My Aunt Louise and cousin Allison came last week from New York for a five-day visit. We had a lot of fun and I really enjoyed showing them some of our favorite places. Day one was mellow. We had lunch in and took a walk around our neighborhood and had dinner with Terry at Santana Row, an outdoor shopping and dining experience.This picture was taken on day 2 at Carmel Beach. It was a beautiful day, about 60 and pretty sunny. We picked Attie up after school and ate lunch on the beach. We walked down to view Pebble Beach from the bottom, then we drove the 17-mile drive to the Golf Course. We walked around there a bit and Allison took some pictures for her boyfriend who is a big-time greenskeeper of his own course upstate New York.
Isn't that a cute picture of Allison? 
Atticus took it! We took them to Los Gatos on the third day, a very cute town at the bottom of the foothills. We had lunch, shopped a little and then went to the library. Louise is a children's librarian and Atticus could not get enough of her reading to her, telling her stories and singing songs. We also went to Stanford in Palo Alto and at some point they introduced me to TJMaxx! I just can't remember which day that was??
Of course we took them to San Francisco. We started out at the bridge and it was extremely foggy. You couldn't even see the city. But, the day was maybe the most beautiful day in SF I have ever seen. After viewing the fog from the Marin side, we checked out the city side. Not much better. We drove through The Presidio and headed out for more sightseeing.
We drove down Lombard Street (you know the crooked one) and then went to Coit tower to see more beautiful views with slightly less fog. Then we drove through North Beach and had lunch in Chinatown at our super-secret place. So good! Then we hopped on this cable car and rode it all the way down to Union Square, almost the Times Square equivalent. Attie was beside herself with excitement on the cable car. We took a rest, Attie took a nap on Terry, and then we were off again...
We cable carred back to North Beach and then drove to Ghiradelli Square. We had delicious ice-cream which we ate looking out at the bay on Aquatic Park, where there is actually a little beach. Then we shopped at some of the stores in the square. Louise and Allison both purchased their first Vera Bradley's!!! Navy zippered tote for Louise, brown and turquoise weekender for Allison. I added to my collection as well :) A quick Kodak moment at The Painted Ladies and we finished the day in the Castro for dinner. It was a spectacular day in San Fran. and we were able to see a lot and get around quite easily since it was a weekday.
Thank you Louise and Allison for coming all the way to California to visit us, it was such a treat. We have so much more to show you so you'll have to come back. Thank you for all the treating you did, the gifts you brought and for being so devoted to the addicted reader. We miss you!!!
