Farewells, fun and more family fun!

It is time to bid our lovely family, farewell. We tend to keep these goodbyes low key and to rather focus on the good times we have enjoyed and the good times ahead. Time flashes by when fun is being had and the month in the states is just one example of that. Christopher and Diana are enjoying living in the states and are seeing as much of the country as possible! We thank them for being so good to us and allowing us to share some special times while we were there. Their three lovely children are a tribute to them and also to the quality time they put into their parenting. We are so proud of you!

Diana uses her gardening skills to grow tomatoes and other herbs in their small back garden. The children have been watching the progress of the tomato laden bushes just itching to pick them. Ben in particular could not wait to pull them off the bush. At last a few turned red and without any more waiting, were harvested for us to enjoy with our meal.

In the kitchen, the children often help with baking. I made a special apron and hat for Molly's last birthday and there is always a rush to see who can don the hat first and then the apron. I will add that I have made all the children African aprons but this pink set is the favorite. Maybe it is time to make Ben his own set then Ben need not be "Molly".

Benjamin Nelson turning three has given us lots and lots of laughs! He is a small packet of dynamite and does everything to keep up with his two sisters. Poor guy even tries to dress like them!

He and Dad have lots of fun together.

Hannah is the "Fashionista" of the family and spends much time choosing her outfit every day, brushing her hair and donning her tiara or her band. I referred to her hair band as an "Alice" band which is the term we used to use and she was curious why I would call it an Alice band. I too have learnt new words such as "rashies" (long sleeved swimming tops), "floaties" (swimming tubes) and sunnies. I guess we are never too old to learn!

Molly is the sweetest and kindest little girl ever and loves to play with her friends. She never sits still for long and loves to swing on the jungle gym, jump on the trampoline and do turns in the air!

She has a sweet tooth and just loves a treat or two.

They all have inherited good entrepreneurial skills like their father. He used to borrow capital to buy sweets and other necessities to sell at boarding school but somehow all the profits were eaten! The "beds" they are selling are actually beads!

Diana and I had loads of fun finding new quilting shops and buying just a little of this and that!

Times have changed and bring up children has taken on another dimension with all the techno things available. Ben, not yet three, has worked an I pad for some time and now and has his own. Molly and Hannh each have their own too which is necessary for the sake of peace in the home. They watch movies, do puzzles and games and other interesting things. Like it or not, this is the way the world is gong and instead of fighting it we go with the flow. The children have lots of books read to them and hopefully will be readers some day even if it is using a Kindle. They play lots, love their friends and go off with their parents on many wonderful excursions. What more can you wish for.

Thank you to our great family and also to their kind neighbors who made us so welcome. We loved our time with you and take away wonderful memories.xxxx

Russian River.

We woke up to a beautiful day and it was a golden opportunity to go on a day trip and enjoy a little more of California. It did not take long to pack up the car and set off for the Russian River. What a strange name for a river situated in California. With the GPS set, our tour leader Christopher armed with his Lonely Planet guidebook and our driver Diana, all geared up,we loaded the car and off we set!

Our destination was to drop in at Burke's Canoe Trips. It was great going through a few small American towns and farmlands and to see how the country folk live.

The magnificent vineyards, groves of Redwood trees and pine covered hills were most impressive. After a brief stop and run around we piled back into the car and went looking for....?

Wineries! There are several along the way and it was decided that we stop in at Korbel Champagne Cellars.

The ivy covered walls and beautiful gardens make it such a pleasant stop.

 

Of course the wine/champagne tasting was most welcome in the heat of the day. Mitch our assistant was a charming young man and served us delicious wines. I was thrilled to have a glass of Blanc de noir!!!! My favorite.




Mitch also told us about the best spot to stop off for our swim. Hilton "beach" here we come. The children were more than ready to head off.

Our clever navigating team found a lovely spot where we could park and make our way to the Russian River to swim and play. This is so strange for us as back in South Africa, we are always worried about crocodiles, bilharzia or malaria in our rivers and we don't often just park off and enjoy swimming.

The water was clean and shallow so it was possible for the children to swim and have fun.

Molly has a wonderful imagination and she created all sorts of wonderful activities, which kept her busy for hours.

 

The big children also had loads of fun too. As it would take us an hour and a half to get back to Piedmont, we had to set off for home while the sun was still high in the sky,so imagine the reluctance of three little people!! My conclusion after this excursion is that California is a beautiful state and there is still so much to see and do!!! Maybe we will come back one day!!!

Adventure Playground.

As it is nearing the end of the school ear for Hannah a visit to the Adventure Playground was arranged by the school. Diana had offered to transport some of the children and I was invited to go along. The Adventure playground or "junk playground" is situated in Berkley and is the last of its kind. Many areas like this were set aside for children to heal and rebuild their lives after World War Two and many still exist in Europe. However this is the last of its kind in the states.

each child is challenged to find the above items. The play ground is fitted out with lots of wooden structures made from bits and pieces of wood which local builders have donated. The children are free to create whatever they wish.

There are no rules or guidelines. Each child is encouraged to do whatever they like. Their reward for finding anything off the list is the choice of hammers and a choice of paint.

It was amazing to see the little ones walking around with their metal detectors finding nails buried in the sand and then taking a hammer designed for adults, choosing their piece of wood and enjoying hammering in her nails!! She is a better "hammer a in" than I am!!

In between carrying out the challenges the children can climb, go on the zip line, play old pianos and just have fun!!

I was so taken with this playground and thought of the many troubled. Hidden who could benefit from a couple of hours here every so often!

It is also a great place for company's to dump their junk!!

After this creative play, the children had their lunch and then went down to the "beach" to look for crabs!

A wonderful day was had by all! I am so pleased to have been part of it.

Sight seeing tour of San Francisco.

The best way of seeing a city is without doubt a "Hop on hop off" bus tour that comes with a guide who fills you in with lots of interesting facts and details you might otherwise miss. We caught the local bus into the city which took us via the Bay and dropped us at the Ferry Terminal and from here we made our way to the stop, to catch our tourist bus.

This is also the only place to catch the ferry to Alcatraz.

One of the surprising sights was to see how any homeless people were sleeping wherever they could find a comfortable spot.

I was a little nervous of getting too close and upsetting these "homeless" folk! They seemed to have their worldly goods with them and looked so scruffy!

San Francisco was named after the patron saint of small animals and is one of the worlds most popular tourist sights. There is much to see and some beautiful buildings.

 

The Hearst Building was home to the newspaper mogul William Hearst who lived in the penthouse until his death. This building was remodeled by one of the first female architects Julia Morgan. The entrance is very beautiful with its monogram.

Many movies have used the beautiful buildings as the background for their scenes.

The City Hall is modeled after the St Peters Basilica in the Vatican and has gilded decor for all to see.

Lombard Street is a street everyone wants to travel down as it is known to be the "crookedest" street in the world. Because the street is so steep it has been designed so that it winds down and thus slows the traffic down. It has eight hairpin bends and is quite beautiful as the street is lined with lots of colorful plants. This could not be seen from the tourist bus. I should add that while it carries this important reputation, it is not the crookedest street in San Francisco or the world!

Union Square is a great place to sit and watch the world go buy. It is opposite Macy's

 

The tour ends at Pier 39 and this is also where the cable car start fom but ther was a four hour wait so we gave that a miss. I would however like to return to Pier 39.

 

China Town was buzzing with activity. Lots of Chinese restaurants are here too.

There is lots to see and do in the city and it was great fun trekking around!