"I Left My Heart in San Francisco"

After spending this last week in the San Francisco area, I can see how this song became so popular when Tony Bennett sang it first in 1962.  Not only was it a fantastic song, it makes you think of all the fun things there are to do in that area!  The number one thing, however, is that we were able to see John and Alison's family and spend time in their beautiful home they have lived in for a year and a half, but we've never seen.

  

We definitely had a room with a view--Tyson was so kind to give up his bedroom to us while we were there.


 Daily, we watched the parade of the turkeys.  Everyone in the neighborhood is mad at them--they eat all their beautiful flowers!
 
After going through the yards, they then head for the hill which is right beside John and Alison's house.


I took this through the window while we were driving someplace.  They are everywhere!

Rosco renewed his love for Dad and offered himself as a pillow.

 

 Yes, Rosco and Grandpa George became best friends again while we were there.

And here is the other furry friend--Roxie.  But don't let her sweetness fool you!  She's the more hyper of the two!  They really miss the Chinese maid who gave them daily baths and let them eat out of the same bowl she was eating out of!

We loved seeing how they have decorated their beautiful home.  This is Parker's room with remembrances of Shanghai.  (The whole family still misses living there!)

The family room.  I love the picture above the fireplace.  That was taken on a street in Shanghai.

 

 So many of the items in their home remind me of pleasant memories we have had with the Wilde family:  I remember John purchasing this clock in Oberammergau, Germany, where the Passion Play is held every ten years.  Alison was fortunate to see it when she was in college and went with a group abroad.

 The living room--

Dining Room with the side tables that they got in China.

And, of course, the Terracotta Warrior John insisted that they get when we all were in Xi-'an.  I think he weighs over 500 pounds!  Luckily, their company moved them back from China.  I love how he stands guard at their house!

The Chinese ancient ship and drawer stand they purchased in China.  It is so intricate and absolutely fascinating.

 And I remember them getting this beautiful Chinese jacket while we were on a Yangtze River tour with them--all hand embroidered.

You can definitely tell the Oriental influence in their home.  John has taken such an interest in so many of these items, and it's fantastic that he has because it has really made their home interesting to see and live in.

 One of the things the kids have loved doing is purchasing a magnet from many of the countries they have been in.  Alison had this board made and had Amy make the lettering above.  It looks great!

This is the television/game room.  Again, John thought of getting jerseys and having them made into pillows.  Great idea, huh?

I loved this!  With everyone's different activities--a place for all the shoes is a must!  Great idea!

Outside, we were able to see their backyard which they had just finished.  Alison said the pool has been used almost every day until school started.  Now it is getting a little too cool, but they still use the hot tub.

One day, Preston wanted to go in, but his little teeth were really chattering.

 

Tyson's job is to get the leaves out.

 

Sometimes he gets a little basketball practice in at the same time.

The day after we got there, Alison was brave enough to drive us into "The City."  That San Francisco driving is crazy!  I'm sure glad it was her and not me!  (This is the new Bay Bridge that they have just opened.  They wanted to make it more earthquake proof.)

 Unfortunately, we already knew that we wouldn't be going out to Alcatraz because of the government shutdowns, but fortunately, we have been there a couple of times before.  You can see it out on the big rock at the right.

We picked John up from work since he works right downtown San Francisco, and then went to lunch overlooking the wharf.

Alison with her dad.

John had to get back to work, but we walked along the dock.  Here we saw a young lady making sour dough figures.

Go Gators!

 

I remember as a child eating at Alioto's when our dad and mother brought us here.  We weren't that familiar with a lot of seafood, so when our parents ordered red snapper, that sounded too frightening, so we all ordered chicken!  (Joyce reminded me about that the other day.  I hadn't remembered the chicken-part.)

There is always something interesting to see along the streets in San Francisco.

I had to take this picture for Amy.  This little incident has become known all over the world!

"To be where little cable cars, climb halfway to the stars . . ."

Sorry, I keep thinking of the song.

A visit to San Francisco isn't complete without going to Ghiradelli Square.

Same machinery used since 1852.

And trying one of their chocolate brownies with ice cream is a given!  (We all shared this, by the way!)

We next started the climb for Lombard Street.  We should have taken the cable car, but we wanted to work off calories!

We definitely made a few stops on the way up to catch our breath.

Do you see how this street goes straight up?

