So Andy has been wanting to see Alcatraz and San Fransisco for a while and we finally bought tickets a couple weeks before our trip out. And of course they are non-refundable. My cousin Amy took Andy's ticket and we had a great day hanging out in San Fransisco. First we went on a bus tour of the city and then on to Alcatraz in the afternoon.

The Painted Ladies

Lumbard St.

THE ROCK

This is the shower room.

Doesn't look much like it does in the movie "The Rock", does it?

a cell

The inmates 'playground'

These are isolation cells.

It's completely dark when they were in there.

what the guards looked like

This is a picture of a cell that was broken out of. The vent (floor level mid picture) was chipped to make it bigger (supposidly with a spoon). I think 4 guys did this, crawled to the roof and made a raft from rain coats. They were never found.

An ex-con wrote a book and was there at Alcatraz signing books.

This is a container ship that was on it's way to Oakland.

I can't even describe to you how HUGE they are!

CA -- Santa Rosa

We always take at least one day to go to Santa Rosa to see the Jacksons. We first stopped at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Uncle Johnie is the only one there now....Grandpa is in a home in Petaluma and Grandma passed away last fall. But we had a nice visit with Uncle Johnie under the big oak tree. Alex found some toys, his favorite being the squirt guns! They looked slightly familiar to me, so that tells you how old they were! But they worked. :)

After a bit, we all packed up and headed to Ginny's house for lunch. Johnie went to get Grandpa to bring him too. We had a little party for Grandpa's birthday. He gets a little anxious when he's around so many people. Walking helps calm him, so that's what he did....walked all over the house the whole afternoon! He looks pretty good though. With all of his walking he works up an appetite so it makes for a pretty healthy looking 90-year-old! (even though he is missing his teeth!) After an afternoon with family, we headed back across the Golden Gate to Redwood City.

It was a really hot day, so what better to cool off in than a pool!

Alex really enjoyed it. :)

Aunt Wanda

Johnie, Grandpa, Dad

Yes, Ginny didn't even hesitate to get in with the kids!

This is Ginny when she's not in a kiddy pool.

Ca trip-- Back in Redwood City

After Asilomar, we got to spend about a week more at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Alex spent alot of time watering and playing baseball in the backyard. He also enjoyed helping Papa G put seed in the bird feeder and pick apricots and oranges. So needless to say, we stayed busy!

For those of us who remember it, here's the ol' Flexy!

That thing has a lot of miles on it. :)