3/25/13   Sierra Nevada Brewery.  I want to work there!   The workers are happy and they love their jobs.  It's a "green" company. They offer great medical/dental/mental benefits.  They use REAL HOPS---grown in different places to get different "flavors".  Their beer is good too.  Hard to come by here in Missouri, however.  We had lunch at their restaurant---fish & chips with a beer.  good stuff.  This is where we had our "educational" sampling of different brews. 

3/26/13

We headed down to Los Angeles (Paul driving).  We were supposed to meet Hannah at the Howard Johnson  in Korea town (I had no clue it was Korea town when I booked on-line).  The main problem was parking.  Paul had free parking in the HoJo garage, but Hannah had to fend for herself.  Anyway, she parked and walked in the opposite direction...but Paul finally  tracked her down and got her to the hotel.  We all stayed there so we could have lots of time together...not that we spent a lot of time in the hotel.  But we had breakfast and started our mornings "on the same page".  

Hannah had invited several friends to join us at "The Boiling Crab" for her birthday dinner.  The place was packed so we ordered our seafood "to go" and ate it in the "bar" next door.  As long as each person orders a drink, it's all good. Me, Hannah & Dennis toasting her birthday with saki.  Friends Kaitlin, Jen, Marissa & brother Paul.  The good was great but messy. which is why it came with a bib.  

3/27/13

Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach.  Riding bicycles.  Fun

3/28/13

Universal Studios

Shows: Water World & Blues Brothers

Rides:  The Simpsons; Jurassic Park; The Mummy's Revenge.  No photos allowed.

Photo Ops:

With just me & Dennis, it's been an unusual Easter.  We did the Easter baskets with Matt, Sara & Jax before we went to California & with Paul & Hannah while we were there.  More focus on the Resurrection and real meaning of Easter.  

Dennis got our broccoli plants back...looking good.  AS soon as there is a spot dry enough, they need to go into the ground. He started tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.  He is supposed to also start zinnias & marigolds.  I took a walk around the yard.  I found ONE grape hyacinth  I also found a dandilionand saw some leaf buds on the lilac bush. 

Beans & cornbread for supper.  

3/22/13   It was too early to check into the hotel when we got to Lincoln (Paul picked us up at the Sacramento airport).  It was too windy to do anything outside.  We ate a sandwich at the Beach Hut Deli.  Then we decided to go bowling.  Dennis beat Paul by a few points the first game, but Paul beat Dennis the second game.  None of us bowled very well...although we all broke 100 the second game.  I will put part of the blame on the birthday party happening in the lane next to us. This was about 1 PM.  I have no clue why they were not in school.

3/23/13

The day started with breakfast at Awful Annie's.  Paul and Dennis were on their "usual" good behavior.  NOT.  It was good food and a good time.  Paul's neighbors Jake & Lisa were our "guides" that day.  After breakfast we headed to the Napa Valley to sample some wine.  This is at Artesa Winery.  It was not down in the valley like most of the wineries; it was the only winery we actually sampled their wines.  According to Jake & Lisa, this was the best wine/winery around.  The winery is also trying to be more "green" with irrigation practices and using solar panels to supply part of their electricity. It was beautiful and peaceful there.  We ate at another winery, actually in the valley.  They had fresh bbq and wood oven pizza.  It was also very crowded and we decided to find a less popular winery for more wine tasting.  In the end, we stopped at the Sequoia Winery and bought a bottle of wine to share in their wine garden.  

3/24/13

Sacramento.  Old Town Sacramento to be exact.  We got there about 30 minutes before anything opened (arrived at 9:30) so we got to walk around in relative privacy for a while.  We went to the Train Museum which was fascinating and educational.  It was extremely well done, from the tour/history to the way the displays were arranged.  We then did the Underground Tour...which allowed NO PHOTOGRAPHY.  It was fascinating.  There were different tour guides, who told the history from his/her perspective--dressed in period clothing.  Ours was Sam Brannon, who started out his exploration of California as a possible site for the Mormons to settle.  By the time he got to Salt Lake City where a large group had already settled, he decided to split with the church and seek the wealth he saw in Sacramento.  He knew the wealth was in the land and not the gold; but he did get rich for a while, as a merchant & used his newspaper to spread the work about Sacramento.  And had a hand in getting the Railroad to go to Sacramento.  Unfortunately he is less well known than other figures during this time, and uses the tour to try to set things "right" about his importance.  The original Sacramento burned and flooded many times before the people decided (at their own expense) to raise the buildings and build a levees to protect it.  The "underground" is a maze of "basements" under the buildings and tunnels under the streets.  It is also an active archeological excavation site.  Paul plans to go back with Jake & Lisa and take the tour with a different guide.  

