VACATION!! Day 3


I know you have all been dying to hear the continuing story of our fabulous vacation, so on to Day 3! The first day in San Francisco!! Whoo-Hoo!

We didn't have to get up too early this day since San Jose isn't terribly far from SF. We checked in to our hotel, armed ourselves with maps, info and plans and took off to see the sights!!

We rode the Cal-train for the first time... we felt like tourists trying to get tickets from the machine! :/ We got into Downtown and then caught a bus to go down toward the pier! (We bought tickets online for Alcatraz, so we wanted to kinda check out where it was so we wouldn't miss it!) Here's when we REALLY felt like tourists since we were asking the bus driver where we get off to get there! They all were really helpful and nice though, and it wasn't all that bad.

We got off at Ghiradelli... MMmmm! We thought about having ice cream, but never got around to it... it was pretty chilly! (52 degrees... which isn't bad normally, but next to the water made it colder and that was at noon!) Anyway, we headed down along the waterfront and, of course, had to stop at Boudin for some AWESOME sourdough bread bowl chili! YUM! I just wasn't used to seeing so many darn birds! And they are brave too! Some dork left his bowl unattended and the birds went for it!! He managed to salvage it, but just barely.

We walked the rest of the way down the pier, past Pier 39 and all the shops (that was for another day!) And then, TA-DA! There was Pier 33! We got here early so we hung out in the souvenir shop for a bit checking out all the stuff. (I'm not gonna lie, I usually get sucked in to buying something!) We started a habit of collecting magnets of places we travel to. It's cheaper than clothing, and lasts longer too! After getting our souvenirs safely ensconced we headed out to board the ship!! I won't really say much more except to label the photos!!!

Soni on our ferry ride over

Leaving SF behind!!

Caught a bird in flight... it was following our boat and yes, it was WINDY!


View from behind

First close up view from the ferry


View of The Golden Gate Bridge from our Ferry over to the Rock!





These are the showers... where a convict was first taken... Wonder what missionaries would have thought if it was like this at the MTC!

Just an empty cell.

You know me... I gotta be different! I would hate to have to really use a toilet in a cell like this!

Soni chilling in a cell... she was reluctant to lay on the bed! HAHA!


A cell someone tried to escape from.

Cell Block D.. I just wanted this picture b/c that's where the hardened criminals stay (& where Sean Connery's character supposedly was when they filmed The Rock). The guards told us they actually filmed it in Cell Block A which was dark, gated and kinda off-limits. Oh well.

Me in solitary... it smelled musty and was DARK! *shiver*

View of the outside tower



The view as we were sailing away... Goodbye Alcatraz!


After Alcatraz (no we weren't scared after seeing it... we don't believe in ghosts!) came the daunting task of getting back to the Cal-train station and making our way back to our hotel! Let's just say, easier said than done! We got miserably lost, saw a rat, walked past a crazy lady having a fight with some girl that wasn't there (she kept saying the B word and making threats), walked past some tough looking guys having a fight, and finally got directions from a drunk, that turned out to be okay, to Cal-train. It was a different station, but it got us where we wanted to go!! HOME!

Slacker! Resolutions update...


So, I haven't been the best at updating/reporting on how I'm doing with my resolutions, but I'm here to report today!

Things are MOSTLY going pretty well. Here's how I stand as of today:

1. Relationship with HF...
I started out really well with this one. It has tapered off slightly, so I need to get back on it. I still feel good about it since it hasn't gone back to doing nothing, but I'm renewing the scripture reading and praying TODAY!! Soni & I did go through our schedules for the whole year and planned 9 Temple trips! That exceeds the goal! Whoo-Hoo

2. Body
I have been to the store and have stocked my car, purse and work with healthy snacks! Raw Almonds, granola bars w/ little sugar and Trader Joe's Fiberful bars... I LOVE those! Soni and I sit down at the beginning of each 2 weeks and plan out dinners for every night we are home. So no more wondering what's to eat or snacking until bedtime. The only thing that I have not felt any motivation for is the exercise. (For Shame!) I did try a yoga video and felt pretty okay afterwards, but then it took until Friday for me to stop having back, neck and leg muscle pain! So, no more for me. I did mention walking tonight... and WE WENT! 30 minutes, which was twice around our condo complex. Feels pretty good. No ankle pain, so I think I'll try to keep that up at least 4-6 times per week!!

3. Money
I have really stuck to it on this one! I only went on two trips to Target in January and that was it. (I've been 3 times already this month although on one trip I used a gift card and only spent 33 cents so I'm not counting it!) I'm really keeping to the list which is good. I could be better so I'll keep working on it!

4. Doctor
I had some trouble with this one b/c the website was not making it easy. I finally have some numbers for new doctors that I will look into. In the mean time I have made 2, yes, 2 Dr. appointments with my old Dr. in Long Beach. One for a physical and one before to discuss ankle, dermatologist, etc... (sinus! I've been having problems since December!!)

5. Family
I actually made this goal b.c I thought my family was putting the kabosh on monthly birthday dinners and wanted a way to still stay close to everyone, but turns out not EVERYONE thinks the monthly dinners are too much, so they are still on. So, this resolution is moot.

So, to sum up (wow! Sounds like I'm writing a report for school or something!) I'm on the right track! Just need to keep up with number 1 and now that I'm finally motivated to walk, number 2. YAY!