Take a Hike!

...that's exactly what we did yesterday.  We, along with the Brightons and Broadbents, hiked from the Golden Gate Bridge to the famous Cliff House restaurant.  It's a distance of about 4 miles and although the trail is well developed and maintained, it's a lot of up and down. The weather was cool and dry and windless so we could completely enjoy the the trees, folage, the water and the sound of the waves. Part of the hike moved from the hills along the mouth of the Bay to the Seacliff area of San Francisco.  The houses were majestic and the gardens beautiful. I particularly liked one simple wooden gate that was bordered by orchids in lovely pots.

Surprise!

Last Thursday Tom and Elder Gary Leavitt attended the BYU basketball game at the University of San Francisco. That left Sister Bonnie Leavitt and me as the teachers for the English class in Chinatown that evening.  The four of us had a delicious homecooked dinner at the Leavitt's apartment in downtown S.F. before Gary drove us to the bus and the two of them on to the game. 

Teaching the students there was pleasant enough after which we took the bus back to their neigborhood. Coming back we needed to walk quite a bit farther than on the trip to Chinatown. I enjoy talking to Bonnie Leavitt a lot so there was no problem with a long walk. When we came to Sacramento St. the intersection was closed and there were numerous police and motorcycles with their lights blazing. Sis. Leavitt asked what was going on and we were told that President Obama would be coming by and sure enough within a few minutes we saw motorcycles, three limousines (he was in the second one), many white vans containing security personnel and even a Fire and Rescue vehicle. The whole thing was over in a flash, but it was a delightful surprise considering we then had to walk by three homeless people before reaching the Leavitt's apartment.  Bonnie was much more comfortable with the environment than was I.

Karen Made a Second Visit

How  happy we were to welcome Karen a second time as a visitor on our mission. However, the weather was less than welcoming.  It was nasty...cold, gray and very, very windy.  On Monday there was even icy rain thrown into the mix. Unfortunately we felt it was wise to modify our plans. Consequently, Karen has wanted to visit Chinatown on both of her visits, but she will need to come back a third time to do that.

Saturday we traveled to Oakland to attend the Mandarin session at the temple. Karen did such a good job of remembering the Chinese people she had met on her first visit here.  We chuckled, because there were more people there wearing headsets than native Mandarin speakers.

After attending church at the Filipino ward on Sunday, we went to the Chinese Branch. How fortunate for all of us, there were two English speakers that day and their talks were being translated for the main congregation.  We were able to laugh at their humorous comments before some of the others and that was a treat for me. In the afternoon we pulled on our windbreakers, gloves and scarves and toured the Stanford campus.  It's always beautiful, but not quite as stunning on a windy, cold day.

Monday, the weather was even worse. So what do sensible women do when their other plans go awry; we drove to the mall in San Mateo and bought new outfits.  Tom patiently looked at tools at Sears and ski equipment while he waited for the appointed time to meet the two of us. We, of course, called to ask for an extension. Afterwards,we went out for a Chinese lunch and drove back to Pacifica.

Once Karen had packed, and even though we were quite full, we went to the Cliff House for desserts.  The view of the turbulent ocean was good and the food was delicious. This was a good idea, despite our bulging stomachs.

It was WONDERFUL to spend some time with Karen.  Only 4 1/2 months until we'll be spending more time with family.