Our three week stay in Pleasanton wrapped up all too soon! We stayed
in the RV Park at the Alameda County Fairgrounds, which was literally walking
distance to my daughter Jill's place. When we first arrived, the hills
surrounding this small city were in the peak of spring green, all the trees
were leafing out, and flowers were blooming just about everywhere you looked.
This is a beautiful time of year to visit this area! But the best part was being
so close to my daughter and grandkids, and being able to spend so much
together. We shared many a meal, attended a choir competition for Maddy's
school (which they won! J), visited
the Street Fair in downtown Pleasanton, took a beautiful hike in the Sunol Regional
Wilderness area, and just hung out with each other as much as we possibly
could! Here are some pictures taken during our visit.
Pleasanton, California, was our
next stop as we continue our trek in a north westerly direction. Pleasanton is home to my
daughter and two of my granddaughters, so we settled in for a nice long three-week
visit to get as much reconnecting and bonding time as possible. With San Francisco only 40 miles from Pleasanton, and with much time to ourselves
during the hours kids and grandkids are tied up with work and school, Dan and I
decided to take BART into The City one day. Although both of us have visited San Francisco more times
than we can count, we never get tired of it, and love to return there again and
again. There is always something going on, interesting people to watch, bridges
to admire, walks along the beach, and just immersing ourselves in the highly
varied microcosmic communities that combine to make San Francisco what it is. The day we chose to
visit was brisk, but sunny, and wonderful for walking. We took BART out of the Dublin station to the
Embarcadero station, then set off for the day. We walked along the piers, making
our way to Pier 39 and the ever enduring Fisherman's Wharf, where we had lunch,
browsed the shops, and visited with the sea lions laying on the pier soaking up
the sun. From there, we took a cable car to the downtown district, ducked into
the huge Westfield Mall for a coffee and tea break, then walked about a mile
uphill to visit the Grace Cathedral, one of my favorite spots in San Francisco. After a
lengthy visit at the church, we walked another half mile to our favorite Bay
Area restaurant, The Millennium, which serves up the best vegan gourmet food
anywhere on the planet! After a delicious and leisurely dinner, we walked back
to the BART station, and came back home. We both agreed our day at the bay was
quite wonderful. Here are some snapshots of the highlights.
