Grandma's Gone Wild...Day 3

February 21

This day was an "Interesting" day....some woke up early and some not so early...some felt okay and some not so okay...all for different reasons.

We kind of laid around and wasn't in too much of a hurry getting the day started...some because we we didn't want to, some because they couldn't and some because no one else was in gear so why should somebody else.

Confusing?

That was the theme for the day...in my mind anyway.

So Confucius says...get your ass out of bed and head to

Chinatown and that's just what we did.

The above picture is the entrance into Chinatown. There was a shorter route to get into Chinatown from our flat but we (me) needed to go through the entrance so we walked....not too bad, mostly down hill but a little up but still not bad. It was the shorter route back to the flat that killed us...or at least Fonda and me. I thought I was gonna die. She claims she complained the most about going up the hills but I think that's only because I couldn't talk....I was trying to catch my breathe and get my heart out throat.

But Chinatown was fun. So different than New York City's Chinatown. Now I think I want to go to every cities Chinatown just to compare.

I found a Chinese outfit for Colton and a hat. As soon as I'm done with posing on the trip I will post pictures of the grand-babies in their attire. Since Colton was born, every trip I've gone on I've been able to get him a hat that went with the country, state, city, etc.... I think I'm gonna have to plan my vacations around places that have special hats.

I was also able to find a Chinese girl hat for Hayden as well. Hoping to get the 2 of them together for that photo opt...anyway....back to San Francisco.

We shopped...had lunch at a Chinese restaurant...what else are you gonna find in Chinatown? The food was good...the lay was different.

It was getting close to dark and we headed back to the flat to decide if we were going to stay in or not....we were a little tired but one of us wanted to go to Haight -Ashbury...so...we hired a car and driver... (our driver from the airport)...The picture below is of the area during the day. It was taken the day before on our tour of the city. This is the place that in the 60's was where the free love movement began....along with some other stuff. The area is a little different and something from the pages of a 60's magazine...needless to say the night time vibe is a little different. There is the new generation of hippie. A little ...ummm...different....different is a good word to use.

Our driver dropped us off on the corner so he could go park...a good place for 4 women to get out of a limo in a seedy part of town. We went into a shop for Bev to find something vintage. I must admit...I didn't get it...it looked like a garage sale resale shop ...plus it seemed dirty. The area freaked me out. Stacy and I would stand outside because we felt dirty inside but then when we would stand outside we felt like we needed to go back inside. As I said...Interesting!

We went into a second store that made better sense and was clean...felt better in that one.

We have no pictures of the night because there was nothing to take pictures of...wait...I take it back...Bev wanted to take a picture of the new generation hippies on the sidewalk (to me...street kids who were 20 something) with their guitars and I think their weed too...so we all kinda walked back while Bev being the brave one took her picture...needless to say it was not received very well and we got the hell out of Haight-Ashbury!

Our driver picked us up and took us into Little Italy for some Italian food. We offered our driver to join us for dinner but 10 blocks later he was still trying to find parking so we we ordered and when he picked us up we surprised him with a take out order of a Calzone...he was a happy camper!

After a full belly and a day that should of been spent in bed we headed back to the flat for a good night's sleep to be good and rested for tomorrow's adventures.

Day 4 to follow....

And don't forget to place your vote ....look for it on the right in the side bar.

A Side Bar Note To Day 2

Look at the side bar on the right of the blog....there is a trivia question regarding our evening out at The Tonga room....read my Day 2 Recap and then read Fonda's (not sure if Stacy posted regarding the Tonga room as this post went to press) and place your vote.

Oh...and after reading Fonda's blog I forgot we rode a cable car...all I can think about is walking!

Grandma's Gone Wild.....Day 2

February 20

This is the home (flat) we stayed in while in San Francisco.

The day started out with "another" walk down to the bay to take our 3 hour tour around the city with a Mr. Toad's ride in an 1920's style rambler. It was a really cool tour and we got to see sights we would have not been able to see if we tried walking (which is impossible) or drive it ourselves which is also impossible since parking is very hard to find.

It was really hard to decide what to share with you from this day. We saw so much and there are so many pictures. So these are a few that I've decided to share and hopefully through the other Grandma's blogs you'll see something different and get a different account of the day if you choose to go and visit...which I highly recommend you do. This is one of the many views we saw on our tour just looking down side streets and seeing the bay. The view is just unbelievable! We went through almost every area of San Francisco...The Wharf, Persidio, Haight-Ashbury, Chinatown, Little Italy and more... We saw many beautiful homes and below is a so called famous one...it is the house that was used in the TV show "Party of Five".

