Santa Cruz Day

We drove down to Santa Cruz so mom could put her feet in the ocean. She will take any opportunity available to see the ocean and "get in the ocean". Dad was doing his usual vacation standby and Chris was unavailable for photos.

Mom and Dad's Visit

So, September was tourist month for the Binggelis! Mom and Dad came the first week of September after seeing Grandpa K up in Oregon. We took dad's Escape into the city so that we could actually drive down Lombard. I must admit it was scary driving in the city. You have to maneuver between the buses, people, trolleys, taxis, other cars, lanes ending, starting, crazy intersections. I may have blown a red light...I can neither confirm nor deny it. Dad took over at Lombard, I can't tell if he actually wanted to drive it himself, or if he was terrifed being a passenger. I do recommend the 5 miles an hour as posted.

We also went to the Golden Gate. Dad had seen it before, but it was mom's first time there. I wanted to walk over the bridge, but mom just can't handle much hiking around.

Trip To Jenn's

I've been informed that I'm behind on the blog and I need to get it in gear! This is from August. I snuck down to see Jenn and the boys before the school year got going. Popsicles in the back yard at moms...its the picture of summer. As you see, Isaac didn't like his flavor and promptly gave his to Josh. Jenn's was fun...we laughed and ran errands...just getting ready for the school year.

Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz was our last outing of August. We took advantage of the beautiful views of the city from the island. There wasn't any fog that day, so we got some good pictures.

"The Rock"

The ferry ride out there was $26.50 and you have to buy the tickets a few days in advance because they sell out. The price includes an audio head set tour that does a good job of teaching about the prison and keeps people moving so the crowds aren't too crazy. The prison is maintained well which makes it seem not so scary...we toured the Mansfield Prison in Ohio (the one used for Shawshank Redemption) and it was falling apart...very creepy. We walked around the prison itself, but didn't tour the gardens or staff living areas.

Golden Gate Bridge

We went out to the bridge today. You know "the bridge'. There are several in the area, but this is the one on all the postcards. Now, in our vow to make the most of public transit, we took the BART into the city, then walked to Fisherman's Wharf (1.3 miles), then took the MUNI bus over to the bridge, then walked across the bridge (1.7 miles), then continued walking into Sausalito to take the Ferry back (2.2 miles), then back at the Wharf we walked back to the BART station (1.3 miles). That means I walked 6.5 miles today...I can eat all the ice cream I want!

The 10th Anniversary of His 21st Birthday

Chris turned 31 last week and he said all he wanted to do was get on the Playstation...all day. How do you say no to that? He got some new running gear and an ice cream maker...the ice cream out here just isn't Ohio ice cream. I think Californians are afraid of fat...but its not called ice skim milk.

A's Baseball

Wednesday was our first baseball game. The $2.00 tickets and $1.00 hot dogs were too tempting to pass up. California baseball is a little different...you make the call. No one showed up on time...people were still making their way into seats into the 2nd and 3rd inning. You could buy SuperRopes and Churros from vendors, but no Moo Malts. And we were introduced to Cold August nights in the Bay...65' at 7:30pm. We also won, which was a nice change of pace from Cincinnati.