Home from Vacation

We pulled into our driveway at 7:46pm, home from vacation! It was an arrival of mixed feelings: we are glad to be home, but we thoroughly enjoyed our vacation to Monterey California - and all the stops along the way.

Sleeping in this morning till 9am, we woke up just in time to rush down for breakfast. Jerm and Maria left by 7am to go visit the Field of Dreams, so our caravan rolled out around 11am from Iowa City, destination Fort Wayne. It was a fairly uneventful trip through the cornfields of Iowa and Illinois. We crossed the mighty Mississippi, skirted the south end of Chicago, and stopped north of Valpo to stay goodbyes to Jerm and Maria and family.

I was eager to get home and see how my flowers were doing; it rained once in three weeks, so stuff was might dry. A few days of watering should revive most of my stuff. The kids were eager to ride their bikes again, Emma ran upstairs to get her doll Mary, and the boys just ran all over the place with more toys from S&F.

Now, after getting the kids in their own beds, getting groceries, putting some stuff away, we're ready for bed.

It's been good to be away with our Hallman clan, we'll never forget Faye's Monterey and her brilliant idea to whisk us away to the town of her childhood. Now we're back home, ready for the rest of the summer and trading thousands of pictures.

Fun at the zoo and the eternally long dinner

The Henry Doorly Zoo of Omaha was jampacked with vacationing people, but it was a wide, spacious and beautiful animal sanctuary. The first activity was the carousel - Emma really wanted the horse with the red roses on it, and she got it! Next was the bears and the gorillas. We really enjoyed the gorillas, they were walking about, playing, eating, relaxing and other stuff. It was also fun seeing the wrinkly old elephants and the docile rhinocerous. Aunt Faye really liked the monkeys and Emma really wanted to see the birds. It was so hot and humid that Eli needed to be carried, to get some fresh air and catch a breeze. But because we didn't have any suntan lotion for him, I had to find shadowy places to walk - in the grass, on the sidewalk, on the street, up along buildings, wherever trees cast their shadows.

For a late lunch we squeezed into a nearby McDonalds, it was packed in there but we found enough space to munch our food. Then it was off to Iowa City for our last hotel stay. We made really good time there, got stuff unloaded quickly and got ready for dinner. The adjoining restaurant seemed nice enough, but once again, the place was mostly empty. We have noticed this pattern very often...on the upside, we thought that we could get quick service, get in and out and into the pool for a long time - and maybe even get the kids to bed early so that we'd be rested for our last travel day. Alas, it was the longest meal ever. We waited thirty minutes to place orders for our drinks and meals. We waited another twenty minutes for our drinks. Another thirty minutes for our salad and appetizer, and another twenty minutes for our main dish. It was ridiculous. There was one cook and one waitress for three families, and two of the families were our whole clan. When the Iowa ribeye did come out, it was very delicious. But we scarfed our food because it was 9pm and we were very hungry, and because the pool was calling our name.

Emma went all the way under the water with her goggles on! She did it so many times that she made herself sick and had to get out of the pool for a couple minutes. But then she was ready to jump back in again! She's a fish! Levi, Isaac and Eva had fun sharing the goggles and playing the pool as well. Now we're in bed and getting ready for the last day of vacation. We're ready to be home, since we miss home - but we've loved being on vacation with Aunt Faye and the clan, and we'll miss all the fun - but we'll never forget the memories. Tara has taken over a thousand photo's of the trip! We'll have lots of fun remembering our trip for decades to come.

Thru the Arches and over the road, to Omaha we go...

Lots of driving today, lots of driving through Wyoming and Nebraska. The land got flatter the further east we drove; more settled, more farms, more rivers and more traffic. Ugh. But the kids did fine for the eight hours of driving that we did today.

