San Francisco Trip

As a combined Christmas gift to one another and anniversary celebration, Scott and I took an amazing trip to California in late July.  We flew into San Francisco and spent two nights there enjoying the bay area as well as Sausalito and Sonoma.  The first day, we walked up and down the crazedly crooked Lombard Street, which was near our hotel, and then enjoyed an early seafood dinner at a restaurant right on the bay. After dinner, we took a wonderful sunset cruise that went past Alcatraz to Sausalito and then under the Golden Gate Bridge as we returned to the pier in San Francisco. 

San Fran here we come!

Cars driving down Lombard street behind me. Our hotel was up past the top of the hill, so we had quite a hike on the way back, but at least the little apartments and flowers along the way were really nice to look at!

We had a great view of The Golden Gate Bridge from our hotel room

View of Alcatraz from the pier where we had dinner

Crab legs and shrimp scampi from the Franciscan Crab restaurant

View of the city as we cruised around the bay.  Our cruise included live music, hor d'oevres, and drinks ( and apparently dirty windows!)

Another view of the city and bridge on the cruise

"Welcome to the Rock"

All the boats docked in Sausalito, which was such a pretty little town built on the hill

Scott and I on our cruise

sunset view of San Francisco in the distance

The Golden Gate Bridge at sunset

Scott, right before we went under the bridge

On our second day, we left the hotel bright and early to do a guided group tour to Sonoma country.  The first stop on our tour was the fog-shrouded Golden Gate Bridge.  Next, we stopped at Muir Woods and spent time enjoying the quiet and the wonder of God's creation as we looked at the enormous redwoods.  Midmorning we did a wine tasting at a winery in Sonoma country, then had some yummy pizza and shopped at the square in Sonoma.  On our way back toward Sausalito, we visited a unique place called Cornerstone that had several tasting rooms, shops, and gardens all combined in one location. After some ice cream and a walk around Sausalito, we rode the ferry back to San Fransisco and had a sunset dinner overlooking the bay. 

Amazing view from the top of The Golden Gate

Fog covering most of the bridge

a view out into the bay from the bridge

The fog began to lift a little as we stood there taking pictures and enjoying the view

Scott in front of one of the redwoods at Muir Woods

This one was big enough that we could've walked around inside it!

We arrived fairly early in the morning, so not many people were there yet, and it was so quiet and serene.  It was truly a religious experience to see something so magnificent and enjoy the near-silent woods.

fallen tree across the little creek that you could hear bubbling through the woods

Our wine tasting on the patio of Aanaba winery

It was significantly warmer in Sonoma, but the weather and the scenery were just gorgeous

Tree in the garden at Cornerstone

This little pond had a grassy area beside it with grass so incredibly soft and lush that I had to take my shoes off and walk through it

pinwheel garden at Cornerstone

view from our table at dinner in Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco

On the third day, we headed down Highway 1 to Monterey, enjoying lots of little stops and sights along the way.  That night we did some souvenir shopping in Monterey and had dinner at a restaurant we had seen on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" in Fisherman's Wharf.  After exploring Fisherman's Wharf a little more, we enjoyed a beautiful drive along the coast at sunset.

We drove through China Town in San Francisco on our way out to Highway 1 from our hotel 

Our first sightseeing stop was this beautiful little area just off the highway

the water had carved out little caves in the rock that were super cool

Good looking guy with good looking scenery

me in front of one of the carved out places in the rock

We stopped for lunch at a coastal Mexican restaurant in Moss Landing and then enjoyed watching the otters play in the bay

Scott watching the ocean and enjoying some sand under his toes at Moss Landing Beach

Another view at Moss Landing Beach

Sunset view of the beach in Monterey after dinner at Fisherman's Wharf

Scott on the beach at Monterey at sunset

 On day four, we continued down Highway 1 from Monterey to Big Sur, exploring, hiking, and sightseeing all along the way.  We ended our day with an amazing anniversary dinner at Post Ranch Inn overlooking the Pacific Ocean at sunset.  It truly was the trip of a lifetime and were we so blessed to have had this amazing time to spend together!

