We decided to visit San Mateo since Kavitha had gone to Chicago during the summer to help care for my dad after he had a cardiac triple bypass surgery in July. The hard part was working out the timing. The Hancock girls decided to go to Tupelo for Thanksgiving, so we had the Gilliam family to the house at the same time. Kristen had planned a trip to Mexico in December, so we had limited time to get a trip in! We decided to go to California right before Christmas.
We got there on Friday night after a long day of travel (stopover in Las Vegas where Melody and I played a dollar in slots). We had a narrow escape from problems when a fine lady from Southwest magically rescued the tickets I had apparently NOT purchased for Melody and Kristen. We had to move our flights a little later, but we made it to Oakland and rented a car for the 40 min drive to San Mateo. Melody and Kristen stayed in Devika's room and Randall and I stayed downstairs where Pokey held fort.
The next day, we just visited in the morning with them but we later took a ride out to the Foster City area while Kavitha stayed at the house waiting for Madhu and Riya. We had lunch at Jack's Prime Burger and Shakes for lunch. We walked around and took pics (of course). Afterward, we went to Kavitha's friend to have threading done, and Madhu and Riya met us there with Devika. We also went to the grocery store and took pictures with Santa!
The next day, we met Kavitha's friend Becki Hughes to get pictures made. Unfortunately, Riya ran a low fever so we made it quick. We stopped by Stanford on the way back and had lunch at the Palo Alto Creamery downtown. We tried to find Mark Zuckerburg but didn't spend a lot of time looking for him. However, we walked around the downtown Palo Alto area and wondered how much you had to spend to live there! That evening, we exchanged presents and had a great time.
While this was all going on, Randall had been trying to get things fixed at Kavitha's house. He replaced her showerhead, replaced the door knob in the kitchen, and a few other things. So during this visit, we made a few stops at Lowes and Home Depot, also. :)
On Monday, we did a tour of the area. We stopped at Apple Headquarters, Intel, and had lunch at In N Out Burger. We also did a tour of Levi's Stadium and spent a lot of time learning about the 49ers. This was not Randall's team, but it was pretty cool being at the place the Super Bowl was going to be hosted in about a month. It was a bit rainy, but we still got to go out on the field, sit in the stands, and visit the locker rooms. Unfortunately, the rain kept on so we didn't get to visit Google Headquarters.
The next day, we stayed close to the house and just played with Devika and Riya. We had a nice dinner and enjoyed being together. We also went to San Carlos and toured the street that had the amazing Christmas lights. It was so great! We stopped for yogurt on the way home.
We had an early departure the next day but what a great time with family, and also for Kristen and Melody to get to know Randall a little better. I was so grateful!
Randall: Cool and rainy so no Golden Gate.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Ft. Payne/Mentone, August 2015
After Kristen came back from Mexico, we had a couple of weeks together to visit before she moved into the dorm for her first semester of college. When Melody went to college, I did pretty well in letting her do her thing. It was easy then...Kristen was playing volleyball in her freshman year at TCHS, and we were busy. However, when Kristen started college, my day-to-day "mothering" was limited. Randall knew this would not be easy, so he planned a weekend getaway for us. He didn't give me many details other than to plan for a weekend away. I tried to gather clues in what I needed to pack, but all I knew was that I might need a swimsuit.
So, after we got Kristen in her dorm, we drove. We went for a couple of hours and finally took an exit near Ft. Payne. We took an extremely circuitous route and finally ended up driving into a cow pasture. I was puzzled. It was dark, there was farmland all around, where were we going? We finally stopped at a little cabin called the Rooster's Rest. It was a one-room cabin with a bathroom. It had a kitchen, a TV, a little table to eat at, a sleeping area, and a front porch. It was so sweet!
http://www.cabinrentalsmentonealabama.com/roostersrest.html
We awoke the next morning and explored the little town of Mentone. Artists were everywhere, and we went into an art gallery and talked for a while with a lady that had lived in France for many years but came back home to retire. We walked through a little village that reminded me of the Moundville cabin area, and I bought soap for my friend David who was dealing with a cancer diagnosis, and Randall explored the wood carvers shop. We went canoeing and even hiked a bit to some beautiful falls. The weather was hot, but not too bad. We also went to downtown Ft. Payne where they had a car show and we roamed the streets, just exploring the area. Lots of cute antique stores and even an old record store!
