- our 161 vacation pictures on Shutterfly
- our cruise videos on Youtube
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Home Sweet Home
Aaaaaaah home. My bed, my pets, my food ... I've enjoyed returning from this vacation more than any other. Still, I've spent the day uploading pictures & videos, and blogging (in between naps). Feel free to check out
Friday, March 28, 2008
Our last day at sea
Our last day on board was spent entirely at sea as we headed back to Fort Lauderdale. We got out of bed without the aid of a wake up call, ate fruit and breads ala room service, and didn't even leave our cabin until noon. Wilneau found us and spent about 15 minutes teaching the girls how to make the towel animals he'd been leaving for us each night.
Then it was off to eat yet again. I so am not looking forwarded to seeing my scale when I get home. After lunch the kids settled in with their Nintendos and I headed spa for my final service. The creme de la creme ... the hot stone massage. It wasn't as good as the massage I got in Kauai last year, but it was great nonetheless. And the massuere was adorable. I think his name was Pedro. He is from Lisbon and he can rub me down with rocks any day of the week.
$200 later I set out to find the girls who were still playing with their stupid video games. They didn't want to go the pool because it was too windy. Sailing at 15 knots tends to do that. So we settled for checking out our pictures that she ships photographers had been taking all week. $42 after that and we hear the intercom yell BINGO BINGO BINGO! $44 later we were recycling our losing bingo cards as we left the Metropolis.
We had enough time for a quick shower before dinner where we watched the wait staff parade and said goodbye to our table friends. Even though the food wasn't that great, dinner may have been the best part of the cruise. Especially this last night. It was reminiscant of the last night of summer camp when everyone is hugging and taking pictures and happy and sad all at the same time. The staff was especially happy since it was tip night for them :)
After dinner we hesitantly went back to our room to pack (and snapped this last photo on the way).
If you've never cruised before here's a little tid bit of information for ya. Your bags need to be packed and set outside your stateroom by midnight the night before you debark. It may not sound like a pain in the arse, but it is. It seriously is. How well we thought this through will be discovered tomorrow. Stay tuned!
Then it was off to eat yet again. I so am not looking forwarded to seeing my scale when I get home. After lunch the kids settled in with their Nintendos and I headed spa for my final service. The creme de la creme ... the hot stone massage. It wasn't as good as the massage I got in Kauai last year, but it was great nonetheless. And the massuere was adorable. I think his name was Pedro. He is from Lisbon and he can rub me down with rocks any day of the week.
$200 later I set out to find the girls who were still playing with their stupid video games. They didn't want to go the pool because it was too windy. Sailing at 15 knots tends to do that. So we settled for checking out our pictures that she ships photographers had been taking all week. $42 after that and we hear the intercom yell BINGO BINGO BINGO! $44 later we were recycling our losing bingo cards as we left the Metropolis.
We had enough time for a quick shower before dinner where we watched the wait staff parade and said goodbye to our table friends. Even though the food wasn't that great, dinner may have been the best part of the cruise. Especially this last night. It was reminiscant of the last night of summer camp when everyone is hugging and taking pictures and happy and sad all at the same time. The staff was especially happy since it was tip night for them :)
After dinner we hesitantly went back to our room to pack (and snapped this last photo on the way).If you've never cruised before here's a little tid bit of information for ya. Your bags need to be packed and set outside your stateroom by midnight the night before you debark. It may not sound like a pain in the arse, but it is. It seriously is. How well we thought this through will be discovered tomorrow. Stay tuned!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Belize
I don't know about you, but when I think of Belize I think of Central America ... hot, steamy, tropical. For this reason we decided that we would spend the day on the beach when we got there. Our concierge, Carlos, booked us on a Sun Beach excursion for the every day low cost of $100. We boarded the tender at 9:00 am (7:00 am Belize time) and headed to an island 6 miles east of the ship. That's right. Island ... East. The opposite direction of the main land.
When our island came into view it was very quaint. Lots of beach chairs, a couple of water trampolines, volleyball net... it seemed like a great little oasis away from the hustle and bustle. But with clouds and wind following us like the black plague, it was too cold to do too much but lay in those lovely beach chairs and cover up with anything that didn't blow away. There were no stores to visit, no locals to chat with (save the pregnant bartender & Frank, who appeared to be a manager of sorts)... basically, NOTHING to do except to play in the sun that wasn't there. Unfortunately we didn't realize this until *after* the boat informed us they'd be back at 1:00 to pick us up and left.
