My New Old Job

Well, the reason why I was able to stay for a week in San Francisco with Kirk is because I quit my job at Fore!Kids Foundation and decided to take a MUCH needed break for a few weeks. I hadn't had any time off since January, and after putting in 10-14 hour days (sometimes more) leading up to the Zurich Classic in April, I just couldn't take it anymore. The drive was starting to wear on me, too, and there was way too much drama in my office. I was always exhausted when I got home from work and I pretty much couldn't move on the weekends. And I just wasn't able to spend any time with Morgan and Kirk because I was always working. It was great to have the break but now I'm back at work...at WLAE. Yep, I'm back there for the 3rd time; I just can't stay away. I realized I was always pretty happy there and the drive is much shorter and my co-workers are A LOT nicer. Besides, television is my thing. So now for the first time in a year, I'm happy again.

Sonoma

Benziger Vineyards
Grapes that have been crushed
Harvested Grapes
Benziger Cellars
Kirk thinks these look like huge crawfish pots

Grapes on the vine
Gloria Ferrer vineyards
Gloria Ferrer Cellars (there are over 53,000 bottles of aging wine along the wall)
A rose at the Crane Vineyards (the roses help detect if the vines will do well or not)

On our very last day (boohoo), we went on another tour with the conference, but this time it was to Sonoma. We visited 3 vineyards...Benziger, Gloria Ferrer and Crane. Benziger by farwas the best tour and the best wine. We rode in a tram through the vineyards, then saw the cellars and crusher. At Gloria Ferrer, we walked and overlooked different things, including their cellars. This one is a vineyard for making sparkling wine. At Crane, we didn't have a tour, it was all just a tasting, but Kirk and I didn't really like their wine.

By the way, we had a great hotel right off Market Street and not far from Union Square. Kirk decided to try Priceline and we got a great deal on our room at Parc 55 Hotel. And besides that, it was a great hotel, too.

Parc 55 Hotel

San Fran Day 5

The ceiling in Neiman Marcus
Union Square
Yerba Buena Gardens (Kirk made me pose) designed by a local landscape architect
Yerba Buena Gardens
Another park designed by a landscape architect
Standing in front of the Bay Bridge
Dungeness Crab --Yummy!!!
Embarcadero
Riding a cable car down California St.

On our final day to ourselves, we hit the spots we hadn't seen yet, including the Embarcadero, the Financial District and a few things designed by landscape architects. Have I mentioned I love San Francisco yet?

The Redwoods and Sausalito

City Hall
Golden Gate Bridge (a little blurry since it was taken while we were riding over it)
Redwoods at Muir Woods
Redwoods
Redwoods
Boats docked at Sausalito
View of the city
Sausalito

On Sunday, we got to take a tour with the ASLA conference to see the Redwood Forest and then to the town of Sausalito. It was exciting because we got to cross the Golden Gate Bridge to get there and back. The Redwoods were unbelievable...very peaceful and the woods smelled like Christmas! We then were brought to Sausalito, which is kind of a boating town, but you had great views of the city. After the tour, Kirk had to go to classes, so I was left on my own to do my favorite thing...shopping!

San Fran Day 3

Waiting for the Blue Angels
Sea Lions
MORE Sea Lions
Lombard St.
A view of the city and Coit Tower

On Saturday, we went to Pier 39 to see the sea lions. It was packed with people due to the fact it was Fleet Week and the Blue Angels were about to do their air show. We also walked down the famous Lombard St., which is known as "The Crookedest Street in the World."

San Fran Day 2

The LONG line for the Powell St. Cable Car (as you can see it wraps all the way around)
Outside of Grace Cathedral
Inside of Grace Cathderal
Haight Ashbury
The Cliff House
Seal Rocks
Kirk and I with the Pacific Ocean in the background
A view of the beach and the Pacific Ocean

Day 2 included more walking but a lot more bus riding (thank goodness). We did, however, walk all the way up this HUGE hill to Grace Cathedral, which is the 3rd largest Episcopal Cathedral in the US. Let me tell you, it was amazing! We then hit Nob Hill and Haight Ashbury and walked thru some of Golden Gate Park. We made our way to the Pacific side to see the Ocean and to have lunch at the Cliff House, all complete with a view of the Seal Rocks. It was very windy and cold on this side though. After our busy day, we went back to the hotel to get ready for the ASLA reception.

ASLA Conference

View of the city from our hotel room
Chinatown in the foreground, Transamerica Building in the background
Alcatraz from Fisherman's Wharf
Golden Gate Bridge

The annual ASLA(Am. Society of Landscape Architects) conference was held in San Francisco, so luckily I was able to go with Kirk. I've never been to California before and it was absolutely amazing. We got there two days before the conference started so we were able to see most of the city...by foot. We also rode every form of public transportation there is in the city. The first day we walked from our hotel to Union Square, then through Chinatown, North Beach, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, then over to the Presidio. I was exhausted by the end of the day!

Heart Ache

I know it's been a while since I blogged, but not much was going on. Now there's a lot going on and I'll have to do all the updates later. The biggest thing is that Morgan has started complaining of her heart hurting. It doesn't happen all the time, just every once in a while. We've been to the ER, the pediatrician and now today I am taking her to see a pediatric cardiologist. The ER doctor thinks it might be panic attacks, but the pediatrician wants us to get a more extensive exam from the cardiologist. I'll update everyone later on what he says. I just hope it's nothing too alarming.


***UPDATE***
So after seeing the cardiologist today, we found out that Morgan is experiencing "growing pains" so to speak. He said the pain she was feeling had nothing to do with her heart, so nothing to be worried about. I will say this was the first thing my mom said it might be when Morgan started complaining of this. I feel much better about this and I think it's eased Morgan knowing she doesn't have a heart problem. Also, Sherry visited us at the doctor since we were at Ochsner and she brought Morgan a HUGE Halloween bag filled with candy...thanks Aunt Sherry! It was just what we needed.