San Francisco

Jimmy was a good sport and spent three days with my family. To thank him, we spent a day in San Francisco before coming home. It was Jimmy's first time seeing the city. Since we only had one day we had to rush. We started out at Fishermans Wharf. Jimmy was in heaven with all the shops at Pier 39.


Clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls are as good as their reputation.

Of course we had to stop by Ghirardelli square for ice cream and chocolate.




From there we walked up to Lombard Street. What a crazy street. We loved it so much we had to go get the car and drive down it ourselves. Jimmy drove and I had to close my eyes the whole way.



Union Square was Jimmy's favorite stop. He found a Macy's that was like 9 floors tall and still couldn't hold the Mens Department. It was like the "Mothership" calling Jimmy home.

After hitting up every store around Union Square, we ended up in the Castro District. We just missed SF Pride, but there was still lots going on and lots to see.

Reunion

This past weekend was the Garner Family Reunion. My family all flew out to Coloma California and took over my Uncle Paul's house. It was great having the entire family under one roof. Great, and LOUD. I loved it, but I think Jimmy was a little overwhelmed. Not that I blame him... sometimes they overwhelm me.


The weekend was filled with a million amazing activities.

Friday we went rafting. It was a blast but sadly nobody got thrown from the raft...until we were through all the rapids and started throwing each other in!




Saturday Dacia, Kevin, Mom and I took Dacia's kids kayaking. I didn't expect anything intense, but we actually hit some decent sized rapids, large enough to totally cover me and Bryson who was in my kayak in water.

Dacia put together a whole Family Fued activity and it was awesome. Everyone got really into it. The girls won, but I don't count it-Dacia was in charge after all. She must have done something to help them. How else could it have happened?



Sunday Grandma, Grandpa and a bunch of other relatives came over for dinner. And Jimmy thought it was loud before. It was so great getting to see everybody.


Apparantly Coloma is the site where Gold was first discovered and started the Gold Rush. So naturally some of us ended up down at the river panning for Gold. Jimmy was so excited to find gold and dragged me down with the group to pan for gold. Once he got down there though and realized just how small the pieces of gold were he just stood around directing me to find gold. I think he was expecting me to do all the work and then have me use the gold on him. Typical.




But of course, my favorite activity from the whole weekend, was just hanging with my nieces and nephews.

Cheese!!!

Jimmy decided that today would be a good day to try and make fondue. I love trying to cook new things, and I love cheese, so I was all for it. Jimmy tried to change his mind once we got to the grocery store and realized how expensive it was gonna be. He was ready to head off to a restaurant and just order fondue, but I wouldn't give in. So we ended up spending a ridiculous amount of money on all sorts of cheeses that I can neither say nor spell. But it was worth it.

The cheese was great and for dessert Jimmy made mini brownie bites. I really have no idea why, but mini brownies are so much better than regular brownies. Why is that?

Pride

This weekend was the Pride Celebration in DC and as always it was great. It was the first time I attended Pride that it didn't rain on me. Not only did it not rain, but it was gorgeous out.

The parade was fantastic. Such amazing floats and groups.




Of course my favorite was my Remingtons group, country dancing. Maybe next year I'll be up there.


Sunday we all got together again for brunch. I love breakfast. All you can eat waffles, omlets, cake, and BACON!!! After that we headed down to the festival. What a crowd. There were so many booths and supporters of PRIDE. I am so lucky to live when and where I do.

Relax

My favorite site in NYC is Central Park, and I've always wished that DC had a similar park. I didn't find a city sized park, but I did find something that reminds me a great deal of Central Park. After work on Friday, Jimmy met me at the Sculpture Garden outside the National Gallery of Art on the National Mall for a picnic. During the summer on Friday evenings, Jazz musicians perform at "Jazz in the Garden."

Jimmy brought in sandwiches and we lay on the grass listening to the music. It was crazy crowded, but it was still such a peacefull experience that I just about fell asleep, but every time I did Jimmy made sure to poke me or cover me in grass.


The sculpture garden provides the perfect atmosphere with people just hanging out around the sculptures as they listen to the music. I'm not totally sure what the sculptures are (I'll never understand modern art), but they still make for a great backdrop.