I know the show well since I had young teenage girls at home at the time but I must admit...I liked the show myself.

Below is another house....it's from a hit movie. Can you guess who's house it is?
Come on...you can do it...
It's the house from the movie "Mrs. Doubtfire"

Below is me with my girls...I understand that some (or maybe one, who knows) of the girls may want to go by fake names or a staged name (if your reading Fonda's blog) but I'm gonna give you the real ones so you'll know who is who and if you've heard about them but can't match a face with a name....now you can. I will let you guess who has what fake name...

Beverly...Stacy...Robin (that's me)...and Fonda

the row of homes behind us is called "Postcard Row"

One of the houses was used in the show "Full House" I'm just not sure which one.

Our tour also took us to under "The Golden Gate Bridge"

It was a most beautiful sight. There were also several surfers in the water as well.

Our plan was to walk over "The Golden Gate Bridge" since we did "The Brooklyn Bridge" in New York but time did not allow it but this was just as good plus we never would of gotten some of the pictures we did if we would of been on it instead of under it.

And this is me crossing the road in "The Wharf" area... on the phone with Jennifer finding out that I'm having another Grandson....Yippee!

We went to eat at The Fisherman's Grotto and relaxed some before heading off to Pier 39 for some seal gazing and shopping.

And here are the seals sun bathing...there were tons of them.

After a full day of seeing the sights and shopping we headed back to the flat to relax before heading out to dinner. We had reservations for dinner at 7:45 at

Harris' Steakhouse.

When we FINALLY arrived at the restaurant we were pretty hot and tired because we had decided "again to walk"...though the restaurant was under a mile it was still a very hilly up and down walk.

Plus some of us decided to wear heals and make that walk but I'm not gonna name names

......BUT.....IT WASN'T ME....
Dinner was good and the drinks were excellent as you can see.

After dinner we took a town car...(we finally got wise)...maybe the drinks helped us make that decision...you know...making us wise.

We headed to the Fairmont Hotel (which was around the corner from where we were staying) to end the evening. This picture of the Fairmont was taken on our day tour. I didn't think about taking one that evening. Also this is the hotel that was used in the TV show "Hotel"

Anyway...we visted the Tonga Room at the Fairmont and had a good time...some more than others and that's all I got to say about that...

What happens at the Tonga room...Stays at the Tonga room

Or

Whatever happens in San Francisco...Stays in San Francisco

Or

Whatever happens on Grandma's Gone Wild

Stays with the Grandma's!

No matter how you say it it still comes out the same...

Not talkin'!

A post for Day 3 to follow shortly....

Stay tuned.

Grandma's Gone Wild Part 2....San Francisco.... Day One

Look out Grandma's loose in San Francisco.

February 19

We made it to San Francisco safe and sound and found ourselves getting in the limo around noon. Below is me in what I call my rock star moment. Ha!

Last year in New York I had a similar picture taken so I think it's gonna be an annual picture for me...as to my surprise it came out pretty good...the one last year did as well.

We made it to our home for the next few days and it was wonderful. Right now I can't find the picture but as soon as I do I will post it..... and we call it a home they call it a flat....but the picture below shows you a view of Coit tower that was taken off the roof patio. This was the view from the bedroom that Stacy and I shared...beautiful.

We stayed in a 3 bedroom 2 bath flat in a area called Nob Hill.

After we got to our home away from home we walked a couple doors down for lunch at the Nob Hill Cafe....then to the corner market next door to pick up a few things for the house. Afterwards it was time to head towards The Wharf for our tour of Alcatraz.

Little did we know we were about to have a different type of a tour.

I will call it "The Decent To The Bay"

The picture below shows the view of the bay, which is where we needed to be, which is the walk we made, which will never happen again. We were told it was a 20 minute walk but I guess they forgot to tell us that is for locals...for non-locals the walk is 40 minutes.

But it is a beautiful view. The island out in the bay is Alcatraz.

