Spring into Summer!

I'm sure I made the connection earlier in life, but its lovely that the 2 transition seasons' names are also verbs.  (This is what my "baby brain" is doing to me.)

Devin, Yeti and I received some visitors this past winter/spring - one repeat visitor (Mom, on her 5th trip) and a few newbies to the Bay Area...

As it turns out, we once again live in the same state as Pete's best friend, Joey Schaad, and this coincidence was enough to entice him to visit in February.  That said, he spent 24 hours with me and the rest of the week fly-fishing in northern California with Joey.  To Pete's credit, he has visited me in each state we've lived - Arizona (Joey), Colorado (the Avalanche) and now California (Joey again.)  ;)

Pete had a whirlwind tour of the city and the perfect day for it!  We had a nice morning walk from our house up to Twin Peaks, breakfast complete with Irish coffee, and a drive through the city and across the Golden Gate bridge.

View from Twin Peaks

Breakfast at the Buena Vista Cafe

We're on one side of the bridge...

...we're on the other side.

That night Devin and I drove Pete up to Winters, CA and met Joey for dinner before the two boys continued north.

Later that week, 4 new guests arrived.  Mom, Dad, Patty, and Jim descended upon San Francisco for a long weekend filled with wonderful food, fabulous wine, sight-seeing, and of course, a nap or two!  The four of them did the Alcatraz tour, we spent a few days hanging out in the city, and 2 days in wine country.  I really only have a few pictures of their trip and most are from our time with wine.

Nothing on the vines at that time of year, but the mustard grass was incredible!

Yep - even surrounded by vineyards they couldn't forget about Words with Friends.

The boys were happy.

Upon our return to San Francisco.

That's all I have!  I feel bad because it's not the best representation of their time here.  We were busy and had a lot of fun!  Thank you so much for visiting Mom, Dad, Patty, Jim, and Pete!

Until next time...

S~S~S~J~J~J~V~E

June 28 - July 3

Chicago, IL circa 1999?

There are very few emotions that can compete with the happiness I feel when I am with my friends.

At the end of June, seven of my favorite people descended upon San Francisco for a Mother/Daughter weekend; an effort we have been making, almost yearly since 1998, to spend time together.  I have grown up surrounded by the unconditional love of this group of women, and for that I will always be thankful...

Stillwater, MN circa 2000                                                                                  Winnipeg, Manatoba circa 2002

San Francisco, CA 2012

We spent time walking (and walking) around San Francisco, tasting wine throughout Sonoma county, eating delicious food, talking, laughing, and pondering the ocean.

I am going to include pictures from the weekend, but to get a better idea of our time together, follow the links to Jess Williams' posts:

One 

Two 

Three

Four

Moshin Winery - our favorite

Redwoods

Lagunitas Brewery

Castro Theater for the Grease Sing-A-Long

Union Square

Near Fisherman's Warf

It was such a fantastic weekend - and of course it went by too quickly.  I am anxious to begin planning another trip for the 8 of us.  

I love you ladies.  Until our next adventure...

Lednice and Kobyli - South of Moravia

2 June - 3 June

* Road Trip South *

Our last few days in Czech Republic were spent in south Moravia, not far from the Austrian border.  Petr's father let us use his van to make the trip which was great because we had a fair amount of stuff with us.  (Read: bringing a baby means a lot of gear.)

We went south for two things: Lednice Chateau and wine cellars.  

We stopped at a shopping center to pick up a few grocery items.  While Kamila and I ran in to shop Devin captured a few notable items in the parking lot.

-----

- Lednice Chateau -  

This was the summer residence of the Liechtenstein family from 1582 until 1945.  The architecture is amazing and the grounds are HUGE and stunning.  Tours were offered but we opted to stay outside and wander around ourselves.  

Running in a swathe along the Austrian border, much of this low-lying rural and light industrial area was owned by the Liechtenstein family from the the Middle Ages to 1945.  Forced to leave during the mass German expulsions after WWII, they retreated to their tiny alpine principality sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria, leaving behind a diverse legacy of castles, estates, and churches. 

- Lonely Planet

Emily action shot - there aren't many of these so I added it - it's not a good picture.

The detail is incredible!  They don't build 'em like this anymore.

-----

- The Wine Cellars of Kobyli -  

Earlier this year, when George first emailed me about going to "wine cellars" I thought something had been lost in translation and that he meant checking out a winery and doing some tasting.  I was wrong.   George knows English...

We visited (and stayed with) Petr's friend Antonin Kovarik and his family and their wine cellars.  This was absolutely one of the highlights of our trip, and the most fun I've ever had drinking wine.  (It's hard to compete with the setting and having a wine maker as your host.)      

Antonin Kovarik

Homemade walnut liquor - delicious.

Second wine cellar.

We had such a fantastic night!  Thank you, thank you, thank you to our hosts.

-----

- Kobyli, the next morning - 

-----

 - the fire department - 

Me and Tonda, who volunteers for the Koybli fire department.

-----

- around town / more wine cellars -

*-*-*-*-*-*

Absolutely Wonderful.  And yes.  We brought some wine home...