Palm Springs

Our son in law Miles was planning to bring the family on a trip to Palm Springs to take a look at houses and get some ideas for his home construction business.  Sarah and I were talking about it a few months ago and figured out how we could meet and see each other while we were both on vacation. Bonus visit!  I love those!  Because of plane schedules, Rich and I decided we'd fly in the night before so we'd already be in town when the kids arrived.  We were looking online for a hotel and came across the Saguaro, which seems to be well known for its crazy colors. Wowie!  It was pretty wild!  Our room was mostly red and pink, except for a yellow and orange bathroom below. 

It was kind of a funky place and included two restaurants by our new favorite chef Jose Garces (which we didn't get to try since we weren't there long enough.)  There was a ping-pong table in the lobby, which we took over while waiting for our cab the next morning. Rich admitted he was surprised that I could hold my own in ping-pong. Huh??!!

The next morning we picked up our rental car and met the kids at the resort Rancho de las Palmas.  Miles' parents Bob and Suanne also came along with Sarah, Miles, Elle and Beck.  First stop was lunch on the patio at the resort while we waited for our rooms to be ready.  Then into the water to cool off, finally into our rooms, and out to dinner at the Ace Hotel that night. Not only did we get dinner, we got to play BINGO and the caller was a drag queen.  What a fun night!

Miles, Elle, Beck, Sarah, Rich, Suanne, Bob

Big cookies!

Get ready for Bingo!

The next day, Sarah, Miles, Bob and Suanne went on some house tours while Grandpa and I babysat the kids.  We had a big ole time in the water all morning. The resort was great; very kid-friendly with a splash pad, a lazy river to float on tubes, a couple of slides, and a sandy beach area.  The kids loved it and had a ball!

 Cutie Beck

 Elle floating the river

 Playing in the sand

 Beautiful Elle

 At lunch after their parents returned

We wore ourselves out but boy, was it fun!

More San Francisco Fun and Friends

What a beautiful day and a beautiful view!

Susan and Kris invited us out to their new home one night.  We were happy to get to see Kris and to meet some more family members. We had a fantastic time visiting with everyone!

 Kris made a fabulous dinner

We got to meet Chris and Kathy after hearing about them for years.  They were so much fun and we enjoyed sitting outside in the nice weather while we ate and chatted.

 Back inside for dessert

Kris, Rich, Jane, Susan, Wiggins the dog, Kris and Susan's daughter Erin, Aunt Kathy

Then our cruise friends Martin and Linda came to San Francisco from the San Diego area to see us.  Well, they were coming to San Francisco at some point anyway, but we managed to coordinate our trips so we could get together.  We had a great time with these two as well.  Lucky Martin has just retired!

 They got in really early Saturday morning so they came to our condo till lunch time, when they were meeting Martin's sister.  While they were off for the afternoon, Rich and I walked around some more.

 Love these signs

There was a big farmer's market at the Ferry Market on Saturday. 

 Good advice!

We met back up with Linda and Martin for dinner but I didn't manage to get any photos.  The next day, we met them to take the bus to Alamo Square where we wandered around the park and took pictures of these houses, called The Seven Sisters.

 We then walked to Haight Ashbury

  and onto Golden Gate Park

Our time was winding down in San Francisco so we all rode the bus back to downtown and said our goodbyes.  Rich and I had a late night flight to Palm Springs to meet Sarah, Miles and kids the next day!

San Francisco

After Santa Clara, we drove on to San Francisco to spend most of the week.  My ex-husband's cousin Susan and her partner Kris live outside of the city but also have a condo in San Francisco and generously offered it to us for our stay.  Susan met us at the condo, showed us around, and graciously took us out to a fantastic dinner at Prospect before heading home for the night. It was so great to see her and catch up on all the family news.  And how lucky are we that they let us stay in their gorgeous condo?  Here are a few views from inside looking out.  

Before we turned in our rental car, we drove out to Grass Valley to visit an old friend of Rich's, also named Rich.  They lived together in what Rich calls "the house of a thousand faces" (actually, I think his brother George came up with the name due to the revolving door of roommates and visitors) when they were in their late 20's/early 30's.  They had not been in touch in many years but reconnected through their mutual friend Cole not long ago.  

Rich and Rich

 Rich and his girlfriend Susan

They were very welcoming and several hours were spent in reminiscing and recounting old times.  Let me just say I am probably glad I did not know Rich then.  :) 

The next day we decided to wander around the Mission District in San Francisco.  Above, a "worker owned cooperative" grocery store--oh, heavens, creeping socialism!  :)

 Lots of cool houses that are probably unaffordable to the people who have traditionally lived in the area.

 My favorite part: the awesome colorful left wing murals everywhere!

 "We didn't cross the border, the border crossed us."

 Masks

 Alley Cat Books

 I liked this one best--hope you can click on it and enlarge it and see it up close

 Malcolm

 Cesar

 Dog Eared Books

Good question: Who would Jesus bomb?

We walked for several hours, had lunch at a little Mexican restaurant and took the bus back to the Embarcadero.  We always find riding the bus quite interesting.  I had a funny fellow passenger sitting next to me.  Every time the bus made a stop, he'd call out, "Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, come on now, come on now..."  He later took out a whole roasted chicken and began to eat it, throwing the bones on the floor.  When our female driver finished her shift and was briefing the guy taking over, the passenger began to holler, "Let her go, let her go, let her go, come on, come on, bye bye, bye bye, bye bye,  you're holding us up, we gotta go, come on now, let her go, let her go, bye bye, bye bye."  Later, an elderly man in a wheelchair came onboard and this dude starts berating him a little bit, saying, "come on, man, you're holding up the bus, come on, come on!" 

After a busy day, we were happy to come home to our lovely condo and relax for the evening.  We love San Francisco--what a great city!