San Francisco Trip - September 2009

Dan went to his annual VMWorld conference this year and it was held in San Francisco. I decided to tag along at the end of it and make a mini vacation out of it! We had such a great time exploring the city. I hadn't been there in over 10 years, and Dan was there about 2 years ago. I love the sound of the cable car bells ringing...it is a soothing sound amidst the sounds of the city.

Standing in front of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Cable car on the corner near our hotel.

Dan and I by the lake in Golden Gate Park....good framing on Dan's part to get the Egret in the background I think. :o)

Golden Gate Bridge....couldn't believe our luck to have such a sunny day and be able to see the whole bridge without any fog!

Windmill in Golden Gate Park

Botanical Gardens - Golden Gate Park...it has been a long time since I have seen grass this green...especially in Southern California since we got so many water restrictions!

Waterfall in Golden Gate Park.

Just some neat gnarly wood that I found in the park.

Eating at the Rainforest Cafe down by the Wharf.

View from Fisherman's Wharf.

That's a whole lot of super stinky seal lions!

Dan in front of the Camera Obscura or the Giant Camera.

Believe it or not, it really wasn't that hard to get Dan to pose like the Playland Cowboy! Silly day.

View from Point Lobos down the coastline.

We went to the Musee Mechanique on Fisherman's Wharf...such a cool place...every old mechanical game or boardwalk game you can think of here. We laughed when we saw the one above with the old man and the sign below which said "Drop 25 cents in slot to buy Dan a drink." Some way to get free drinks!! :o)

We found an old Star Wars Atari arcade game ...just like the one that I probably spent all my quarters in growing up. I used to spend whole days in the summer at the Malibu Castle Golf in Sherman Oaks playing lots of Star Wars. Loved playing it again! Dan even got to post a high score and he only played it once!

Max's 2nd Birthday!

Our nephew Max turned 2 in August, and they just had a small birthday party for him to celebrate. We broke out the water slide and the kids had a good time slip sliding away. I got to make the birthday cake this year...Scooby Doo is Max's absolute favorite. Happy Birthday Mr. Max!!

The Ferrulli's watching Max blow out his candles.

Scooby Dooby Doo, Where Are You??

Grandpa Nick being silly.

Bennett and His Headlight

Dan got this head lamp for Christmas last year and it quickly became Bennett's exploratory "doctor" light. He likes to put the light on his head and examine everything in his path. He just looks plain silly!

Hmmm...what lurks inside the speakers??

Visit from Craig and Joey - Lake Arrowhead

Got a visit in August from my brother Craig and my nephew Joey. Bennett and I went up to Lake Arrowhead to join them and my mom and Cheryl for a few days of fun (poor Dan had to work). Bennett played mini golf for the first time on this trip and loved it.

Craig, Bennett and Joey waiting for a table to eat at Papagayo's.

Bennett on the little train ride (he only rode it 6 times!). I just loved that the scenery behind the train was so pretty!

Bennett with his hole in one at mini golf (we just looked the other way when he picked the ball up a few times and put it down about an inch away from the hole then shoved it in the hole with his club. :o) Oh - and he stole Craig's club from him. :o) Craig had to concede to the cuteness!

Bennett and Joey goofing around on the golf course.

Joey was multitasking by blowing bubbles with his bubble gum while aiming at the same time.

I have been to Arrowhead a million times in my life and never stopped to see this little plaque at the bottom of the hill about the Arrowhead landmark on the side of the hill. You can see the Arrowhead on the hill very faintly in the background.

Maui

We just got back from a trip to remember from Maui. It was such a great time. We definitely made use of all of the swimming pools in our condo complexes! So relaxing and I can't wait to go back again someday.

Our view from the lanai of our condo. Ahhh....relaxation!

Dan, Bennett, and Sam riding in the convertible that we rented.

Bennett and Sam in front of the Pioneer Mill where we went to the Lahaina Plantation Days Festival.

Bennett acting like a bullfrog. The night before he was chasing frogs all over the place (lots of those in Maui!!)

Bennett and Max hanging out watching Scooby Doo at the Condo.

Dan and I on Date Night in Maui - went to see Warren and Annabelle's magic show...such fun! My cheeks hurt from laughing afterwards.

Sunsets in Maui

The sunsets in Maui were spectacular...wish I had a few more pictures of them. I just love watching the sun dip beneath the ocean beyond. Beautiful and breathtaking!

Haleakala Crater - Maui

On our second day in Maui we all piled in the cars and traversed the beautiful Maui countryside and up the mountains to see the Haleakala Crater. At the top the elevation was just over 10,000 feet and the air was thinner up there...not too mention quite a bit cooler too. It was the ONLY place in Maui that I needed a jacket. The Crater itself was so neat...the colors looked like they were painted on. Dan said that this was a bit what he imagined Mars looking like.

Sugar Cane Train Maui

On the first day in Maui, we took a ride on the Sugar Cane Train which is an old train line that ran Sugar Cane from Honokowai to Lahaina. The kids loved it!