How would you like to climb that street every day, and then climb more stairs like this to get to your home?

Finally we reached our destination:  The corner of Hyde and Lombard Street.

At the top, getting ready to walk down the sidewalk of Lombard Street.

The crazy zig-zags the cars drive to get down the street!

Back at the harbor, we saw a Celebrity cruise ship.  Since we had just spent 12 days aboard one of their ships, it was like seeing a home away from home.

We next walked out to where all the sea lions hang out.  There were so many more than I remember seeing many years ago!

Walking along the pier.  I absolutely love merry-go-rounds--probably because I grew up with one in Rexburg.  That was about the only real entertainment we had there at that time, but they have always held a special place in my heart.

What a fantastic day in "The City."  We loved it!

Both Bracken and Parker work at the country club about five minutes from their home.  It is such a beautiful place--such a great environment to work in.

Their job is to load the golfers' clubs in their carts and wash the clubs and carts after the golfers are finished.   Here is Bracken driving one of the carts.

Bracken will work here until January when he leaves on his mission for Australia.


Parker is working here part-time while he attends high school.  Parker was pretty ingenious in the way he got back to the clubhouse each time.  They told us about the $17,000 golf carts some of the members have.  I really wanted to see one, but we didn't get the chance while we were there.

Besides going to school and working, Parker goes with the missionaries quite often, which he loves to do.


Tyson keeps busy with his school and sports.  This night, he was going with the church youth to do baptisms at the temple.

One another day, Alison, George, and I went to the Oakland Mormon Temple to do temple work.  It is an absolutely beautiful setting.

It overlooks the valley below, which was a big hazy that day.

Other days were spent watching the boys at practice or at games in their various sporting activities. 

Look at this field--turf!

Preston loves sports and puts everything he's got into whatever he plays!

We got to watch Tyson at one of his basketball games.  We can't believe how much he has grown!  He plays so hard, too!

 

Such a nice young man!

Saturday evening was the Priesthood Session of Conference.  All the guys looked so nice going off to the Session, I just had to take their picture.

On Sunday, John and Alison invited the three missionaries in their ward over for breakfast and lunch and to watch the two sessions of General Conference.  Every six months, the Mormon Church has a weekend of meetings which are televised all over the world for all the members to see where we get instructions from the Prophet and the Apostles, as well as other General Authorities.

There is a two-hour time period between the sessions, so after we ate, we got out a puzzle of the United States.  You can tell how much everyone was getting into it!

These three young men were just the greatest.  The one on the left (Elder Bradshaw) is from Salem, Idaho, just outside my hometown of Rexburg.  The one in the middle is Elder Beck who lives not too far from Kevin and Angie in Alpine, Utah.  He knows Connor well.  He has actually been called to Brazil, but has been waiting for six months while his Visa is being processed.  He is doing missionary work here in California while he waits.  The third Elder is Elder Dye from a small town outside of Atlanta.  This was when the final piece was put in 15 minutes before the second session started.  Perfect timing!

The guys all showed on the map where they were from.

So much fun!  400 pieces of fun!

One day, Grandpa George asked to walk the dogs with Preston while they went to the bus stop.  I went along for some picture-taking.

We got him to the bus stop and were just walking home when Roxie got out of her collar.  Let's just say, it was shear bedlam, but we finally got home!  A little too much excitement!

Another day, John got off work and we all drove to Monterey Bay and the 17-Mile Drive in the Pebble Beach Area.

So picturesque!

Although there are sea lions here at certain times of the year, we found out this wasn't them upon closer inspection.

But lots of birds.

There are actually several golf courses along this stretch.

And the homes along there are unbelievable!

This is called "The Lone Cypress," and is 250 years old!  Do you see how they have built a little wall to protect it? 

Little humming birds were throughout the flowering plants.

A putting green at Pebble Beach.

A Rolex clock--of course!

Some of the beautiful trophies inside the clubhouse.

We had lunch at the Gallery Cafe. 

Inside the Pro Shop, I didn't even see a shirt under $150!

I believe this is the first hole.

The last night before we came home, we had a cook-out and little pre-birthday bash for Parker who will be turning 17 at the end of the month.

The morning we were leaving for the airport after an absolutely fantastic week with the Wilde family.  Thanks so much for treating us so royally!  We want to come back again, for sure!