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.
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