No trip to Sacramento would be complete without seeing the Capitol.  After looking at walls of stodgy portraits of former California governers, this photo of Jerry Brown stood out. 

On the way home we checked out an Ikea Store.  WOW.  I was impressed by the size of the place and the furniture and accessories....and the prices. 

It was nice to get back to Missouri...even if it was drizzly and 50.  We stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way home.  Dennis needed some "greens & beans".  LOL  Last night we ate at The Stinking Rose in Beverly Hills.  It was fun and the food was good.  A bit pricey for our life-style, but a good way to end a vacation.  There was lots of garlic in all the food.  They even offered Garlic Ice Cream for dessert.  None of us tried it.  We ate in the room called "dracula's grotto". Our table was below this photo of Dracula, claiming "Even I eat here".  

It was nice to be back in our small town.  Our next door neighbor came over when he saw our lights come on tonight...just checking to be sure it was US turning on the lights.  He filled us in on a few of the "happenings" while we were gone. SNOW, inches and inches of snow, was the main topic. 

This morning we tried to find the place where Hannah once parked and hiked to the Hollywood sign.  We traveled on some winding and narrow residential streets, but never found the place.  We did see some nice houses, as well as a closer and different view of the sign. Then we drove to Point Firmen Park and Lighthouse.  Unfortunately we were there at 11 AM and the light house didn't open until 1 PM.  We walked around and then headed for Olvera Street where we ate at La Luz del Dia restaurant.  I had tamales with beans & rice.  They were very good.  We walked around the area and watched some dancing to celebrate the previous native local culture.  We also strolled down a couple streets in Chinatown and checked out Union Station.  Then Hannah dropped us off at the hotel so she could take care of some of her personal business and we are all supposed to clean up...so we can go out to a fancy restaurant later.

Then back to MO tomorrow.

We headed for the Santa Monica pier after breakfast.  We got a photo of Dennis at the END of Route 66 sign; we also got a photo of him with a parrot. We saw 2 seals in the back of someone's boat, tied up at the pier.  Later we saw the boat owner shooing the seals out of the boat and they went on their merry way.  We walked along the beach for a while.  Seaweed was washing up and there were quite a few people enjoying playing out in the waves.  A few surfers.  I didn't realize until later that I'd gotten some tar on the bottom of my feet.  Just a couple of spots but it is hard to get off. 

We rented bicycles and rode from The Santa Monica Pier down to Venice Beach. We did some people watching and got hamburgers, fries & a coke at a beach food stand. It was good but I had some fries I didn't want to finish eating.  I thought I'd just toss them into the grass near where we were sitting. Bad idea.  The sea gulls and the pigeons were both very aggressive and thought I should provide them with more fries.  Fortunately we just hopped on our bikes and rode away.

Now we are back at the hotel, showering and napping.  Hoping to get a second wind before we go in search of supper.

Rumor has it that we are missing cold weather and some snow back in Missouri.  I got a sunburn yesterday, sipping wine in Napa Valley.  It was in the 70's, sunny with a slight breeze.  I forgot to pack the thing that lets me download photos from the Smart Card to the  computer.  Sorry.

Our first flight was delayed because a gage wasn't working...but we were able to fly safely without said gage.  Not sure why 2nd flight was delayed.  Paul was waiting for us in Sacramento.  Our checked bag arrived and off we went...to Lincoln CA.  We had sandwiches at California Beach Deli for a late lunch. Then for supper we ate at Old Town Pizza in Lincoln. It was very windy but we braved the weather and chill to walk around a bit after eating.  Saturday morning we ate at "Awful Annie's".  It was anything but awful.  I had the "Breakfast mess" which was potatoes, cheese, several veggies cooked in a skillet.  Delicious.  We went to Napa valley and sampled wines at what I think was Avesta Winery. It was amazing.  Up on a hill with a view of vineyards and the ocean in the distance.  Sunday (today) we went to Sacramento.  Went to Old Sacramento and toured the Train Museum, then did the "underground" tour.  It was interesting and entertaining.  I learned a lot about Sacramento history. We also toured (on our own) the Capitol.  We stopped at an Ikea store on the way back to Lincoln.  Wow.  Amazing stuff.

