CHARLEY & GAGA

I just took one of my favorite trips again yesterday - down the road on a walk with my Charley Ellen. My granddaughter is fast becoming my best companion! At 2-1/2 she is so vocal, quite opinionated & the best conversationalist. 

I visit her at least once a week, usually on a Tuesday morning. We play, read, "get comfy", pretend all sorts of things & take long walks down the 1/3 mile driveway at their house in the foothills. It is a beautiful setting & really conducive to exploring all sorts of bugs, rocks, flowers & other interesting little treasures.

Yesterday on our walk Charley was totally cooperative with taking a few cell phone selfies. Here are our best ones.

Normally Charley is a good walker. She will go both ways without any problem but yesterday she was getting tired & wanted to be picked up on the trek home. It is uphill to their house at 1700 feet elevation. Gaga was carrying Charley, two walking sticks, two hats & a handful of assorted little goodies up the hill! Quite a workout! But it was totally worth it to spend time with my sweetie & get these great pix!

MIYAZAKI BATH HOUSE

Sometimes, in spite of the stress & turmoil of life, you have to just take a few hours, turn off your phone & escape from reality. The reality for me these past six months is that my dad’s health problems have taken priority in my life.

But today I finally managed to take my sweetie to the Miyazaki Bath House in Walnut Grove, California. This was my birthday gift to him which had been postponed then put on hold for the past month. 

The Miyazaki Bath House has been lovingly restored by a couple named Montserrat & Eugene. I read an article in our local newspaper about their endeavor & thought, hmmm, this might be something Lou would be interested in.

The bath house is in a small wooden building located in the heart of "Kawashimo", the old Japantown in Walnut Grove in the Sacramento Delta.

According to their website, the Miyazaki is the only historical & traditional Japanese Osento still operating in the United States. It provides private hot & cool soaking tubs & a steam room along with tea service. The owners provide kimonos, essential oils, salt scrubs & ginger tea among other amenities & touches that make it a unique experience.

Me in my kimono getting ready to do some traditional Japanese bathing. I love this photo! Lou gets full photo credit on all of these pictures since I didn't even bring my camera today.

The front part of the bath house is an art gallery which is also part of the private relaxing experience.

Lou in his kimono sitting on the tatami mat bed in the gallery.

The brown closets to the left are part of the original doors & framework of the building.

Walnut Grove is small historic town on the Sacramento River about 45 miles from our home. The town had both a Japanese district & a Chinese district which we thought was kind of strange since the town only consists of a few blocks in both directions. It's amazing how many interesting little places are so close to home!

Some of the old buildings in Walnut Grove which fell into disrepair post World War II but are being revitalized.

One of the many drawbridges crossing the Sacramento River & Sacramento Delta with its 1200 miles of waterways.

Our lunch at Alma's River Cafe (where we were the only two non-locals) followed by a two hour "soak & steam" ended all too soon. But at least we had a short escape from the crazy reality of life before heading back home to all the medical drama. Sigh . . . .

DAY TRIPPIN' AT MICKE GROVE PARK

This has been an unbelievable past six months with parent health & medical issues – with no end in sight. But since this blog is about travels, I won’t go into all of that here. Suffice it to say that I was in dire need of a day away from it all. Yesterday was a rare day where I was at home & neither of us had any other plans or responsibilities. I wanted to go somewhere fun.

Lou suggested that we take a ride to Micke Grove Park near Lodi. It’s pronounced “Mickey” as in Mickey Mouse. We packed a picnic lunch & headed on down the road. It turned out to be a great choice on a beautiful day.

Our first stop was the Japanese Gardens. Initially we had the place to ourselves which was a welcome respite. A little more quiet meditation time would have been nice but the school buses descended & soon the constant buzz of school children filled the gardens.

The ponds & stepping stones meander all through the Japanese Gardens in Micke Grove Park.

A Japanese Maple tree & brightly colored azaleas added some color to the grounds of the gardens.

My balance pretty much sucks & at one point the path ended at these stepping stones. Lou walked across then had to come back & hold my hand from stone to stone. I could literally see myself falling in the water but just looked down at each stone, put one foot in front of the other & maintained a death grip on Lou's hand. I made it! Whew!

I love bridges & gardens. This brought back memories of our trip to France a few years ago when I visited Claude Monet's Japanese Bridge & Gardens in Giverny.

Lou doing his Karate Kid imitation.

Taking a moment to reflect.

After lunch we strolled past the Micke Grove Zoo & the Funtown Amusement Park but decided to save those for a time when Charley was with us. Our next stop was the Rose Garden. Many of the flowers were past their prime in blooming but it was still gorgeous.

One of the lovely roses in the Micke Grove Rose Garden.

Smaller cluster roses covering the wooden fence post.

The park houses the San Joaquin County Historical Society & Museum, a collection of eight exhibit buildings, two homes, a schoolhouse & numerous other displays. Our AAA book said to allow two hours & they were right! There are all sorts of attractions & activities for kids.

