because of mechanical difficulties. They booked us on the next available flight….12:30 am. No Way! I called their 800 number and we were able to catch a United flight to Minneapolis but we had to pack up and leave right away. I cancelled our SuperShuttle appointment and my mom checked us out and called a taxi.??

We made it to the airport and went through security, picked up a bagel, muffin, water and a coffee with 10 minutes to spare before boarding! Mom was the traveler, randomly chosen, for a pat down search right before we got on the gate. Perhaps she was chosen because she was holding a bag with our breakfast.??

We made it to Minneapolis and United had a wheelchair waiting for mom. We were so grateful for that because it was a long trek to a different terminal for our flight home. We had a 2 hour layover and enjoyed a lunch/dinner at Ike???s and laughed with the ticket counter attendant. He had everyone in stitches telling us that the chilled champagne and desserts are ready for us on the plane. He sense of humor and looks reminded mom and me of a former employee of my dads. Dad watching out for us again!

We are home now and thinking of this trip, I can think of 3 themes that played over and over. They would be family, food and faith. It was a great trip to see my brother and his wife. I had so much fun traveling with my mom. We make great traveling companions. It was just the right amount of laid back time and adventure time for the both of us.??

We really loved seeing the cousins in Santa Cruz. It was nice to see them as grown men with lovely wives and beautiful children. They make/will make great fathers.??

Every meal we ate was so good! Sure it was more expensive, but it was our vacation and we enjoyed. I think I had dessert with every meal. I don???t want to step on the scale tomorrow.??

I loved visiting the churches in California. It???s so neat to stop in a Catholic church and say a prayer and very comforting to know that the Mass is the same around the world.??

So, now on to our next excellent adventure. We are thinking about San Antonio next summer. How???s that sound, Rachel Rosalie?