California.....Part I

Mom and I's trip to California was a BLAST!!! We had so much fun, I've had to split it into two blogs! :D We got into San Jose Thursday afternoon and drove to Aunt Kay and Uncle Dave's. It was so neat to see where they live with Poppo ( Aunt Kays dad ). It's in the middle of a bunch of orchards...almond, peach and....lemon maybe? Anyway, it was beautiful, especially as you can see, in the early morning as the sun was coming up. The first day I went outside to join Uncle Dave watching the sun rise over Yosemite (he was afraid he'd woken me, I said "Did you HEAR my mom honking in there????") and it was an awesome sight. Mist on the fields, the sun on the mountains....so amazing. Later that morning, ma and I got to go on a very special tour of the Hershey Chocolate Factory!! They don't give those tours anymore, so we are VIP's!! It was so, so cool. We got to see syrup being made (Japanese in fact), the miniature chocolate bars line and the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. UP CLOSE!!! Our guide, Jay, took us up to the actual line and we got to see the huge bathtub size vats of peanut butter right under our noses...it was so hard not to jump in....and we got to see just how a peanut butter cup is made. :D Very cool. Then we headed to San Fransisco. We drove over the Bay Bridge into downtown, and drove down the Embarcadero...we stopped at the marina to look at the water and check out the sights..it was still foggy, so we couldn't see the Golden Gate very well. We did see a seal in the water though! And we could see Alcatraz out in the bay. Then we got in the car and headed over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and Marin County, stopping on the other side for some pics. So beautiful....we ate in Mill Valley,and took some pictures at the Depot where I used to work when E was a baby. Fun to reminisce...then we headed to the BEACH!!! Keep in mind kids, the is the west coast and the water is COLD!!! I got in to my ankles and it was chilly...but a rouge wave came and got me up to my thighs!! Ma got it on film...wet cold denim is not that much fun!! :D But who cares? We're at the beach for gods sakes!! We spent the rest of the afternoon walking the beach, counting jellyfish, watching surfers, and me tickling mom with random stuff to make her crazy. Then we headed back to meet Aunt Kay and Uncle Dave to celebrate her birthday. Much, much fun...Even if mom did bring along her stupid hat!!!! :D (It's alright, we traded wearing it off and on!)