God's Word for Today

Friday, October 30, 2009

Chinatown

We spent about an hour walking around Chinatown. That was more than enough…

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Lots of things floating in jars, lots of dried things in baskets, lots of hanging things tied in bunches of string, lots of wonderful smelling food, lots of cheap souvenirs, watches, wallets, handbags, flip flops and jewelry.

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Origami folded money.

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My name in Chinese, and no I wasn’t going to pay $5.99 for it so I cheated and just took a picture of it instead. My Bad!

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Lot’s of things in here that I am sure have some unique purpose!IMG_0206

Then there were these.

After a brief internet search I found this out about them. They are called The Beckoning Cat. Who knew!

Well that was Chinatown in a nutshell, but in Chinatown they dried the nutshell’s and then grind it up and serve it as a medicinal tea which promotes long life and increased vitality!

再见 zài jiàn - good bye in Chinese!

Robin

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Hit’n the Street’s

Our first full day in San Francisco just happen to coincide with not one, not two but THREE major events. Unbeknownst to us we arrived in San Francisco along with EVERY OHTER PERSON ON THE PLANET !!!

We were just there for a simple vacation however everyone one else's was there to see Tiger Woods play in some PGA thing, the 49ers play the Falcons or the Blue Angels Air Show over San Francisco Bay. 

As we waited for the Blue Angles to perform the hub’s and I walked around Fisherman’s Warf.

We experienced a plethora of various street performers, balloon artists, spray paint artist, musicians, magicians', and several celebrity impersonators all graciously accepting donations to help support their unique lifestyles.

Not pictured in this 4 minute-ish video, the man dressed in a business suit made entirely of the comics section of the newspaper, shoes and all, a rather tall young man dressed in a rhinestone encrusted robot suit, a rather untalented Michael Jackson impersonator and contortionist trying to escape from a straight jacket while performing his stand up comedy/magic routine.

As we were walking back to our car I turn to my left and this is what I see!

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Never underestimate the advertising draw of a skeleton bolted to the roof of a hearse I always say!

I was very impressed with the band from the air force or maybe that were navy I was not sure. The military was there in force accompanying the Blue Angels Air show. They were taking full advantage with recruiting tents from all branches of the military.

Join the military and be in a rock band! 

Blessings

Robin

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Random Dozen

Before I answer my Random Dozen hosted by 2nd Cup of Coffee questions this week I have to share gush a bit.

Yesterday Linda over at 2nd Cup of Coffee picked up the wooden shoe and got the second leg of the “I Won…You Win!” Giveaway/Carnival rolling. I have to confess to a bit of trepidation. I was uncertain if this giveaway/carnival thing would take off. Visions of the proverbial blogtrain wreck played over and over in my bloggy imagination. Your responses just blew me away. That’s why I love all of y’all! If you have not checked out Linda’s post from yesterday go over and give it a look!

 

1. Tell me something about your favorite teacher.

Trying not to get to depressing here, but I don’t have a lot of warm fuzzy memories about my childhood. School for me, well I know I received an education, but I don’t have that many memories that stand out to me as moments I want to remember. I do have a few memories of one of my art teachers. Her name was Mrs. Anderson, she was my high school art teacher. She was one of those free spirited art teachers that dressed differently, I remember her brightly colored flowing scarves and unusual dangly earrings.


2. Tell me about one pivotal moment in your life.

I received a cancer diagnosis in 1993. I had a strong willed, stubborn, relentless 4 year old child, a floundering marriage, rocky financial situation and then the phone rang and my life suddenly changed. I hung up the phone and I was sure that at that moment I had the worst life on the planet.

Talk about a pivotal moment in life! I did not see it at the time but it was at this very difficult time that I began a life long journey with Christ!

God in His infinite wisdom had great purpose in mind for me during this time in my life. It took many, many, many, many,many years for me to see His infinite wisdom in my diagnosis. But, I Praise God for His limitless patience. I Praise God for His healing touch, for medical professionals, for due diligence to maintaining a constant watch for reoccurrence, for those who have received a cancer diagnoses you will know what I mean.

I no longer live in fear but there is always a gentle nagging as I approach my yearly gynie appointment that something will show up!

God is so good and His compassions never fail.

My son is 20 now, I have a 14 year old daughter. She was born almost two years to the day of my original diagnosis. They were not sure if I would be able to carry to term after the extensive surgery they did on my female plumbing, but you know God is not in the business of statistics. He is in the business of just being God!

My husband and I just celebrated our 27 th year of marriage and life is good!


3. About favorite colors--a lot of people will ask you what it is, but I want to know why it is. What feeling or memory does it evoke?