The kids didn't seem to bothered by it. They combed the beach for shells and waded in the water up to about their ankles. I tried to zen out and relax. Then a wonderful thing happened. I glanced at the dock and saw our boat dropping off another round of poor saps people. I ran over to ask if he'd take us back, but three other families had already beaten me to it. Next thing I knew I was handing him a $20 bill and heading back to the ship.
We immediately took another tender to the touring area of Belize, which pretty much consisted of a lot of peddlers and a lot of stores. It really felt like in Central America here, and had even warmed up a bit! So we bought souvenirs, $4 ice cream bars, and great dreadlock hats for Crazy Hat Day. The lady selling them called me Sugarplum and posed for this picture with the girls. 
Oh, and here's a little tid-bit I wasn't aware of ... they sell prescriptions like aspirin there - right OTC. Check out the menu at this "pharmacy!"
That's it. That was our day in Belize. No more than a few hours, and really, that was probably a few hours too many. We had more fun at the pool and at dinner with our Wisconsin friends I do believe. Casey and Mercedes, of course, deserted me for sports night in the kids club and I realized that I had a cold that needed to be slept off. So that's what I did.
When our island came into view it was very quaint. Lots of beach chairs, a couple of water trampolines, volleyball net... it seemed like a great little oasis away from the hustle and bustle. But with clouds and wind following us like the black plague, it was too cold to do too much but lay in those lovely beach chairs and cover up with anything that didn't blow away. There were no stores to visit, no locals to chat with (save the pregnant bartender & Frank, who appeared to be a manager of sorts)... basically, NOTHING to do except to play in the sun that wasn't there. Unfortunately we didn't realize this until *after* the boat informed us they'd be back at 1:00 to pick us up and left.
The kids didn't seem to bothered by it. They combed the beach for shells and waded in the water up to about their ankles. I tried to zen out and relax. Then a wonderful thing happened. I glanced at the dock and saw our boat dropping off another round of 
We immediately took another tender to the touring area of Belize, which pretty much consisted of a lot of peddlers and a lot of stores. It really felt like in Central America here, and had even warmed up a bit! So we bought souvenirs, $4 ice cream bars, and great dreadlock hats for Crazy Hat Day. The lady selling them called me Sugarplum and posed for this picture with the girls. 
Oh, and here's a little tid-bit I wasn't aware of ... they sell prescriptions like aspirin there - right OTC. Check out the menu at this "pharmacy!"That's it. That was our day in Belize. No more than a few hours, and really, that was probably a few hours too many. We had more fun at the pool and at dinner with our Wisconsin friends I do believe. Casey and Mercedes, of course, deserted me for sports night in the kids club and I realized that I had a cold that needed to be slept off. So that's what I did.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Dolphins Rule (in Cozumel)
The wake up call came at 7:00 ship time. I say that because the ship stays on Eastern Time despite the actual time zone we visit.
Cozumel, for example, is in the Mountain Time zone, but the ship still sails at 5:00 eastern. They made this point over and over again since apparently the ship won't wait for us if we're late.
Our excursion for today is ... Swimming With Dolphins at Chakanaab Park at 8:00 am, Cozumel time. I had no idea what to expect as far as travel time to get there, lines, etc. so we ended up getting there before 7am local time. With an hour to kill we walked up and down the shore line and grabbed some primo beach chairs. Finally it was time to check in for our Royal Dolphin Swim!
The weather was cloudy and windy, so the waves were rockin pretty good. No sooner than we stepped into the water, Casey decided she wanted nothing to do with swimming in the deep water. So she stayed on the platform while Mercedes, me, and the rest of the group swam out to play with Tatiche and pregnant Ichelle.
Even though Casey didn't do the swimming part, she did get to kiss the dolphins, be kissed by them, and tickled them on the belly button (which she thought was very cool).
The dolphin adventure lasted for about 30 minutes, then we were escorted to a little room where they showed us the DVD and photos that they took. $200 later we left the gift store and headed to the pool & beach where the kids played.
