The Cliffs Revisited

One of the things I always mean to do when I'm in SLO is go to The Cliffs.  For some reason we never seem to fit it in.  But this time, we did!  I think the last time we did so was for our anniversary and Sienna was just a tot at the time!  Now that the kids are both almost teenagers, we thought they might appreciate seeing where their parents were married.

 

Here are the grounds as we walked down from the lobby to access the pool and wedding area.  Notice the bushes cut into dolphins!

 

 

Here is a view from the grass to the pool, restaurant, and ballroom.

 

 

Here is a view of the back of the rooms and the area where the wedding chairs were set up.

 

 

Here is a farther view of the hotel and restaurant area.

 

 

Both Sienna and Spenser acted as photographers for the next series of pictures -

 

 

 

 

We tried to take them from several different angles, recreating what you may have saw and experienced almost 17 years ago -

 

 

minus the tuxedo and wedding gown of course!

 

 

Remember the mariachi photo?  Rob and I posed with the band right outside these sliding glass doors.

 

 

 

Here it is recreated, this time with Sienna and Spenser too!

 

 

 

I'll consider sharing this memory with our kids an early anniversary present!

 

Happy Father's Day!

It's Father's Day and we are still in California, sadly without Rob on his special day.  But he, Papa, and Grandpa were on my mind when I went on my morning walk and carved the above message.

Last night I had a nice evening dinner with my brother Daniel, cousin Hayley, and her husband Eric,

drinking sangria and eating tapas on a scenic patio near the Mission.

Check out the sun's rays...

and down from the Mission is Mission Creek, a scenic spot.

Spenser loves some pepperoni pizza from Woodstock's

and exploring in the creek as well.

Spenser snapped this of me, don't ask me how it works because I don't know and neither does he!  The things my phone can do!

 There was only one day we hit Avila Beach and it was hot enough to lay out.

We got some good reading time in.

Believe it or not, I got a little sunburned!  

I also took Sienna back to the park where she celebrated her 1st birthday.

Remember the Teletubby party?  Look at the little girl now!

14 years later.....what a great father's day gift!

Harbors and Ports

Tuesday was a busy day with Papa, Papa Rose, and Spenser getting in 9 holes at Morro Bay followed by some sightseeing and eating of course!  Here is silly Spenser and Sienna with Morro Rock in the background.

Apparently the restaurant we normally dined at went out of business, so we chose another with a harbor view.

We all had sandwiches with a cup of chowder, except for Spenser who got a chowder bread bowl which he loved!

Papa can see the details on Morro Rock through his binoculars.

In addition to golfing and scenic dining, the family is getting some good reading minutes in.  I have read City of Bones and am now on City of Ashes.  Papa Rose is now reading City of Bones, and Sienna has read Matched and is now on Crossed.  Spenser is on his third book of the trip, called Battle for Skandia.

I am varying my morning exercise locations.  This morning (Wednesday) it was Port San Luis.  I parked at the Port and ran to the beach, on the beach, and then back to the Port.  After the run I continued to explore around the area.

You can drive and walk on the pier.  Along the way I snapped some interesting sights.  Above is the landing for getting on to boats, and below you will find some starfish if you look close enough.

Here is the view of the pier as I walked toward the end.  At the end is a famous restaurant, only open for dinner, and a fresh fish market.

Along the water near the pier are many boats, some active, some anchored.

How about some live crabs?

Or just perusing at the market?

Darn, restaurant not open til 5 p.m.  Oh well, not hungry anyway!

Another perspective from the pier.

People are active all around, fishing, kayaking, standboarding, you name it.

Getting in a history lesson.

Another location where kayaks launch.

Check out the seals!  They were honking up a storm!

Walking back to the car after my pier adventure.

And the day has just begun!

Oh Sun, Where Art Thou?

The sun continues to elude us most days but that doesn't prevent us from venturing out!  After my morning workout I convinced the kids to join me on a picnic lunch at a shore-cliff park.   Here is the crew, complete with Papa Rose, whom Spenser convinced to come on the outing.

There happened to be an event there that day, so Spenser and I ventured closer to the music.  A very good live band kept the old folks moving on the dance floor!

After enjoying some music, Spenser and I ventured cliff-side.

Here is the funny faced boy

and his mom.

The next morning Sienna joined me on the morning workout.  We walked/ran Avila Beach and then got some swing time.

After exercise came breakfast at one of my favorite spots, The Old Custom House.

Yum.