After walking to the bay and making it without tripping and rolling all the way down...this is the view looking back up from where we came. Still a beautiful sight.
Here are my girls on the ferry boat that takes you to Alcatraz. It was amazing how nice and sunny it was but as soon as we took off it was really cold. This picture was taken before the take off and before the cold set in.
To see pictures of the Alcatraz Island closer up you can click on the right side of my blog to Fonda's blog and look at her pictures...Stacy has pictures as well. It also may be neat to read their recap on the trip from a different perspective.
As you enter the prison walls of Alcatraz you are greeted with this sign.
The Alcatraz tour was amazing and was my favorite part of the trip. I have watched all the movies but to be there is a whole different story. The prisoners that stayed here had no freedoms....I hate to say it but I wish some of those rules applied today....I think our prisoners today have it too easy.
Below is a view of San Francisco from standing on "The Rock" also known as Alcatraz. There are so many amazing views from Alcatraz but surprisingly enough the prisoners could not see that view. When they were allowed out in the yard the concrete walls were too tall for them to see over. Also the windows in the prison were placed where prisoners could not see out. But they said at night you could hear the sounds coming across the bay and you could hear the sounds of a party, especially New Years Eve.
After our Alcatraz tour we headed back to the ferry....the ride was even colder at dark. We hung out at The Wharf and had dinner and drinks at "The Crab House". The food was wonderful. It was the best crab served hot I have ever had. To see our feast you can see that on Fonda's blog.
After we were done we grabbed a cab to head back to the house..... we weren't about to make that trip back up that hill.

Tomorrow I will post a recap of Day 2
Stay tuned....

Jennifer's Having A.................

It's A Boy!

Jennifer and Paul will bless me with another grandson and my fourth grandchild this summer. He shall be called Liam Jude Marker.

Sorry I have no picture to share but I haven't seen Jennifer yet to get any...I just got home a couple hours ago from San Francisco...post to follow soon.

I will keep you posted on all the baby happenings.

Look Out.....

San Francisco Here We Come....

Grandma's Gone Wild Part 2

Tomorrow morning my best gals and myself leave for 4 nights of San Francisco fun. This is our second annual trip. I think we are all looking forward to some fun and to just get away. I have a cell phone rule while on vacation...

NO CELL PHONES

(except for emergencies and checking in at the end of the day...you don't want to hear the bull-shit of the day when your trying to get away from it)

BUT

I have to have mine close by cause I have a couple projects going on and if I need to be reached I need to to be reached. I'm hoping that won't be the case but

"It Is What It Is".

I'm off to get my nails done and make another hit on the ATM machine...it's closer than the bank. Then I'll come home and wait for Colton. I'll watch him a couple hours before I head out. I'm meeting my girlfriends at a hotel near the airport as to not make that drive so early in the morning.

So....this will be my last post until I get back. Check back back Monday night (if your up late) or Tuesday morning. I will have a post as to what Jennifer and Paul are having....

A Boy or A Girl!

She's so funny. She wants to know so bad. She said she feels so sorry for Paul if she can't find out because the baby won't reveal him or herself...she said she'll be so emotional. She's just too funny!

Enjoy your weekend....I know I will.... rain or shine...that's the weather we are suppose to have...sun and rain.

My Little Valentine

This was my Valentine's date....the man of my life....my grandson

COLTON

Above there he is with his new Valentine puppy from Gram. He calls the puppy "Bal-tine" for Valentine.
We had a nice evening...he played with his new Handy Manny toys I got for him.
Below he's coloring....we both laid on the floor and colored for some time. When I thought I was done he pulled me back down to color.....so color I did.

Below is Little Miss Hayden.
Before picking up Colton I went over to deliver her Valentine's gift as well. She also got a Valentine puppy along with the little onesie she has on that says My 1st Valentine along with a few more outfits.

She's growing up so much. It had been 2 weeks since I saw her last and she looked so different.

The picture below was taken today...I stopped by Josh and Jessy's after getting my new glasses. She was getting ready to go somewhere with her mommy and she looked so cute in her outfit I just had to snap a picture.
Hayden also has her ears pierced. Jessy took her a few days ago...she looks so cute.

Now it's time for me to start preparing for my trip...4 days and counting.
Yippee!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Just wanted to wish you all a very "Happy Valentine's Day" and hoping that your spending your day with someone special.

I got to see all my kids today and my grand-babies...Colton is actually spending the night and is asleep and that's where I'm headed in just a second.

I just wanted to wish you all a Happy Day!

Tomorrow I will post new pictures of Hayden and Colton with their Valentine's.