How could you ever pick a favorite color? I go through phases. Right now I am drawn to yellows. My kitchen is painted in a wonderful buttery yellow. That’s probably why I loved this house in the first place, it was painted in wonderful warm inviting colors. I loved the yellow so much I just knew that I would not have to repaint. Yellow reminds me of warmth, sunshine, it is like turning your face up to the sun and letting the warmth radiate through your skin. Love it!!!!


4. What's a sure sign that you're getting older?

What was I doing?

Why did I come in here?

Jumping for joy when there is a sale on hair color at the Rite-Ade!

Plucking white chin hairs!

Having a mini fan next to your computer in December!

Watching your grandchild crawl across your living room floor!


5. Please don't sermonize, but Halloween--is it a yes or no for you?

It is not a yes or no for me it is a love or hate for me. I very much dislike Halloween. If I could have a parental do over we would never have started the recognition of Halloween. I am so thankful that my DD is past this and we now can go out to dinner or a movie instead of trick or treating!


6. What's your favorite musical?

Oh Linda!!! How can I pick just one! Sound of Music, Oklahoma, South Pacific, Mary Poppins, Annie, Guys and Dolls, West Side Story, My Fair Lady, The King and I, Hello Dolly, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and on and on and on….oh I forgot Little Shop of Horrors, Mamma Mia, Chicago, Fame…


7. Are you more of a city mouse or country mouse?

Country mouse hands down! On our last vacation I had to confess to feelings of extreme anxiety as I forge into the massive ocean of humanity. I had longings for wide open spaces, peace and quiet, room to breath as well as not having to worry about someone trying to steal my wallet out of my purse.


8. Did you know that it is possible, for a small fee, to name a real star after someone? (It's true! Google it!) If someone were to name a star for you, would you appreciate it for its whimsy and romance, or would you say, "Are you kidding me? For $19.95 we could have gone to the movie and actually bought popcorn."

As long as I don't have to dust it, water it, clean up after it I’m good so naming a star after me well that’s kind of cool, but if I am being completely honest I would rather have a gift certificate for a date night with my husband.


This question comes from Paula at His Ways Are Not Our Ways.


9. What's the craziest thing you've ever been doing and texted during it?

I live on the wild side!

“Where R U? Meet me @ the car!” as I am walking through the family center at church!

Although I will admit to feeling like a rocket scientist when I enabled my cell phone to text directly to my facebook page. I was able to update my status while I was on vacation. I thought that was way cool. What can I say I’m easily entertained!


10. "It's not a party unless _______."

It’s at someone else's house and I don't have to do anything but attend!


11. When you're stuck in traffic or a waiting room, what do you do to pass the time? PS: There are no magazines available.

Play solitaire on my cell phone and making mental notes on my surrounding, you just never know when something blogworthy will happen.


12. If you weren't yourself, would you be friends with you?

I think….yea I probably would be friends with me!


Blessings and Happy Random Dozen

Robin

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Look! Look! Look! it’s “I Won…You Win!”

 

Be Still and Know

It’s Linda’s turn for the '”I Won…You Win!” Giveaway. Y’all go over and check out her post today. I am so excited to see who will win and where this will go next.

You can click on the button above if you want to read my original post!

Y’all I am so excited I don’t think I can stand it.

Blessings

Robin

The Food

Y’all there are so many vineyards and wineries in Napa that you could never visit them all nor should you for fear of a DUI. After one stop for a tasting we found ourselves in Rutherford. You will see Rutherford right in the middle of the map below!

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It was a quaint small town with a rather popular restaurant. There was a sign out front that read “No Corkage since 1994” Well inquiring minds had to know so upon leaving I asked the hostess what that meant. She informed me that they did not charge you to open a bottle of wine that you bring in yourself!

Well my mind went to spinning, so I pay for the wine, but you are going to charge me to open it! If they do not charge for this service at this establishment then this tells me that there are other establishment in Napa Valley that will make you pay if you want to open a bottle of wine that you have brought in.

No thank you I’ll wait until I get home and you can bring me a glass of water instead.

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Here is a picture of my $14 dollar cheeseburger! YES $14 DOLLARS! and it did not even come with fries!

IMG_0052Cheeseburger  - Fresh ground chuck roast with Cheddar on a toasted house-made egg bun . . . . 14

I love how expensive restaurants just put the numerals beside the menu item to try to lessen the blow of the cost of the food. Oh you want a cheeseburger will it’s just 14….DOLLARS!!!!!!!!!

If you’re ever in Napa Valley and you want to pay way too much for a regular cheeseburger then by all means make a stop at Rutherford Grill otherwise wait and go to Steak N’ Shake when you get home. 

