Rodeo Beach

Michael had a surprise for us. We had hoped to visit Stinson beach.....but by the time we were done at Muir Woods we weren't sure there would be time for the beach.  We were not parked up at Muir Woods and it would take more time than we were planning to get there. We opted to head to Fort Baker so we could picnic by the Golden Gate Bridge and see the iconic bridge.

When we left Fort Baker, we assumed we were headed home. Michael took us to Rodeo Beach instead. I love the Pacific Ocean. It makes me feel closer to Asia.

Larissa also loves the ocean and had never been to the Pacific Ocean.

 

This is evidently how male Gherkins do the beach! LOL

 

Notice how excited Stacia is - jumping!

 

But not jumping HERE. LOL

 

Don't judge me. I was sharing the experience with a family member who I thought may have been here before.

 

Cute happening which caught Michael's eye

 

Sand is a fact of beach exploring

I look forward to visiting the Atlantic Ocean sometime in the future. Viva la retirement. This is the last Saturday Michael will be Active Duty.

Fort Baker - Golden Gate Bridge

Ed recommended we stop at Fort Baker for a picnic lunch and magnificent views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Ed has never steered us wrong.

We enjoyed a picnic in the shadow of the bridge. It was beautiful!  I relived the excitement of our first visit to the bridge through Larissa. You ARE standing on a spot you've seen in movies and history books

 

 

Muir Woods National Monument

We had a full day today.  This is the farthest west Larissa has ever been. There were a few things we wanted to make sure she saw before going back to Texas. We began the day at Muir Woods National Monument. We were given a free annual pass for entrance to National Parks - SCORE. We plan to use that in the next few months.

We were informed the parking lot at Muir Woods was closed by a flashing sign on 101. We found the parking lot and line for the shuttle. It turns out the gentlemen in front of us lived in San Angelo for many years. Michael and Jared were both wearing ASU sweat shirts.  It's a small world.

 

Larissa had never seen trees this big. They aren't as spectacular as the ones in Northern CA, but they are still pretty impressive!

 

Old Sacramento



Michael went to work and we went to Old Sacramento!

 

What's there to do in Old Sacramento? Well.....we skipped the museums...so that leaves walking along the dock, window shopping and eating. We did all three.

 

Nolan, Stacia, Jared, Larissa, Alex

Larissa, Stacia, Nolan, Alex, Jared

Love everything about this photo

Check out the punishments.....being mean to a girl was very serious

 I put him up to it - when I asked if he was ready to be a school marm. LOL

Stacia's ready

One Week

 

 

Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel  Jerry E. Sather

Wing Chaplain, 30th Space Wing

cordially invites you to attend a retirement ceremony honoring

 

Chaplain Major Michael E. Gherkin

Deputy Wing Chaplain, 9th Reconnaissance Wing

 

on Friday, the fourteenth of August at eleven o' clock in the morning

Foothills Chapel

Beale Air Force Base, California

R.s.v.p. by 7 August 2015

Military: Uniform of the day
Civilian: Buisness Casual  

Reception immediately following the ceremony in chapels annex.

Grass Valley Adventure

We are taking advantage of the cooler temps to get out and about.  I put a couple of roasts into the Instant Pot and we drove to Grass Valley and the Empire Mine State Park.  We toured the mine and the "cottage" and club house.  We then stopped in Grass Valley at Cousin Jack's Pasties! Yummmo! They aren't open on Wed. but the gal made us pasties and set us up outside anyway.

 

Another Prairie Diamond

We rounded the day out of dinner and another episode of Star Wars.