This is a brief "just fyi"....... :-)
Phil and I enjoyed a very relaxing Saturday and Sunday this past weekend. We then decided to go on an outing yesterday (Monday - Memorial Day). The first treat for me was when Phil took me for a drive through the huge Genentech complex where he's presently engaged for IBM. I found the above fixture (Phil calls it a wind chime! ha) on the campus fascinating. We don't know what it is, but I like it!
I stuck my camera out the window and captured the above shot as we were headed toward the Golden Gate Bridge. We had decided to drive up to Sausalito and have lunch.
Driving northward across the Golden Gate. There were large numbers of people walking and biking across the bridge yesterday. The view of San Francisco is awesome from that viewpoint.
Just another pretty sight along the coast of California. :-)
After driving through Sausalito, we decided to have a bite to eat and settled on The Spinnaker Restaurant, which is located right on the water. The "walls" in the dining area are floor-to-ceiling glass, so the views from the restaurant are terrific! We were seated in a perfect spot, and I was able to capture the above photo while we had a late lunch.
Outside the restaurant, looking southward with a view (in the hazy distance) of Alcatraz Island (on the left) and the city of San Francisco.
Sailboats EVERYWHERE! And, there were still lots of them moored in the marinas. I thought this "forest" of sailboat masts was fun.
Heading back across the bridge just as fog (or a low marine layer) moved in over the top of it.
I've always wanted to visit the area that provides the view above, and we went there yesterday after having lunch in Sausalito.
It was such fun to finally get to this spot. It was very, very cold and WINDY!! Phil and I agreed that anyone living in that area just north of the Golden Gate Bridge probably has no need of an air conditioner! You may recall Mark Twain's words, which went something like, "The coldest day I ever spent was a summer day in San Francisco." :-)
What a gorgeous sight! We were very happy that it was mostly sunny so that I could take these pictures!
After our time in Sausalito and Marin County on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge, we made our way back through San Francisco toward our "home" down near the SF Airport. I'm always intrigued by the TransAmerica Building.
Saw this other beautiful building, and just had to capture its dome.
Then I decided to take a shot of the building to which the dome belongs. Can you believe all the wires going to and fro across the street on which we were driving?
Once Phil came "home" from the Genentech office yesterday afternoon, we readied ourselves and went out for our regular walk. We LOVE the facility of the fabulous walkway in front of the Marriott here right by the San Francisco Airport, and there's SO much beauty and excitement that we enjoy each time we go out walking. It's a very special time for us as we talk, laugh, sort life's circumstances, and meditate on God's goodness to us.
How blessed we are!!
Phil standing by the lovely flowers, in holiday-appropriate patriotic colors, in front of the hotel.
Close-up of the "blue" flowers. The little blur near the bottom of the photo is blossoms moving frantically in the strong wind!
Pinkish-lavender ground cover...but it's actually covering rocks!
There is a very small bridge along the walking trail, and the bridge spans a small canal that is part of the flood control system. As you can see, there is more ground cover along the banks of the canal.
I love snapdragons, and I think this color looks good enough to eat!
Obviously, the critter in this photo (which I didn't even see when I focused my camera on this blossom) prefers eating yellow, or "lello," as one of our little ones used to say. :-)
Once we reach the north end of the walkway (we can head north or south when we exit the hotel onto the walkway) which ends right at the edge of the San Francisco Airport perimeter, we turn around and head back in the direction of the hotel. We love watching the planes approach and land, or take off, during our walks. You can see the "silver bird" approaching the landing strip in the photo above.
We're approaching the hotel as I take the above photo. This walkway goes on for at least five miles right along the water's edge!
We enter the hotel at the spot where the individuals in this photo are standing.
This final photo....the red, white and "blue" (actually deep purple) flowers planted in front of the hotel in honor of Memorial Day. (Same as in the first photos.)
Today is Thursday, May 24th. This past Tuesday morning, early, I flew to San Francisco in order to spend eight days here with Phil. (He had flown out on Monday, a day ahead of me.)
I then zoomed the lens of the camera for the photo above.
After waiting a short time, I was able to capture the sun's first rays of exposure as it made its way over the landscape.
Phil and I treasure every sunrise we witness here as we look out our hotel window, and we thank God for every day we are blessed to share together.
The sun begining its trek, spreading brilliant light the moment it spills over the mountain in the distance.
A photo taken in the same direction later in the day when the sun was basically overhead, and a 747 was reaching the end of the runway where it would turn and get ready for takeoff. Notice that the tide is out.
What a delight to get out for a walk along the bay once Phil gets "home" from the office....just as we did yesterday afternoon. I decided to take my camera with me, just in case there was a picture to be taken. I found flowers! :-)
The wind was blowing, so Phil kindly held this blossom still so that I could focus on it.
Oh, the colors we behold in the mornings!
The very next morning, May 8th, after flying back to our home-away-from-home in the San Francisco area where Phil continues his consulting engagement at Genentech, I took this photo of the sun as it rose once again over the bay and the SFO landing strip. What a front "porch" we enjoy here!
Later that same day, one of those "mysterious" white 747's with no logo or writing on it, waiting behind a United 747 (with new paint job) as they approach takeoff positioning.
I LOVE this place! Thank You, Lord, for the blessings we enjoy...one of the greatest being that in spite of Phil's full time travel for IBM, I am able to be with him no matter where he happens to be on an engagement.
Phil and I spent last weekend at a wonderful rustic cabin in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, with Phil's brother and sister and their spouses. We had a wonderful time together.
This is a view from the back porch of Grandma's Cabin, sans fog. :-)
One of our outings was to Mast's ("old timey") General Store. It's impossible to explain what it was like to be taken back in time as we crossed the threshhold and entered the building! What a fabulous "open window" to the past for all the modern tourists who flock to Blowing Rock and the surrounding area of mountainous North Carolina.
Our sister-in-law took this picture of Phil and me in the candy section of Mast's General Store, where there are barrels and barrels of all the old-fashioned candies we loved as children --- and still do, such as (my favorites) Mary Janes & Squirrel Nut Chews! :-)