Mercedes and I decided to go for a quick snorkel and were happily surprised by all of the fish we saw!
Good thing I glanced at my watch ... before we knew it it was almost 2:00! With the whole time change and needing to be back on the ship by 2:30, so we rushed to the taxis. At the port we had to walk past all the stores selling their seriously inexpensive wares, and got back to the boat with time to spare.
Plenty of time to spare, actually.
We were stunned when the clock in the Royal Promenade read 2:15. Yes, I am a time miscalculating genius. I wanted to head back out and do a little shopping, but Casey and Mercedes didn't care to do that (big surprise there), so we spent the rest of our day at the pool and napping in the room. We skipped dinner in the Nutcracker - the food there is mediocre at best - and I headed back to the spa for a lime & ginger body scrub & massage while the kids went to a pajama party at the kids club.
Cozumel, for example, is in the Mountain Time zone, but the ship still sails at 5:00 eastern. They made this point over and over again since apparently the ship won't wait for us if we're late.
Our excursion for today is ... Swimming With Dolphins at Chakanaab Park at 8:00 am, Cozumel time. I had no idea what to expect as far as travel time to get there, lines, etc. so we ended up getting there before 7am local time. With an hour to kill we walked up and down the shore line and grabbed some primo beach chairs. Finally it was time to check in for our Royal Dolphin Swim!
The weather was cloudy and windy, so the waves were rockin pretty good. No sooner than we stepped into the water, Casey decided she wanted nothing to do with swimming in the deep water. So she stayed on the platform while Mercedes, me, and the rest of the group swam out to play with Tatiche and pregnant Ichelle.
Even though Casey didn't do the swimming part, she did get to kiss the dolphins, be kissed by them, and tickled them on the belly button (which she thought was very cool).
The dolphin adventure lasted for about 30 minutes, then we were escorted to a little room where they showed us the DVD and photos that they took. $200 later we left the gift store and headed to the pool & beach where the kids played.
Mercedes and I decided to go for a quick snorkel and were happily surprised by all of the fish we saw!
Good thing I glanced at my watch ... before we knew it it was almost 2:00! With the whole time change and needing to be back on the ship by 2:30, so we rushed to the taxis. At the port we had to walk past all the stores selling their seriously inexpensive wares, and got back to the boat with time to spare.
Plenty of time to spare, actually.
We were stunned when the clock in the Royal Promenade read 2:15. Yes, I am a time miscalculating genius. I wanted to head back out and do a little shopping, but Casey and Mercedes didn't care to do that (big surprise there), so we spent the rest of our day at the pool and napping in the room. We skipped dinner in the Nutcracker - the food there is mediocre at best - and I headed back to the spa for a lime & ginger body scrub & massage while the kids went to a pajama party at the kids club.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Formal Night
Our first day at sea was pretty much a lazy day. The kids swam, despite the cold and cloudy weather, then went to the Adventure Ocean kids club while I hung out and tried to locate the ships hotspots. Since tonight is our formal dinner, I went to the spa for a little cut and style in the afternoon so I wasn't sporting spiked hair with my cocktail dress.
Turns out we clean up pretty good!
We had a nice dinner and were not surprised when the monster children were back in the window again. We were surprised that the parents ignored our glares, but at least they were gone by desert. The only thing worse than monster children is monster children hyped up on sugar.
We got back to our room to find that our state room attendant, Wilneau, left us a bunny towel! We love Wilneau. He rocks.
Tomorrow we have an early day in Cozumel so we crashed out shortly after dinner. We are party animals!
Turns out we clean up pretty good!
We had a nice dinner and were not surprised when the monster children were back in the window again. We were surprised that the parents ignored our glares, but at least they were gone by desert. The only thing worse than monster children is monster children hyped up on sugar.We got back to our room to find that our state room attendant, Wilneau, left us a bunny towel! We love Wilneau. He rocks.
Tomorrow we have an early day in Cozumel so we crashed out shortly after dinner. We are party animals!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Royal Caribbean Cruise Day 1 - Liar Liar Pants On Fire
Embarkation day went smoothly. We scored a late checkout from the hotel, got to the port (thanks Melissa!) around 1pm and figured out the process for boarding.
