Turn out the lights, the party's over ....

Grandma Carol and Papa Dave flew out this morning. They just called and are on the ground in Minneapolis already. I LOVE having my folks here. We had a great time and it was so nice to just hang out with my mom and talk. I've run doen the activities of several of the days they spent here, and I'm doing a scrapbook (6x6, a new size for me) for them, so I'm adding the activities of the last few days so I don't miss anything.

Wednesday we stayed in San Jose, ran some errands in the morning (school uniforms for boys, Mom picked out her vacation scrapbook, etc.). Then I hit Mapquest and got directions to Mission San Jose (which is in Fremont, CA). We hopped into the minivan and hit the freeways. I do NOT drive the freeways here that often; not because I can't, or I'm afraid (well, maybe a little afraid LOL) but because I really have no need to venture outside of our little comminuty here -- we have Costco, Trader Joe's, grocery stores, clothing stores, scrapbook stores, yada yada yada. And I really only go to the mall 2 or 3 times a year. I hate shopping. But I digress.

But I drove us to Mission San Jose. Let me just say that we have been here for over a year and I have said all along that I wanted to learn more about the Missions in California because they played such an integral role in the settlement of the state. Well, I was NOT disappointed. Mission San Jose is cool. My dad (history geek extraordinaire) loved it, too. I am SO glad we went. And proud that I conquered the freeways. Woo hoo!

In the afternoon we went to Mark & Vanessa's for a swim (bless them!) and then we came back in the evening and had dinner with them. They are the MOST gracious hosts and we had a ball. Much wine and beer was drunk, much laughter was heard ringing through the hills of San Jose. And the Santa Maria-style Tri-tip was fab. Recipe to follow. YUM!

Tuesday we got up in the morning and headed to Santa Cruz. Rob was at work so I drove, we looked around in the very nice Harley shop, and Dad found a bitchen' t-shirt and a baseball cap. Nice. We left the shop and went to one of out fave little spots, Rio del Mar beach. After a stop at this nice little gourmet grocery (Scharffen Berger Nibby bars or Italian Prima Donna cheese, anyone?) we got to the beach which looked NOTHING like it usually does. There was literally a river running across the beach to the ocean. You had to wade through it to get to the surf. It was shallow and actually a great place for the kids to play, but it was never there before....

I asked a local and he said it was normal for this time of year. (We haven't been to that beach since May). Then I noticed the water looked brown and kind of icky. He said it had been that way for a couple of months and it was sone kind of weird red tide thing. (A red tide is caused by some sort of algae, I think.)

At any rate, it looked a little less beautiful than usual, but we had a lovely day anyway. Papa and the boys built many fabulous sand castles, some grand enough even for King Arthur!

Vanessa, Mark and their boys came for dinner (brats on the grill, BLT salad with Balsamic vinegar, Olive bread with tapenade and that yummy cheese, and much wine). Ness brought me a lovely little pink bag from England (she knows I have a bag addiction AND I love the color pink). It has little strawberries on it and I am already carrying it everywhere. She brought "England" jammies for my kids, too. That girl is so thoughtful. The kids love the jammies and I, of course, took pix. Perhaps THIS week I'll figure out how to post them!!!

Forgot to add that on Monday Rob had the day off and in addition to the aforementioned activities we took the 17-Mile Drive near Monterey and looked at the Pebble Beach Golf Course and all the magnificent houses. The scenery was gorgeous, and we crossed another item off our "Must See in California" list. Unfortunately, every time we cross one thing off it seems we find three things to add. This state is truly a marvel!

So when are YOU coming to visit?