Beautiful San Fran *Day 2*

I'm pretty bummed, bc I had this post pretty much done, but somehow lost everything I had typed! That's what I get for being technologically stupid! Anyway, I'm sorry, but you might get the abbreviated version of this particular post, and sorry that day 2 has taken me so long to post - I've been procrastinating since the mishap with the first version.

Day two of my tour of San Francisco proved to be a very tiring day - mainly because I had a lapse of judgment and didn't realize my poor legs and feet are not as young as they used to be:(

The first tour of the day was to China Town and North Beach (the Italian side of town). The tour book that I used took me first to the actual China Town versus the touristy part of China town. So there I was - a sore thumb - but enjoying the view of the crowded sidewalks with people buying fruits & vegetables at the market! I didn't want to be that tourist - shoving a camera in everyone's face, so I refrained. Below is one of the first photos I took.


The tour book took me to some places that I definitely would not have gone to on my own, and this traditional Chinese music store was one of them. Everything was handmade and gorgeous - this was my favorite photo.

This is how I knew I was in the touristy area - very neat!

I love the vintage look of the photo above. I also love the symbolism of this photo. The microcosm wrapped up in a big city of skyscrapers...



If I wasn't already impressed with the architecture of the city, the Chinese influenced architecture did it!


This was the only booth that wasn't swamped, because it was on a side road - the booths on the main road were a lot larger, but I thought this was a good representation of what I saw.


The second part of the same tour was to North Beach (much like NY's Little Italy - I'd guess). This photo is how I knew I had made it!


Another neat example of architecture, this building was one of a few (maybe several) triangular-shaped buildings in the city. It is home of some important people's offices, and on the bottom floor is a very nice Italian restaurant. For probably the first time, I ate, by myself, there, but was only able to afford a small salad and a glass of wine! So I left, and as I was leaving, our friend texted me and recommended a gelato place down the street...


WOW! I can honestly say I'm not sure if I've ever had better gelato! They had so many choices, and if you know me at all, you know it's not a good idea to give me choices, so about 30 minutes and 30 sample spoons later, I picked out Blood Orange and some kind of wonderful Chocolate mix - YUM!!! That's all I can say:)


My first tour was over, so I sat down for a break at one of the many parks in the city. I want to say this was Washington Square, but I can't be sure of that. This nice gentleman sat next to me while I was there, and I thought he was interesting, so I took his photo - he's probably used to that.

While sitting there, I realized it was only 3 or so, so I had a lot of time before dark and before I needed to have dinner (I was apparently a little absent-minded because let's remember that I had only had a tiny salad and gelato - so the energy level was LOW). I decided that with my extra time I'd take the tour of Telegraph Hill...Big Hill = Big Mistake! Telegraph Hill is a tour that climbs its way, up a very steep and long hill, to Coit Tower a historic Tower that you'll see here in just a minute.


But first, some more of the architecture that I couldn't get enough of! Believe me - I'm sparing ya'll about 100x this many photos in my collection!

There it is at a distance - Coit Tower

Thought this was a neat perspective overlooking the city...


More stairs to climb before I got to the tower...Also, a great opportunity to take a break and catch my breath:(

Again, I'll spare you the many photos I took on the rest of this tour. Just know that it was a lot more than I bargained for and it was dusk (as you'll see below) before I stopped moving, because the tour weaved in and out of some inconspicuous places, and I didn't want to get caught there after dark, alone. Nothing dangerous, but I was pretty lost by the time it took me up and down several steep "hills" including a staircase with about 500 steps - I'm pretty sure I'm not exaggerating!


Anyway, as you can see, the hike was worth the view:) I ended up in a neighborhood with this view at everyone's doorstep - pretty amazing and breathtaking if you ask me!

When I arrived at this point, I met a landscape photographer there. He was prepping to get many pictures of the moon coming up over the city. I took the photo above and was about to head back to my hotel to get some much needed rest, when he asked if I wasn't going to stay to get a great photo of the moon. He was right - I didn't want to miss that opportunity, so I waited....and waited....and waited some more, but we never saw the moon. Meanwhile, I took a lot of photos like you see below as it got darker and darker, and probably have about 50+ of those. Overkill, I know, but they're all gorgeous, and maybe I'll frame them someday!


I eventually got back to my hotel, after taking a few wrong turns (mostly because I couldn't think straight since I had eaten hardly anything that day).

Needless to say - I slept well that night!

Farmville '11 *week 2*

Introducing the new additions to my garden! This past weekend was great! Our cousins, Jamie and Jess, from TN came to town, and while Jess was at a vet seminar at the NC State campus, the rest of us went to the Raleigh Farmers' Market - LOVE IT!!!

I told them how determined I was to have a more successful salad tomato plant this year, and when we got to the FM, I realized they had vegetable plants for a lot cheaper than at my local grocery store - where I bought the first tomato plant. Soooo....it only made sense for me to get more! Jamie convinced me to give the Cherokee Purple tomato a try - though I've never heard of them! We then decided I'd mail them to her if I didn't like them, but the truth is, if they actually grow, I'll be so proud of my success that I'll eat them whether I like them or not!

The main stem is actually 5", but I'll plant about an inch of them in the soil when I get the right pots for them.

As we were leaving, we spotted some Pickling Cucumbers, Cathy said they didn't need a whole lot of space to grow, and I figured my salad would be complete with cucumbers, so I bought them to see if I could be a cucumber farmer too! Their stems vary a lot in length, so I put their range.

On to my already planted tomato - more specifically, my Sweet 100 Cherry tomato. Unfortunately, the weather turned cold and yucky last week, so this poor guy didn't do so well. I brought him onto the covered porch one night, but that probably wasn't enough. He looks pretty miserable with his browning leaves and droopy disposition, but hopefully this week will make up for it:)

No growth this week:( But this is also because I've decided I'm only going to measure the stem before the major spit in the stem.

I've got the cucumbers in their pots, and I'll need to buy bigger pots for the Cherokee Purples today.

Farmville '11 *week 1*

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.

Beautiful San Fran **Day 1**

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...




IN-N-OUT!!! An awesome burger place recommended by our friends! My dinner the first night:)

Yum!

I took almost 400 photos on the first day!!! Almost 2000 photos total! More of my tour to come in the next few days...