Hello, my friends!
It’s been a busy week, hasn’t it?! Can’t believe I haven’t posted since last week…but it’s been filled with family, friends, food & fun…all the important things!
I haven’t had time for any vintage creating this week, but I wanted to share a bit of our day in San Francisco with you…a little Christmastime California-style!
My Dad loves to spend time in San Francisco when he comes, and we aim to please! It was gray, but pretty clear…and just beautiful that day…
A bit afraid of heights, Dad still can’t resist the Golden Gate Bridge, and loves to cross it, feel the cables, and marvel at the technology of it…
Here he is talking to my daughter Annie about the cables holding up the bridge…I always love his childlike wonder as he explains the things that fascinate him…
My daughter Sarah has been on crutches the last couple of weeks as she sprained her ankle pretty badly, but she still wanted to walk across as much of the bridge as she could…we took it slowly, she and I…
Here’s me…holding on to one of the smaller cables…I’m not such a fan of heights, either…these look solid, but you can shake them around a bit….eerie! To the right of the farthest right cable, you can just see Alcatraz…very dim due to the fog, and a barge floating by…
My Mom and oldest daughter Chelsea…such a wonderful time together!
If you’ve never walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, it’s quite an experience. Cars whizzing loudly by right next to you, hundreds of pedestrians joining you on your way…and you feel the constant vibrations from the traffic, thousand of walking & running feet and the very gusty winds….like lots of small earthquakes, one after another…
It’s such an incredible sight to look up at the vastness of those columns….amazing that such a bridge could have been built over 70 years ago…with no computer technology, or any of the things we require for building today!
…right underneath the first big column…
Sarah standing by the beautifully patina-colored plaque that pays tribute to the bridge and it’s builders…and a word I relate to…
…the Past. Beautiful.
Here’s a wonderful photo from the Past…May 27, 1937…the day the bridge was opened. Just a couple of months before my Dad was born. What a day that must have been!
After we left the bridge, we drove around town a bit, and ended up at the beautiful Japanese Tea Gardens…we’d never been before and had heard it was not to be missed…
My parents and Roger and I by this beautiful pagoda in the garden…
…Dad and I on top of this beautiful…very HIGH foot bridge…we two scaredy-cats just had to try it!
Here’s a little zen moment for you at the beautiful koi pond…love the reflection of the trees in the water…
…and one of my favorite images of the day…Dad and Mom walking arm-in-arm, enjoying the peace and beauty of the garden just at twilight…
At the end of our day…a far cry from the silent garden…Union Square in the middle of the city…all lit up for Christmas…
What a wonderful day by the Bay…
And lastly, a couple of vintage New Year’s greeting cards to share with you…
I love the bright colors and gold-embossed elements here…from 1934…
…and this little beauty…The Old Year steps out of the scene as Baby New Year takes his place…a New Year’s greeting sent in 1936.
Wishing you and your families a wonderful end of 2010, and a beautiful beginning to a new year…see you in 2011!
Don’t forget the fabulous New Year’s sale going on at Crafty Secrets until the 31st—stop by and check it out!
Julie