Slowly adjusting to California time. 

Dennis just got a phone call stating he won a free Carnival Cruise.  He hung up.

Today was the RMS Talent Show(s).  Each grade had an assembly.  The finale of each assembly was the teachers' entry. Over a dozen of the teachers danced and lip-synced to a medley of rock & roll tunes, from The Village People to Lady Gaga.  It was hysterical...and impressive  Those teachers know their moves.  

The calendar may say that tomorrow is spring, but our weather still says WINTER.  More snow at the end of the week...hopefully not enough to keep our plane from taking of Friday morning.  Hopefully Spring really will arrive while we are gone.

Got my pedicure after school.  I felt weird to have "naked" feet after months of shoes and socks.  Took off my shoes in the car & wore flip flops into the business, wore them back to the car and drove home.  As soon as I got inside the house, back into socks and my house slippers. Did a pale frosted gold polish that should go with anything. I think it will look particularly good on a sandy beach. 

We've had a lot of rain lately...ducky weather I suppose.  

Mid-morning it hit me.  I need to get my ducks in a row.  Spring Break is around the corner and we are leaving on a jet plane...  Dennis got the suitcases up from the basement after work.  We are both taking a carry-on and checking ONE bag between the 2 of us.  Since I plan to wear sandals at least part of the time in L.A., I made an appointment to get a pedicure after work tomorrow.  Massage on Wednesday because rounding up all these ducks is putting some real kinks in my neck and shoulders.  The most annoying is the liquid restrictions on the planes...so lotion, deodorant, toothpaste, shampoo...all go into the checked bag.  What do you do if you only have a carry-on?  Buy all new upon arrival?  I'm living dangerously and taking my small knitting project (scarf).  It is on bamboo needles...small gage as well as short in length.  Will I be another grandma wrestled to the floor as a suspected terrorist as I go thru the security check???  Last year my carry-on was Hannah's serger (sewing machine) and that caused quite a commotion.  In the end, the serger (mostly intact) and I managed to land safely in Los Angeles. It was used almost immediately upon arrival, to shorten and hem Hannah's birthday dress, so it was worth the hassle.  

We had to find a fellow gardener to babysit our broccoli while we are gone. It has been too cold and wet to get it planted.  Our yard/garden is a swamp right now. 

Last year we packed a little too light...as in the weather was cooler than we expected.  This year I'm taking a nice pullover sweater and a zip front hoodie, as well as my denim jacket.  No shorts.  I suspect jeans, tennis shoes and light cottons shirts will be my basic attire most of the time.  One birthday dinner for Hannah at a nice restaurant.  

Whenever possible....chose adventure.

Matt, Sara & Jax should be back home about now.  It was fun to hang out with them this weekend.  

I have my taxes to the point I can meet with my tax person and get them filed.  After looking at the income vs expense columns of my business, I'm not doing a happy dance.  Business was down a bit this year, but expenses were not.  Debating on trying to sell the equipment and materials this summer.  My customers could go elsewhere, but it would be nice if someone in St. James would just take things over...  I'm taking a short break before heading to the basement to do the engraving that must be delivered tomorrow after school.  

There was a rain/snow mix going on when we got up this morning.  Fortunately the temperatures stayed around freezing and there was little accumulation (on grassy areas, tops of cars).  I'm glad I had no plans to attend any outdoors St. Pat's festivities today.

Originally I planned enchiladas for supper tonight, but I think it's turning into a soup evening.  We have some left-over biscuits from brunch.  I'm thinking minestrone with the hamburger left over from tacos.  (I don't season my taco meat...that's what the salsa is for). 

I think I'm going to bed early tonight.  Cold, dreary days exhaust me.