First thing we did was register the kids. The second thing on my to do list was to pick up the "cyber cabin kit" that allows me to connect to the internet from my room (so I can blog of course).
Problem. They don't do in-room internet anymore. They discontinued the program 4 1/2 months ago because it was messing up their network. So instead of having unlimited access in my room, I have to go to a net cafe and pay by the minute (upwards of $.57 depending on the package you buy). At least I won't spend my entire vacation online that way.
After the net fiasco we headed up to our room - 1282 - the Grand Suite on the 10th deck. It's a beautiful room. Big bathroom, huge balcony, a dressing table, bar, two large closets ... we're traveling in style on this ship.
We didn't spend a lot of time in the room since our luggage hadn't arrived yet, so we headed our to explore and swim until the 4:30 muster drill. Oooooh doggy that was fun.
We looked so stylish in our purty orange life jackets ... the teenager down the hall even called me a rock star. Little punk :)
Shortly after we set sail. It was pina coladas for everyone on the pool deck where there was a party goin on! The kids swam while I watched Fort Lauderdale slowly drift away.
Next on the agenda was dinner. Our restaurant is the Nutcracker on the third floor and our assigned seats are right next to the window. Awesome!
We met our tablemates for the first time too: a banker from Wisconsin, his wife, and nine year old dd. All very nice and chatty. Unfortunately the table next to us has a table full of children who can't seem to stay in their seats. My view was obstructed by children using the windows as slides. I broke out my camera for evidence of the monster children (they name they quickly adopted) and don't you know they even smiled for the camera.
I wonder if it's illegal to beat OPKs on international waters?
After dinner the kids grabbed their nintendos and I headed to the spa for a facial.
The vacationing is on.
First thing we did was register the kids. The second thing on my to do list was to pick up the "cyber cabin kit" that allows me to connect to the internet from my room (so I can blog of course).
Problem. They don't do in-room internet anymore. They discontinued the program 4 1/2 months ago because it was messing up their network. So instead of having unlimited access in my room, I have to go to a net cafe and pay by the minute (upwards of $.57 depending on the package you buy). At least I won't spend my entire vacation online that way.
After the net fiasco we headed up to our room - 1282 - the Grand Suite on the 10th deck. It's a beautiful room. Big bathroom, huge balcony, a dressing table, bar, two large closets ... we're traveling in style on this ship.We didn't spend a lot of time in the room since our luggage hadn't arrived yet, so we headed our to explore and swim until the 4:30 muster drill. Oooooh doggy that was fun.
We looked so stylish in our purty orange life jackets ... the teenager down the hall even called me a rock star. Little punk :)Shortly after we set sail. It was pina coladas for everyone on the pool deck where there was a party goin on! The kids swam while I watched Fort Lauderdale slowly drift away.
Next on the agenda was dinner. Our restaurant is the Nutcracker on the third floor and our assigned seats are right next to the window. Awesome!
We met our tablemates for the first time too: a banker from Wisconsin, his wife, and nine year old dd. All very nice and chatty. Unfortunately the table next to us has a table full of children who can't seem to stay in their seats. My view was obstructed by children using the windows as slides. I broke out my camera for evidence of the monster children (they name they quickly adopted) and don't you know they even smiled for the camera.I wonder if it's illegal to beat OPKs on international waters?
After dinner the kids grabbed their nintendos and I headed to the spa for a facial.
The vacationing is on.
He Is Risen!
Our Easter Sunday was not spent searching for colored eggs, or celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, it was spent traveling to Fort Lauderdale. I didn't think much about traveling on this day when I made our Spring Break plans, but I felt a little guilty not doing anything traditional. Good thing Jesus loves me anyway! :)
The airports were surprisingly busy, and we were very happy when we finally made it to our hotel room. A few phone calls to let everyone know we arrived safely, a little room service dinner, and minimal unpacking later, we were settled in and trying to sleep off the excitement of boarding our first cruise the next day.
So here we are, now Monday, waking up at what feels to us like 7am on our first day of vacation. Let me rephrase that.
I woke up at what feels like 7am to us, opened the blinds, made coffee, turned on my computer, got lectured by Kelli for working while on vacation via IM, and am now blogging about our trip so far while Casey and Mercedes are still snoozing away.