An old time kitchen diorama in the San Joaquin County Historical Museum.

This was part of "one of the largest collections of hand & foot-powered tools" in any museum. I loved the sign here on the barbed wire display.

My grandfather was a trucker in the Central Valley who hauled wooden crates of fruit & vegetables. This must have been the precursor to his truck.

The Julia Weber House, built in 1892, is currently being restored to its 1901 appearance & is not open to the public at this time.

The Captain Charles Weber Cottage, built in 1847, is the oldest wood frame building in San Joaquin County. Charles Weber was the founder of the city of Stockton.

WINTER IN McKINLEY PARK

Halfway through the Winter Olympics, this past Sunday was a beautiful sunny morning so we decided to take a walk around McKinley Park in downtown Sacramento before the serious couch potato time started.

Not too much was blooming yet but what we did see was gorgeous! It should be amazing in another month or two.

This is the entrance to the Rose Garden. Of course, nothing was in bloom in February but it should be spectacular once they all begin to blossom.

From what we were able to determine this is a Saucer Magnolia tree that blooms in February.

A close up of the Saucer Magnolia blossoms. Each flower is 3 - 5 inches across & were really gorgeous.

Camelias are popular in Sacramento. The trees & bushes were in full bloom.

The foliage around the lake is probably a month or two away from filling in but it was still a lovely site. The ducks, geese & turtles certainly enjoyed it!

This tree actually had a lot of white blossoms on it but they are hard to see in the shade.

The turtles were certainly enjoying sunning themselves on the rock wall along the island.

A couple of Canadian Geese made for a serene scene with their reflections.

These two little creatures didn't seem to mind posing for us to grab a couple of close up shots while they enjoyed the warm winter morning just like we did.

This squirrel was content to hang on to the tree head down while we snapped his picture.

This colorful turtle was happy to soak up some rays, too.

Lots of little two legged "critters" were enjoying the colorful playground with their parents. The squeals of "Push me, push me!" were heard everywhere.

This playground was burned down a few years ago but the city & residents have restored it to a great place for kids.

SUPER BOWL XLVIII & LOTS MORE!

Lou has been trying to win the lottery for the right to purchase Super Bowl tickets for five years now. Only 500 pairs of tickets are reserved for the general public. This year he was finally chosen! So, I knew what my Christmas present was months ahead of time – an all expense paid trip to New York & New Jersey for Super Bowl XLVIII. Yay!!! For this sports fanatic woman who loves traveling there couldn’t be a better gift!

We flew into Philadelphia (way cheaper than any NY area airports) on the Tuesday prior to the game & planned a week long trip in the dead of winter on the East Coast. We were checking the weather & crossing our fingers for weeks ahead of time. We lucked out big time as far as the Weather Gods were concerned – they smiled down on us almost the entire trip.

After driving 66 miles to Atlantic City in the dark & eating dinner at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville in our hotel, we awoke the next morning to a few inches of snow on the Boardwalk & temperatures in the single digits.

The Atlantic City Boardwalk. The white building on the left is our hotel, Resorts International.

Margaritaville was the only restaurant open in our hotel for breakfast & dinner. At least it had good food & fun decorations.

Snow covered chairs along the Boardwalk with Steel Pier in the background.

Absecom Lighthouse in the middle of Atlantic City.

Lou’s friend, Kevin, & his partner, Pete, welcomed us with open arms into their beautiful home in Howell, New Jersey, not too far from New York City. Kevin played tour guide for our drive through Asbury Park (of Bruce Springsteen fame) & other gorgeous little beach towns. We would love to come back & spend a few more days in the spring or fall sometime. They run a fantastic bed & breakfast!

We are huge lighthouse fans & take every opportunity to check them out. This is a re-creation of Tuckers Island Lighthouse, one of four we visited on the Jersey Shore.

Sea Girt Lighthouse turned out to be a great photo op.

A scenic row of Victorian homes in Sea Girt, New Jersey.

We were able to climb Sandy Hook Lighthouse for a view of New York City & the Gateway National Recreation Area on the far northern tip of New Jersey.

We had requested tickets to a taping of the Late Show with David Letterman before leaving home but didn’t receive a response. Sitting in the Denver airport between flights on Tuesday, we received a call that we had tickets waiting for us on Thursday afternoon if we wanted them. We did! We left Kevin & Pete’s early that morning & headed to our hotel in Brooklyn (again, way cheaper than hotels closer to the Super Bowl).

Our Comfort Inn for the next 4 nights was more than adequate, had free parking, a free hot breakfast & a free shuttle to the nearest subway station. We checked in, hopped on the subway & made it to midtown Manhattan with enough time to grab lunch before the taping.

The Ed Sullivan Theater where The Late Show is taped. Letterman's guests were Dr. Phil & Danny, the car guy from Pawn Stars. I wasn't impressed with the musical guests, the Dum Dum Girls.

