Baines Family Visit

Sunday, August 21 Edward, Jackie and their two girls, Erica and Miranda, and three boys, Bentley, Austen and Lincoln joined us for church services, lunch and some time on the nearby beach. It was fun to see them and I've been chuckling ever since over a comment one of their children made. "We can tell Uncle Tom and Grandpa are brothers because they both know everything!" Doesn't my short stature, silver hair, blue eyes and general "Baines" looks make it very clear that I'm Bob's sibling??? I guess not. We enjoyed being with them.

Visiting "The Rock"

About three weeks ago, the young missionaries in our district said they were very interested in touring Alcatraz; so we went online and ordered tickets for 10. Yesterday was our day to go. Fortunately it was a warm, sunny day...perfect for being on the water and visiting a cold, stone building. Actually, it was the warmest day we've experienced since coming to Pacifica, we even broke 70 degrees!!!

All the young elders have bus passes so we just met them at Pier 33, but the young sisters have a car so we arranged to pick them up at their apartment to help them avoid the expense of parking. The four of us arrived in plenty of time to board the boat, but we were concerned about the Zone leaders. They called to say that they couldn't get on the trolley because it was full and they needed to wait for the one that would follow. Fortunately, they arrived at the pier a few minutes before the cutoff time. I really didn't want them to miss out. They each had paid $26.00 for the tour and that's a lot of money for their small missionary budget and they really, really wanted to visit "The Rock."

The boat ride over was very pleasant, and the Golden Gate National Park system does a quality job of providing a good tour. The headset tour is very interesting and the buildings are very stark and just what you'd think a prison for "the worst of the worst" would be like.

The escape stories were fascinating. Thirty-six prisoners attempted an escape over the prison's history. The records don't show any successful  getaways, but three prisoners escaped and have never been found. They think they probably drowned in the Bay.

One of the Park employees showed the young elders the hospital and psych ward which were closed off to  other tourists. He must have known how excited they were to be on the tour.  The history of the place was interesting, but as for me, give me Stanford...that's a place of beauty.

The Whites

One Wonderful Week So Far!

Monday, September 12th our dear friends, Pat and Roy Ottley, arrived in San Francisco for a much anticipated visit. We met down on Pier 43 1/2 at Aliotto's Restaurant. Pat and Roy have been coming to that restaurant for 53 years, and Roy and his parents for even longer. The Ottley family celebrated Pat and Roy's engagement there.We had a delicious seafood lunch and a great visit. It's always a special treat to be with cherished friends.

Following our time with the Ottleys, Tom and I drove to Oakland for Tom to help Elder Mayo, the housing coordinator, to connect a gas dryer in one of the mission apartments. Then we attended senior Family Home Evening at the Brightons. President and Sister Richard Hunter, current president and matron of the Oakland temple, talked about their experiences in that temple and about temple details recorded in the Old Testament that  are similar to our present day temples. It was fascinating.

Tuesday, the 13th was Zone Conference. Elder Keith R. Edwards of the Second Quorum of the Seventy and his wife attended. It was one of the best church meetings I've attended in my whole life.   At any rate, he said just the things I felt I needed to hear. It seemed such a personal, private message that it is too sacred to share.

Following lunch, his wife came to our table to chat. They spent considerable time in the Philippines with Elder Edwards serving in the Area Presidency for five years. We shared insights into Filipino culture, with Sister Evans contributing the lion's share. Her suggestions will be very useful to us.

Now, today, Wednesday the 14th, Tom and I accompanied Elder and Sister White to Palo Alto to visit Stanford University.  The Whites will be returning home to Williamsburg, VA next Thursday and we'll be bridging the gap until the Sorenson's arrive to teach Institute classes. So it was out of the fog and into beautiful, sunny Palo Alto. The Stanford campus is stunningly lovely. There is a certain refinement to the place that made me want to be a student again.

We will miss the Whites. Frequently we have traveled to Oakland with them. They are accomplished, lovely people.

Changes!

We have two new elders in our district as of last week. Elder Brown has replaced Elder Chen as our District Leader and Elder Luo has returned.  We just love Elder Luo! He's from mainland China and a great person. He was serving as a Zone Leader before being transferred here. President Wade likes to place his young missionaries back in the regular field just before they return home.

Here we are: in the back, Tom, Elder Anderson, Elder Luo (yes, unusual, but true, a Chinese elder the tallest of the bunch), Elder Brown and Elder Guan. On the front row: me, Sister Douglas and Sister Yu.

In addition to our regular responsibilities, Tom and I  have another change... a new, temporary assignment. We'll be teaching Book of Mormon Institute classes for four weeks to two dental student groups. One group of about 23 attending the University of the Pacific and a smaller group (8-10) attending University of California: San Francisco. We met both last  week and it should be a fun assignment. We're just bridging the gap between Elder and Sister White going home and the Sorensons arriving.

Ya Gotcha Wrench?

Tom and I discovered a beautiful spot in south Pacifica with trails along the coast. We sit so much studying and teaching that it feels great to get out and have a good walk. About a week ago, we were at our favorite spot, Mori Point, enjoying our walk and the beauty around us when Tom spotted a coyote. At first it was just interesting. Then we noticed a lady with a camera walking towards the coyote and it didn't run away. As a matter of fact, it advanced towards her. That freaked me out!!! "Normal"coyotes are wary of humans. It didn't take me long to high tail it down the path away from there. When we reached the main trail there were signs warning about coyotes; how they are protected and that you need to stand up as big and tall as you can so they see you as large, and to protect small children and pets against them. Today when we began our walk a man stopped us to warn us to watch  for the coyote at the end of the path. I now know there are several things needed when you take a walk there:
1. walking shoes
2. sunscreen
3. sun hat/glasses
4. and a big wrench!!!
Of course Tom brought tools with him on this mission. That's like bringing your toothbrush and shaver as far as he's concerned. I think I'll feel much more comfortable walking at Mori Point in the future if I'm carrying a big, fat wrench. Those coyotes better give me some room because I'm scared to death of them and won't be responsible for my actions should they come too close.

Fun Times With the Johnsons!!

The weather was cold and foggy, but we had a great time being with David, Reva and girls. We did the usual San Francisco tourist things: Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, Lombard Street, Golden Gate Park and Bridge. They really wanted to tour Alcatraz, but were unable to obtain tickets even though Reva went online almost two weeks before their trip. The tickets were sold out!! I guess that means they'll need to visit us again.

The girls were disappointed that the weather wasn't good enough to enjoy swimming in the outdoor pool here at the apartment complex. From what I've seen of the weather so far this summer, I think the pool is only for looks. Who wants to go swimming when the temperature is below 60 degrees F!