Ready for a long post? I hope so.
Well... I am glad I made it to California at all. I was in the wrong line at the Orlando airport for an hour. My flight was a Northwest Flight but operated by Continental. So what line was I suppose to be in- let's just say- no Northwest. With 30 minutes til my flight was to leave I had to run to the other Terminal to check in, where the lady said I would never make it to the gate in time. But I set off anyway... and went through security in record time, though I left my ticket info and photo id there and had to go back. Then I go to the gate and asked the lady if I made the flight. She said, "Of course, with plenty of time to spare". I got on the flight and head to Houston and Sacramento.
Sacramento
Well- I didn't get to see much of Sacramento. What I did see was in the dark, but I am sure it is a beautiful place. Next time I go I am going to be sure and visit Old Sacramento and the train museum (which I hear is a cool place from the guy on the airplane). I went to Renee's sisters for the night. I got to see Renee's handiwork and the blank wall that she spent so much time taking wallpaper off of. It looked like it was ready for whatever it had to bear next.
San Jose
We left the next morning with Renee's parents and all her stuff and headed to San Jose and Renee's new home. There I met her new roommates, Wendy and Kristen. She has a nice (but hot) home and I am sure with a little time Renee will find her place in it. I also got to see her school and go to an In and Out near her home. In and Out is good- the hype is worth it. I even bought a T-shirt. We also went to a diner type restaurant called Flames. It had the biggest cakes I have ever seen!! And a wonderful Greek burger- mom you would have loved it a huge piece of Feta cheese on it!
Santa Cruz
After sleeping a bit and some breakfast burritos- Renee and I headed to Santa Cruz. On the way we went through the Redwood forest. At first I took Renee to the campground entrance instead of the park entrance. On the detour we took we ran into this place on the map that said there was a covered bridge... and get that... there was one. We parked and took some pictures of it. It looked a little scary to me... I have seen Sleepy Hollow too many times I guess. Then we road through the forest and on down to the beach. We found a wonderful spot to sit and have lunch looking out over the Pacific. It was on some cliffs and there were not many people out there... most of them were on the beaches and the Boardwalk. That is where they have all the roller coasters. We also made it down to Capitola (the next town over) and saw the Begonia Floats. They had a parade of them, like the Rose parade, but smaller and on the water. We also parked and went on the beach at Capitola. Though we missed sunset over the beach it was a good day. We headed back to San Jose and watched the beginning of "The Lord of the Rings" (we finished it the next night and I made Renee talk about it the whole way back to Sacramento).
San Francisco
On Monday morning Renee and I headed to Andres home. Andres was to be our driver and guide through San Francisco. He was a wonderful guide. We went all over the city. Our first stop after driving past Candle Stick Park (where the 49ers and another team play) and another baseball park that I am suppose to tell Glenn I saw, we headed to Pier 39. That is a COOL/AWESOME/SICK place. You can see everything from there- the bay bridge, the Golden Gate, Alcatraz, sea lions, and lots of sail boats. We had clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl on the pier. It is (according to Renee) the “best clam chowder"- I wouldn't know, since it was my first clam chowder. After the Pier we heading off to the Golden Gate bridge. We walked out on it and I took pictures from every angle and on every distance I could. Needless to say- Renee liked picking on me b/c I took soo many pictures of the Golden Gate. After the Bridge we went to Golden Gate park, couldn't find a place to rent bikes, so remained in the car as lazy as ever. Nah-- we did a bit of walking to the bridge :) Then we went up Lombard Street- the steepest street and down Lombard Street- the crookedest street. It was fun and Andres did it soo well. We tried to get up to see Coit Tower, but the line was way long. I know I am missing a few details, but hey- it is early to my body still. It was a great trip! Thanks Renee! It was good to see where she will be and who she will be around. Now on her plate is getting her class schedule and a job. And I head to my new class tomorrow at 9am. There is some other really good news here, but I will share that later. :) This is long enough.