Monday, December 4, 2017

Thanksgiving Trip - Monday - last day in CA

Spent the night with Shannon so I could get up and hike the dogs for her. She had to work so said our goodbyes and off we went our separate ways. As Shan drove to work, she saw the super moon ... beautiful. 






Drove down the hill to Drew and Erin's for the last time this year. But I'll be back!  

Drew and I took a walk to their neighborhood coffee shop. It was warm enough that we sat outside .. hard to believe it is Dec 4!

Then back to the house to bake cookies and watch the PSU men's bball game OUTSIDE!!  Still amazed and loving it. Gotta soak up these sun rays as much as I can. 

Drew and Erin's neighborhood is know for decorating a lot so we drove around oooing and ahhing at all the lights. 







This is Drew and Erin's house ... cute. 

That's it for this trip. Headed back east to cold temps Ive heard. 

Thanksgiving Trip - Sunday church and Victorian Christmas

Today's a special day. I get to go to church very similar to ours and one that was in the Hallmark Movie 2006 Christmas Card AND it Victorian Christmas. 




I shipped my Victorian dress and hat out just for this day! Drew and Erin came up to spend the day with us. 



Thanksgiving Trip - Saturday

After a lazy morning, we got ourselves moving for another hike. Have to tire out that new puppy!









Decided to walk around Nevada City at night to see the lights. Ate pizza and calzone at 3 Forks Brewery. 




For Saturday night's entertainment, Shannon bought us the Jazz and Christmas Pops concert in the Miner's Foundry. It was decorated so elegantly. 





A lovely evening that ended with Shannon and me dancing. Fun times with mother and daughter. 

Saturday, December 2, 2017

Thanksgiving Trip - Friday

Today it's time to head up the hill as Shannon puts it. Going to spend some time in Nevada City. 

Even though Shannon and Carl are only 1 hour northeast from Drew and Erin in Sacramento, the topography changes dramatically- from orange, lemon and grapefruit trees to cedar, redwoods and pine trees. 





Of course there was a hike on the ditch trail with Milo and Rio (week old puppy) to wait for Shan to get home from work.  



Decided to test one of the Christmas cookies that I wanted to make for the Christmas Cookie sale at the church so made cream cheese sugar cookies. 


It was then time for the Cornish Christmas in Grass Valley. Fun time looking at the vendors and having some mulled wine. 

Thanksgiving trip- Wednesday and Thursday

After dropping Kya off at the airport at 5:15 am, Drew and I decided to grab a few more Zzz before exploring some wineries. 

First wine stop today was Michael David and then on to Bogel. Relaxing time. 



Then it was home so Drew could make dinner and Erin. Could begin her sewing project. BUT something was wrong with the bobbin case. I think in its cross-country trek, it got jiggled too much. We tried to open the needle case to fix it but couldn't get the screw loose. So I googled to find a Pfaff repair shop. Luckily there was one about 5 miles from their house. 

So, packed up the sewing machine and off we went while Drew and Erin went to work. Meissner's were able to fix it on the spot and didn't charge me ... score.

Before we could try out the sewing machine, we had to go test a brewery they hadn't tried before - Big Sexy Brewing Company. We met a friend (and their realtor) there and had a great time. 




That night Erin was able to start sewing. I think we have a sewer in the family!



Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Thanksgiving Trip - Tuesday

Today was Kya's day to visit UC Davis and meet with two students to show her the College of Ag and Environmental Sciences, specifically the Vet Med and Animal Science areas. 

The pic below is the surgery room that we were able to view. 





Had 2 VERY informative guides. We all were quite impressed with the breadth of educational opportunities at UC Davis. The vet medicine program is known to be the best in the US. 

Also had the chance to walk in the Arboretum which I love to do. It's a peaceful and relaxing walk. 

For the evening activities, we went to Old Sacramento to see the Christmas lights. 




Then back to Drew and Erin's place for a fire outside with hot chocolate. In case I haven't told you, their backyard was transformed by HGTV before they bought the house. There's a fire pit, a shuffleboard court, and a TV. It's a wonderful space. 






Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Thanksgiving trip - Sunday and Monday

Went to a Methodist church very close to Drew and Erin's house called The Table. Loved the non-traditional service. The contemporary band and vocalists played a diverse styles of music from Raggae to Jazz in English, Spanish and Swahili! It is such an open and welcoming place to worship. 



Since it was a rainy day in Sac, we decided to hit up some wineries then back to meet Shan and Carl. They flew to Boston for Thanksgiving with Carl's family and were coming back. So they picked Kya and me up and away we went to Nevada City to show Kya where Shan and Carl live. It's about 45-60inutes northeast of Sac. 

Shannon had Monday off work so we decided to take the dogs (oh yes, I think I neglected to mention Shan left Milo and newbie Rico with Drew and Erin). Rico has a lot of energy so we decided to see if we could wear him out. 

Hiked the Independence Trail that goes along the Yuba River. 





Californians take their trails very seriously with wooden walk Ways over gorges. 



And they even have "potties" along the way!  

After the hike we took Kya downtown Nevada City shopping. 





Then took a short hike on the "ditch" trail right below Shan's house. Beautiful sunset to end our time there. 





Drove to Crooked Lane Brewery in Auburn to meet Drew and Erin for our next adventure. 

Thanksgiving 2017 - Sacramento and Nevada City

This year I'm traveling with granddaughter, Kya to show her where her uncles and aunts live. 

Flew into Sacramento Friday evening. Saturday morning we were on our way to San Francisco and Alcatraz. Kya has wanted to visit Alcatraz so her ticket is her birthday gift!




Golden Gate Bridge 










Sun setting on Alcatraz.


Bay Bridge


Playing Yatzee at Drew and Erin's new house. 


Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Oct 11 - heading home

Starting for home. Here's what we saw on the way out of the Park.  





A whole flock of turkeys having a conference about whatever turkeys talk about!

Going to stop at Buffalo Trace Distillery first. 

Oct 10 - Bledsoe Creek State Park

We decided to drive west in Tennessee to miss the rain from Hurricane Nate but unfortunately that didn't happen. Cloudy skies and rain found us. 

When we pulled into the campsite, here's what we saw. Can you see the deer. They were all over the park. In fact, they treated the park like their home. They weren't afraid of us or the dogs. 




A better pic of the BIG one. 

There are lots of trails and we were able to hike a couple of them in between rain drops. 

Lenny had fun playing in the creek. In fact, he played so long that he started shivering. So dried him off and wrapped him in a blanket. 



We could view the sunset from our camp site.