The Times Square area was transformed into Super Bowl Boulevard with lots of displays & activities. We walked many, many blocks down Broadway until we saw the Empire State Building a few blocks over. On a whim, we decided to see how crowded it might be – to our surprise it was almost deserted! We headed to the top & had the whole place pretty much to ourselves. The views were amazing & it wasn’t windy or any colder than down below.

One of the gigantic billboards along Super Bowl Boulevard showing the countdown to the Big Game.

The Empire State Building looming behind Super Bowl Boulevard.

After getting in late the previous night, we headed out early the next morning for another full day in Manhattan. We experienced the solemn 911 Memorial which was only a hole in the ground when we were there about 7-8 years ago. The new Freedom Tower is almost completed but isn’t yet open. We walked ourselves ragged once again visiting Theodore Roosevelt’s Birthplace, Castle Clinton, Battery Park & the National Tenement Museum among lots of other downtown sights.

The names of the victims of 911 are inscribed around the edges of the waterfalls where the Twin Towers once stood.

The new Freedom Tower looms high over Lower Manhattan & Wall Street.

After two days of running all over Manhattan, we took the car to New Jersey where we toured Thomas Edison’s Laboratory & Home in West Orange along with the nearby Morristown National Historic Park. 

Apparently Thomas Edison was a workaholic. He had this bed in a corner of his research library at his laboratory in West Orange.

One of the 1093 devices patented by Edison on display at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park.

Thomas & Mina Edison's home was just stunning with the white snow & blue sky background.

The home George Washington used as his headquarters one horrible winter in Morristown, NJ.

A photogenic cabin in a snow-covered meadow in Morristown National Historic Park.

On the way back to Brooklyn, we detoured to Coney Island where Lou’s dad grew up. Unfortunately, he lived in a gated community that wouldn’t allow us in to find his house. The guard was having none of Lou’s reasoning & pleading.

As we crossed the Verrazano Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn, I looked back to see this gorgeous sunset. Scrambling to grab the camera & snapping a shot as quickly as I could out the car window, I got lucky!

This is the original Nathan's of the famous Coney Island hot dog eating contest held every year. Of course, we had to stop for dinner. The hot dogs that Lou's dad said were 10 cents when he was a kid are now $3.95.

The parachute ride on Coney Island is no longer operating but they continue to light it at night as a tourist attraction.

We finally arrived at Super Bowl Sunday – the whole reason for this trip. That morning we ventured out in the car once again to explore Prospect Park & other areas of Brooklyn where Lou’s grandparents lived. Brooklyn is not an easy place to drive around – lots of dead ends or one way streets &, God forbid, you should slow down or hesitate. Five people will be honking at you within seconds!

We drove around to find this view of the Brooklyn Bridge across the East River with the Manhattan skyline in the background. Where was that bright blue sky when we needed it?

The archway at the entrance to Prospect Park in Brooklyn. 

Lou’s research paid off since he decided we would take the Fan Bus from Manhattan to Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford. There were several choices so we took the direct subway line to one of the bus locations. The security allowed only a couple of options for getting to the game & this one turned out to be great. We drove right to the stadium, parked close & were through the lines in no time.

Those of you who are football fans know that our Forty-Niners were beaten in the NFC Championship game by the Seattle Seahawks. It was so, so close to seeing our team play in the Super Bowl. But, even though we were rooting for the Denver Broncos, the Seahawks took the lead 11 seconds into the game & never looked back winning 43 – 8. The event was well organized & well run, but the game itself sucked big time.  Of course, there were a few glitches & the food prices were totally ridiculous – two Coors Light beers, two foot long hot dogs with a bag of chips cost $46. WTF??  But overall, we thought New Jersey did a great job & put on a terrific event.

Metlife Stadium from our bus parking space. We entered through the Verizon Pavilion on the right.

The view from our seats in the corner of the end zone. We were about 2/3 of the way up in the third deck but the sight lines were good & with four large screens in each corner, we didn't miss anything.

A couple of die-hard Forty Niner fans ready to cheer on the Denver Broncos, but it was not to be. Congratulations to the Seahawks & their fans. We'll get 'em next year!

The awarding of the Vince Lombardi Trophy to the Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks.

The weather had held all week long & the Super Bowl kick off was a balmy 49 degrees. We avoided the snow most of the week & until our last day the driving was pretty easy. The forecast for our day in Trenton was 2 – 4 inches of snow. By that morning it was increased to 8 – 10 inches so we packed up fast & hit the road immediately. It was a little harrowing since they had the freeway on ramp closed by our hotel & we had to drive all over snow covered city streets in Brooklyn.

That's our dashboard & windshield as we drove along the New Jersey Turnpike between Brooklyn & Trenton.

We made it to our motel in Trenton around noon, parked the car, ate "lunch" at the Dunkin’ Donuts next door then hunkered down in the room while it snowed all day. The snow let up that evening allowing us to drive to the Cracker Barrel for dinner. We knew the next day should be fine for our flights home & it was, we arrived 10 minutes early in Sacramento. Thank goodness they were right because the following day airports were closed & they’ve had horrible weather for the past two weeks. Thank you, Weather Gods!