Sunday, July 26, 2009
Where We've Been Lately
New Years - Philadelphia & Washington DC
We visited my brother and his wife, as well as the Clarks and Tapies, in Philly and DC after Christmas. It was a lot of fun to tool around such historic places. I watched the impressive John Adams miniseries beforehand to inform my visit (the book was too thick).
Elfreth's Alley - Since 1702, it's America's oldest residential street. Very cute.
The historical biggies - George Washington (I like to call him "G-dub") in front of Independence Hall
It wouldn't be a trip to Philly without a cheesesteak! A long line of interesting local folk and a steaming helping of meaty greatness. Nice!
One of the coolest days of the trip was driving the foggy back roads of Lancaster County. Horse and buggies, preserves and baked goods, beards and dresses. The Amish are a very interesting people that I think have something to teach us.
View of the Capitol in DC from the newly completed Visitor's Center.
Spring Break - San Francisco and Sonoma County
We consider this one our babymoon. Erika was about 19 weeks pregnant and served as my loyal driver in the wine country. We picked a romantic place that we've always wanted to go full of culture, good food and wine, natural wonders, great climate...well, it pretty much has it all.
The iconic Golden Gate Bridge
Riding through Union Square on another SF icon, the cable cars
Checking out the interesting art at the SFMOMA
One thing we did better this trip than any other was food. Almost every restaurant we ate at was delicious and memorable, including Dottie's True Blue Cafe for breakfast. Worth the wait!
We visited the de Young museum in Golden Gate Park during the Bouquets to Art. For one week out of the year, local floral artisans create living arrangements inspired by the museum's art. What a fun and sweet-smelling surprise!
Of course we had to get a sundae at Ghirardelli Square!
Cruising the funky streets of the Haight-Ashbury with Adam and Angie Willis, who joined us for the last weekend from their home in LA.
The awe-inspiring redwoods at Muir Woods just north of San Francisco
Panorama of Benziger Winery.
From the jacuzzi in our perfect little cottage in Glen Ellen. We loved the winding roads, beautiful vistas, fresh markets and warm weather of the Sonoma County, our favorite part of the trip.
Summer - The Oregon Coast
My dad hooked our family up with an amazing house on the Oregon Coast for 9 days. Erika was 32 weeks pregnant, so this trip would be better categorized as a vacation. Reading, sleeping in, playing games, cooking in and relaxing were at the top of the agenda each day. It was just about perfect.
Some pretty flowers just steps off of our deck
Erika and our guide's dog, Kita, on our whale watching excursion.
We had about dozen sightings on the tour and many of the grey whales "fluked" us, or showed us their tail.
One of my finest memories as a child growing up in Oregon, picking out salt-water taffy.
On one of the days, we all hiked down these rocks to check out all of the critters in the tide-pools below. We fondly labeled this shot our Brady Bunch album cover.
Some colorful sea anemones that we spotted
My dad and brother sighting some whales from the deck
My adorable new niece, Adelyn, getting a bath in the sink. She was 6 weeks old.
On a beach-combing day, Erika dared to put her feet in the frigid Pacific.
Dad and I checking out some shells or some other found treasure
A picturesque lighthouse near our place
The family making the wooded and somewhat muddy hike to Drift Creek Falls
The stunning payoff
Now we're back home and basically waiting. Erika's 37 weeks, and we've pretty much done all that we can do to prepare. We'll post pics of the nursery soon.
-Brent