After cleaning up, we went to the Wildflower Cafe for dinner. It was a very nice restaurant. I think I had the Shrimp Scampi, while Randall had a steak. This is all guesswork, because Randall and I don't remember! Ha. We actually sat in a little hallway but it was still quaint. A musician started playing halfway through dinner, so we had a little ambience.
http://mentonewildflower.com/
The next morning, we had a short devotional. We went to the Little River Canyon and took pictures near the falls. We also went to a museum where we learned that Randy Owen from Alabama has done a lot to preserve the area (we try to get a little education on these trips). After doing that, we headed home. It was a fun getaway weekend for both of us!
Randall: Wildflower restaurant was cool with good food.
So, after we got Kristen in her dorm, we drove. We went for a couple of hours and finally took an exit near Ft. Payne. We took an extremely circuitous route and finally ended up driving into a cow pasture. I was puzzled. It was dark, there was farmland all around, where were we going? We finally stopped at a little cabin called the Rooster's Rest. It was a one-room cabin with a bathroom. It had a kitchen, a TV, a little table to eat at, a sleeping area, and a front porch. It was so sweet!
http://www.cabinrentalsmentonealabama.com/roostersrest.html
We awoke the next morning and explored the little town of Mentone. Artists were everywhere, and we went into an art gallery and talked for a while with a lady that had lived in France for many years but came back home to retire. We walked through a little village that reminded me of the Moundville cabin area, and I bought soap for my friend David who was dealing with a cancer diagnosis, and Randall explored the wood carvers shop. We went canoeing and even hiked a bit to some beautiful falls. The weather was hot, but not too bad. We also went to downtown Ft. Payne where they had a car show and we roamed the streets, just exploring the area. Lots of cute antique stores and even an old record store!
After cleaning up, we went to the Wildflower Cafe for dinner. It was a very nice restaurant. I think I had the Shrimp Scampi, while Randall had a steak. This is all guesswork, because Randall and I don't remember! Ha. We actually sat in a little hallway but it was still quaint. A musician started playing halfway through dinner, so we had a little ambience.
http://mentonewildflower.com/
The next morning, we had a short devotional. We went to the Little River Canyon and took pictures near the falls. We also went to a museum where we learned that Randy Owen from Alabama has done a lot to preserve the area (we try to get a little education on these trips). After doing that, we headed home. It was a fun getaway weekend for both of us!
Randall: Wildflower restaurant was cool with good food.
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Atlanta, May 2015
Prathima: We went to Atlanta in mid-May to the Jump Dance competition that Ashley was a part of. We got there on Friday and checked in to the Marriott downtown.
We ate that weekend at the Hard Rock restaurant with Ashley's mom and stepdad, and also had dessert at Pitty Pat's Porch with Jeff and Tani. While dessert was pretty good, the service at Hard Rock was a bit spotty. There may have even been some tenseness, and I left and hung out at the gift shop.
Being a newbie to the dance competition, I didn't realize pictures were not allowed so I got a stern talking-to from someone there. I still got some pictures, though, so I cheated the system.
Randall and I also enjoyed some adventures in Atlanta. We went to a MicroCenter where we spent time with a salesperson looking at laptops (I was looking for one for Kristen). We also went to an area called "Atlantic Station" that was a cool outdoor shopping area. We had breakfast at the Flying Biscuit Cafe, which I really enjoyed. We walked to the "Canoe" restaurant - we didn't have reservations so we just roamed the grounds and walked outside. It had a great seating area and view of a little river.
Overall, a fun weekend getting to see Ashley dance and enjoy the city.
Randall: Marriott was very nice.
We ate that weekend at the Hard Rock restaurant with Ashley's mom and stepdad, and also had dessert at Pitty Pat's Porch with Jeff and Tani. While dessert was pretty good, the service at Hard Rock was a bit spotty. There may have even been some tenseness, and I left and hung out at the gift shop.
Being a newbie to the dance competition, I didn't realize pictures were not allowed so I got a stern talking-to from someone there. I still got some pictures, though, so I cheated the system.
