11/28/07 (Wednesday): I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday as promised. I'll make this one extra special to make up for it! I'm going to do a combination of pictures posted with the text and more pictures in a slideshow. Those of you who couldn't see the last slideshow may just need to wait and let it finish loading--it takes a long time, especially if you have dial-up! You can click on any of the pictures in the slideshow and see the pictures larger and control the show.
Today was a workday, but we finished up at noon, so I'm sitting in the RV admiring my little Christmas tree and listening to a CD as I type this. Wiley is out picking cans and bottles out of the dumpsters. He made $81 last week! It's amazing what campers throw out--there's a five cent deposit on every bottle and aluminum soda can!
Anyhow, I want to tell you about our great Thanksgiving week. It started the week before Thanksgiving with a visit with my sister, Jan, her husband, Jim, their son, Tim, Tim's wife, Rosie, and their baby son, Ben. This is Rosie with Ben and my sister, Jan. Ben is Jan's first grandchild, and he's a real cutie! Rosie is British--love her accent!
We met in Ojai at Jim's mother's house and then drove to a beach near Santa Barbara. We had a picnic lunch and a quick walk on the beach, then it was on to Solvang.
Solvang is a neat Danish town in the Santa Ynez Valley near Santa Barbara. The name is Danish for "sunny field." It was founded in 1911 by a group of Danish teachers who wanted to escape from the cold Midwest. The buildings are all old-style European and there are lots of flowers. Jan and I visited several of the shops while the rest had a beer in the pub.
We left the next morning on Amtrak for Mark and Heather's. We boarded a bus in Fillmore (about 18 miles from here) which went to the Bakersfield train station where we caught the train to a town near Walnut Creek and then the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to Walnut Creek. We left at 8:30 AM and didn't arrive at Mark's until 6:00 PM, but it was very relaxing to be able to sit back and watch the scenery and not worry about traffic. We packed sandwiches and cold drinks, but next time I think we'll eat in the dining car--it wasn't expensive, and the food looked good (sandwiches and salads mostly).
Mark and Heather arrived home from Hawaii about 8:00 PM the same evening. We had decided in advance that we'd have our Thanksgiving feast on Friday, so on Thursday we had a laid back day. We played Monopoly, took a short hike (this picture was taken from the top of the hill behind Mark's house), watched a video and just chilled. We all pitched in and cooked on Friday--Turkey and gravy, stuffing with cranberries and apples, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans with prosciutta (sp?) and two kinds of pie for dessert. Yummo!Now we're back at home, watching the hummingbirds on our feeder, visiting with our neighbors and enjoying life. I'll talk to you all again soon!
3 comments:
What a photograph of the pelicans and gulls. I loved the many reflections of the birds on the beach. Beautiful.
Who is the kid lying with the dog? Your grandson? Actually, he's about the size of Mark the last time I saw him. I can't wait for an updated photo of Mark and his family.
Just one note re your previous blog -- I went back to it and the slide show did not appear this time. I saw it already but that's strange, isn't it? Never came up again.
That's my grandson, Hudson. He's 10 now and looks a lot like Mark did at that age (except for the red hair!).
I think I accidentally deleted the first slide show when I was grying to set up the second one. Blogger hasn't perfected the slideshow process yet. I think I'll give up on it until they improve it.
Just for your info, since you began the slide show photos, I have never been able to sign on to your blog at the first attempt -- it usually tells me that it simply did not work and I should try again. The second time it goes through fine.
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