November 2007

Arrived in San Diego on November 1. Spent a wonderful evening with Doug and Lorie. We had dinner at a very nice restaurant in downtown, right across from the Court House. Needless to say, on a Friday night, it was packed with attorneys celebrating their week of work. It was a little noisy because of the crowd, but the food was wonderful. After dinner we walked down the street to the theater and saw Jersey Boys. What great music and entertainment. At the end of the show they offered back stage tours for $50 a person which went to the Aids Foundation. So we decided to do that too. One of the acting Jersey Boys gave us the tour and he was so informative. We saw how all the curtains and back drops came down, the various costumes and how the San Diego stage was one of the largest stages on which they performed. Every time they move from one city to another, they have to rehearse like it was a new play because of the different stage sizes. It was a wonderful evening.

We got lucky and was able to go see Kelsey play tennis in her high school tennis tournament. This is her first year in high school and they have already moved her up to Varsity. We had not seen her play tennis before so it was quite a treat.

We went to a cute little Italian restaurant with Rick, Patty, Kelsey, Alicia, Justin and his girlfriend. The food was great and the conversation never stopped. It was a lot of fun and way too much food.

The next day we went to see Kelsey play softball. She had to play two games back to back. She is the catcher and does a fantastic job. No one steals a base on her because she has a strong arm and will get them out every time. They lost both games but the score was very close and the games were exciting to watch. We said our good byes and headed for northern California.

Arrived in Novato, California to visit Jon, Denise, Benjamin, Zachary, and Sam. We had pizza at their house the first night. It was fun to see them all again. The next day we picked Ben and Zach up from their Karate practice and took them to the show. Then that night we had hired a limo to take Jon and Denise out for their anniversary. The limo first picked us up at our RV park and then we drove to Denise's house. It was pouring down rain and I was thrilled not to have to drive in that traffic and weather. We got the whole family in the limo and then dropped the kids off at a friends house. The driver then took us to a wine bar in Sausalito. The wine bar had recently opened and was owned by an Englishman. Since Jon was also from England, the owner came over and introduced himeself and welcomed us to the bar. After our wine samples and cheese and crackers, we left and headed for our restaurant. The restaurant was in Berkley. A small restaurant but excellent food. We took our time and enjoyed every bite. Even dessert. We then went and picked up the kids and took the Rooke family home. The driver then took us back to our RV. We all had a great time and it was fun spending time with Jon and Denise without interuptions from the boys.

Ben and Zach had a Karate tournament the next day. We arrived around 10:00 a.m. and we left before it was over at 2:00 p.m. Both the boys are very good. Ben got first place and Zachary got third place. They are at different levels and compete in different groups. The competition in Zachary's group was very close. We were very impressed with both boys and how intense they were in their movements. Later that night we had dinner at Denise's house. Her Mom and stepdad came too. Denise cooked all night and made us a fine gourmet meal. We watched a football game together and brought a visit to a close.

Our next drive took us to Chico, California to visit Angela, Shane, Cole and Brody. They boys are three and Brody is almost two. They have a new puppy named Boo. He is just like having another little kid around. The next day we went into town to do some shopping. When we got back we played with the kids in the back yard. They love to swing and Brody doesn't always hold on. One time he let go of the rope and went flying right out of the swing. Fortunately he didn't hurt anything. It just scared the heck out of him. Shane and Angela are in the process of planting an almond orchard. They have 40 acres to plant and have just completed the well. The well had to run for so many hours until it ran clear. They have someone coming to install the irrigation lines and another company to plant the trees. Hopefully the trees will be planted by the end of January or mid February. Very exciting venture for them. We had a great visit, lots of food, laughs and relaxation.

We left Angela's early in the morning and headed for Indio, California.