But here is what you were paying for.

The lovely outside dining area sitting beside a tranquil bamboo garden with a wonderful water feature.

Here is this very inviting statue of a rather large hairy pig sitting in a water fountain with a bird perched on it’s back about to give him a good peck in the head.

Oh! Can I please have a table near the warthog please! IMG_0049 IMG_0050

I will say that I did enjoy these wonderful rosemary bushes planted in containers by the front door. They took me on a trip down memory lane to my old house. It was to wonderful to run your hand over the bushes and then to get that strong piney scent wafting from your fingertips. The aroma lingered on my fingertips all afternoon.

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At Fisherman’s Warf we fared a bit better.

These wonderful clam chowder bread bowls were very affordable. The hubs and I dove into these for a late lunch on Saturday. See the bay leaf sticking out of my bowl?

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The clam chowder was creamy, with lots of celery, potatoes and chewy clams. Now let me say up front that I am not a huge fan of seafood. It just has never been one of my favorite things to eat. But this clam chowder was very good, but then anything surrounded by freshly baked sourdough is a winner in my book. The chowder was delicious but munching down on the tangy soft chewy sourdough was the real treat!

On Monday we went back to the Warf to take the bay tour and the Hubs spots a small shop off to his left. The intoxicating aroma pulls us over. Since we had just stopped for an afternoon pick me up of a cup of coffee from the San Francisco Coffee Roasting Company well these sweet delectable creations seemed to be calling out our name.

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Y’all I watched them come off the conveyer belt fresh from the fryer and then the woman behind the counter asked did we want cinnamon sugar.

Well the only proper response was “YES!”

We strolled along Fisherman's Warf enjoying our coffee and these hot, fresh, sweet, sugary, cinnamony donuts. It was just like being in heaven, or real close I would imagine.

We stopped at Boudin’s and watched as their bakers behind the big picture window make these wonderful sourdough creations. The smell as amazing.

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They use a sourdough starter that they have been nurturing since 1849!

There were lots of street vendors, you could get all assortment of crabs, shrimp, clams, oysters, the catch of the day…if you like seafood then this is the place to go.

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On our last day in San Francisco after spending the  day at the Golden Gate Park (I am working on that post as well) we had reservations at the famous Cliff House.

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You can see the restaurant in this photo below. The Cliff house is the white building on the far right of the picture.

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If you want a very nice meal in very nice surroundings then The Cliff House is for you. The table cloths are white linen, the flowers are real and fresh, the candlelight is wonderful and the attention to detail is perfection.

IMG_0410As we sipped our wine we munched on warm sourdough bread served with real butter sprinkled with a brown spicy sea salt that was to die for. 

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This was the view for our table.

We were in one of the best table, but then we are old fogies and our reservations were for 5:15.

We got to dine on fabulous food and watch the ocean gently fade as the sun went down. We even saw a whale off in the distance while we ate our diner.

Can life get any better than that?

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IMG_0415 Now this meal warranted a picture. IMG_0417

Maple Leaf Duck - Two Ways —  roasted breast “a l’orange”

I had never had duck before. It was amazing! and no it did not taste like chicken. It was tender, and flavored with orange an the accompanying salad was dressed perfectly with a wonderful sweet and tangy orange sort of dressing with pine nuts and spicy arugula.

The only thing I did not like was the green purée of olive. It had some kind of French name but I can’t remember it (YUCK!). But then it’s ok to ask for them to hold the olives at the Olive Garden, but The Cliff House, I don't think so….

As you can tell I am not a huge fan of olive so i just enjoyed the picture it made on my plate.

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After dinner we enjoyed a glass of Port with our desert. 

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The Hubs and I shared a slice of Blackberry & Chocolate Ganache Cake with banyuls marinated berries-whipped cream & Graham’s Six Grapes Port.

Y’all I don't think I will ever be able to eat another piece of chocolate cake without wishing I had a glass of this port to go with it. The cake was OK but the port was fabulous!! The combination of the two together was the hit of the evening.

As I gave the desert menu the once over I noticed that several of the after dinner drink selections were…shall we say a bit out of our price range.

They had a few selections of brandy for $175.00 for one ounce and there was the Madera for $195.00 for 1/2 an ounce, I think that might be a sip and a half!

Needless to say we enjoyed our port at $8.00 a glass, my kind a price!!!

We left The Cliff House pleasantly satisfied knowing that we had just had a wonderful meal and were bringing our vacation to a close. We don't splurge very often on a dinner but every now and again it is worth it.

I would highly recommend it!

Well that does it for the food!

On to Golden Gate Park.

