California Trip

Last Friday I left for a weeklong excursion to California. Kathy had a great idea a few months ago to have a "girls trip" out to San Fransisco/San Jose area to meet baby Gavin. We flew in, after a brief delay in Denver, around 6pm. Of course this was 8pm our time and we were all starving! We ate at a neat little grill near Dick and Shirley's house. I, of course, ordered sea food, and we all enjoyed catching up and drinking california wine! We got a grand tour of their AMAZING new house. They live in a private gated community outside of Gilroy. You have to drive through fields of strawberries and many other kinds of fruits and vegetables to get out there. Must be rough to be just a few miles from a fresh fruit stand! Their house is beautiful with a courtyard in the middle. Such a neat idea in California, and indoor outdoor room!

--View of the golf course from their private bedroom balcony--

--View from down the street as we walked Murphey--

--Backyard from their deck--

--Sunset view--

--Courtyard from inside their house--

Day two was an adventure. I went with Dick, Shirley and Edna to their motorhome storage unit. We were going to get the folding chairs so we could have a picnic on the beach that evening. It was quite a drive through the mountains, and let us get a guided tour of many million dollar homes. I cannot believe the money spent on houses in that area! Then we stopped by a winery where Shirley, Dick and I did some wine tasting, and chose a few bottles for dinner.

--Here is the front of the winery, the landscaping was very beautiful--

--Here are the grapes at the vineyard. Many of the grapes are grown on people's property, right up to their house. The owners of the winery buy the grapes from them--

After the wine tour, we headed home to make lunch. Shirley made some amazing sandwiches, and I made deviled eggs. While we were driving all over and making lunch, Emmi and Kathy drove to Santa Cruz to buy harley tshirts and do touristy things. Then, they went to Sunset Beach and relaxed and read while they waited for us. We all met up and ate dinner. The view and sounds were amazing, but it got cold very quickly. At one point Edna was wrapped up in a coat, blanket and a beach towel! We were all ready to head back!

--Here we are before the sun started setting--

--Pretty beach--

The next day we went to Gilroy Gardens in the morning. Kim, Adam and Gavin were at a wedding and were heading back to San Jose in the morning, so we had some time to kill before they got home. The gardens were beautiful with just amazing flowers and trees. Many of the trees were shaped very strangely, and each had a story. It looked as if the park had just been gardens at one point, then many rides were added to attract kids. We went on the small monorail after waiting what seemed like an eternity. We also went on a water ride through Rainbow Gardens. The whole experience was very peaceful and beautiful.

--Beautiful scenery--

--The "girls" on our trip in the butterfly garden--

--The whole park was just gorgeous--

Finally, on Sunday evening, we got to meet Gavin. He is such a happy and good natured baby (probably because he has great parents.) He did so well with the crowd, and I forgot how much newborns sleep! We all got turns holding him, and I think I got my baby fix :) We had dinner. I made my pizzas on the grill, and shirley made the rest of our feast. We had a noodle salad, beef, chicken, fancy desserts, and of course wine. It was such great food, and great company!

--appetizers in the backyard--

--Kim, Gavin and me--

--Kim is a natural--

--Gramma still has the knack to get him to sleep--

--Emmi and Gavin--

We had such a good time. The next morning we stopped by Adam and Kim's house on the way to the airport. They had done so much remodeling that it looked like a completely new house! It is so nice that they can live so close to both sets of grandparents! It even looks as if Kim's mom may be the babysitter for Gavin when Kim goes back to work! Thank you so much Dick and Shirley for hosting the event and to Kathy for planning such a wonderful time! As the girls flew home, I waited in the airport for phase two of my journey :)