Let's Get Physical

This post will be about excercise...ha...I bet you thought I was gonna talk about something else...Shame on you...ha!

I've been talking forever about exercising....it's been along since I've done so. At the beginning of the year I talked a friend of mine into going and getting a trainer to help with work outs but I had to back out because I had too many things going on that I couldn't commit to a certain day and time. She was good...she went without me and got a trainer.

So, that left it to me to fit it in. That started yesterday. Yesterday I started with a mile walk with Colton. He went in the stroller and I pushed. He enjoyed it. I think as long as the weather is good that will be a routine for both of us when he comes over....that happens at least twice a week but I do plan on walking daily as time permits.

Tonight I went to a work out class with my friend and neighbor Kelley. It was at the community center in our neighborhood and the lady doing it is an ex-personal trainer. Man you don't realize how out of shape you are until you raise this, squat that, punch this way, kick the other way all while going side to side. I'm sure there were other moves but you get the point.

I was tired when it was all over but after getting home I did start to feel better. Hopefully I'm on the way to a healthier me.

Tomorrow I have plans but hoping to get home in time for a walk with my friend.... and on Saturday, Colton will be back so hopefully it will be a nice day for us to walk again. He likes looking for deer...they are all over the place where we live.

This work out class is every Thursday and I plan to attend but I did forget that I can't go next Thursday cause I'll be in San Francisco but I do plan to go back the following Thursday. So Kelley if your reading this...sorry...I forgot I'm out of town.

Let's hope when I wake up in the morning I can get out of bed. Ha!

Well, I've kept up with 2 of my so called "New Years Resolutions" so far...let's hope this exercise routine will be #3.

Have a wonderful weekend!

I've Been Googled

I was playing around on the blog and saw where someone had visited my page via a click from a Google page....so being curious I clicked on the link and it took me to Google search...My blog page is on the search. If you search for "Bluewater highway after Ike" it will bring up results and there I am....The first time I searched it I was on page 1 and now I'm page 4. I just thought it was pretty cool and just had to share. Apparently someone was looking and searching for pictures from Hurricane Ike and there was my page from my blog. Cool!

Inspired

I've added to the blog...AGAIN. I added a background this time. I was inspired by my friend Fonda's blog as I went to her page this evening I noticed she had changed her background. I was all...I want a background to go with my new page. I saw a link on her page and so I clicked on it and behold it was a page of backgrounds. So there you go...I have a new background now. Thanks for the idea Fonda!

A Busy Day

My sweet grandson Colton spent the night last night. I had a busy day yesterday and picked him up in the evening when I was done so his mommy could get studying and test done.

Well, at 10:30 he was still all wound up and I was about to pass out so I thought...instead of putting him in his bed I'll just let him sleep with me. In the past it had work though it's been awhile....well...for an hour all he did was keep grabbing my face saying over and over again....Muggy, Muggy...ahhh Muggy and giving me kisses.

Ha!

See...Muggy is what he calls me instead of Gram...It is cute to hear him say it. Not sure if he'll change to Gram down the road or if I'll always be a "Muggy". One day maybe I'll explain the story on how we THINK Muggy came about.

Finally a little after 11:30 he fell asleep.

Then this morning we went and picked up Jenn. They were having some sort of chili festival at her church and she wanted is to go so we did.

Colton loves out doors and as soon as we got out of the truck he was ALL over the place.

The above picture is him on the slide.

After we were done we went to Ruthie's Mexican Restaurant for lunch. Coton loves chips and salsa (dip as he would call it). Picture below at lunch.

After lunch we made a quick trip into Wal-mart before dropping Jenn off. Of course we had to go into the toy section cause he is so deprived of toys (Ha-Ha-Ha).
After dropping Jenn off Colton fell right to sleep on his journey home with one of his brand new toys in his lap.

We had a wonderful day but I'm exhausted!

I can't decide what to do tomorrow....

clean house or rest.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

2 Weeks And Counting

In 2 weeks I'll be off again on another adventure. This time it takes me to San Francisco. It's what we call "Grandma's Gone Wild...Part 2"

My girls and me...Fonda, Stacy and Beverly are spending 4 nights in the Bay area...last year we did New York (Bev couldn't make that one) and we decided then we would make it a point to go somewhere every year....just the girls. We joked about a lot of stuff as we prepared for NY and that's how the Grandma's Gone Wild came about...we (with the exception of Bev) were new Grandma's at the time...Bev has been one for awhile now.

