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After traveling to The Netherlands to see the flowers bloom in
the spring, we went with Tori's family to California to see the sights and
visit her Aunt Theresa and family. We arrived at San Francisco and after a
short time decided we could tour better with all of us packed into one large
Cadillac then with the Caddy and another smaller car. While Lombard, the famous
crookedest street in San Fran, was quite impressive, Filbert Street was
even more fun since it was straight down (and the brakes weren't going to have
to be replaced on our wallet)!
Walking through the The Golden Gate Park
to visit the
Japanese Tea Garden was fun. We found a nice windmill and got our first look
at the Pacific, the site of the Cliff House and former
Sutro
Baths, and of course the Golden Gate Bridge - very impressive! We
took a tour through an underwater aquarium on Pier 39, saw some sea lions
sunning, and did some shopping. Cosmo made a new friend from the waiter at
The Stinking Rose, a garlic
restaurant that Tara accepted with much less
fuss then everyone expected.
Visiting Tori's Aunt and Uncle and touring with
them to Carmel and Monterey Bay was fun as was seeing their new home in the
mountains. Seventeen Mile drive was all
it was cracked up to be and Dennis' was in awe to walk the grounds of
Pebble Beach Golf Links.
("I'll play this course some day!")
The stay at Tenaya Lodge, just a few feet
outside Yosemite
National Park was great and everyone voted to extend it a day.
Yosemite is easily one of the most beautiful
places on earth - Glacier Point, Half Dome, and the valley itself with El
Capitan, Bridalveil Fall, and Yosemite Falls are favorites. We have owned
a picture of this valley for many
years without knowing where it was - to actually be there was incredible.
Sniffing Sugar Pine and Ponderosa Pine was fun and funny. All
of the huge scenery suddenly was forgotten when we saw the size of the giant
sequoias, the world's largest living things - they are
amazing!
The drive at night to Lake Tahoe was wild with steep hills for miles
and sudden turns. Fortunately it was
dark so we couldn't see the drop-offs, however I'm sure we missed some great
views as well. The casinos there were
fun but driving around the lake and kayaking on its waters was even nicer.
The mountains rise right up out of the water
all the way around this very deep, very cold lake. While Lake Tahoe averages
274 sunny days per year, it also snows in every calendar month!
Everyone liked Napa valley also, the wineries are
beautiful and the wine and champagne is superb. Finally it was back to
San Francisco again. The tour of Alcatraz
Island National Park is interesting and very moving – not to be missed. And
of course we couldn't leave without riding on a Trolley Car!
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State Flag of California
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Picture Legend
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1 - Lombard Street in San Fran; not nearly as much fun
at Filbert Street! |
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2 - Tara poses with her favorite brothers-in-law at the
Japanese Tea Garden. |
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3 - All the pictures you've ever seen of the Golden Gate
are fakes; this is what it really looks (or doesn't) like. |
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4 - Wind-blown tourists about to walk on the bridge to
test the crisis counseling phones. |
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5 - "Hallowed Ground" The 18th green at
Pebble Beach. |
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6 - Tammy and Kevin relax at Tenaya Lodge. |
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7 - Half Dome and a bunch of people blocking the scenic
view at Glacier Point Overlook in Yosemite Nat'l Park. |
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8 - The side view of Half Dome without the people in the
way; including Half Dome, Cloud's Rest, Vernal Fall, and Nevada
Fall. |
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9 - The little specks to small to see in this picture
are people spending 3-4 days climbing the mile-high granite face
of El Capitan in Yosemite Nat'l Park. |
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10 - Yosemite Valley; with El Capitan on the left and
Bridalveil Fall on the right. |
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11 - Sequoias can grow 300' tall, 35' across, and live
up to 3000 years. Actually they don't die, they fall over
- and then take several hundred years to rot. These
pictures were taken in the Mariposa grove in Yosemite. |
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12 - Fannette Island in Emerald Bay off Lake Tahoe. |
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13 - Kayaking on Lake Tahoe. |
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14 - In Harrah's, Dennis found a coin from
Caesar's. The picture was supposed to be of him spinning
the biggest slot machine, however the winning picture is shown
here. Woot! |
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15 - Cosmo having the time of his life at Caesar's in
Lake Tahoe. |
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16 - Dennis at Robert Mondavi's winnery in Napa Valley. |
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17 - Alcatraz Island sits in the cold, shark-infested
waters of
San Francisco bay. |
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18 - The Golden Gate Bridge as seen from Alcatraz
Island. |
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