We made a stop in Kearny, Nebraska at the Great Platte Trail Stopover point thingy (I don't have the title in front of me right now...), a museum that arches over I80. It is a convergence point of several trails: Oregon, Mormon Pioneer, California, Overland - so the museum paid tribute to the families that pioneered through Nebraska. They had a tasty cafe there - we actually thought that maybe this cafe overlooked I80, but alas, once we got there we were informed that it was not the case. At that point Faye remembered maybe it was Chicago. Oops.

Tara drove the rest of the way to Omaha from Kearney, so I sat in the back with the kids to keep the peace while I read my Michener book - Centennial. Good stuff. Once we arrived at our hotel, we got changed, let the kids run around to let off some steam, and then went downtown. Very impressive. We at the Spaghetti Works Factory something - it was in a huge renovated machinery mill. Great decor, funny waiter, a balloon artist was delighting the kids, and the food was scrumptous. We all agreed that Ft. Wayne should redevelop some of their aging industrial buildings in the downtown area like what Omaha did.

Once back at the hotel, Tara had the rare privilege of taking the kids swimming while I played with Eli in the room and got the beds and stuff ready. Lucky her. Now the kids are sleeping (bedtime was about midnight), and we are planning on visiting the Henry Doorly Zoo in the morning. If we wake up at a reasonable time.

Caught in a Wyoming Thundershower

What an unusual day it was in Wyoming.

The kids slept in late this morning, though we were late getting to bed - we had too much fun with room service. Our goal was to leave by 10am, which means we will leave about thirty minutes after that set time.
Since we're in a hurry, Levi and Isaac help me with the luggage.
I was bound and determined to get some Starbucks to start the day, and I could see one from our parking lot - just through the trees and by some distant buildings. I told Jerm and Shirley to head on out to I80 and I would just swing through the drive-thru and swiftly get my coffee and catch up with them. I couldn't find the stupid Starbucks. I could see the sign one minute, I'd look down at where I was driving, and then look up and the sign would disappear. Very frustrating. The more wrong turns I took the more I needed the coffee. This was supposed to be a real quick diversion. It wasn't; so I gave up, and just as I turned onto a street to get onto the highway, we saw the actual Starbucks building. But it was too late. My wife wisely let me stew in my grief for a few minutes before she laughed.

For lunch we stopped in Saratoga, which is on the North Platte River. We decided that Mum would pick the restaurant, so she picked Mom's Restaurant. We were a little leery of the joint, since two bikers roared out of there as we pulled next to the little white building. But once inside the empty diner, we were greeted by a kind and warm hostess aka Mom. I was full from our room service breakfast of omelettes (which, by the way, were THE BEST omelettes I have ever devoured...), so I ordered an iced tea and bided by time to order desert: Banana Foster Ice Cream Pie. Ahhhh...vacation food tastes the best.

We took a side trip to Medicine Bow National Forest: Snow Cap Mountain. What a splendid park, with thousands and thousands of evergreen trees crowding the moutain slopes. And then we saw it: mounds of snow on the side of the road, on the cliff edges - and it was only sixty degrees outside.
Shimmering lakes that must of have been icecold dotted the landscape as we drove through. Just one more delightful experience in the Wyoming territory. The land would be flat and green, hemmed in by cloud-shadowed hills. Then the hills would morph into mini-mountains and the ground would be these myriad of mounds rolling along, like storm swells of earth rippling outwards.

Once through the forest, we arrived at our next tourist destination: Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site in Laramie. All I knew about it was that Butch Cassidy had been jailed there for about a year. It turned out to be a well-put together, well-financed, well-researched museum of that prison - its affect on the city and territory, as well as the forces that created it and the penal system it was promoting. Jerm and I spent a long time together reading almost everything, they had alot to read. Throughout the recreated prison were enlarged photographs of the inmates, with their story and name below. It added a very human touch to the place. Along with these pictures were many large plaques with insightful reflections on different elements of the prison, how it ran, how it developed, how it failed/succeeded. One insight: the prison was influenced by the belief that jail time was to be rehabilitative and redemptive. However, only one person out of the two-thousand inmates was rehabilitated. That one man went on to be a successful businessman in the area. This apparent lack of success was addressed in one plaque which critiqued some of the foundational philosophical and religious beliefs that created this system of imprisonment.

