California Dreaming (or reality)

It was a great week in California. We saw the sights, visited family and did about as much as you can do in three full days. San Francisco, Sacramento, Folsom and Napa Valley. It was pretty sweet. This was the first time I've really driven through the wine country. Its beautiful. You don't have to drink wine to appreciate the landscape. Its breathtaking.

This was my first visit to California in a non winter month. What I discovered is that San Francisco doesn't feel much different weather wise, but it was much different in number of people around. It was fun to see Pier 39 in all its glory. Great people watching. Street performers on every block providing such visual stimulation, that you become distracted with every step and in danger of full on running into people. The Golden Gate city was pretty clear for us which made for great views and great photos. We also experienced a new spot. The Boudin Sourdough Bread Company opened up a new shop and Museum on the waterfront. The museum was full of history on San Francisco. It was fascinating. Five companies were the original economic engines of San Francisco: Del Monte, Levi Strauss, Boudin, Ghiradelli Chocolate, and Wells Fargo. San Francisco, because of the gold rush, from its beginning has been a high roller town. To this day its a high roller town. It also makes for a really interesting place to visit. There is a little bit of everything there including beautiful landscape, great food, and interesting places to walk and see. That doesn't even include just observing the people. Its kind of like going to a really classy, artsy state fair. The people watching is more sophisticated but just as entertaining.

In Sacramento we stayed with Stacey's brother Stu and his family. Stu is planting a church right now in Folsom. Yes, there is more to Folsom than just a prison. They will be starting to meet in historic downtown Folsom in a little storefront theatre. Pretty cool locale. While there we went their family to the zoo. Going to the zoo is fun. Going to the zoo with four little ones brings a whole new element of discovery, sometimes in really surprising ways. I had the third oldest Ryin with me for a moment and we were standing a foot and half away from a full grown Tiger. I could have watched it for hours, yet she looked for a minute and then somehow found the mini train driving by and wanted to do that. Kids are funny like that. The kids also figured correctly that where there is kid centered fun there also must be cotton candy. They were right of course and that guaranteed a successful day.

The next day was a joint family venture in Vallejo. Vallejo is sort of between San Francisco and Sacramento and home to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Stacey's other brother Scott and his clan had season passes as did Stacey and I (Six Flags season passes are good at any park in country) and between our two coupon books we were able to get Stu's family in for one admission. Pretty sweet deal. Discovery Kingdom is a great family park because it has rides and animals. We watched dolphins and tigers and birds and screamed on Tony Hawk's Big Spin roller coaster. Its also a great way to tire out eight kids so that they'll go to bed at their normal time at night. Stacey and I got a chance to ride some of the bigger roller coasters and still spend time with each kid at some point during the day. That night we headed to Santa Rosa to stay with Scott and his family.

Santa Rosa is about an hour North West of San Francisco and very close to the Napa Valley. Thursday we met Stacey's Dad for a day of exploring the wine country. It was beautiful in many ways. We learned about the wine making business and the history, ate some great food, had some great fellowship and did a little window shopping. It was a very relaxing day. Scott's family was with us as well and that made for some more quality time with them and their kids.

The last leg of the trip was Friday's drive back into San Fran to fly out. Stacey's mom had been graciously chauffering us all over the place for the week and so we made one last stop: The Golden Gate Bridge. You see when you come into the city, you go over the Bay Bridge to get to Sacramento and other cities north. To go to Santa Rosa and stay towards the coast you go on the Golden Gate. So we were coming from Santa Rosa, meaning we drove over the famous red landmark. It was a clear day and made for some great pictures. Its really is one of the most breathtaking cities in the country. You just can't compete with the combination of landmarks, landscapes, and originality.

Stacey's family were great hosts, we had a great time and it was the perfect last stand before this Tuesday when Stacey goes through orientation to the rest of her life. Residency will begin and a new era begins. Pretty cool. And don't you know the stories will continue!