Odd things we've seen today

A big part of travelling is seeing such odd things...and since we don't speak the language, we have no idea what is going on. Here are a few things we've seen:

This is a couple of newlyweds having photos taken on the median of the road.

Berlin - Arrived Safely

If a plane leaves SFO at 7 pm and arrives in Berlin (via Frankfurt) at 5:30 pm, how many hours does it take? I'll give you a hint, Berlin is 9 hours ahead of San Francisco. Bet you didn't know there would be math!

We're staying at the Mercure at Check Point Charlie, GREAT location. Edie and Michael love it because it is a modern style, Dave loves it because there's plenty of room, and we all love it because it is in a great location. Oh, and Michael loves that they have a little work station because he brought his own computer this year! Which is really odd because until the France trip he had never even sent an email! We're all getting the power switches and toilets down...it is a little tougher than you think.
Look at how they make up the bed. This is two twins pushed together and we each have our own comforter....and one very flat pillow.

I was a little worried when I looked in here and didn't see a toilet! I thought it was hidden behind the wall, but you'll see in the next photo. And that's a drying rack which is so handy if you want to wash out a few clothes....it's a close to a clothesline as I can get :)

And here's the toilet and tiny sink around the corner from the shower.

We have lots of big windows. One is just a window (that actually opens) and the other is a private balcony. We couldn't figure out how to open the darn thing when we woke up at 3 and the room was really warm...probably because we were drying socks on the towel heating rack. We did figure it out in the am, so we're set for the other nights.

Ezra Update

I thought that maybe I was going a little overboard with my grandson, Ezra, so I haven't posted any photos in awhile. Well, I can't help myself any longer! He has a lot of white hair, very blue eyes, a couple of teeth, and a precious smile.

Here is his crawling pose....he is on one knee and then his foot. When he crawls he looks like he's hopping along...which is very entertaining but his mom doesn't like my jokes about his unusual style, imagine that!

He's been pulling himself up for about a month now, and generally prefers to be on his two legs. He's letting go so he can grab something, but it doesn't last too long. He does a very nice shuffle though. And please note that G-Pa Dave is not too wild about his grandson being dressed in Bronco colors...sorry Lindsay.

Ezra with his daddy (who is the favorite right now) at the farm in Sunol where they get their organic produce. He likes the chickens too.

And these are my babies...Ezra and his mommy.

Congratulations!!!!!!!

Our son-in-law, William, just finished his final final! He's finished with college....unless he has plans that he hasn't shared with us. Big party next month!

Can You Really Ride for 12 hours?

We met at 8 am at Starbucks and I didn't get home until 8 at night. We rode over 400 miles, almost all the way to Tahoe. And it was REALLY cold...hard to believe it's August! The temperature above Bear Valley, or was it Kirkwood?, was almost 40 degrees!

We still had a wonderful time....except for listening to the sloppy Raiders v 49ers game on the ride back :(

And this is why we live in California....beautiful! I would say it's all about the weather, but I've already whined about the low temps.

This might be Ebbetts Pass...

Our lunch spot at Alpine Lake....fabulous soup and sliders.

I wish I could remember the name of this little town, but there was 14+ mini coopers that were out for the day...some car club. Huge variety of drivers and they had their cars all cute with silly vanity plates....tons of fun.

Saturday Ride to Shenandoah Valley

It seems like forever since we rode the bike...yes, as in singular....since Dave got the super duper deluxe comfortable bike, Edie has become a lazy slug and is enjoying being the fluff on the back of the bike.

We called our friends to see who could come out to play, and Scott and Margaret said "Yeah, we're there". So we met at Starbucks at 8 (we got there almost 30 minutes early because we were so anxious to get going) and decided to head for the hills. We make our decision based on two important criteria....the temperature of the day and where we would like to have lunch. The Sierra foothills, or specifically the Shenandoah Valley, won. This includes Plymouth, Fair Play, Mt. Aukum, and Somerset...all the hot spots that you have probably never heard of before.

We visited our friend's winery, Oakstone & Obscurity, and another one that I won't mention because we were not thrilled. If you like to do a little wine tasting but get miffed at the prices and uppity air of Napa, this is a fine place to visit.

We had lunch at one of our favorites, La Bocconato Trattoria, in Fair Play. You might remember that we ate here on Valentine's Day with our grandson (his parents were there too). This alone is worth a trip to the foothills. The food is outstanding. We just sat ourselves on the patio and asked the waitress to let Giovanni cook something for us. Well...here's what he prepared...and it is spectacular...I don't think I have ever had noodles this light and delicious. And I have NO idea how many points this meal is....

Wine Event at Silver Oak

Today was the big release of the 2006 Cabernet. There was music, food, and plenty of wine. We even talked our way up to the VIP section where we sat on the sofa overlooking the music, etc. and they brought the wine to us. There was an intense guy who was very serious about his cheese. Another guy that prepared sausage for us, and yes there are many different flavors of sausage besides Jimmy Dean. The music was good, the wine and food very good, and the company was fantastic.
When we finished at Silver Oak we headed down the road to their other winery, Twomey. We walked in and it was very busy at the tasting bar so Pete told them we'd be sitting on the patio and could they bring the wine to us there.....well, they did just that! It's good to be with wine rock stars. I think we're getting used to the VIP treatment.
Oh, none of us bought a single bottle! The value just wasn't there.