Emma, Isaac, and Levi enjoy prison life, Eva isn't so sure about it...

As Jerm and I walked out of the museum, we say that a huge storm was rolling in fast - drops of rain were already hitting. We walked briskly to the visitor center where everyone else was milling about, anxiously awaiting us because they had already seen the storm coming in. We hurried and got the strollers packed up, the kids piled in, and the vans on the way when a fierce prairie storm dumped on us. As we get on the drenched highway, Tara asks me if I got her wallet out of the stroller. No, I didn't; I didn't know to look for it. Did it fall out? No, I didn't see anything on the ground. What if it did fall out? What if we get to Cheyenne and we don't have it? We'll have to drive all the way back. You need to pull over and check to see if it is in the bottom of the stroller. WHAT? Arrgghhhh. So we pulled over at the next exit and find a side road, hoping for a break in the storm...which I get...it goes from torrential downpour to normal downpour. I jump out, open the side door and then jump on the back of the van to open the storage unit on top of the van where the strollers are stored. I was hoping that I could stand on the ledge of the open side door and just quickly reach my hand into the bottom of the tightly folded up stoller and extract the missing wallet. No luck, I couldn't even see it in there. Which meant I had to take both strollers out of the storage unit...while it is pouring rain. Fortunately (or unfortuantely, depending on who is wet...) the wallet was in the bottom of the stroller. Tara wisely waited a few minutes before she laughed at the soaked and bedraggled husband sitting next to her. We eventually both laughed...

Once at the hotel, we got changed and Tara and I went on a date with Eli to the Cheyenne Cowboy Club for authentic Wyoming meat. Neat place, but hardly anyone in the restaurant...which I will say again, annoys me. Anyway, the buffalo ribeye was delicious - I was happily full, and dry. On the way to the restaurant we drove by a Starbucks, which we planned on stopping at after dinner. As we drove back, we couldn't quite remember what street corner it was on - it being on a one-way main artery. So we drove around for ten minutes, finally finding it...today was not my day for quickly finding my coffee shop.

Now we're getting rested for our long trip to Omaha...eight hours of driving!

Fort Bridger and the Oregon Trail

What a neat day for my Mum - she is a fan of the Macintosh game Oregon Trail. We played it alot as kids, on our old Apple IIC - with a green screen. The game was a very simple DOS program, but oh the hours we would spend on it. Especially my Mum. So it was a special treat to stop by old Fort Bridger in Wyoming, a key supply point on the famous Oregon Trail.

We left Salt Lake City a bit later in the morning than we planned, and then it took us about thirty minutes to find a gas station...there must be some ordinance against having refueling stations in convenient places. Once on our way, we wound through some impressive and breathtaking scenery. The climbing hills were more gentle than the Rockies and Sierras; the fields more lush and some of the cliffs more jagged.

Wyoming is not Utah. It's amazing how crossing state lines is obvious, even without the street signs. Wyoming is flatter, though it still has its share of hills and crags. It just seems wider, more open, bigger. In no time we were at the town of Fort Bridger, population: 150. For being in a remote place, the actual fort was in good condition. All of the other national parks we visited were beautiful, and lots of money had been spent on them. Fort Bridger is a state park, but it wins the award for the most love being poured into it. Not all of the fort is still standing, some of it was auctioned off decades and decades ago, but most of it is still there: the guard house, the school house, the milk house, the commissary, the general store, the ice house, the stalls, the wagon house, and so much more. There wasn't much of a crowd. The most interesting people there were historians who travel by covered wagon and horses; they travel all the trails - the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, the California Trail, and many others. They had just arrived to the fort the day before, so their horses were getting a break while the travelers/historians relaxed by their tents and talked with the visitors. Aunt Faye, Tara and Isaac spent some time with them - which is how I know this stuff.
Isaac taking time to watch the horses munch and frolic in the fields.
Isaac and Levi patting the horses on the nose - they were thrilled to be so close to these proud beasts.
The museum had a thoughtful kids section, which included this mechanical horse which Levi thoroughly enjoyed.

