March 22nd – 24th, 2017 – Couple of Boots

Days 358 – 360: Visiting Mom in Dublin, CA

Fair warning – the next couple of entries are probably going to be a bit boring for anyone other than the friends and family members included in the posts. While we know there are plenty of fun attractions and amazing parks to visit in California, we’ve already visited a lot of them during previous trips. Our main prerogative this week was to catch up with people we haven’t seen in a long time, relax, and eat and drink as much as we could on someone else’s dime.

When we finally woke up at my mom & Bo’s house, we had a chance to catch up and exchange gifts. Lindsay and Igor brought a warehouse of clothes back from Peru (there may be a few duplicates, please don’t be insulted, guys). While Lindsay would have LOVED to buy a Christmas ornament in each country we visited, it soon became clear that we had neither the money nor space. As an alternative, mom has spent the last 10 months putting together a GORGEOUS collection of ornaments representing the places we’ve visited! Lindsay was ready to grab that little tree and run back to New York with it, she loved it so much! Thank you, Mommy!

We spent the majority of the rest of the day playing games, watching Family Feud, cooking, eating and drinking (except for Bo who was on antibiotics – Lindsay and Igor drank his share of wine for him, ’cause we’re helpful like that).

Belated Christmas gifts! Mom has been collecting ornaments from every country we visited (so AWESOME!). Since Mom and Bo were the first ones we visited, they got first pick on hat & sweater colors from our stash of Peruvian winter gear.

Our second full day in California was nice and sunny, so we actually left the house and spent some time in the fresh air. We drove up to Tilden Park for a half-day of easy walking at Inspiration Point and the Nimitz Way, followed by dinner in town.

San Francisco skyline from the lookout in Tilden Park

Photo op on a graffiti-covered log (so California quirky)

A California Poppy – the official state flower (DON’T pick one! It’s ILLEGAL.)

Enjoying an afternoon walk in the botanical garden

Walking the Nimitz Way Trail. Confession: we only made it 2 miles before Lindsay had to pee.

On the way back, we found a flock of giant wild turkeys! Gobbles!

Dinner out with the ‘rents in Dublin

Pre-birthday dinner at Esin

For Igor’s Special Day, we asked the birthday boy what he would like to do. “Nothing!” Well that’s easy. We spent a rainy day doing nothing, and it was great! A home-cooked meal was the only picture-worthy activity of the day. My husband is so low-maintenance, I really hit the jackpot. I love you, baby – happy birthday!