At 10:00 I am getting their little butts out of bed so they can enjoy a few minutes of Florida before we take off for the ship place. Pretty soon I'll have the lingo down, but until then, enjoy our view!
The airports were surprisingly busy, and we were very happy when we finally made it to our hotel room. A few phone calls to let everyone know we arrived safely, a little room service dinner, and minimal unpacking later, we were settled in and trying to sleep off the excitement of boarding our first cruise the next day.So here we are, now Monday, waking up at what feels to us like 7am on our first day of vacation. Let me rephrase that.
I woke up at what feels like 7am to us, opened the blinds, made coffee, turned on my computer, got lectured by Kelli for working while on vacation via IM, and am now blogging about our trip so far while Casey and Mercedes are still snoozing away.At 10:00 I am getting their little butts out of bed so they can enjoy a few minutes of Florida before we take off for the ship place. Pretty soon I'll have the lingo down, but until then, enjoy our view!
Monday, March 17, 2008
This is what dining out will do to ya
So I've worked out quite a bit this past week - took a couple of yoga classes, a pilates class, and tried to get some cardio in before or after. I was excited to hop on the scale only to find that I put on almost a pound!
The scale taunted me with the numbers 144.4
BLIMEY!
Then I realized, I ate out almost every day last week, and when you eat out, you must get dessert.
So I am banning sweets, as soon as I finish these six boxes of Girl Scout Cookies :)
The scale taunted me with the numbers 144.4
BLIMEY!
Then I realized, I ate out almost every day last week, and when you eat out, you must get dessert.
So I am banning sweets, as soon as I finish these six boxes of Girl Scout Cookies :)
Monday, March 10, 2008
143.6
That's how much I weighed this morning, naked. My highest weight was with clothes on, but I have probably put on at least a pound of muscle weight so I'm telling myself it's a wash.
Oh, and my scale also says that I'm 35.1% body fat.
I'm no where near my goal for vacation, but I have a couple of weeks to at least get into the 130s, and I'm on track to be one hot 39 year old for summertime :)
Oh, and my scale also says that I'm 35.1% body fat.
I'm no where near my goal for vacation, but I have a couple of weeks to at least get into the 130s, and I'm on track to be one hot 39 year old for summertime :)
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
10,000 steps a day
That's what they say you should be walking.
It'd be a miracle if I see 10% of that, so I bought a pedometer to find out.
This combined with my 1200-1500 calorie a day diet should get me close to bikini weight by Easter, I'm hoping at least.
Update: At bedtime I checked the pedometer and it read roughly 5,000 steps. This was after purposefully walking more than I normally would (like parking in the farthest spot, etc.)
No wonder I've not dropped weight like I thought I would. I gotta get movin!
Update 2: I just did a little math with my pedometer, and 10,000 of my steps is equal to about 4.5 miles. I went for a walk this morning, and my pedometer now reads 4102 (3671 of which was aerobic). I need to find a 4 mile walking path!
It'd be a miracle if I see 10% of that, so I bought a pedometer to find out.
This combined with my 1200-1500 calorie a day diet should get me close to bikini weight by Easter, I'm hoping at least.
Update: At bedtime I checked the pedometer and it read roughly 5,000 steps. This was after purposefully walking more than I normally would (like parking in the farthest spot, etc.)
No wonder I've not dropped weight like I thought I would. I gotta get movin!
Update 2: I just did a little math with my pedometer, and 10,000 of my steps is equal to about 4.5 miles. I went for a walk this morning, and my pedometer now reads 4102 (3671 of which was aerobic). I need to find a 4 mile walking path!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
The Extreme Team is in town!
They're letting spectators come watch starting Thursday ... Casey will be so excited. She LOVES Ty Pennington!
Check it out
Check it out
Friday, January 11, 2008
My Dad's big day
My daddy, The Cincinnati Kid, was inducted into the Billiards Hall of Fame tonight, in Louisville, KY. My brother Danny drove him down for the ceremony and to chat with the guys playing in the Derby City Classic.
Here is a video of his speach ...
And he was also interviewed by Inside Pool ... check out the video here!
Congratulations, Daddy-O!
Here is a video of his speach ...
And he was also interviewed by Inside Pool ... check out the video here!