So...by the end of the month I'll be able to share my new adventures with you. The thing I'm looking forward to the most besides getting away and having girl time is our visit to Alcatraz...we will actually do that our first day there. I can hardly wait!

Also when I return I will be able to update you on Jennifer and if her little bundle of joy she is carrying will be a boy or girl. She finds out the day after I leave for San Francisco so I will post that after I get back.

Okay...I think your all updated so I will let you go...thanks for stopping by...until next....
"It Is What It Is"

Tammy Has A Blog!

I guess my daughter is following in her mother's foot steps....ha!

Tammy has started a blog as well ....so...if your interested in what's going on with her and her family...more than what I would say in my blog....go on over and take a visit and look a round.

On the right side column of my blog page you'll see her name....just click on it and it will take you to her page.

Welcome to the blogging world Tammy!

Tammy's Having A.............

It's a Girl!!!!

And her name will be Tayler Lee Sheard.

They now put the pictures on a disc instead of a print out.

Makes it a lot easier to share.

An Added Feature

I have another look for the blog. Did you notice the banner? I love it! An old friend who also has a blog designed the banner and told me how to add it to the blog. She has done several friends blogs with a banner. I know it wasn't an easy task for her cause at first I didn't know what I wanted and she made some things up and I liked them but they just didn't seem like what I was looking for, though I didn't know what that was....but she didn't give up, she kept trying to help me figure it out...and then in the mist of her trying to figure a banner out for me, she re-did her blog page and I really liked it and it gave me the idea I was looking for. I wanted the words to stand out and then I thought....flowers...I took the girls (Jennifer and Tammy) favorite flowers and had those added because after all, this family is blooming and "It Is What It Is"... So there you go....another new look for the blog. Thanks August for making the blog look so beautiful!

Man Of The Hour

Today was a visit with Grand-babies. After Hayden left Colton soon followed.

I thought I would have a hard time taking pictures of him because lately he just won't pose but I guess today was my lucky day.

As you can see in the pictures he's just a "Big Ole' Ham"

saying cheese and a cute one at that!

All night he kept telling me ...picture, picture...he wanted his picture taken and smiled in just about everyone....but there are too many for me to post so I chose a few of my favorites.

The above picture he's checkin' out his Rock Star style...or it could be his Redneck country style...

either way I'd clap for more. And above he's just being silly. Had to bring his Elmo chair in the kitchen while I tired to find something for dinner.

And below...Oh my...it was the cutest thing...I wish I had a better picture....he was sitting in his chair playing with the toy phone that of course looks like a cell phone. It has numbers on it when you flip it open just like a cell phone. Anyway....he had both hands on the phone and a finger from each hand pressing on the numbers as though he was typing to send a text message. It was the cutest thing. Just shows you how fast they pick up on the things they see around them.

He's a pretty smart cookie anyway.

And below just Colton being Colton the sweetest Grandson in ALL the land.
We went to go and get his zebra animal for him but he decided he wanted ALL the animals on his bed to come and sit with him. I'm glad he did...it made for one sweet picture.
So...that was my day...first Hayden and then Colton...I can hardly wait for the other 2 to make their arrival. I wonder how a day with ALL of them all ALONE would be?
Until next time....
Oh...that should be Wednesday...Tammy finds out if she's having a boy or girl....
Stay tuned.

Girl Time

Hope everyone enjoyed the Super Bowl. My son in law must be in Steelers heaven right now.

Hayden came over and spent the night so her mommy and daddy could do their Super Bowl thing.

Below is a picture of Hayden watching the Super Bowl.

I was a little nervous that Miss Hayden would do as she did last time she spent the night and stay up all night...but...she was a good girl.

We went to bed around 11:30 and I woke her up this morning about 7:15.

We had a good afternoon and thankfully a good night.

The above picture was taken last night. She was laying on her cousin Colton's bed. I was "FINALLY" able to capture a smiling picture.

The pictures below were taken this morning. She was quite the ham.

I must say...she sure is a sweet little girl....and as I sit here updating you and sharing pictures I am awaiting the arrival of of my Grandson Colton who will be here in less than an hour.

This Gram surely will need to go to bed early tonight.

Maybe tomorrow I'll have pictures of Colton to share. It's a little harder getting him to pose these days, he's always so busy.

Enjoy your day!