This weekend found the family scrounging their closets for pink and yellow to dress for Ada's pink lemonade birthday party. Did I mention that Ada's favorite color is PINK? The weather was cooperative as the Eide clan gathered for the occasion along with friends Craig and Jen and kids. There was food aplenty crowned with a six layer (shades of pink) birthday cake made by Marti. Ada relished the evening with its sweets, gifts and attention. Esther and I also joined my family in a birthday gathering for my mother who will turn 89 next week. She is looking healthy and her coughing has decreased. One more year and she will make it to 90.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Monday, April 09, 2012
messing about in Sacramento
The last two days of our Spring break were spent messing around in Sacramento with my sister Ellen. We spent time in historic Auburn, highway 49 (Sutter Mill - birthplace of the gold rush) Folsom Lake, Old Sac and the capital, as well as some districts of Sacramento that we had never seen. We ended our time with an Saturday night Easter service at Ellen's church before hitting the I5 for the highway grind home.
Friday, April 06, 2012
running out of fingers
Our final day on the mission trail found us visiting a record four missions. The thirteen missions that we visited this week leave us just eight more in the Bay area for another time. A couple of the missions that we visited the last day were pretty remote. We are going to spend our last couple of days with my sister in Sacramento. It's a little cool but plenty sunny!
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
One of these is not like the others
Day three of mission touring and they were starting to blend together until La Purismo. Most of the missions are now located within a town or city and the mission is operated by the catholic church. The gardens and grounds are manicured and the atmosphere is peaceful within the bustle surrounding. This is obviously not the original condition as the missions were dusty, busy centers of farming and industry surrounded by barren country. La Purisimo is much more authentic without the hustle and bustle. The mission is out in the country and is maintained by the state as a state park. We spent a couple of hours enjoying the grounds and historical sites. Tonight is in Pismo Beach.
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
mission hunting
Today was another warm sunny day tracking down missions. We did three again today. It would be pretty hard to do more than three in a day if you spent any time at each mission. They open at 9:00 and close at 5:00; and then there's travel time on clogged southern California freeways. The mission trail skirts around the outside of LA: San Gabriel, San Fernando and Ventura. Our GPS is sure coming in handy! We have enjoyed stopping in different communities that we would never otherwise visit. The missions are usually near the center of town, so we get a flavor for each town. The temperature was in the 80's at noon in San Fernando, but in the 60's in Ventura in the late afternoon.
Monday, April 02, 2012
mission meandering
Today we started the California missions tour. There are 21 Spanish missions, all about a day's horse ride away from each other stretched along the coast from San Diego to Sonoma. Since our van goes at least three times as fast as a horse, we got to three missions today. We started in San Diego de Alcala with the 'mother mission' and it's visionary Father Serra. We next visited San Luis Rey in Oceanside and San Juan Capistrano. The weather was great as we strolled through each enjoying the grounds and gardens in the bright sun light. We also found time to enjoy a little of the beach at Laguna Beach. We are in a motel in Costa Mesa tonight, resting up for a new adventure tomorrow.
Sunday, April 01, 2012
Sun at last!
After months of rain and cold, Esther and I are finally enjoying some 70 degree sunshine. However, we had to drive all the way to San Diego to find it. Northern California was cold so we kept going. After spending most of last night driving with a little sleep at a rest area, we are enjoying a motel at Point Loma. We enjoyed the lighthouse park and Balboa Park and dinner in the Hillcrest district. We are looking forward to some time in the sunshine.
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