Point Lobos State Reserve

We had a great time walking on the trails along the coast and on the rocks along the shore

We watched the sea lions on the rocks and could even hear them barking

Scott and I in front of Bixby Bridge

We took a short hike to view McWay Falls, which was completely amazing and beautiful

A pretty view on the way up to the falls

We took a longer hike at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park as well

Along the way there were gorgeous trees, flowers, and views of the Pacific Ocean

Special anniversary gift from the chef at our dinner at Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur

The restaurant had floor to ceiling windows that made you feel as if you were almost floating over the edge of the coast

There were also little balconies where you could go out and enjoy the views and take pictures

Happy 17th Anniversary to us!

Gorgeous sunset from our table

Anniversary desserts.  All the food was small, and some of it we had never heard of before, but it was all delicious and somehow we left with tummies that were more than full enough!

There were wildfires in the area which created a lot of smoke and haze that obscured our view of the sun, but it was still a wonderful sunset and super cool to see the sun as this red/pink dot in the sky.  It was a night I'll never forget!

Other July events

 A big event in the Bedichek family this summer was Tom retiring from pulpit ministry after 50 years.  The whole family, minus Amy and Mike and their kids out in California, came to worship services at Alliance Church of Christ that morning and then stayed for a special lunch honoring Tom and Jan and their years in ministry.  It was a very special time for Tom and Jan and the entire family.  Many, many people in several states including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Louisianna have been blessed over the years through their ministry and service to the Lord.

This is just a little snapshot I took of Scott and Avery as they practiced playing/singing "I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me.  I love how these two (and Kendall and Jud with their piano playing) fill my life with music.  The fact that music isn't a talent of mine, but is something I wish I could do, makes it that much sweeter that I get to enjoy it through people I love. 

This year in our small groups we have been doing different "experiments" in practicing the way of Jesus which have included keeping track of how we spend our time, practicing solitude, keeping the Sabbath, and everyone's favorite- eating meals together every night for a week.  One of these experiments was also taking a tour of Fortress Development Center and the surrounding area.  This picture was taken at a little park area near Fortress that is pretty neat because it sits on a little hill and you can see downtown in the background.  We learned a lot about the programs at Fortress, the kids and families they serve, and the area in which they live.  We hope to be able to participate at some point in the future in the great work they are doing at Fortress, either as individuals or as a group.

New Office Groundbreaking!

Today was a special day for Scott, for our family, and for the staff at Alliance Implants and Periodontics as we broke ground on the new office location!  We invited the staff, our families and some close friends to join us in the blistering July sun to pray over this new location and break ground.  Afterwards, we had everyone over to the house for some coke and root beer floats to celebrate.  We were so thankful to everyone who came out to pray and celebrate with us, and we hope that God blesses the practice as it grows so that we can do even more to serve Him.

American Girl Store and Cafe

Another fun thing we did in July was to have a girls' afternoon at The American Girl Store and Cafe.  Poppi took Judson to the toy store and played with him at their house while Mimi and I took Avery and Kendall to have dessert at the cafe and to shop in the store.  Avery brought both of her dolls, Isabelle and Caroline, and Kendall brought her Isabelle doll.  The dolls got special seats at the table as usual and we did some of the "Table Topics" cards while we waited on our desserts.  After stuffing ourselves full of deliciousness, we did some browsing and shopping in the store, which is always fun.  The fact that this year might be our last time to go makes this time even sweeter and makes me really glad that we've taken the time each of these past few years to do it.

Sea Life Aquarium

For a fun summer outing me and the kids met my parents at Sea Life Aquarium inside Grapevine Mills Mall one day.  The kids had fun seeing all the animals, especially the walk thru tank and the tank full of manta rays.  They had a little scavenger hunt card the kids got to complete as we went along, and then of course they enjoyed Mimi and Poppi buying them a souvenir in the gift shop when we were all finished.

July 4th

We celebrated America in our traditional way again this year.  We met Scott's parents at our usual spot along 377 in Roanoke on the 3rd to watch the fireworks.  It was a great fireworks show and enjoyed spending the evening outside relaxing with family.