San Francisco

We biked through Golden Gate Park, which has huge expanses of beautiful open space.

Our hotel, The Inn at the Opera, is in a great location ~ right near the Civic Center, the Opera, Theatre and Symphony ~ not that we are attending any of those venues. It is an old building, now a boutique hotel. Fisherman's Wharf was our first sightseeing stop. We had fresh crab sandwiches, took a Harbor Tour, went to the Aquarium, listened to the street steel band and window shopped. Busy place.

The next day we took a picnic to Golden Gate Park, which is larger than Central Park in New York. The Golden Gate Municipal Band performed during our lunch at the Spreckles Music Temple. We viewed the King Tut exhibit at the De Young Museum. Wonderful artifacts!

 

  

 

On Labor Day we took the ferry to the Sausalito Arts Festival. Lots to look at! The highlight was the music. On Monday there was a Tribute to the Woodstock Musicians. Country Joe McDonald was the MC. We listened to Quicksilver Messenger Service, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Canned Heat and Jefferson Starship. Great fun hearing some old tunes by some old artists!

 

 

We have become experts at public transportation to both Golden Gate Park (#5 bus) and Fisherman's Wharf (#47 bus). We still need to get to the cable cars and use the F Line.Also need to drive down Lombard Street.

Road Trip ~ The Tolley Bakersfield Ranch

Ruth's cousin John and his wife Michelle live in a beautiful home they built in the mountains outside of Bakersfield. They have been there for 10 years now and the home is lovingly furnished with western and Mexican finds. Michelle is an exquisite decorator. We especially loved the many outdoor eating and sitting areas.

Our favorite was the Mirador ~ the lookout at the top of a spiral staircase. You can see the hills from all directions. Really special ~ especially the hammock! We loved our visit with John and Michelle and would love to travel with them on their annual trip to Mexico.

Road Trip ~ San Clemente

Our trip to California began with Ruth's wish to revisit the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. She had been to this unique show back in 1974. San Clemente was the closest we could get to Laguna with our timeshare trades, so here we are for 4 busy days. Our resort borders the San Clemente State Park and Beach, so it is a great location. We have been to the beach and biked the path along the ocean. Last night we went to the Pageant. What an extraordinary event! Inside the doors there is a large garden with a jazz band and an art show. We spent an hour wandering and browsing. The Pageant is just amazing. People are painted to depict actual paintings. They are inside a picture frame and freeze for several minutes. The effect is unbelievable.  It is very hard to explain and you can't take pictures inside or I would post a photo. One example is that the last picture each year is The Last Supper. There are actors painted and posed to simulate the painting. We both loved it.

 Link to Pageant of the Masters-take a peek

We had lunch with Ruth's high school friend, Lisa Henderson. She lives about 10 minutes from our condo! Lisa took us to a funky little beach area called Crystal Cove. We had a great time catching up. Later we went to her townhome in Capristrano Beach. Great view of Dana Point and wonderful dinner. Lisa is a beautiful as ever!

Ruth's friend from elementary school, Kristy Kalt Dial, drove up from San Diego with her husband J.R. The four of us headed up to the San Juan Capistrano Mission. We had a lot of fun getting aquainted with J.R, Ruth and Kristy enjoyed catching up. They have kept in contact throughout the years and always have fun together. The Mission was really interesting. We are looking forward to seeing them when they come out to Colorado in their pop up trailer next month.

Our trip to California began with Ruth's wish to visit the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach again. She had been to this unique show back in 1974. San Clemente was the closest we could get to Laguna with our timeshare trades, so here we are for 4 busy days. Our resort borders the San Clemente State Park and Beach, so it is a great location. We have been to the beach and riden our bikes on the path along the ocean. Last night we went to the Pageant. What an extraordinary event! Inside the doors there is a large garden with a jazz band and a large art show. We spent an hour wandering and browsing. The Pageant is just amazing. People are painted to depict actual paintings. They are inside a picture frame and freeze for several minutes. The effect is unbelievable. Take a peek at their website to get a better idea.

San Clemente

Our trip to California began with Ruth's wish to revisit the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. She had been to this unique show back in 1974. San Clemente was the closest we could get to Laguna with our timeshare trades, so here we are for 4 busy days. Our resort borders the San Clemente State Park and Beach, so it is a great location. We have been to the beach and riden our bikes on the path along the ocean. Last night we went to the Pageant. What an extraordinary event! Inside the doors there is a large garden with a jazz band and an art show. We spent an hour wandering and browsing. The Pageant is just amazing. People are painted to depict actual paintings. They are inside a picture frame and freeze for several minutes. The effect is unbelievable. It is hard to explain and I wish we could have taken pictures. Take a peek at their website to get a better idea. Today we had lunch with Lisa Henderson, Ruth's friend from High School. It turns out that Lisa lives just down the Pacific Coast Highway in Capistrano Beach. She took us to Crystal Cove for lunch. Really funky and fun spot! So great seeing her again! Of course, she looks as beautiful as ever.

Seal Beach

On our way to San Clemente, we stopped in at Travis, Katie and Tiffani's home in Long Beach. They live in an neat neighborhood with some amazing homes. We all headed to Seal Beach for the afternoon. Jack, Beau and Maizie love the ocean. After a slathering of sunscreen, they were in the water non-stop. Jack likes to use Tiff's boogie board. Beau went out in the deep water with Travis. Maizie can entertain herself forever with the water where it comes up on the beach. She dips her hair in the water to get fully wet. We had a really nice day chatting with Trav, Tiff and Katie and playing in the ocean. They all seem so happy as Californians!

Ventura

We drove down to Ventura to visit with Rick's cousin Charlie, his wife Blake and their cute pup Bella. Charlie and Blake have a beautiful cliffside home with a view of the ocean. Blake is very creative and you can see her touches throughout the house. She has done some awesome mosaics that make me want to give it a try. Charlie made us a delicious dinner accompanied by some great wine from his cellar. All so tasty! Bella is a darling dog. If Rick and I were to get a dog, it would probably be a Bella-type. Blake was kind enough to send us away with some lemons, oranges and avocados from their trees. All in all - a great visit. Rick and I hope our paths cross with Charlie and Blake another time!