For lunch we ate in a local restaurant across the desolate highway. Good food, neat place, friendly hostess and locals. Only a short drive later through stunning buttes and rolling ranges, we arrived at our hotel in Rock Springs. They had an awesome pool there: a kiddy pool,
a big pool with a curtain of water raining down, and a hot tub. It was alot of fun playing with the kids in their little pool - they loved it, even Eli.
They also loved going through the water curtain; Emma went through it a thousand times. She says that Eva taught her how to swim with her face in the water. So Emma spent about thirty minutes of our time swiming with her face in the water. She was so proud of herself. We were very proud of her!

We just finished up a delicious meal served via room service. Nothing like the family hanging out with good food and lots of laughter.

Tomorrow is Cheyenne and the Fourth of July Fireworks! Yee haw! Happy Birthday America.

Stopping Over in Salt Lake City

Today was a simple day: wake up in Winnamucce and drive to Salt Lake City in time to swim while it is still warm outside. So that is what we did. Except that we stopped at a Pizza Hut in Wendover, Nevada for lunch. It was supposed to be a quick stop. We had mixed feelings as we pulled into the empty lot...like I said earlier, I'm suspicious of restaurants without a crowd. The door to the restaurant was locked...at 12noon...another clue to turn away. But no, we really wanted to order a Taco Pizza (Eli doesn't like it when Tara eats red pizza sauce). We walk in to a very empty restaurant, with the classic PH sign: Please Wait To Be Seated. We seated ourselves, pulled a long line of tables together and waited. And waited. The lone employee came over to us, and we felt sorry for him. And the other three customers who walked in a few minutes after us. He did admirably well, but it was not a quick lunch break. And we didn't get our Taco Pizza. Oh well.

The rest of the trip to Salt Lake City was uneventful, other then our awe at the salt lakes. As we came over the hill and Wendover came in view, we were in awe at the vast salt plains. As we approached Salt Lake City we were in awe over the vast amounts of water that existed in this saltland. As a city goes, Salt Lake is fairly unremarkable. Not much of a tourist trap coming into town. Tonight we sleep just off of the Temple Square, we went swimming soon after arriving, but the pool was in the shade and breeze made it chilly - not that the kids minded.

Tara, Jerm and I just came back from a short walk around the square which is impressive. In it is a walled in area containing the Temple, the Tabernacle, various statues, gardens and offices. The block also has an enormous building dedicated to Joseph Smith, the home of Brigham Young, a gigantic office complex, and very pretty flowers everywhere. The whole area was very impressive, immaculate, imposing.

Tomorrow we head into Wyoming and plan to visit Fort Bridger and the Oregon Trial. Mum will love that, she used to be addicted to the game.

Welcome to Winnamucce

Well, here we are in the middle of Nevada, sleeping in a pleasant hotel located in a town with a funny name. I like towns with funny names.

Anyway, today was fun - we spent some time in Fairytale Town and Funderland.
Just outside of Sacramento is this beautiful park chock full of shade trees, fragrant flowers and bushes. It's also where we find the city zoo and the land of fun and fairy tales. First we hit Fairytale Land: the kids sat in King Arthur's chair, climbed up a big shoe, went up in a barn, played in Sherwood Forest
and some other fun stuff.