I have saved the best pictures for last. I will do a short post about Chinatown and some of the more unusual things we saw in San Francisco and then I will conclude with my post on Golden Gate Park.

Are y’all sick of my vacation yet?

Blessings

Robin

Monday, October 26, 2009

Why we love our children…

It was leftover 15 bean soup tonight for supper. It was just as tasty as the first time. The rule at our house is that if mom cooks then it’s the DD who clear the table and loads the dishwasher.

We had spent a pleasant dinner enjoying our soup chatting and laughing. I instruct the DD to first empty the dishwasher as it was full and then to load it with the dirty dishes. She is scraping the small amount of un-eaten soup into the disposal and she looks up at me and says “It looks like throw-up!”

Why thank you sweetie, I am so glad you enjoyed the soup that reminds you of vomit!

Blessings

Robin

Fall Into Flavor – 15 Bean Soup

 

Joining Lid for this weeks installment of Fall Into Flavor.

I don't know about you but when the weather turns a bit chilly my thoughts turn to a big pot of soup on the stove.

I don't necessarily have a recipe for you today, I rarely make the same pot of soup twice. I am a chop and dump kind of girl but then soups are very forgiving.

The basics of making a really good 15 bean soup are very simple. All you need are a few basic ingredients and a really good sharp knife.

You need to start the night before you want to make the soup by soaking the beans in water overnight!

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You will need 2 medium onions, some celery, a few cloves of garlic, a small bag of carrots and a nice, big, fat, meaty, delicious ham bone.

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Were chopping…..

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Like they say on all the cooking shows, use the green leafy part of the celery it really does give the pot of soup a lot of flavor.

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More chopping….

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Peel you carrots and your garlic…

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More chopping….

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Chicken stock…now if I were Ina Garten

I would be using my homemade chicken stock but since even Ina says it’s ok to use a canned broth or stock then in my book it’s OK. Plus who has time to make homemade chicken stock…Ina Garten’s production assistant that’s who.

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Sauté you chopped veggies in oil until tender.

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Y’all check out this ham bone.

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There is a ton of meat on this. Skoots1mom clued me in on a tip. I went to the local Honey Baked Ham store and picked up a few ham bones to have in my freezer. I did not know they sold just the ham bone. You can bet for sure that it will be a regular stop for me from now on. I may not be able to afford a whole Honey Baked ham, but I can afford $6.11 for a ham bone!!!! I actually cut almost a pound of meat of to set aside to add to the soup just before serving.

After your beans have soaked overnight, toss them in a colander and give them a good rinse.

Add the drained and rinsed off beans to the sautéed vegetables and give them a good stir.

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Add the ham bone…

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Pour in the chicken stock.

Add a few bay leaves salt, pepper and season to your liking.

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Simmer on low for two to three hours until beans are tender and the broth is fully flavored with the ham bone.

The ham bone should fall apart and all the meat on the bone should fall off into the soup.

Before we ladle or soup up I want to share a super double top secret Be Still and Know kitchen trick with all of you.

How many times did I have to soak my soup pots in the sink for days and days because it got scorched on the bottom? More time than I can count sadly enough.

How many many, many years have I dreamed of having a really good stock pot with a nice heavy bottom to help prevent scorching. Regretfully I still do not have a decent stock pot. But I have figured out how to prevent getting that nasty scorching that tends to happen if your not paying attention.

For example if your making soup, working on a post, checking your facebook page,balancing your check book and feeding your granddaughter all at the same time and you forget to stir your soup.

It is a bit tricky but if you take the back burner grate and set it counter clockwise to the grate over the burner you are using and then keep the flame on low it raises your pot up so you can simmer away for several hours without fear of getting a scorched bottom or a ruined pot of soup!

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After a few hours of simmering your soup is good to go.

Be sure to give your soup a taste before serving to adjust the seasoning if necessary. With a big ol ham bone you should be careful with the salt, just be sure to taste it as you go.

Serve with buttermilk biscuits or cornbread muffins and a side salad and you’re in ham bone heaven.

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The beauty of making a big old pot of soup are the leftovers which just get better the next day.

Blessings

Robin

Saturday, October 24, 2009

The Random Dozen - Let’s Expound Shall We…

For those of us who participated in last weeks Random Dozen hosted by Lid at 2nd Cup of Coffee, well a funny thing happen this morning during my bible sty time. Not funny cry till you wet yourself funny but funny in an under God’s magnifying glass kind of way.

Question #12 was this…

October is traditionally "open house" time in public schools. If you had a literal open house in your home (like a reception) what light snacks would you serve visitors and what would you show them (as in art projects, graded papers) that would uniquely represent you?

