Chihuly Nights at the Arboretum

When I went to the Arboretum with Mom and MaMa a few weeks ago, they were starting to set up a new exhibit - Chihuly.  We saw one of the displays that had been completed, and they were in the process of working on a couple of others.  I knew that I wanted to go back when the exhibit was complete.

Not long after that trip, Michael and I were presented with the opportunity to go...for FREE!  Yes please!  We went tonight and had a wonderful time.  We were able to stay for the concert and the night exhibit.  The weather was great, and the exhibit met my expectations.  It was so pretty!

This display was made of over 1,200 individual pieces of glass, and we were told that it took them over four days to assemble it.  Incredible!

While impressive during the day, the entire exhibit was even more spectacular at night!

You should definitely go check out this exhibit if you can.  If you get a chance, go at night!

Christmas Date 2011

This year's Christmas date was pretty low-key, but a lot of fun.  When I got home from work last night, Michael was dressed and ready to go with his Santa Christmas tie.  I changed into a Christmas t-shirt so that I didn't leave him hanging with the Christmas attire.  Before we walked out the door, he made sure to grab his Santa hat before we left.

We had a fun, quick dinner at Steak 'n' Shake before heading to Deerfield to enjoy the Christmas lights.  There were some great lights to look at.  Some houses were very neat, like pretty lit up gingerbread houses.  Others, had TONS of light EVERYWHERE, but were still pretty and tastefully done.  While others...well apparently, the Spirit of Christmas had just thrown up all over the house and yard.  There were a couple of houses that had the lights synchronized to music.  One was pretty messy, while I thought the other was pretty impressive.

When we got home, we each opened one gift.  I got a beautiful red orange red (we can't agree on the color!) scarf from Michael.  I am excited because it is thin.  We don't have too many days in Texas to wear heavy scarfs!  Michael worked hard to make sure that I had a shirt, shoes, and even jewelry to wear with the scarf he chose.  He had matched it to items he knew I already had.  So thoughtful!



Michael received the Mavericks 2011 Championship DVD.  He was pretty excited!

As soon as he had opened it and said thanks, he immediately put it in the Blu Ray player and got his jersey on.  He was so happy to be reliving the season!  We watched about half of it before I had to give up and go to bed.  So far, it has been pretty good.  I'm anxious to watch the second half of it.  Afterall, that should be the best part!

San Francisco, Day 4

San Francisco - Day 4 (Sunday, August 7th)

We celebrated our first anniversary on our last full day in San Francisco.  Michael started out the morning by going downstairs to get my breakfast so he could serve me breakfast in bed.  He said he figured he better take the opportunity on vacation because he figured we wouldn't be allowed to eat in bed at home.  Smart man!  :o)  We didn't have anywhere that we planned to go until 10:00, so we ate and watched a movie (and I may have fallen back asleep for a little while!).

About 10:00, we left the hotel and thus began a long day of transportation!  We took a cable car to the ferry building, which was very neat.  However, since the cable car left about 10 minutes late, we didn't have time to look around.  We darted straight for the ticket booth and then boarded the ferry to Sausalito.

Sausalito is a little touristy coastal town.  It was primarily shops and cafes.  The original plan was to arrive in Sausalito and board a shuttle to Muir Woods.  However, there was no way I wanted to immediately get on the shuttle after crossing the bay.  Instead we had lunch, which gave me a little time to recuperate from the jerky cable car ride and the rough ferry ride.

After lunch, we took a cab from Sausalito up to Muir Woods.  The trails were not exactly what I had expected, but we got to see some of the tall redwoods, which was very cool.  (Watch our for bears!)

We also spotted a butterfly and a chipmunk!

After walking the trails through the woods, we took a bus (two actually) back across the Golden Gate Bridge.  We stopped at the bridge to see it up close and take some photos.  It was pretty clear (a rarity while we were there) when we first arrived at the bridge, and then the fog started rolling back in not long after we arrived.

We caught two more buses back to our hotel to rest (and recover from all the bus rides!) before getting ready for dinner at Neptune's Palace.  We had a nice anniversary dinner and then exchanged gifts to celebrate.  It was a fun evening!

By the end of Day 4, I think we were both pretty worn out.  It was a lot of fun, but we were both ready to get home and sleep in our own bed!

San Francisco, Day 3

San Francisco - Day 3 (Saturday, August 6th)

The main attraction today was our tour of Alcatraz.  We waited until about a week and a half before our trip to book these tickets, and we didn't think we were going to get them.  After a couple of days spent trying to get tickets, Michael was finally able to claim a few when another reservation was canceled.

We weren't scheduled to board the ferry until 10:30, so we walked out to Pier 39 for breakfast.  We'd had our eyes on a banana Nutella crepe that we wanted to try.  It did not disappoint!  We ended up also trying a breakfast crepe with ham, eggs, and cheese.  It was amazing!

The view at breakfast wasn't too bad either if you ignore the truck.  I don't even remember seeing it until I looked at these pictures later!

We enjoyed the view during the Ferry ride to the island.

The tour of Alcatraz this afternoon was easily my favorite thing we did.  It included an audio tour of the main cellhouse, which was fantastic.  It was narrated by four of the Alcatraz correctional officers and four inmates who served time at Alcatraz.  It was a fantastic tour!

One of the inmates mentioned that the worst thing about being held at Alcatraz was that the city was so close yet just out of reach.  He said that some nights when the wind was blowing the right direction (and every New Year's Eve) that you could hear sounds - laughter and music - from the city.  From the "bleachers" in the rec yard, you could look out and see the city.

Most of the tour focused on the prison aspects.  We even got to hear a guide open and close the cell doors, which was very loud!  Apparently this was how the term "slammer" came about.  I had never thought of the origin of that word before, but it is truly fitting!  Living in one of those tiny cells would be a miserable life.

By the time we returned, we were starving!  Michael had a fish sandwich, and I opted to return to the crepe place for a pesto turkey crepe with French fries.  Great choice!  We ate at a bar with a view of the boats in the harbor.

The rest of our afternoon included a tour of the USS Pampanito, a submarine docked at Pier 45 next to the Jeremiah O'Brien.  This was the first time I had been in a submarine, and it was crazy to see how cramped everything was.

Six men slept in each of the torpedo rooms, and the main bunker held 36 beds - 3 high with very small lockers for belongings.  In addition to these, there were the officers quarters, which were better, but still small.  There were 75 men on board with approximately two beds for every three men.  (One of the three was always on duty.)  During the war, the Pampanito rescued 73 British and Australian survivors at sea to add to the cramped quarters.

Torpedo Rooms - In the top right picture, you can see the springs of the bed above the torpedo to the left.  You can see the bed from the side in the left picture.  There were three beds on each side lined up end to end.

Main Bunker - The beds were stacked three high.  Yes, there is a third row down by Michael's feet.  On the wall beside the beds were small lockers for personal belongings.

Notice the broom atop the mast.  This is to indicate a "clean sweep."

For dinner, Michael had one of Boudin's famous bread bowls with clam chowder, while I opted for the chili in mine.  One location at Fisherman's Wharf had a huge bakery that you could observe.  Every time we got anywhere close, we could smell the delicious bread being baked.  I think they baked bread all night long!  They even did some creative alligator and turtle bread "loaves."

Another great day of vacation in San Francisco!