Congratulations, Daddy-O!
Sunday, January 06, 2008
149.6
So here I am again ... weighing myself two months before my vacation only to discover that I've put on ten pounds in the past year!I tell you what, I thank God every day that I was finally able to quit smoking two years ago, but this pound a month I've been putting on since then is starting to get on my last nerve.
So I must drop 20 pounds, preferably 30, before I can be seen in a bathing suit again. That Chicago pizza that Melissa dropped off sure isn't going to help my plight!
Friday, January 04, 2008
Happy New Year!
Wow, it's been a couple of months since I posted here. Not too much has happened outside of the normal holiday stuff. Casey and I visited Cincinnati in early December but didn't take any pictures of that trip. We're actually staying in Albuquerque all of January! I'll be heading to Dallas at some point in February, then we go on our cruise in March. The countdown to drop at least 20 pounds has already begun (although I've already skipped a yoga class this year).I'm also back into my photography hobby so I started a new blog to host my Picture A Day Project, a photo diary of sorts. The thought is that if you use your camera every day you'll get better at making pictures ... we'll see!
We'll also post more pictures as our travels come and go.
Happy 2008!
Monday, November 05, 2007
Windy City Kids
There is no place in the world like Chicago, and we were lucky enough to visit it again this weekend. Casey and I flew in Thursday night, met up with Melissa and the kiddos, and got to hang until Sunday night. We shopped, we swam, we ate (a lot!), we walked (a lot!), and spent a small fortune ... but hey, that's what Chicago's all about!
The highlight of our trip was probably Blue Man Group for Melissa and shopping for me. I bought myself a new fancy watch on the Magnificent Mile. The kids had their most fun playing video games and swimming I do believe.
The worst part of our trip? It had to be Ed Debevics. Their claim to fame is to treat their customers as rudely as possible. That part they did well. The food was inedible, though, and the service was ... nonexistent. But hey, I got to tell a waiter he was the worst server I'd ever encountered AND flipped him off without getting beaten up, so I guess there was an upside after all! Not to mention that V-E-R-N will have a special place in our hearts forever now.Melissa's mom recommended we eat at Maggianos and that place was ab fab. Thanks for treating us to some yum-O Italian food!
We have a few more pictures on Flickr (including the amazing view from our room at the Sheraton) so be sure to check them out!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Friday, October 05, 2007
The crazy pot lady
So the whole reason we came to San Fransisco was to meet Sue - the owner of HerAgency - now affectionately known as the crazy pot lady.We had a great time with Sue. She and Casey painted clay pots for a good part of the day. That's her thing ... painting clay pots. These little pieces of art spot not only her yard and her home, but her friend's yards and her friend's homes as well. They're a lot of fun to look at, and sometimes disturbing (the homage to her dead cat comes to mind) ... anyway, they had a lot of fun doing that while I forced myself to work a while ...
Then we had lunch at Oakland's new Whole Foods (yum-o!) and headed to the dog park for a day o' fun. The backstory is that Sue got her first dog, a greyhound puppy named Stella (STE-LLAAAAAA), and she takes her to the dog park daily. We searched for a dog park like this for-EVER when we were in Florida last year - it was right on the beach ... had a great sunset view ... people everywhere, and of course, dogs!We hung out there for a couple of hours and watched a beautiful sunset (note Stella in the bottom left corner :)
Once the sun goes down in northern California it gets COLD! So what did we do? We went for ice cream! I forget the name of this place, but man did they have good sundaes. Sue and I lost a bet on whether or not this woman would finish her colossal bowl of ice cream (she did, for the record), and we went home fat and happy (well, I was fat and happy anyway).
That pretty much wraps up our trip to San Francisco! We're already keeping an eye out for cheap airfares so that we can go back.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Alcatraz
Casey wanted absolutely nothing to do with Alcatraz. She'd heard stories of ghosts and sharks circling the island ... finally she decided that she'd give it a shot and we're both SO very glad we did.
Alcatraz was really amazing. It was sobering, and interesting, and a little bit spooky all rolled into one. We did a group tour and an individual audio tour, which consisted of a prerecorded guide with background noise that was reminiscant of the "good old days" when Alcatraz was open. You could hear the inmates whistling at you as you walked down the hallways, the doors slamming in the distance, forks clanging in the dining hall, everything. All while being guided around the entire prison and informed about what everything was.
