Adventure #27 - The Wedding

It was such an honor to be part of their day.

They'd been dating for what seemed like forever!

It was an evening wedding, allowing us to do some running around.

We took some flowers to my mom and said a prayer. I never miss seeing her whenever we are in town. This year she'll have three visits. They are never the same moments, but our memories are the moments that remain the same. Way before she died, and since we moved away, we had so many awesome talks, some tears, and laughs that would bring tears too. We also kept in touch through letters. Of course, she mailed more than I sent. Mine would be of times covering a few months. Hers would be of what she did the day before, who she saw, recipes shared, and more. Now it's all me doing the talking, go figure! It's the soft breeze across my cheek that allows me to feel her responses. I'll be blessed tonight when I sleep, for I know she will come to my dreams, taking her place at the wedding table.  

We had time for lunch, so we checked out a place hubby's friend recommended.

It was so delicious!

More food than we could eat!

They will make great leftovers tomorrow for our trip home.

After getting all dolled up and hubby looking very dapper, we headed to the venue. 

Vows were going to be said under this old oak tree.

As we sat there and I click its picture, I remember a poem from my wedding by, Kahlil Gibran's, On Marriage from "The Prophet."

On Marriage

 Kahlil Gibran

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. 

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. 

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

The adorable couple are both SF GIANTS fans!

Bits and pieces of a coach talking to his players was pleasantly added to the ceremony. 

It expressed the feelings of the couple perfectly.

It was a beautiful ceremony. 

Their cute little flower girl kept herself busy with her rose petals. 

The guest tables looked fabulous!

That is my oldest sister in the background.

We also got a picture of us 5 siblings together.

It had been 18 years since we have had our picture taken together.

Over that time, there was always one or two missing.

Can't wait to see how the professional photos came out.

After all the traditional stuff, I was encouraged to join a dance.

It was so much fun, but with it came consequences.

We had to leave abruptly after.

 We left for home the next morning, stopping at my best friends house for lunch.

We had a great visit.

They pulled out the old school yearbook from 1971/72 when her hubby and mine were in junior high. Though my hubby was a year older, her hubby was my age. I was in the 9th-grade book only since it was my first year at a public school. 

We made it to our RV Park in Bakersfield rather late, but our reservation was taped to the door. We have decided, and until we find anything else so convenient and as pleasant, River Run will be our halfway stop to and from Napa for now. It's our third time there, and we weren't disappointed.

Those leftovers from Fridays lunch, mixed with the leftovers from our lunch yesterday, were scrumdiddlyumptious! 

We were up bright and early the next morning.

We had lunch at our favorite road trip diner.

Pulled into our drive well before sunset and welcomed by a happy "Grand" that we were home. Of course, he was excited to see which two race cars I brought home this time. It won't be long before he has the complete NASCAR driver lineup!

After some rest, I'll be ready for another adventure.

There are no other adventures, but doctor appointments, for October.

I guess holding our 10th Annual Boo Bash could be considered an adventure!

Adventure #26 Napa Valley Wine Train

Since I messed up the plans for our anniversary back in March by breaking my Humerus Head, neither one of us wanted to participate in any type renewal or any other type of recognition at that time, other than the travel plans we had already made.

A return to Napa became our focus. My nephew was going to get married, and by the grace of God, they picked Sept 21st as their special day. Just so happens our first date was on Sept 20,1975. With that, we decided to do something special for our  "1st Date" 43rd Anniversary. 

Napa Valley Wine Train

One of our friends is the conductor, and she arranged an extraordinary day for us.

Doing the Vista Dome is the way to go.
You're above any obstacles along the track.
You can still go downstairs to the other cars if you like but it was difficult for me, so we choose to stay in our seats and soak in the scenery.

 There is also some local artist brightening up parts of the tracks.
My favorite was one of all the firemen lined up on the back side of a building.

 There was other art but trying to take the picture through the glass with all the glare, they didn't turn out very well.

The meal was exquisite.

I had the Black Pepper-Crusted Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio,
Heirloom Tomato Salad,
Porcini Dusted Dry Aged-NY Strip “Bistecca,”
And for dessert the Key Lime Pie.
Hubby had Lemon, Thyme & Duck Confit Rillettes,
the soup but it’s not on the menu, it had potato and corn, puréed, and delicious!
Pan-Roasted Pacific Halibut, 
and he had the same dessert.

I was surprised we ate most of our meals.
Hubby had to have his Halibut seared more, he doesn't like eating raw fish.
Other than that, we told our friend we will be back up next year and do one of the Quantro Tours. It will be difficult to pick one though. They all look wonderful.

One last adventure for this trip, my nephews wedding! 

Adventure #25 - Our Drive to Napa and How We Surprised a Sister!

There is a reason we choose 40 Adventure's to Celebrate our 40th.

I believe I said something about it back in February or March.

Our Journey Through LIFE has had many adventures!
Some were exciting, some scary, some in sorrow, and others unplanned.

It's a five-hour drive to Napa, 304 miles to be exact.
Ready to see what we'll experience! 

We pulled into the resort, and this RV caught our eye.

It was almost 7PM when we pulled in.  

Usually, we would be out strolling around meeting our neighbors while we walked Bella.

Since she wasn't with us, we just got set up and began preparing something to eat.

The next morning there were two.

How do you pass the time while on a road trip?

I like to google things to find out more about where we are or what we saw.

That's how I discovered who are neighbors were.

It started with Buchanan's Blended Scotch-Whiskey.

Darn, I love a good scotch over the rock.

It's been a while!

From there I found that they were the sponsors of the tour for J. Balvin.

Have no idea who he is. It looks like it might be a fun and exciting tour.

"Colombian reggaeton singer J Balvin will embark on a 27-date U.S. tour this fall, following the release of his highly anticipated album, Vibras, out May 25th. The tour kicks off September 19th in Fresno and concludes October 28th in Miami."

Now I wish we would have stopped and talked with them, even though I have never heard of him.
It could have made a little adventure better.

Driving up the central valley is very interesting.

McFarland, CA is where the movie McFarland, USA is about.

Just up the highway, there is this.

The "grand" will love to see this, he loves Halos!

 These are just a few of the water towers along the way.
Another constant in our journey beside old rustic barns, I like to capture water towers.

It was a pleasant and uneventful drive, and we got into Napa at about 4 PM.

Since we arrived a day early, we had to take a spot without full hook-ups till the morning.

I did get my sunset though!

The next morning when we went up to get the location of our new spot,

there were two visitors.

Which is why we love staying at Skyline Wilderness Park!

We had some time to kill before we headed over the mountain to Suisun.

We stopped in and visited a few friends.

Got some shopping done as well.

When we got to the intersection to take the highway or the byway,

we choose to take the scenic route over the mountain to Suisun.

Saw a few creative mailboxes. 

We arrived in Suisun sooner than we thought so we browsed around.

My sister from Trinidad, CA that I saw for the first time in ten years last December is coming in on the train to surprise my oldest sister, who hasn't seen her for the same length of time.

The picture of us didn't turn out that great. Blurred, heads cut off, funky faces, you know the kind.

But the one of her being surprised was epic!

I miss my sisters!

We had a semi-nice dinner together.

Our first waitress was a bit overwhelmed, 

and we called her on her mistake, she lost it more. 

A veteran waitress picked us up and allowed us to have a wonderful time catching up.

Tomorrow we have the Wine Train!