Lombard Street
We arrived on Friday in Sacramento. Early Saturday we drove 2 hours to San Francisco via Marin County and the Golden Gate Bridge. Then we kept on going down the "world's crookedest street" over to Chinatown.
Chinatown
We could have spent the entire day in Chinatown. First we ate at Sam Wo's. Don't know what we expected, but it was a great greasy spoon with a lot of character. If we had more room in the suitcases, they would have been filled with things from the shops.
Coit Tower
Next we drove up to Coit Tower for a scenic view of the city. The parking lot was full, so we hiked our way up Telegraph Hill. There are names on the steps leading up to the tower of all the contributors to the park. Fascinating history.
Aquarium Of The Bay
Next stop was the aquarium. A fellow visitor snapped this picture of us in the undersea tunnel.
Pet Shark
They had a "Petting Area" where you could put your hands on mudfish, starfish, and sharks. Diane is getting friendly with a little tiger shark.
Pier 39
Lastly, we ate at a restaurant overlooking the bay and the sea lions who come here to rest at the end of the day.
Hi Ho, Hi Ho
It's off to work we go! Diane dresses for her first day of work. The day before she went on a shopping spree for shoes and things, since we didn't get a chance to pick up her good clothes from the dry cleaners before we left. Nicely done, huh?
New Faces
Finally, Diane got to put faces with the names she'd been talking with on the phone. On the left is Agi, and to the right is Shirley.
The same week that I was there for training was the week the auditors came! Everyone ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. And, as busy as Shirley was, she was kind enough to take me under her wing, introduce me to everyone, and make sure I was taken care of. She was such a doll – and I actually teared up when saying goodbye. And then there was Agi...the exotic European who is quite an artist, very introspective, extremely personable, and just plain ole' lovely to be around! If she lived in Atlanta, she would live in Little Five Points. Loved her to death, too!!
Meanwhile...
After dropping Diane off at work, I took off for South Lake Tahoe. This is Emerald Bay. Check out the island in the middle.
On The Beach
I thought I might go swimming, but lemme tell ya - that mountain water is c-o-l-d!!!. Out of sight behind the camera is a Scandinavian castle named Vikingsholm. It was under renovation and if I had waited a few more days I could have taken a tour.
Balancing Rock
This I had to see. It's one of the features at D.L. Bliss state park.
Erica
Another new face for Diane is Erica. She reminds us both very much of our nephew's wife, Carla. I also had the opportunity to meet Erica's daughter, who was precious. Erica's new man and her daughter are meeting this coming week for the first time, and everyone is very excited!
Meanwhile...
I decided to visit Folsom Prison - as a guest. They have a talking "inmate" named Sam who gives details about the prison's history. Even more interesting was the man behind the gift shop counter. He was a former guard of both Folsom Prison and San Quentin. He was there when Merle Haggard was an inmate and he had some stories to tell!
Toothpick Ferris Wheel
Talk about having time on your hands. One of the inmates built this ferris wheel and a number of other large objects entirely out of toothpicks. The level of detail is amazing.
What the...?
As I was leaving the museum I noticed a deer calmly walking along the sidewalk. Apparently it's not an uncommon sight. It made its way across the road and tried to walk through the prison gates. A guard helped it find its way back to the woods.
Sonya
This is Dianes office mate, Sonya. What a great person she is, too!! David called her an "office mate" but I actually have no office mates, which I thought was fine until I met these great women!!
Meanwhile...
I took off for Reno. Just because it was there. This is a very bad photo of a really cool thing. It's an actual silver mine that is at the heart of one of the casinos in downtown Reno. What looks like a dark blue sky around it is actually a dome, and they project advertisements on it constantly. Did I gamble? Sort of. It took me 15 minutes to lose one dollar on the penny slots.
It's 5:00 somewhere
After work, I met up with Diane and two of her office buddies, Joey and Danielle at the local Appleby's. They are loads of fun! Okay, I noticed Joey in EVERY picture on the company's photo site, so I knew she had to be special. What an incredible woman she is, and what a great personality she has!! It could be dangerous if I worked around her all the time!! Daniel, too, just stole my heart! Something about her was so warm and genuine - AND I renamed her "Georgie" for some reason. Not sure where that came from - but she was absolutely adorable!!
Market Day
Every Thursday is Market Day in Folsom, which means it's street fair time! What a blast. Plenty of food, music, and shopping.
Pet Alpaca
One of the most unusual sights at the fair was the pair of pet alpacas that roamed around. Here you can see the white one. The other was solid black.
Shirley's House
The last day was sort of a logistical weird thing. We had to check out of the hotel in Folsom at 11:00am in order to check in to our Sacramento hotel by the airport that night. Diane didn't get off work until 5:00, which meant I had a lot of time to kill. Lucky for me, Fridays are Shirley's days off and she invited me over to her house that afternoon for some beach time. L-R: Dylan, Shirley, Sophie and Tessa.
Michael
Where was Shirley's husband, Michael, you ask? Working on getting some construction quotes, of course! I picked Diane up from work at 5:00 and we came back over for a feast of steak and salmon and great conversation.
Michael and I (Diane) took some abuse from our significant others about our mutual interests in interesting STUFF that others might not find quite so interesting – followed, of course, with more abuse about the locations in which we choose to house our little beauties, once they somehow make their way into our lives! Shame on Shirley for siding with David!!! Ha!
Trophy Fish
Welcome to the living room. This gigantic Marlin that Michael caught is literally the centerpiece of the room. There will be a wall dedicated to it, but in the meantime it lives in its shipping crate.
Life On The Farm
This is not your typical suburban house. It is next to a horse farm and it backs up to the state park on the Folsom River, next to the dam. Hence, the fine beach access. This little chicken lays fresh eggs for the family each day. What a life! Kinda hated to leave...
