WEST COAST ROAD TRIP - Part 1...

A few days after getting home from the Bead & Button Show, the kids finished school & we hit the road that very afternoon! We left Diego (the dog) w/ Brad's mom (THANK YOU!) drove to Denver (Littleton) to drop off the boys @ my parents' (THANK YOU!!)... spent an evening w/ my sisters & headed west the next day. A quick stop in Grand Junction, Colorado to see Brad's brother & family, meet our adorable great niece, Mallory (they call her Mayo!) & see her daddy, Justin's, new tattoo studio, The Raw Canvas! I am sooooooooooo proud of him! We met when he was 5 & I was 19. W/ me, being the youngest "adult" in the group & he, the only child, he was drawn to me (& I to him!)... we played w/ legos & moved on to crayons & then watercolors. I'd like to think our early artistic endeavors had a little influence on his future! (fine artist, art teacher & now tattoo artist) He's a phenomenal & ultra creative artist, I can't wait to have a little Justin work of art on me somewhere [appropriate]!

(click image for larger detailed view)
We drove through Utah & Nevada,








Spent the night in beautiful Mammoth, California & then spent the next day wandering around Yosemite National Park...











...ending up in Berkeley at the end of the day.

The next morning found us running around San Francisco w/ an old friend from Colorado who now lives in the SF area, Kalli, & her wife, Lisa.









It was an awesome day... they took us to Fisherman's Wharf, (we had a laugh @ these signs on the corner by the wharf)




the Golden Gate Bridge







View of the city from the Golden Gate Bridge...





and Alcatraz, too...







.......& my favorite, The Palace of Fine Arts.














While I took pictures of all of the details...














































Brad was doing this...
(click image to see what he's up to!)

climbing onto things that he probably shouldn't! LOL! (NOTE: this will not be the last time...see Redwoods)





With the wrong address in hand, we searched & searched for the "PAINTED LADIES" (yeah, Brad didn't know what they were, either... kinda made him nervous that we were looking for them, LOL)... seeing beautiful architecture all around us, just driving around was awesome... the bay, the steep hills, the colorful details in the buildings... just the hunt itself was so cool.


We finally found the "PAINTED LADIES"...


I love all of the details... & yeah, it was cool, they're famous/historical homes...






BUT, some of the homes & buildings that we saw while we were on the hunt were quite impressive... maybe even more so!!!

Look at these beauties!!













We ended up @ a brewpub (of course!) called the Thirsty Bear where we enjoyed some fantastic Tapas & shared some awesome desserts! I loved hanging w/ Kalli & Lisa... they're PASSIONATE about dessert, especially Lisa... they order not just one to share... not even two... but maybe 3 or more! Then we ended the evening @ an Irish pub in Berkeley for another round of desserts. :o) Crazy girls.

On to Part 2...