We took a ton of pictures, of course, so be sure to check them out on our Flickr account!
San Francisco
After ten years of working with the wonderful women of Heragency, I decided it was time for a face to face. So Casey and I headed to the beautiful Bay area for Fall Break this year.
The last time I was in northern California was 1995 when I met Geardaddy there (swoon) for some kind of symposium he was participating in. I loved it then and I love it now. I'm definitely going visit before another twelve years pass this time.
We flew into Oakland Wednesday night and met Sue at The Rose Suite, her little one bedroom apartment set aside for out of town guests. This was the cutest little place. It was perfect for Casey and me! There was a small bedroom, bath, and kitchen area that opened to an urban courtyard and our very own lemon tree.
The last time I was in northern California was 1995 when I met Geardaddy there (swoon) for some kind of symposium he was participating in. I loved it then and I love it now. I'm definitely going visit before another twelve years pass this time.
We flew into Oakland Wednesday night and met Sue at The Rose Suite, her little one bedroom apartment set aside for out of town guests. This was the cutest little place. It was perfect for Casey and me! There was a small bedroom, bath, and kitchen area that opened to an urban courtyard and our very own lemon tree.
By the time we settled in it was almost midnight, so we spent our first night simply sleeping.
Thursday morning we woke up, and I tried using this coffee maker contraption with disastrous results. So we threw on our clothes and off to Starbucks we went for a hot chocolate and venti latte. I think I'm going to have to donate a small coffee maker for future occupants of the Rose Suite.
After I had my caffeine fix, we cleaned up and headed off to Fisherman's Wharf to meet Kathleen for lunch.
I didn't visit this place when I was here the first time, but I so wish I had. Unfortunately we only had a couple of hours before we needed to check in for our Alcatraz tour, but Kathleen helped us to make the most of it.
First she took us to see the Sea Lions. There were dozens upon dozens of them, barking and knocking each other off their platforms. It really was something to see:
So we hung out there and took a few pictures (you can check them out on our Flickr Account), then we headed to Neptune's for lunch. It was a great restaurant with an amazing view of the Bay and Alcatraz. They even had clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, which of course I devoured. Diets are out the window when you're on vacation :)
We decided to walk off lunch on the pier and hit a few stores to pick up souvenirs and what have you. There was a great hat store with the craziest stuff. Casey picked up the perfect accessory for crazy hat day, which is an annual event at her school :)
We also got to see the Blue Angels! It just so happens to be Fleet Week there now, so we got so see them practicing for the big show. Unfortunately we'll be gone for the actual event, but just watching them fly around us for a couple of hours was amazing (and loud loud loud!)
After we shopped and walked and talked and laughed, it was time to head to Pier 33 for our evening tour of Alcatraz...
Thursday morning we woke up, and I tried using this coffee maker contraption with disastrous results. So we threw on our clothes and off to Starbucks we went for a hot chocolate and venti latte. I think I'm going to have to donate a small coffee maker for future occupants of the Rose Suite.After I had my caffeine fix, we cleaned up and headed off to Fisherman's Wharf to meet Kathleen for lunch.
I didn't visit this place when I was here the first time, but I so wish I had. Unfortunately we only had a couple of hours before we needed to check in for our Alcatraz tour, but Kathleen helped us to make the most of it.
First she took us to see the Sea Lions. There were dozens upon dozens of them, barking and knocking each other off their platforms. It really was something to see:
So we hung out there and took a few pictures (you can check them out on our Flickr Account), then we headed to Neptune's for lunch. It was a great restaurant with an amazing view of the Bay and Alcatraz. They even had clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, which of course I devoured. Diets are out the window when you're on vacation :)We decided to walk off lunch on the pier and hit a few stores to pick up souvenirs and what have you. There was a great hat store with the craziest stuff. Casey picked up the perfect accessory for crazy hat day, which is an annual event at her school :)
We also got to see the Blue Angels! It just so happens to be Fleet Week there now, so we got so see them practicing for the big show. Unfortunately we'll be gone for the actual event, but just watching them fly around us for a couple of hours was amazing (and loud loud loud!)
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