Then it was off to Funderland, where each kid received five tickets. Emma knew exactly what she wanted to do: the Crazy Cups that spin like...well...crazy. Eva joined her and they giggled and spun like crazy. The guys headed off for the carousel, they love those horseys - Isaac did it twice. Emma did a log ride and got her shoes all wet, Levi and Isaac flew some airplanes. All three of them did their first rollercoaster and loved it!
After the five rides we ate really tasty fried food that clogged up our arteries. Then we piled back into the van for the long ride to Winnamacce - a four hour drive east on I80 through the bleak and deserted wasteland called Nevada. There were some stunning views going over the mountains, and some of the desert hills had a kind of poetry to them.

So here we are, tucked in bed; we did drive thru KFC and feasted in the room, then went for a dip in the cool pool.
Now we're getting rested for the drive tomorrow to Salt Lake City.

Goodbye Monterey, Hello San Fransisco!

Friday was our last full day in Monterey, so we made the most of it. We slept in, and then went to a wonderful restaurant by the bay called New Beginnings; what a scrumptous breakfast! The pancakes were a foot in diamter, I ordered a stuffed breakfast burrito that was almost a foot long - and no, I didn't eat it all! The coffee was tasty as well. We then waddled over to Cannery Row, the kids really wanted to do the "penny mutilation" thing. While E.L.I and Eva ruined their pennies the mom's did some shopping. After awhile the guys and Lydia went back to the vans to hang out while the mom's and E/E finished up.

During naptime I headed out to a quaint and stuffy old bookstore tucked away in a small side street. I had some books I was looking for, but I was hoping to be surprised by what I found. Maybe I'd find a good philosophy or theology book, maybe a good history or biography. I ended up with two novels and a biography. I found a 1930's copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, a 1951 James Michner Return to Paradise, and a 1960's copy of Dag Hammershkilglehlged's biography. Fun. Then back to the hotel to swim with the kids - it was sunny and beautiful outside. Once we got dried off and cleaned up we went out to eat at Bubba Gumps. This was the third time Jerm and Maria had eaten there, but they didn't mind. I was a bit skeptical of the place, but they didn't disaapoint. It was a fun atmosphere, we sat outside on a deck overlooking the bay, a great tasting meal and good music - surrounded by my family...ahhh. We had to waddle out of this restaurant as well, over to Starbucks for a drink and a fudge shop for ice cream...I tried the fudge and I was very disappointed. But Emma's cottencandy ice cream wasn't bad.

So now all we had to do was drive to the local Wells Fargo bank for Tara to transfer some money, and we could get the kids in bed and have a few hours to ourself. All I had to do was get to the bank. I knew right where the bank was. We had gone by it a few days earlier. I took us down a street that was supposed to take us right to where the bank is supposed to be. But the street didn't take me there, and we missed the turn off, and next I know we are stuck in the middle of nowwhere, with nowwhere to tun off. Needless to say, S&F and Tara were very annoyed with me. But then they got even more annoyed when I didn't listen to their directions on how to get back to where we came from. I just kept driving, and we ended up along the bay under a fullmoon - a pretty view of the dark ocean. So we slowly wound our way up the bay to Monterey, and Faye got us to the bank forty-five minutes later. We were laughing about it after Tara transfered the money.

Saturday (yesterday) was our last morning in Monterey, the agenda was to leave at a reasonable time so we'd have some fun time in San Fransisco. Well, the kids slept in till after 9am, and then by the time we got them up and ready to go, as well as he van packed and ready to go, it was after 10am.
By the time we were all checked out of the hotel it was 10:30, and then we had to head down to Cannery Row - Tara needed to exchange a t-shirt and I needed Starbucks. So it was after 11 till we headed out of Monterey. The scenic drive to San Fransisco was beautiful; sandy hills and dry rolling fields; forest studded mini-mountains and lots of ocean.

