Did we miss May?

May was a funny month. We were traveling. We were ill. We re-discovered our yard. Let me break it down. I traveled out to Kenosha, WI to visit with my dear friend Tiffany and her amazing family over the Mother's Day weekend. Tiff's daughter Avery is bravely battling leukemia and it was such a privilege to be able to spend some time with them. We had lovely times, but the Milwaukee Zoo was certainly a highlight. Avery happily cleaned the window between us and the Big Cats. I found the cats FASCINATING...and the giraffes too! When we first walked into the Big Cat house, a cheetah was STALKING a row of little kids pressed up against the glass...it was the coolest thing ever, and it was so awesome to share that moment with Avery and Tiff. Todd took advantage of my trip to go off to Albany to run with a branch of his running club. Well, he came back with a case of bronchitis. His illness worsened through the week as he sweated through three sets of clothes an evening with high fevers. By the end of the week, he was still not feeling 100% but well enough so that I could keep my plans to visit with Amanda in Philly with Melissa. Melissa and I took Friday off and hopped into Ruby a bit before midday to set off for Philly. TEN hours later, after fighting through massive traffic for 90 miles, YES, snarled, nasty, crawling traffic for 90 miles!! we arrived in Philly - it should have taken less than 6 hours. Amanda lives right in Philly in a really cool house on a very narrow street. When we pulled up, Ruby practically kicked me to the curb as she chugged in on the last fumes of her fuel. But the trip, and Amanda, was worth it. We had a great time just walking around town seeing the sights and eating at Alma de Cuba. Very unfortunately, the long trip must have weakened my immune system because I was suddenly feeling a bit of Todd's virus taking hold...Ugh...which meant that I couldn't make a stop at my brother's place to see my niece's first teeth coming in!!! http://majestictree.blogspot.com/ I slammed the vitamins all week, because we were headed to San Francisco and Chico the following weekend! Luckily, we were both able to travel, although Todd's bronchitis had left him with a nasty cough that eventually resulted in a bruised rib that still bothers him. So we

traveled to Cali basically just to get away for a few days to see my mom and to see our friends Esin and hakan, Chris and Steve, Cris, and Julie and Rick. We arrived in San Fran on Sunday, then on Tuesday we drove up to visit my Mom and her husband and her pooch Hunter -- they live in Chico, CA. We had a really nice time visiting at my mom's workplace, seeing the town, having barbecue, having ice cream and cake, and just chilling out. The visit was short, but I am sure we will be seeing them again soon.




But before Chico, we hit San Francisco. Chris and Steve (The Uncles) picked us up at the airport. They started off our visit with a trip to Twin Peaks from which there is a fantastic view of the city. We then had lunch at a cute cliffside diner. At dinner that night, we saw Julie and Rick who were in town looking for a place to live and Ms. Cris who lives in close proximity to The Uncles. The next morning, Memorial Day Monday, after a delicious French Toast breakfast prepared by the crew, we went out for a walk 'round the town. We walked down through Chinatown to the Embarcadero Center and over to the Ferry Terminal. From there, we caught a bus that traveled along the water to Fisherman's Wharf and up to a really cool place. Cris and I are sharing a hug there (awwwww!), but what is this spot? I forgot. We then walked to a very cool spot where there is a Wave Organ!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_Organ

Here are the Uncles and Cris listening to the Organ....

and the group of us at the Organ.

After all of the walking, we were HUNGRY! So we went to a Malaysian restaurant, YUM!!!

The next morning, Tuesday, Todd and I hopped into our rental car and crossed the Golden Gate Bridge to go up to visit my mom in Chico.

We returned to San Francisco on Wednesday, returned the car, and made our way over to Berkeley on the BART for a birthday dinner with Esin, Hakan, and crew, including Sila and hubby, The Uncles, Ms.Cris, and another couple which included a Princeton alum who Chris realized he actually knew while we were in college! Talk about small world. I didn't know him but the name and face were familiar and it turns out we were in adjoining residential buildings, so this is not surprising. It was SO nice seeing Esin and Hakan and I hope we can see them again soon too. After all, she is in the States for at least a year (if not more!!!)!