California Dreamin'

Our week of Spring Break was spent in California. We hit 3 CA hotspots - San Francisco, Disneyland & Palm Springs.

1st stop - San Francisco

It's an 8 hour drive to SF and Amy amused herself with some self portraits.

Dan's good friend, Jim Cella was receiving an award from the American Chemical Society, in San Francisco, and would be there with his wife, Cheryl, on that 1st weekend of Spring Break. Jim & Dan met at Ohio State, sharing a lab and playing basketball & softball together, and then Dan was instrumental in getting Jim to come work at GE. So they have know each other & worked together for almost 40 years We made plans to meet them for dinner and as an added surprise another Ohio State friend was also in SF - Xavier Creary. Here are the 3 chemists - Xavier, a prof. @ Notre Dame, Dan & Jim, both retired from GE.


2nd stop - Disneyland

A trip to Southern California would not be complete without a stop at Disneyland! It isn't quite as WOW as Disney World but it still has that Disney charm AND rollercoasters! Dan is not a fan and our last trip to Disney in FL, Amy was still a bit scared to try the 'big' rides, but not this time... We did them all - our favs being Space Mountain in Disneyland & California Screamin' in California Adventure. Dan was very patient while Amy & I rode Cal. Screamin' 3 times in a row. Dan took a video of the beginning of the ride. So fun...



Can't go to Disney without getting a picture with everyone's favorite - Minnie Mouse!




3rd stop - Palm Springs

We arrived in La Quinta after a 2 hr drive from Anaheim. Daniel lives in his Mom's vacation home while searching for a job and we spent the rest of our week with him. He lives in a bit of paradise...his Mom's house being quite luxurious and well appointed. A gated golf course community with a lovely pool in the back yard - it was all you could ask for.
We visited The Living Desert and Joshua Tree National Park


As well as shopping, eating out and enjoying the pool. You can imagine who enjoyed the pool most!! ;o)


Hummingbirds were everywhere - I guess they like 'paradise', too...



We really had a great time - the 2 Dan's got some job applications submitted and an interview in - so there was some business as well as pleasure, for sure.

Our drive to and from could have been arduous but there was no whining from the back seat passenger and the scenery was lovely - citrus groves, grape vines, mountains & greenery - all made it a very pleasurable trip.

We'll have to do it again sometime!

Mastering Marshmallow - Part 2

My 5 ski lessons are complete and yesterday (day 3 of my 12 day pass) Dan & I enjoyed a beautiful day on the mountain. Dan has been 'mentoring' me on the finer points of Intermediate (blue square) slopes and has given me a grand tour of Mt. Bachelor. We considered going to the summit yesterday but decided to save that for next time.
Dan has been great about challenging me to tackle steeper & steeper runs so that when I get back to the easier stuff - like Marshmallow - my confidence and abilities are noticeably improved. Yesterday I kept saying to myself - this is sooo much fun! It didn't hurt that the weather & conditions were near perfect. We hope to get up there again this week as we leave for spring break in CA on Saturday - San Francisco, Disneyland, and La Quinta/Palm Springs.

Dan got some "new" boots from the local resale shops - now I can pick him out more easily as there are lots of red jackets on the slopes.


Here's a video that Dan took - it's just sooo much FUN! Why didn't I do this sooner??
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