We were impresssed with San Fransisco, once we entered the city proper we were delighted by all the multi-colored homes stacked on the steep streets, everywhere we looked. Exiting on King Street we drove by the Giants Stadium and then crawled for forty minutes to Fisherman's Wharf. Eli was screaming for too long, so Tara jumped in the back to feed him the rest of the way. Good idea. People were everywhere, we found a place to park by wharf 45, and then slowly weaved our way to the main area - there were people everywhere. Three strollers can make an imposing line, but we kept getting cut off. Finally we made it to No. 9 Fisherman's Grotto for a tasty dinner, overlooking the bay, the yachtes, the Golden Gate bridge.

With full bellies we walked around for a bit, finally ending up on a wharf dock to gaze upon an authentic WW2 Submarine and a Merchant Marine ship. Neat. Never seen one up close like that, very imposing. Levi and Isaac thought they were cool. But now we decided it was time to find the park at the base of the bridge; we'd let the kids get out and play while we took some neat pics of the city. But we never really found the park, though we had fun driving through the Presidio and seeing some neat streets. Finally we crossed the famous Golden Gate, we all decided it'd be more fun to walk it next time. And now it was off to Fairfield for our next night of blissful sleep.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Menace Park, and a Dangerous Mexican Restaurant

Whew, what a day! Wednesday was a wonderful vacation day. We started off with an inspiring morning at the world-renown and impressive Monterey Bay Aquarium. I didn't know that sea otters were so important to Monterey; but they had a wonderful diisplay concerning their threatened habitats around the earth. There was a two-story aquarium with gigantic ocean sunfish, graceful sea turtles, massive tunas and many other beautiful fishes. The kids enjoyed the penguins and a play zone where they could draw and learn about sea mammals like whales, seals, sea lions and dolphins. The facility was housed in an abandoned cannery factory; the museum included many elements of the original slaughterhouse to educate us about the abuses of the ocean, its fragility, and the lessons we have learned.

Eva, Isaac and Levi are fascinated by sea lions - this particular kid section had lots of buttons to press, buttons that made loud animal noises.

Isaac the scholar, teaching his Daddy about the ocean!

Isaac the dess up dolphin. I'm not sure what they were supposed to do with that stuff, but whatever it was, we didn't do it...but the kids still liked using them.
After a great morning at the aquarium we wandered over to Jersey's Cheesesteaks restaurant; it is a sports bar with great cheesesteaks and fish. With lunch finished we got back to the hotel so the kids could get a nap. I sat by the pool and read for a couple of hours - ahhhhh. The kids woke up ready to go, so we headed down to the famous Dennis the Menace Park. It's a wonderful playground with inventive and delightful equipment for kids of all ages. The kids impressed me with their climbing abilities. We spent along time there, and then had to scoot to find a place for supper at 9pm.

Isaac has turned into a climbing machine. Up and down he went on all sorts of steps, chain ladders and curly poles. What a big boy!
Levi and Isaac both love slides, they couldn't get down them fast enough to climb up something in order to go down the slide again.





There is a local Mexican restaurant across form our hotel that we decided to try; it was mostly empty...which always annoys me about restaurants. But we were already there and thus took over the place. No sooner then we got the hands washed, kids sat down in chairs and mouths full of chips and salsa, we had a scare. All the kids were sitting on their knees, which is typical, but Levi happened to push back from the table for some reason, and he pushed the whole chair backwards. Since he was on his knees, he somehow landed on his feet, standing on the back of the chair. The fall frightened him, and he started choking on the chips in his throat. Between crying and gagging, we all were worried. The manager rushed out at the wailing sounds of our son, but there was nothing he could do. Eventually Levi calmed down, got a drink of water, and in a matter of minutes was munching on salsa soaked chips. We finished the meal without anymore scares, but we wondered what else Levi would do on the trip. He's already scraped up both knees and fallen out of his bed. But we're still having fun.

