Usher Concert

Andrew surprised me with tickets to see Usher about a month ago. We saw a bus with an advertisement on the side and I casually had said, “An Usher concert would be fun to go to.” There was no response from him and I didn’t expect one. I wouldn’t push Andrew into going to a concert where he’d certainly be outnumbered by thousands of screaming female fans. When we got home he disappeared for a few minutes then tossed a couple Usher tickets at me. Pretty cool, huh? So last night was the big night and it was such a good time.  Usher sang nearly every one of his hits and the dancing was amazing. He even did a tribute to Michael Jackson where song clips and video played while Usher performed MJ’s famous dances. It was incredible and actually felt like we were at a Michael concert for a moment. Andrew was such a good sport and while I couldn’t get him to stand up and dance with me, I was just glad to have him as my date for the evening!

Everywhere You Look…

I was singing the themes song to Full House all weekend. Why, you ask?  Because we saw the house that’s featured in the show. I know they didn’t actually film here but this is the home that in the show’s openings. Oh, how I miss the TGIF lineup on Friday nights!

After that little adventure, we parked in a lot near Pier 39.  We brought along our bikes and rode them to the base of the Golden Gate Bridge where we stopped for some photo ops, then rode up the hill and over the bridge.  It was cloudy and sprinkling the entire ride to the bridge but, amazingly, the sky cleared and it was a gorgeous ride over the bridge. The only thing that could have been better would be to ride over it with the Tanner clan themselves in that sweet red convertible of theirs. Have Mercy!

Bridge view from Golden Gate Park before our ride



 

Alcatraz View from Ferry



Tanner House

When we reached the other side we biked into Sausalito where we promptly hit a candy store (we needed fuel for the ride back home, right?!). We found a rack and locked our bikes up so we could walk around downtown and browse the shops. When we were finished, we caught a ferry back to San Francisco. Unfortunately, it began to pour while we were on the ferry which made for a rough ride back to the car. And a pretty gross-feeling hour ride back home. But it was completely worth it.

This Is Where I Thought We Were Moving

We decided that this would be the weekend that we would explore the north central coast. We left our house early on Saturday and first stopped in Santa Cruz. We walked along the famous Beach Boardwalk, which reminded us very much of an amusement park where we both worked while growing up in Monticello, Indiana. And just like Indiana Beach, the Boardwalk had many of the same carnival-style rides. We walked the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf where we saw plenty of sea lions. I just love to see those big sweeties and hear them barking!

We headed on down the coast to Monterey where we stopped in the shops at Fisherman’s Wharf and saw more of those barking cuties. We were heading onward to Big Sur where we had a camping reservation for the night but Andrew saw a huge army surplus store which he had to explore. I’ve been in these stores before with him and this one wasn’t any less scary/creepy than the others, i.e., very dimly lit dirty building with lots of people holding guns. But outside the store there was a sign like a beacon in the night guiding us toward our next adventure… the 2011 Artichoke Festival in the Artichoke Capital of the World (I didn’t make that up), Castroville, CA! This little gem of a festival was really fun and had great food. We snacked on roasted artichokes, funnel cakes, and homemade root beer before heading back to the car. We stopped a couple more times to pick up some produce at roadside stands along the way (these are so common in all the farmland and are impossible to resist).

We knew we were in Big Sur when we started seeing the breathtaking coastal views. That’s really not an exaggeration.  I was gasping when I saw the coast of Big Sur.  It’s absolutely spectacular. We pulled into the campground we were going to spend the night in and set up the tent at our site- a little spot along the river. We didn’t have much time left before sundown so we hopped back in the car to drive around and see some more of the beautiful coast. Andrew had been to the area before, so he showed me the spots where he had spent time and also told me, “When I thought about living in California, this is where I thought we were moving.” This made us both laugh because it is quite different from where we live. We are both more small-town than we realized before moving to California and living in the crowded area that we do can feel stifling at times; however, we both feel so lucky to have these gorgeous areas around us to be our “escape.” And we intend to see as much beauty in California as we can so we are ready when it is time to move on to another location.

Welcome Home, Marc!

The fun outings we anticipated having are falling by the wayside as we have been searching for a car. We sold one of our vehicles after having some problems arise with the company who was set to tow the car to California, so the decision was made to let the car go and get another upon arriving. This was easier said than done and proved to be a much longer and difficult process than we had hoped for. But it all worked out because we now are the proud owners of Marc (we didn’t choose this name- his plate has ‘MRC’ and a string of numbers, clearly making him a “Marc”). He’s happy to join his sister, Ann, in the driveway (she was named for her license plate, too). This is exciting news as we now have a vehicle that will accommodate our outdoor gear. Bikes and kayaks go on top, while Hazel’s cage and camping gear have plenty of room when we fold down the seats in the back.

So now that the car hunt is officially over, we’ve freed time up for some activities that are more what we had in mind.

Getting Settled

We’ve now got the new carpet installed and I am thrilled. There was a time I was so not house-proud that I thought I could put off posting pictures of the place forever. I’m ready now. Here’s the casa de Timko/Henning, making her debut:

 

There are a lot of things that I would like to change/update, but thankfully I have Andrew to remind me that it’s just a rental and to save my efforts on a home we actually purchase. We figure in the coming year we will find the city in this area that suits us best and may choose to move again at that time.