Washington D.C./Boston

In our most ambitious trip since we retired, Gailee and I embarked on an eleven day trip to Washington D.C. and Boston with our good friends, Bob and Toni Bowers.  We lucked out by getting adjoining rooms at the Westin, Georgetown.  We kept a busy schedule over the next five days in D.C. visiting the Lincoln Memorial, the Smithsonians, the Washington Monument, Arlington Cemetery, Mount Vernon (Washington's home), and the National Archives.  Prior to our trip, my mother arranged tours of the Congressional Library, the Capitol Building, and the White House through her congressional contact in Congress, Representative Richardson.  We attended a live musical (Liberty Smith) at Ford's Theater, sitting not far from Abraham Lincoln's shrine.  The restaurants were excellent including Rugby, Glory, Ebbit's and Grille Fish with the most popular beer consumed being "Blue Moon."  A highlight was taking a boat cruise up the Potomac from Alexandria, Virginia, to Georgetown.  After five nights, we flew to Logan Airport in Boston and took up residence in adjacent rooms on the 27th floor of the Boston Sheraton overlooking the Charles River!  We purchased two-day tickets on the trolley, which got us around the city.  Our itinerary included walking the Freedom Trail through Boston while observing historical landmarks.  We found our way to the Paul Revere's House and a nearby Italian restaurant (Ristorante Euno), where we enjoyed perhaps the best meal of the trip.  The also took a harbor cruise and a tour of "The U.S. Constitution" aka "Old Ironsides."  More culture awaited us at the Museum of Fine Arts and the Boston Public Library.  Fearing becoming overly cultured, we took in a baseball game at Fenway Park between the Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers.  Favorite Restaurants in the area included Legal Seafood, The Bell in Hand (Boston's oldest tavern), The Green Dragon, and Whiskey's.  The trip concluded as the four of us were exhausted, sore from walking, uncomfortably full from constant eating and drinking, and happy to be heading home and into more promising weather.  All in all, it was a fantastic trip giving rise to a ton of wonderful memories.

Easter Followed by Palm Desert

Mike and Christy Berberet hosted Easter in Fallbrook.  We arrived around noon in the company of Ryan, Cathy, and the Ward Family joining the Fallbrook Berberets and the Yorba Linda Berberets.  Christy put on an amazing meal featuring wonderful homemade Italian food.  The annual Easter egg hunt was a hit.  Then it was off to Palm Springs/Palm Desert for a week of fun and relaxation.  We had two connected rooms at the Westin Desert Willows in Palm Desert.  Ryan, Cassie, Camille, and Mason were our guests on Sunday through Wednesday.  We enjoyed a trip to the Palm Springs Zoo (the Living Desert), a lunch at Sherman's Deli, and plenty off pool time in the mid-90 degree heat.  Mason was active playing basketball, pool, ping pong with anyone who would join him.  Camille was mainly interested in swimming, testing herself and proclaiming success with, "I didn't drown!"  The drinks flowed including strawberry smoothies for Camille and Mason which were topped with their beloved cherries.  The crew departed on Wednesday afternoon and Rich and Peggy joined us for the remainder of the week, beginning with the Palm Springs Street Fair on Thursday night.  The food vendors supplied us with barbequed brat sandwiches, egg rolls, and tacos.  Highlights of the next couple of days included shopping at El Paseo, lunch at Sherman's, the Palm Desert swapmeet, plenty of pool time, and a wonderful birthday dinner for Rich at PF Changs followed by a trip to the Gelato shop in town.  All in all, it was a great week of fun and sun.  In fact, Gail and I purchased a third timeshare to keep the good times coming in even more abundance!

The Bay Area and Baseball

We decided to take a four-day trip to the Bay Area with the main purpose to watch our nephew, Parker Berberet, play baseball on his Oregon State team against Stanford in Palo Alto.  We took off on a Wednesday morning and were checked in at the Sheraton Fisherman's Wharf by noon.  We spent the next day and a half enjoying San Francisco.  Activities included eating seafood at the wharf, riding the cable cars into the city, dining at the Buena Vista, visiting the Coit, walking across the Golden Gate Bridge, and thoroughly enjoying ourselves.  We spent Friday and Saturday at Palo Alto staying across the street from Stanford at the Palo Alto Westin.  Rich and Peggy joined us for the day on Friday, watching Oregon State outlast Stanford 1-0.  On Saturday, Oregon State emerged with another win as Parker tripled and played stellar catcher.  Highlights of the stay included dining on University Street, touring the university including the Rodin display in the art museum, and joining Parker and his family for after game Pizza on Friday night.

Spring Training

We attended our first Cactus League Spring Training in and around Phoenix, Arizona with our friends, the Pistoias.  We stopped on our way in to eat at Grimaldi's Pizza in Old Town and then arrived at the Kierlan Westin Villas for a three-night stay.  On Monday, we attended the Dodger/Rangers game and on Tuesday, we watched the Padres play the Angles.  Our seats were right behind home plate, the weather was perfect, and the ballpark cuisine included wraps, hotdogs, peanuts, and pretzels.  After the game, a trip to the swimming pool and steam room was in order.  Later at night, we enjoyed recently released DVD movies on the television before turning in.  The trip home was highlighted by a tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright house and corn beef sandwiches at Sherman's Deli in Palm Springs.

Double Header

We made a spur of the moment decision to get out of town.  First we headed up to Lake Arrowhead, where  snow was plentiful and the lake was beautiful.  With a new storm approaching, we headed down the mountain enroute to Palm Desert, home of our Desert Willows timeshare.  We spent time at Cabazon, the street fair, Sherman's Deli, The River, McCormick's Classic Car Auction, Murph's Restaurant at Bermuda Dunes, etc.  We have a return engagement planned at the Willows after Easter with reservations already set for a full week.

Newport/Laguna

Rich and Peggy reserved a full week at Newport Coast Marriott Villas.  We drove down to spend some time with them.  Highlights of the visit included walking through the town of Balboa, ferrying across Newport Bay, touring both piers and adjacent areas, eating at The Beachcomber at Crystal Cove, and taking a cruise on a Duffy electric boat in Newport Harbor with a picnic lunch.  The weather and company were terrific!  It was a great little outing.

Sunny San Diego

For Dkdogdaddy and Gailee, San Diego was a wonderful three-day, two-night getaway.  We stayed on the 14th floor of the Westin, Gaslamp.  Following midday shopping at Carlsbad's Outlets and then at Horton's Plaza, we napped and then went to dinner at the Fish Market on the bay.  We had bayside seats as we dined on Shrimp Linguini (Gail) and Cioppino (DK).  The next morning involved a walk to Seaport Village for more dining (I had a wonderful seafood omelette and Gail had waffles with fresh strawberries). We took a ferry over to Coronado Island and rented bicycles.  Half way around the island, we parked at the Hotel Del and enjoyed more walking, shopping, and relaxing.  Later in the evening after ferrying back, we walked over to the Gaslamp District where we enjoyed checking out some classic cars and participating in Taco Tuesday at Fred's Mexican Cafe.  These two days were spent in glorious 80 degree weather in January!  Returning home, we stopped for lunch on the pier at San Clemente.  Now it's back to a healthy diet and healthy living until the next trip.