Game 1 of Bay Area Double Header

Enjoyed pool area some more in the am and then packed up and moved to downtown Oakland to a surprise of a hotel. We were not expecting much in Oakland but ended up at a real nice hotel that a lot of the A's staff and coaches stay and very close to the Coliseum. Shuttle service to the game and good seats to watch a good game until the A's blew it open in the seventh. Amazing that the stadium was less than half full as only the die hard A's fans are hanging on these days. Many comments on the Red Sox gear as the Sox were playing across the bay where we are going tomorrow for game two.

Family day at Napa Valley

Today we had a morning swim at 8:00 with Ethan, who is really becoming a very good swimmer. The pool has been a lot fun since it is heated to 80 degrees and the hot tub is even better. Then off to see the wineries. There are hundreds of different wineries in the Napa Valley region. We traveled route 29 to Castello di Amorosa and a castle winery. Todd and I attended our first wine tasting event. It was fun once we got into the mood of selecting the wines we wanted to try and going through the process of tasting some good wines and some not so good. The boys managed to keep themselves busy and were missing their electronic games. They were practicing spelling words to keep busy while Todd and I were tasting wine. They had a great time? We stopped at V. Sattui Winery & Italian Market to view the wine bottling process and see there retail store and cheese shop, it was beautiful with lots of flowers and gardens. Phil we found your favorite place!

Back to the hotel for a another swim and relaxing time reading and quiet fun. Tomorrow we will be going south to head to Oakland and our first baseball game A's against the Pittsburgh Pirates and yet another stadium on the list.

Talk with you tomorrow.

Yosemite day two

So much for an early start, we all slept in great and then we all were captivated by the US world cup game which was well under way when we awoke this morning. What a great game to watch!!! We then took off towards Yosemite for another day of discovery in the park. We decided to go north and then come in from the west through a different entrance. What a great choice it was as we followed a white water river into the park which was a great ride with a new view around every turn. We then went for a short hike to Bridal Vail Falls which was really flowing and was creating quite a mist when we were close to the bottom of the falls. We all looked like we went out in a rain storm after we returned to the car. On the way out of the north entrance we saw another bear that was enjoying himself in a small meadow right close to the road. This time we snapped some photos from a safe distance.

Next a little travel time up to Napa Valley and wine country and a new hotel with another great pool and hot tub. The boys quickly made their change and entrance into the new pool and it met with their approval. After settling in we went on a tip to an Italian restaurant which turned out to be the best meal of the trip so far. Ethan liked the sound of Chocolate Fondant which we noticed that the description mentioned chocolate 4 times. We topped the meal off with a piece to "share". That's all for today.

Yosemite the National Treasure

What a day! After a very late night being locked out of our room we woke to travel to Yosemite National Park. We entered the south entrance and traveled to Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. We hiked about two miles to see many Sequoia trees and visit the Mariposa Grove Museum. One tree is called the Telescope Tree because the middle is gone and we could look straight up at the sky. I still can not believe how big they are, the photos really do not do them justice, the size is unbelievable. The boys are seen here in one picture trying to roll the huge sequoia and Derek said this is how an ant must feel. Ethan took a short cut on the trail across a narrow log(not a sequoia) across a deep ravine that Mom could not watch. He had to get down on all fours and scooch most of the way across, but he made it. He was very proud of his accomplishment.

We then drove to the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center for lunch and a rest. We watched a movie on Yosemite and all the special features of the park, the park is over 1,000 square miles. We listened to a park ranger talk about the many different insects of the park. Once the boys completed their activities from the Junior Ranger packages they took their oath and received their Junior Ranger badges.

We drove to Glacier Point where the views were breathtaking. The drive was similar to going to the sun highway at Glacier National Park. We felt as if we were going to fall off the road in places as we wound up and down and back and forth. The road was very steep and narrow. As you approach the end of the dead end road of 13 miles, you are treated to the most spectacular views of Yosemite valley. We also were greeted by a young male mule deer starting his antlers for the year in velvet.

We also saw a cinnamon bear while we were driving but didn't get a chance to pull off the road and really look at him, but did notice a few park visitors trying to get close pictures and were very close to him!!

We just got back and the boys went for a swim and now in bed. Tomorrow we may sleep in.

Travel and pool day

We picked up our new wheels in Downtown San Francisco and headed out of the city across the Bay Bridge. Glad I brought the Nuvi along to help with navigation as 80 went 580 to 680 and 980 and so on. As we headed out of the city it turned back into hot summer weather again and we headed for Fresno, which will be our base station while we check out Yosemite Park. We are at a brand new hotel and a very nice pool and hot tub were a nice welcome as we all enjoyed the pool all afternoon. As with all new things, you have to work the bugs out sometimes and it seems our door lock to our room had the bugs. We had two managers and a couple of maintenance guys come in, as we waited in our swim suits, they finally were able to get the door open. This brings to a close the longest day of the year!!! Good night and we will talk tomorrow.

San Francisco Workout

Through an excellent hotel tip we were able to get on the 9:10 "sold out" trip to Alcatraz. Perfect! The weather has been great but very windy. We walked the audio tour of the prison to see all parts of the building. The entire place seemed much smaller then we all thought it was going to be. The island was beautiful with all the birds and the views of San Francisco. The history of the island is more than the prison. I was surprised that many families of the guards lived on the island as well.

Lunch at Pier 39 at a great sports bar & grill.

After lunch we rented bikes and rode 6 miles (12 round trip) to the Golden Gate bridge. WOW! It was very windy but the view were breath taking. I struggled at times to keep up with my crew but I never got off the bike to walk. Ethan rode tandem with Todd and had a blast. He had Daddy's back the entire trip. What a way to spend father's day.

Our reward for the long bike ride was Ben & Jerry's and then a cable car ride up Nob Hill and back to our hotel. This city is one hill after another. It is amazing how these cable cars work. It is like a step back in time.

Question of the day: What is referred to as "the white badge of Alcatraz"? Let us know your guess.

Out the Door at 4

We had a very early morning and learned that Dunkin Doughnuts doesn't open until 4:30. Quick flight to Newark. Followed by a long flight to San Fran. We sat on the runway in Newark for an hour because of heavy winds in San Francisco. Airport to hotel check in went smoothly, then went to Grub Steak for a delicious lunch. Then we walked to the trolley museum, which was interesting. Went to look at the most crooked road in America on Lombard St. After we went back to the hotel and took a rest. We also saw the Golden Gate Bridge today. It is very impressive. Can't wait for our action packed day tomorrow.

Derek