Reunions

Where has this summer slipped off too?  I can hardly believe that we're nearing the end of July already.

Which brings me to this post.

Since moving to California we've been fortunate enough to reconnect with some friends.  We happily found out one of our high school pals live in the same area as we do.  I hadn't seen her in over twenty years!

We also had a girlfriend come out in June to visit.  It was so great to get to catch up!  Plus we got extra Mindy time during her stay.  Now I'm trying to figure out how to get her to move out here so we can se more of her.  LOL

Then this month we had another buddy fly out here on her family vacation.  We all were able to meet up and tour the USS Gabby Gifford, which was open to the public.  We couldn't pass up the opportunity to gear up for a photo op.

And so you know these are the people that Jim and I hung out with in high school.  He just happened to be the one taking the photos.

My only question is how have they managed to look exactly the same while I seem to have aged?  Am I hanging out with a new breed of vampires or immortals?

Mini Vacation

So I have to play a bit of catch up again.  The past month we went on a mini vacation and I just haven't posted about it.  We drove from San Diego, CA to Salem, OR in the new convertible.  Darby went to a pet sitter and had a blast.  At first she didn't want to come back home.  Should I be insulted or relieved?  I'll take relieved.   The cats and bird had a friend stop by twice a day to take care of them.

Just a few highlights of the trip.

We went to the Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA.  Did the happy Snoopy dance over this.

We also went to visit the old Nike Missile site near San Francisco.  Jim's the history buff so we did do some exploring and he regaled me with the history.

We got a number of really good shots of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Beautiful!

We managed to check out a few wineries.  Which was for my benefit to be sure.  Sadly wine tastings weren't like what I was used to.  They poured the wine, told me what it was and that was it.  I'm used to getting a bit more information on wine than that.  Sigh.

We also saw the USS LCS 102.  Jim's love of history prevailed once again.  Since he is assigned to the LCS community he thought it would be neat to see one of the originals.  It was!  Although it's a different type of ship it's very interesting.  Jim even chatted with the 'crew'.  The captain actually served onboard one of the original LCS.  How cool is that?

We made our way to Salem, OR and stayed with our friends, Jeff and Ruth. They took us to Powell's Books in Portland, OR.  This is a book lover's paradise.  I have to admit I was a bit overwhelmed.  The place is huge and I never go in saying there's a certain book I want.  I'm a wanderer and pick whatever grabs my fancy in the moment.

I did finally find a few books I wanted.  As did Jim.  Bonus?  We bought Cards Against Humanity and played into the night with our friends.

We were also able to get a tour of PT 658.  Noticing a theme here?  This time we were able to tour with our friends Jeff and Ruth.  Jeff actually organized this outing.

And of course we stopped to check out Ruth's college that she works at.  Willemette University.  What a beautiful campus!

All in all, it was a great trip.  Wish we had more time to explore Oregon and see friends who are now living there.  Next time.  I promise!