Randall and I also enjoyed some adventures in Atlanta. We went to a MicroCenter where we spent time with a salesperson looking at laptops (I was looking for one for Kristen). We also went to an area called "Atlantic Station" that was a cool outdoor shopping area. We had breakfast at the Flying Biscuit Cafe, which I really enjoyed. We walked to the "Canoe" restaurant - we didn't have reservations so we just roamed the grounds and walked outside. It had a great seating area and view of a little river.
Overall, a fun weekend getting to see Ashley dance and enjoy the city.
Randall: Marriott was very nice.
Jewel Paradise Cove, April 2015
Prathima: We headed to Jamaica on April 20, 2015. Our flight was an early one, but we connected in Charlotte to begin our flight out of the country. It had been 30 years since I had to use a passport, and I was surprised to realize we no longer get "stamps" in the passport. There are electronic scanners that tag each one when you arrive at your destination. When we arrived, we had about an hour wait as we were ushered in the country through customs. We finally got our bags and headed to the buses to our destination of Jewel Paradise Cove!
The drive was a strange dichotomy of sadness and education. The driver talked to us about the half-built houses (they just add on what they can afford), the education of the minors (half-days) and the different areas of the country. We took in the sights of poor citizens, unpaved roads, and ramshackle houses. The colors were vibrant, though, and as we got to our resort, we were excited to see that the resort was quite nice. At check-in, we got wet washcloths and a drink as we waited for our room. The bellhop arrived and we realized very quickly that dollar tips were essential in the country.
The room had a "Happy Honeymooners" chocolate cake with a hand towel in the shape of a swan. We explored the resort briefly but went quickly towards the first activity, which was a cocktail party where couples met each other and talked about how long they were married. "One day" was our response, so we were the winners of being married for the shortest period of time.
The days that followed were lazy - swimming, sitting by the ocean in the smallest beach ever, walking around the resort. We did go on a glass bottom boat one day and spent some time in the ocean. We also went to every "restaurant" at the resort. We had Italian the second night which was okay. We went to the main dining hall many times for breakfast and lunch, and even one night where they had performers that entertained us with dancing and balancing acts. We also went to an outdoor barbeque where they had goat races and we learned to dance from the locals. One day, we went off the resort to a "falls" area where we could climb some slick rocks and view the plant life and learn a little of Jamaica (tips were plenty that day!). The last night we were there we went to a Japanese restaurant where Randall learned to sear some meat. :) We also went to a piano bar where they sang 70s songs (for the most part).
This was an awesome place to go on a honeymoon. I would definitely go back, and even for a day or two longer.
Randall: Awesome!
The drive was a strange dichotomy of sadness and education. The driver talked to us about the half-built houses (they just add on what they can afford), the education of the minors (half-days) and the different areas of the country. We took in the sights of poor citizens, unpaved roads, and ramshackle houses. The colors were vibrant, though, and as we got to our resort, we were excited to see that the resort was quite nice. At check-in, we got wet washcloths and a drink as we waited for our room. The bellhop arrived and we realized very quickly that dollar tips were essential in the country.
The room had a "Happy Honeymooners" chocolate cake with a hand towel in the shape of a swan. We explored the resort briefly but went quickly towards the first activity, which was a cocktail party where couples met each other and talked about how long they were married. "One day" was our response, so we were the winners of being married for the shortest period of time.
The days that followed were lazy - swimming, sitting by the ocean in the smallest beach ever, walking around the resort. We did go on a glass bottom boat one day and spent some time in the ocean. We also went to every "restaurant" at the resort. We had Italian the second night which was okay. We went to the main dining hall many times for breakfast and lunch, and even one night where they had performers that entertained us with dancing and balancing acts. We also went to an outdoor barbeque where they had goat races and we learned to dance from the locals. One day, we went off the resort to a "falls" area where we could climb some slick rocks and view the plant life and learn a little of Jamaica (tips were plenty that day!). The last night we were there we went to a Japanese restaurant where Randall learned to sear some meat. :) We also went to a piano bar where they sang 70s songs (for the most part).
This was an awesome place to go on a honeymoon. I would definitely go back, and even for a day or two longer.
Randall: Awesome!
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