End of our Hawaii and CA journey

April 26

The Francis Ford Coppola vineyards were fun to visit. If we had more time there we could have swum in their pool and just enjoyed the resort. There is a movie museum and a fantastic gift shop selling all sorts of movie memorabilia. The tastings were delicious. I appreciate the fact that Coppola purposely does not charge an arm and a leg for his bottled wine. He wants to keep them affordable.

It's already 4pm and time to leave. Dinner will be in Chinatown at the B & G restaurant. There are lots of unique Chinese dishes here including a whole crab fried. Jose had that. I enjoyed the scallops and a fried rice to die for, all so yummy.

The walk uphill to our parked car (San Francisco is the hilliest city in  the US) helped us burn  some of the calories. 

April 27

Our last day, heavy sigh, well at least it started with a take out from a local Chinese bakery near Margo's home. We ate meat filled buns that were oh so delicious.

Time to pack up and go. Hope to return to the beautiful states of Hawaii and California.

Still in Wine Country

April 25

Our dinner in downtown Sonoma was special. We are celebrating Margo and Jose's 26th wedding anniversary at The Girl and the Fig, country food with french passion, and it was beginning with the steamed mussels in fennel flavored broth to the duck on spinach spaetzel and topped us with chocolate covered figs for dessert. All so heavenly.

April 26

Our last day and we want to get in 2 more wine tastings before heading back to San Francisco. Silver Oaks was a superb choice. They only make Cabernets and we sampled a 2005 and 2008 Alexander Valley and Napa Valley. Beginning at $70. a bottle we decided on buying souvenirs instead. As they say "Life is a Cabernet".

Napa and Sonoma Valleys

April 24

We headed out to wine country today. It was a 2 hour drive in Jose's very comfortable big, blue truck.

First stop is Rodney Strong in Sonoma country, Eddie's favorite. We loved them all so much that we joined the club and look forward to deliveries all year long.

From there we moved on to the downtown district for a fantastic lunch at a deli - fine wine, grapes, cheese and bought some pasta and sauce for dinner tonite. Life is Good!

April 25

Today is Margo and Jose's 26th Wedding anniversary and so we are celebrating. First stop of the day is Sterling. We take a gondola ride to the top of the hill which overlooks all the vineyards and it's an amazing view. Along with wine tastings we take a self guided tour and have lunch on an outdoor patio along with our red wine tastings.

A fantastic tour of San Francisco by Michael

April 23

Michael was our San Francisco tour guide today. I think he missed his calling, he's a natural. His love  for the city he grew up in shows. We began with breakfast at the Cliff Shouse overlooking the Bay. Just beautiful scenery from our window.

A drive to Golden Gate Bridge was the next stop. I can't believe it when I see it life and in person. What a beauty it is.

From there on to a drive to Fisherman's Pier, first stop Ghiradelli's for some delicious infusion of chocolate. We walked and shopped and had fun seeing all the entertainers on the street including the Bush Man. (I won't give it away, you have to see him for yourself). We had a delicious lunch at Boudin's Sourdough factory. I had my favorite comfort foods Grilled cheese and tomato soup. It was heavenly.

Driving From Carmel By The Sea to San Francisco

April  22

Before leaving lovely Carmel we decided to check out the 17 mile scenic drive and boy was it ever worth it, so scenic, crashing ocean waves, beautiful homes, Pebble Beach golf course.

Our driving trip took us past miles and miles of farms which were growing what looked like lots of Romaine lettuce and artichokes. We stopped at a farmstand in Castro on the way to San Francisco and the strawberries bought there, huge and red and oh so juicy, were the absolute tastiest strawberries I've ever had.

Aaahhhh. Lovely San Francisco. Jose and Margo are the best hosts. They treated us to a superb dinner in Little Italy at the North End Restaurant. The waitstaff and food were all outstanding and let's not forget the delicious wine.

Prior to eating out we drove on hilly and curvy Lombard St. Now I know I've arrived in San Francisco.