Well as I have mentioned before I’m participating in a Disciple Bible Study this year. It is Disciple III. It mainly focuses on the Prophets and the Letters of Paul.

This week we are in Ezekiel. Y’all Ezekiel is the prophet who had the most incredible prophetic visions.

Some scientific types have tried to elude to the notion that Ezekiel had an alien encounter rather that an encounter with the Living God. If you have seen the movie Knowing or have ever watched the History Channel you will know what I am talking about.

But I digress.

Anywhoo, I am reading Ezekiel chapter 8. I am sifting through all the prophetic imagery. I regularly look at the notes that coincide with each passage and what do I read?

8:6ff In scene after scene, God reveled to Ezekiel the extent to which the people had embraced idolatry and wickedness. God’s Spirit works within us in a similar way, revealing sin that lurks in our lives. How comfortable would you feel if God held an Open House in your life today?

This is why they call God’s word living and active people!

Three short days after I had spent time thinking about what I would serve at my Open House and what I would display around my home that would uniquely represent me, well God decide to put His unique spin on it as only God can do.

Hot Spiced Cider is good and all, and who doesn't like a Queso Cheese Dip and Tortilla Chips, but let’s look a bit deeper. God says let’s look at the things that you can’t set out for public display.

So to expound in question 12 a bit ask yourself:

How comfortable would you feel if God held an Open House in your life today?

I am going to be doing some major pondering on this in the days to come.

Blessings

Robin

Friday, October 23, 2009

Fisherman’s Warf

 

On Saturday morning we hit the ground running and were off to Fisherman’s Warf.

What we did not know was that there were a few other folks in town as well. The Blue Angles were scheduled to perform an air show over San Francisco Bay, the Atlanta Falcons were playing the 49ers and Tiger Woods was doing some PGA thing as well.

Needless to say there were only a few billion people at Fisherman’s Warf on the day we were there.

Y’all it’s confirmed and I am not ashamed to admit it. I’m a country girl at heart. Give me the peace and quiet of the corn growing and the gently babbling of the stream out back as the cows lull about and I am perfectly content!

I will be completely honest and admit to feeling a bit hugely, extremely, major big time and freakishly overwhelmed at the massive throng of people that seemed to move continuously about. It was like being swept away by a wave of constantly moving humanity. I had moments when I would loose sight of my husband and then have to stop and try and locate his head if I could above the crowd. Undaunted I pushed my apprehension aside and forged ahead into the crowd!

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This 3 minute video is strictly a bit of people watching, the hubs was in the bathroom line so I had a few minutes to kill as I waited on him. Sometimes the most interesting things come when you just sit back and watch for a bit.

One of the most interesting aspect of Fisherman’s Warf, for me anyway, were the sea lions.

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They were wonderfully verbal as well as extremely aromatic. They were a hoot to watch, playful and graceful all at the same time.  Here is the link for The Marine Mammal Center, there was a large information board there with lots of fact about the sea lions. You can click here if you want to read about the history of the sea lions at Pier 39.

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Here are a few minutes (almost three minutes) of video of the sea lions at Fisherman's Warf.

I am planning an entire post on the food we ate while in San Francisco but I could not do a post on Fisherman’s Warf without including the crabs. Theses crustacean seemed to be around every corner.

There were multitudes of people consuming these at out door table, as the walked around. We however did not stop to enjoy one but we enjoyed watching everyone else enjoy them!IMG_0483

You could smell the sourdough, the slightly tangy, very yeasty aroma of fresh bread filled the air the closer you got to Boudin’s. They have a huge picture window where the bread bakers stand and mold these wonderful sourdough creations.

I really wanted to buy one but I thought that $27.00 was a bit much to pay for a sourdough lobster! It was enough to just let the aroma waft over me.

Y’all is there anything better than the smell of fresh baked bread?IMG_0512 There was lots to do at Fisherman's Warf.

A Carousel ride, a bay tour, bungee trampolines, shopping, every restaurant know to man as well as enough gift shops to choke a horse.

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Lot’s of beautiful flowers!

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On Monday we came back to the Warf to take a tour of the bay. This is a close up of Alcatraz!

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The tour went out into the bay and under the Golden Gate Bridge. It was amazing to see the bridge up close. And just for the record. The Bridge is not panted gold, it is painted in International Orange, go figure??

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We enjoyed our time at The Warf, I mean after all you can’t go to San Francisco without making a detour to this quintessential representation of San Francisco.

It was great, just make sure your visit doesn't coincide with Fleet Week, The Blue Angels, the PGA and Tiger Woods and a major NFL game!!!!!!!!

Blessings

Robin

Golden Gate Park is next! and y’all it was amazing!

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