Well, we’re back in good ol Iowa after a long, LOVELY vacation in California! We were so blessed to be able to go and we made sure that every morning before we left the hotel, we prayed together. Prayed that we would have patience with one another (as NEITHER of us knew our way around), grace, a joyful attitude, gratefulness, the list goes on and on. And you know what? Our days were FILLED with grace and laughter and patience and love.  It was a wonderful thing.

Now, for some highlights:

SAN FRAN

• Our hotel was a couple steps away from a Fresh store. If you are unfamiliar with these products, please run RUN to your nearest Sephora (or if you’re lucky enough to have  a Fresh STORE) and pick up their Sugar Lemon or Sugar Lychee sprays and lotions. Heaven!!! Even the shop itself is sweet beyond belief. It looked like how I would decorate a baby girl nursery/how Chris would design a sweet wedding invitation.
• Drizzly, rainy, cool weather. I got to wear my new Keens and my new scarf and Chris always looks dashing in his hats. Loved it. Felt like May.
• Fisherman’s Wharf. Seals are really loud, obnoxious creatures, aren’t they? HEAPS of them were being obese lazy punks and just SPRAWLED on a barge right outside a restaurant. They barely moved when a piece of bread came flying at their heads from the balcony. If they couldn’t reach it with their tongues, they wouldn’t get it. Ugh. AND they were loud and being dumb. I just may have a video of Christopher imitating them. Oscar.
• ALCATRAZ!!! Delightfully creepy! SPEAKING of creepy, did you know there was an inmate on Alcatraz named “Creepy” Karpis? And why was he called Creepy, you ask? Well, my friends, he walked around on his tiptoes. ALL THE TIME. *Shudder* The audio tour was somewhat disturbing, as they added sound effects and background noise to the narrarators’ stories. Men hollering, a “stabbing”, knives clanking, you get the idea.
• The Bart transportation system. Subway of sorts, train of sorts. We had a lovely experience on the Bart on the way to see the Eagleses. Eagles’. Eagless.  We climbed aboard and saw two cops standing in front of a woman who was literally pouting, arms crossed, lip out, slumped in her chair. As we were boarding, the cops were saying to her, “If you don’t quiet down, you’ll have to leave! Ma’am…MA’AM!!” She was grumbling about something.
  The next stop, the cops left. Now, mind you, as I led the way onto the Bart, I quickly chose the seats closest to the doors. Nearest to the cops. Because what safer place to be than by a cop? Right? Now, as the cops departed, I suddenly realized, we were sitting across the aisle from a woman WHO WAS BEING REPRIMANDED BY POLICE OFFICERS! Greeeeat…maybe she’ll just pout the rest of the way there. Hmm. 5, maybe 6 minutes passed and Homegirl starts rockin back and forth, her voice growing louder and louder. Most of her rant was unintelligable, but what we gathered was something about the end times, “casting the first lot”, Jesus, and Lord save me, DEMONS. Oh boy. I stared at Chris’ cheek, pretending to be deep in conversation with him. At one (foolish) point, I looked over at her and she was LEANED FORWARD in her chair, her Crazy Eyes boring right into mine. She said something (again, I couldn’t understand her) TO me and I just shook my head, pointed to my ear, and shrugged, like, “Sorry! I’d LOVE to chat, but it’s just too darn loud in here!” Oh mercy. As SOON as the Bart slowed at the next stop, Chris and I (and every other person in our car!) got up to leave! That’s weird! We’re ALL getting off at the Lake Merritt stop? WEIRD!!! What a coincidence!! (We were headed to Fremont, actually).  As we were leaving, Homegirl shouted, “EVERYONE’S going to the LAKE!!!!!!” Yes, yes we are.
• Pat & Marieta Boberg. Chris’ childhood friend and his LOVELY wife, took us around their town (their town for not much longer! Yay Iowa!). Lombard St (crazy twisty) was panic-inducing. And Limon, DELICIOUS Peruvian tapas. Who’da thunk??
• And finally, our dear lovely newlywed friends, Nathan and Jessica Eagles. Married just a couple days over one month, they are sweetness and light. We spent a FULL day with them, started with their church in Fremont, had lunch, went to Haight Ashbury (what is that I smell? INCENSE? nooo…….), H&M, and a cutie little restaurant for dinner. We couldn’t get enough, so Monday night, we invited them to come get drinks with us at Edinborough’s Castle, a dive pub in downtown San Fran.  We loved being with them! Thanks for hanging out with us!

I have to do work now…booo….I’ll write about L.A. later on!! WOOOOHOOO!!! And maybe smarty pants Christopher can add pics. I, personally, cannot do it.