Catching Up

So what's been going on lately in La Vida Casa Cali other than endless jewelry making and work on my website? Lots, really, and unfortunately I've been a bit lax about recording it all despite keeping with my goal of 15+ blog posts per month in 2010. (PS - do you see Pria in the photo above? He is fabulous about "helping" me with my jewelry work.)

My Grammy was here visiting for a couple of months, which was wonderful. Since she lives in Italy for most of the year (and Rico and I lived for so long in a place that wasn't mail-friendly or regular-phone-call-friendly) we haven't had much of a chance to catch up over the years. We got to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas together, as well as several days just hanging out.

One particularly nice outing we went on was a ferry ride from Larkspur to Embarcadero in San Francisco proper. It was a gorgeous day, my aunt and uncle were in town, and our neighbors from across the street joined us for some fun - an ideal way to spend an afternoon, for sure.

Stairs are no problem for my Grammy, who is well into her mid-80's. She uses these alpine sticks and breezes up or down without a problem. It's very impressive, a big motivation to keep up on the exercise (which she credits with her mobility and good health).

Rico and I are still total tourists here in the Bay Area, especially in San Francisco.

Although taking the ferry was a new experience for us, the beautiful day made it photo-worthy regardless. Blue-green water, green hills in the background, bridges and cute houses seemingly around every corner.

My beloved Resident Alien really enjoyed the ride, but secretly wished we'd been on something with sails. I, on the other hand, was happy the bulk of the ferry made for a relatively smooth ride. Still, I had to stand outside on the deck in the freezing wind, because that was preferrable to staying in the indoor passenger area and getting seasick. It happens within minutes if I'm inside a cabin on a boat, no matter how big. I even suffered on the gigantic overnight ferry I took over a decade ago between Brindisi (Italy) and Piraeus (Greece).

Thankfully there were no episodes of seasickness. Just the Bay Bridge in all its postcard-worthy splendor, the salt of the Pacific in the air, and a great day spent with family and friends. I love that it's so easy for us to take these mini-holidays. This particular outing was, I believe, on a Wednesday afternoon and took only a few hours yet was so totally refreshing it felt like we'd been on vacation!

Highly recommended if you are ever in the Bay Area. You can also take the ferry to Sausalito and a host of other destinations.