This last week I had the pleasure of visiting my great-aunt in the town of Ross. Ross is a beautiful town located in Marin County by San Anselmo, about an hour from San Francisco. Last Thursday, I got up early and flew out of Spokane International Airport at 8:45 am. It was a beautiful flight over to Seattle. The sun lite up the mountains making the snow sparkle. It was enjoyable to drink coffee, read and enjoy the view.
Flight from Spokane to Seatac
Bad picture but this guy was playing music while
I had lunch in Seatac and he was amazing
Travel Notebook my mom got me for my adventures this year.
I had lunch in Seatac and he was amazing
I had a one hour delay in Seatac, but I didn't care. It gave me time to adventure. I went to the food court, got lunch, and listened to a fabulous musician. The sun was shining in the windows, everyone around was chipper and I was happy, carefree and on an adventure.
Before long I had to get back to my gate and prepare to board again. Once on the plane I sat next to a delightful woman who was a school teacher in Bellevue. She was headed down to San Francisco with a group of friends and I had a lovely conversation with her before the plane took off. Then when we entered San Francisco. Once, in San Francisco, I met up with my aunt, got my suitcase, and headed for her home in Marin County.
Once there, she showed me around her beautiful home. I unpacked and we had a fabulous dinner. After dinner we decided to go to a movie so we went and saw Hidden Figures. It was such a well done movie. If you haven't heard of it, it is a movie about the three African-American women behind NASA and it is incredibly well done. It stars amazing actors such as Kevin Costner, and Octavia Spencer. That was pretty much how the first day went.
Isn't this welcome pig adorable?
On the second day, I woke up feeling glamorous. The guest room was so cozy and I was just laying there reading a magazine having a lazy morning. I totally felt like a movie star.
Reading Glamour and feeling fabulous
After breakfast we went for a walk in the town of San Anselmo. People say it is a small town, but for the country girl from Latah, it was like walking around in Couer De Alene area. It was beautiful with all it's quaint little shops. My favorite was the bookstore, go figure!
The Great Gatsby was my book find of the day!
We also went through Imagination Park. It was created by George Lucas, who lives in the next town, San Rafael. It is a beautiful little park and has a Yoda and Indiana Jones statue in the middle on the fountain. Had to take these pictures to send back to James.
Hello Indiana Jones
Y-O-D-A Yoda
Back at the house we did a fun craft called book sculpting. I did a very simple pattern being a novice, but it turned out pretty cool and I now have it sitting on my bookshelf holding different announcements and such. We had another delicious dinner, and watched a movie. It was the perfect relaxing evening.
Day three, we went into San Francisco. I went down Lombard street which was amazing! I can't believe people live on that street. It was too rainy to get out and take pictures, but I really love this one I got from inside the car.
Here I am going down Lombard Street
In San Francisco we went and explored Chinatown. Which I loved. They were celebrating Chinese New Year, so there were several lanterns. Tons of decorations, people were everywhere and I had a great time exploring the shops. We ended up having lunch there which is such a fun memory. We decided to try Dim Sum, which was like a sample of Chinese food. We chose this restaurant called Oriental Pearl and they told us everything about the dishes. My aunt and I had such a fun time trying the dishes and attempting to use chopsticks (which she is actually quite good at by the way). Everything was delicious, although I am not a fan of New Year's cake.
Erika at Oriental Pearl trying Dim Sum
It is the year of the Rooster
We left Chinatown and headed for Union Square where I saw huge stores, street vendors, cable cars, trolleys, and so many other incredible sights. That were just fun to experience.
"Hello, Trolley people" ~ Princess Diaries
I fell in love with Palm Trees
My favorite part of the trip, which is hard to chose as there are so many incredible memories and experiences I made, was going to see my first Broadway show. We went and saw Finding Neverland. It was absolutely amazing and I was enthralled from the beginning to end. I was so starstruck at intermission that I had this blank stare on my face. The pirate ship was stunning and the talent of all the actors on stage was breathtaking. It was like I was a little girl watching her favorite fairytale story come to life.
Broadway!!!!!!
After the incredible performance we went to observe part of the protest going on at the civic center. It was a sight to see all the people and I am sure there were more before we got there. I loved the architecture of the building.
Going over the Golden Gate Bridge or even just seeing the Golden Gate Bridge was a surreal experience. I have seen it in movies, TV shows and the like. But to actually be there and to go over it was exhilarating. Yeah, I know little things excite me.
Golden Gate Bridge!
On Sunday, we had a lovely day at home doing art projects. My aunt is a talented artist and it was joy to get to be artistic or as artistic as I get, with her. We tried an art lesson and although you can't really tell that I painted a vase of flowers, I will call it an abstract and who knows maybe I will become famous :) My cousin also came over with his fiancee and we watched the Superbowl. It was awesome to get to see him. I hadn't seen him since the last family reunion and it has been at least five years since that happened. Anyway, it was a great visit and a great day.
Monday, was my last day in San Francisco and we didn't let the rain stop us from having adventures. We went up to the Marin Highlands and I explored the old bunkers up there. It always amazing how methodical and well-built the buildings are. Here are few pics of me being goofy.
Hello World!
Can't....Get it.....open!
The foggy sights of Golden Gate Bridge
We decided to check out the Marin Mammal Hospital on a whim and it turned out to be a lovely stop. We got to learn about the work the hospital does and see some of the seals they have rescued, they were so cute and I was trying to figure out if I could fit a seal in my suitcase.
Erika posing with the seal statue
A truly incredible place if you get the chance check it out
We also explored Point Reyes which is an adorable beach type town. We had lunch there in a cafe and it was really cozy and a nice place to chat.
Tuesday turned into quite the adventure with the flood sirens alerting us at 7 am and the 9 am text saying my airport had changed to San Jose because San Francisco had flooded. So off we went on the 2 hr drive to San Jose, my aunt is incredible for helping get me to the right airport. In San Jose, I waited for an hour got on the plane and then waited another 40 mins before take off. Then I ran through Seatac looking like an idiot, missed my flight by 2 mins, went to customer service, got a new flight, went and got dinner. That flight was delayed half and hour. Got on that plane, flew home. My bag however did not. It arrived the following afternoon at my house.
Despite the wild adventure of getting home. The trip was incredible and am exceptionally grateful to the people who helped make it happen. I hope you enjoy the pictures an my ramblings about my trip.
My amazing tour guide and host Aunt Janis
Brunch at the airport
Homeward bound
Goodbye Cali!
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