Now Thursday is coming to an end. Eva is over playing with Emma and Levi, Isaac is tearing pages out of his puzzle book, Eli just went down for a nap and Lydia is conked in her bed. We're waiting on pizza to show up, Jerm and Maria are out on a date celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary. Dad's already in bed and we're kind of wishing we were too! This morning we started off on a three hour tour of the Big Sur. Faye located a local guide who got a small bus for us to ride along the windy, hilly historic scenery. He took us by beautiful homes worth eight figure numbers; soaring cliffs, fog-soaked crags, and the deep blue ocean. It was a fun trip and it was nice to not have to drive - just ride and sometimes snooze.

Aunt Faye and Isaac laughed alot on this trip! She was excited for us to see Big Sur, and Isaac loved sitting in a bus with no car seat, no seat belt, snuggled up to his dear aunt!
As good Hallman's, we stopped for a snack; here Emma is trying to convince Eva that she really should eat this ygourt snack - it is good for her and tastes good too.

Beautiful Emma outshines all the glory of the gorgeous ocean shore.
Here's the Hallman clan at Big Sur!
Ahhh, how sweet!



We got back for lunch at Louie Linguini's, a great local place with fresh seafood, eclectic and funny decor, and slow service. It seemed to us that since Californians are relaxed, they don't rush with getting their food to you - but when they did serve it, ooooh it was so good. Isaac especially enjoyed his very fancy and very tasty Macaroni and cheese.
Eli stayed relaxed too, he'd pass for a Californian anyday!

After the meal we drove over to the Old Fisherman's Wharf to shop. We needed to get some sweatshirts with Monterey emblazoned on the front. Once we found what we wanted, we celebrated with delicious ice cream - kids got bubble gum ice cream, I got double scoop of banana nut and peanut butter fudge. Yum. Then we walked over to the beach - what soft sand and salty ocean. Levi didn't care for it so much, but Isaac did; we walked hand in hand along the shore letting the surf wash up over our toes and shorts. Uncle Jerm had Emma and Eva in hand, cracking jokes and enjoying the sunshine. Once we got back to the hotel I took E.L.I down to the pool for a refreshing swim - their getting really good in the water; Levi will now kick himself all over the pool without holding my hand! Now we're bathed, in our p.j's, snacking on pizza; parents are counting down the minutes till bedtime!

May our footsteps always follow the same way...



Papa Ger and the guys modeling their new Monterey gear.

Relaxing in Monterey

Yesterday was our first full day in Monterey; it was wonderful to relax, sleep in, play in the pool, and after naps take a big walk. Here's some pics of our day, starting with our romp in the water.


As we walked around, of course we had to note where the local Starbucks was located. Neat place.

We also found several used bookstores that caught my attention; I really liked the hours for this bookstore - I'm thinking of putting it out front of my church doors.

Here are some classic pics of Monterey; the famous Cannery Row fictionalized by local John Steinbeck, the Wharf where you find lots of shops and restaurants, and the famous harbor with all the yachts. What fascinated me was the history; hardworking families fished in the bay, but then greedy men set up cannery factories and drained the bay dry of sardines and other fish. The dozens of factories closed, leaving a desolated and dilapidated waterfront. Now it has been restored; even redeemed - the beautiful Monterey Bay Aquarium resides in one of the old canneries, inspiring children and adults to be wise and creative stewards of the ocean.




On Tuesday nights Monterey is famous for its Street Markets; dozens and dozens of stalls with delicious foods, tasty vegetables, flowers, baskets, clothes, backrubs, and lots of treats. Emma and Eva had their face painted by a kind lady - this is California style face-painting! Tara and I ordered a falafel - we haven't had one since Israel in 1997; mmmmmmmh! Fortuantely Emma and the kids didn't like it, so we didn't have to share the delicacy. The kids feasted on enormous, juciy, flavorfull (no spray) strawberries and powerful-tasting raspberries. It was a fun night out on the town.





Today was also Eli's three month birthday - which means we take the Bear Pictures. Since we didn't have much room for our long trip, Tara brought a picture of the bear to be included in the photo shoot. Clever Tara!