More from our summer travel-log-blog.
Archive for July, 2009
Independence Day in Utah
July 13, 2009
Gardening – Idaho Fashion
July 2, 2009So,
the first time we had a garden of any type during our 16 years of marriage was 2 years ago when we moved to Utah and had space enough to grow something substantial.
Ralf built two 4′x4′ garden boxes and we did a little Square Foot gardening.
It was deemed a success although not everything came up and we forgot to water every now and then.
Still, we enjoyed some tomatoes, a little lettuce, some swiss chard and green onions.
The second time we tried our hand at gardening is this summer.
It started out as a few garden boxes.
But it has turned into… MUCH more!
When in Idaho, do as the Idahoans?
Remember when I posted about the boxes Ralf built a few months ago?
Well, here they are now…
And in addition, Ralf decided we needed out own corn field…(eat your heart out Frank!)
And potato, squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, pepper, and sunflower patch…
And a fence to boot…
Can you guess what we’ve been spending time doing this summer, besides taking road trips?
Now I need to figure out what I’m going to do with all this produce. . .
Enjoy your 4th of July!
We’re off again.
More pictures to come!
Last California Trip Post— Woo Hoo!
July 2, 2009Who knew it would take me this long to post pictures from our trip.
We headed back to Danville for one more day with friends before hitting the road for home.
Between visiting friends we took an ice cream break at Cold Stone in The Livery.
David and Carol grilled up some steaks and we shared them with Tayva, Lance, and their kids as well as Tayva’s brother Ty.
They had just returned from a trip to Yosemite so we were happy to have caught up with them before we headed home.
The kids had a great time swimming well into the twilight hours.
These two used to be joined at the hip when we lived there.
It was as if nothing had changed.
They picked up right where they had left off.
Since we had long since run out of clean clothes, and our pet sitter was expecting us back, and David and Carol and the kids were ready for a little more elbow room, we decided it was time to head for home.
Before leaving California, we had to hit In-N-Out one more time.
On our way home we ran into swarms of Mormon Crickets.
They were covering the highway in long stretches through Oregon.
We had to stop to get a closer look. They are HUGE!
No wonder the pioneers were so grateful to see those seagull!
Thanks David and Carol for hosting us.
Thanks Ashley and Nick for showing us the city and hosting the kids.
Thanks January for the evening at the park.
Good-bye for now.
We will miss familiar landmarks.
We will miss the trees.
We will miss the flowers.
But mostly we will miss our dear friends.
California Trip: Days 5 & 6
July 1, 2009Father’s Day began with a pancake and omelette breakfast with our friends before heading off to church.
In the afternoon we met up with my sister and brother-in-law at his parent’s home for a Father’s Day barbecue.
They live right around the corner from where my parents lived for many years.
We went swimming, ate lots of yummy food, played croquet, and enjoyed some beautiful California sun.
Thanks Doug and Nancy!
Erik lost a tooth in the pool while he was swimming.
Amazingly my brother-in-law was able to find it and fish it out of the water so the tooth fairy could collect it when we came home.
We headed to San Francisco to spend time with my sister and her family for the next couple of days and explore the city.
On our way we stopped by the cemetary to put fresh flowers on my dad’s grave and pay tribute to him on Father’s Day.
Ralf lead us in a family prayer and we talked about how we all miss Grandpa.
It was peaceful and sweet.
Never having lived in the heart of a large city, we all enjoyed visiting Ashley, Nick, and Hudson.
They live in an old warehouse building a block from the water.
We walked around their neighborhood with their two King Charles Spaniels.
The two older kids stayed with them during our 2 days in the city while we took the two little ones with us to stay at the Westin.
I must say there was a huge difference between the this hotel and our experience in Reno.
What’s a big city without a museum, right?
So the next day we visited the recently renovated California Academy of Sciences.
We saw a planetarium show, an albino alligator, a fantastic aquarium, a living rooftop, and a myriad of inspiring ideas on saving the environment.
The cafeteria offered new things to try like steamed pork buns, scones, and bread pudding. Yum!
Can you guess who thought Darth Vader would be able to save the planet?
Since Ralf had the car at a business meeting, my sister was at a doctor appointment, and we were transportation-less, we called a cab to take us to to Fisherman’s Wharf.
I didn’t give out much information to the nice lady driving the big yellow van. Being the “hick girl” that I’ve become, I figured as soon as she sensed we might be from Idaho she’d take us the LONG route through the city.
You can’t be too trusting of these city cab drivers, or so I’ve heard. 
We ate clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls, watched the sea lions on Pier 39, and did a little people watching before Ralf met up with us and we took a drive down to the beach at Chrissy Field.
Whew! One more post to go. Maybe I’ll get to it tonight.
Happy Wednesday!