John and Jim's Visit to Moss Beach

Our wonderful Hawaiian odyssey ended on Friday, May 29th. We had a noon flight on American and John had a noon flight on United, so Friday morning was a flurry of packing that was pretty stressful! We finally got everything in, and hoped for the best, weight-wise, as there is a 50 lb. limit. Charges for weight over 50 lbs. get pretty high. Our bag actually weighed 53 lbs., but Lee gave the agent his Northwest Airlines card along with our ID, and he didn't charge us, which was very nice of him. Uneventful flights home, and our arrival times were within 15 minutes of each other, so that worked out great. Bob picked us up in our car, and then we headed home. A quick stop at the grocery store (the cupboards were bare!), and we were home by 10:30 pm. We did a quick conversion from den to guest room, got organized, and were having dinner about midnight! Of course, that was 9:00 for us, as we were still on Hawaii time! Saturday was a very low-key day, we all got unpacked, did laundry, did some watering in the yard, which had grown amazingly during our absence, and took a long walk up to the lighthouse in Montara. On Sunday, we took John to Filoli, one of our favorite places:

The rose garden

The "knot" garden, with amazing lavendar

John and Lee under the rose arbor. Notice long-sleeves and sweatshirts - we were definitely feeling the temperature difference!

Peeking through the Camperdown Elm - a most amazing tree with branches that reach the ground, creating a space under the tree.

Relaxing on the steps

John in the house at Filoli

More relaxing - it's a tough life! : )

Here's a picture of John and Jim, also at Filoli. Jim had never been before, and he called it the Hearst Castle of the Peninsula!

During the first week of John's visit, my friend Dani was also visiting, and we were busy knitting. John and Lee headed off to do some sight-seeing, San Francisco, Muir Woods, etc.

John with the Golden Gate bridge

John and Lee at Muir Woods.

At the waterfront in San Francisco. They watched Princess Cruise line set sail for Alaska!

Our knitting retreat ended on Thursday, and Dani headed back to her daughter's home in Elk Grove. We left on Friday for a weekend in Carmel and environs. We took John to the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Friday, then headed to Carmel.

In April of this year, the aquarium opened an amazing sea horse exhibit. These are shy little creatures, and this was about the best picture we got.

Lee in the giant clam!

Furry bunny looking for a home! We had gone for a walk to the beach in Carmel for the sunset, and a woman was trying to find homes for her bunnies. I couldn't resist holding one, and she commented on how well he (she?) matched my sweater! We came home without a bunny.

John and I with a sunset background

Lee and I