With the Grace of God...: March 2011

Last year around this time, I was motivated by my hatred for FB's Farmville to post a few of my updates from my very own "garden" which consisted of 2 tomato plants, a yellow squash plant, and a Sprite melon plant. Sadly, the only things that were successful were my 2 tomato plants; they grew like crazy, but I think I only got about 15 total tomatoes out of the plants before Winter was here.

This year, I've started with a tomato plant, but I might branch out and plant some broccoli - this might depend on our living location in the coming weeks/months.

Last year's tomato was the Juliet. This year, I've chosen the hybrid cherry tomato that should grow in clusters and produce a whole lot more!

I'm hoping to remember to update ya'll with photos (yes, whether you like it or not, I'll be taking several different angles of the same plant) each Monday.

This sucker has already grown an inch or two! I just planted him a week or so ago, but the rain and sunshine has given this guy a head start:)

I went with a bigger pot this time too! Last year, I had to replant my tomatoes, so they'd have more soil - learned that lesson, and hopefully he'll do fine in this for the whole season.

Yikes! Ok, so it has been a long while since I've posted here, but I've got some comments lately that lead me to believe that someone is reading this blog! Thank you, as always, to everyone who is keeping up with my blog and hopefully enjoying my posts!

Right after Christmas, Billy and our friends that are members at the club Billy currently works at (I won't put their names, b/c I haven't asked them if I can) started talking about going to play golf in California. Most of you know that Billy is a golf pro, so this opportunity was a dream come true for him. At first, I thought they were joking, but it quickly turned into a reality when Billy was able to secure them a round on Cypress Point golf course - yes, to you and me that means nothing, but Cypress Point is a big deal in the golf world; so big I can't explain it. You may have heard of Pebble Beach though. It's more commonly renowned as a prestigious course, and they played that one too.

Anyway, all of that to say: I thought this was going to be a trip for the guys, and that was partially true, but they were so generous to take me along!!! I stayed in San Francisco, while the boys drove down to play golf. Sooooo this is a log (a few pics from each day) of what I did - mostly on my own - in the city of San Francisco!

Day 1: Fisherman's Wharf

The first day, I woke up at 3am, bc of the time difference, and I wasn't feeling too hot, but I finally got out to see Fisherman's Wharf. Even though it's one of the things you might think of when you hear San Fran, it's pretty much a tourist attraction rather than a good representation of the city - since a lot of the locals haven't been there (according to the "tour guide" below)!

This is the book our friend let me borrow to tour SF. It led me all around SF, and gave me a lot of great information about the city and the significance of a lot of things I saw.

As I said, I wasn't feeling great the first morning, but part of the problem was that I needed to eat. Since SF is known for sourdough bread, I ate at Boudin's which is known for the original sourdough recipe.

As you'll be able to tell, the weather for the week we were there, was absolutely amazing! Everyone that lived there told us how lucky we were to be there that week since usually it cool, damp, and windy.

Everywhere I went in the city, there were plenty of places to sit and take in the view. Since I was walking everywhere, I took advantage of the opportunity! These benches overlooked the water at the pier - I swear I've seen this scene in a movie somewhere...

A "street performer" - there were many along the streets in this area.

Love a place of serenity in a busy city!

This is it! ~Ghiradelli Square~ where the chocolate used to be made. Now, there's a lot of specialty shops and restaurants there, but it has kept its name. I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of historic and sentimental preservation in the whole city:)

With my back to Ghiradelli Square - facing the bay...

There were so many types of transportation! I'm still confused about which is which, but I believe this is a cable car.

This used to be a cannery for Del Monte, but they've also turned this into a place for shops and events. Below is the courtyard in the middle of two buildings and some architecturally neat doors in the courtyard...