Trip up the coast with stops in Santa Barbara and Carmel

April 20

Sad to say goodbye to our dear friend, but it's time to move on and moving on we are with a stop in Santa Barbara. Taking Rte 101 was the best way to explore California with the Pacific Ocean to our left and desert and rolling hills on our right. We even went through a mountain pass. Loving it. In Santa Barbara we found cute little wine store and relaxed in our room having our daily happy hour.

April 21

Next stop is Carmel By The Sea. Luckily our hotel is on the corner of Junipero Road and Ocean Avenue which is the main drag. Carmel is hilly and filled with boutique shops, restaurants, pubs and Ocean Avenue leads to the ocean. It's dreamy here.

Days At Sea

4 Days At Sea and visiting a dear friend in San Diego

Oh the luxury of it all. For 4 days we relax by the pool, are entertained by comedians, lecturers, classical music, ukulele musicians, etc. We are free to roam around, to eat (we do try to eat healthy), and to count our blessings for all that we have. I'm reading the book Hawaii by James Michener which I bought in Lahaina, Oahu in a Used book store. What a find! As I am learning more and more about the paradise islands of Hawaii, how they were formed (by volcanos), and the lovely Hawaiian language and beautiful, warm people I find that this book parallels what I am learning.

April 17

We arrive in Ensenada, Mexico at 8:30pm due to windy weather at sea. This does not give us a lot of time for exploring, but we do decide to take a bus into town. The stores are closed on Main St., but we located an outdoor bar where we can enjoy a bottle of Tecate. While enjoying our refreshing beer a couple little girls came around to our table selling jewelry and candy. They were cute and insistent. It's 10pm, don't they have school tomorrow? Anyway, we bought a bracelet. 

After a little shopping by the dock we're back on board looking forward to San Diego.

April 18

Our good friend Tim Hurt picked us up at the port and drove us directly to lunch with Heather at Maira Callandras restaurant (the chicken pot pie lady). So good to be with old friends and do a lot of catching up.

See The USA Part 3

See The USA Part 3

We have just returned from a 24 day trip to Hawaii on a Celebrity cruise from San Diego and on our return a visit with a dear friend in San Diego and a road trip to San Franciso. This was a wonderful way to get to know Hawaii, its culture, its people, its language and to get a beautiful visual slice of the gorgeous state of California.

April 3, 2013

We barely made it to the ship. Our plane from Fort Lauderdale was delayed. We missed our connecting flight in Houston. Phew!! Thank God our luggage was the first off the plane in baggage claim. Hurry! Catch a cab to the port. Ahhhhh! a half hour before cutoff time.
Yes a glass of wine poolside is just what the doctor ordered.

April 4

Day at Sea. Checking our the itinerary for the day we find hula lessons for me and ukulelee lessons for Eddie. Yes!!!! June is our teacher, the Hawaiian Ambassador for Celebrity. She is pretty, funny, talented and passionately loves her state. I know I'll learn a lot from her. The Hawaiian music, e.g. Little Grass Shack, are all familiar tunes.

Two new friends on board smelled Eddie's cigar and because they love the scent came to join us on the back deck. They were from Salt Lake City, Utah and told stories of Mormons and polygamy they knew about. It was very interesting.

April 5

Not only Hula but I also took a Flash Mob dance lesson today. However, sickness came upon me. Enough said.

April 6

A lecture given by a Music Historian of the Smithsonian Museum was all about The Phantom of the Opera. Did you know that there have been 100 movies made, the first one made was in German.

A seat by the pool; a wine in the cafe while listening to a 3 string classical group called Beacon Street, life doesn't get much better than that. In the evening we were entertained by the most talented violinist I've ever seen. She was from the Ukraine and played everything from classical to Irish jig to Orange Blossom Special.

April 7

Hula lessons, although I know I'm not as together as the other dancers I am having a ball and learning so much about the Hawaiian body language in the meantime.

April 8

Last day at sea before we dock in Honolulu in Oahu. Eddie and I have a recital today on stage in front of an audience. It's our graduation day. We performed marvelously and each received a Master in Ukulelee and a Master in Hula dance certificates. I am so proud of us.