Trip to the Sauna (aka St. Louis in July)

Right after the family reunion, we parted ways - Bob went back to Sausalito stopping in Reno where he found an excellent deal ($29) on a hotel of questionable taste...



While Suzanne flew to St. Louis to visit Savanna and the kids in their very hot, very humid new home!



Visiting the Butterfly House...





Smiley Atlee...



Active Aldan...

Summer is really best in MT

So it seemed like a good idea to head north around the 4th of July for some family fun (and a reunion) in Great Falls. There was a lot of family:

Fortune siblings - Jeane, Joyce, Dale & Faye - with Aunt Alice.



Visiting, looking at pictures, reminiscing...



Fighting - in a socially acceptable way...







Learning from the older generations - notice the water balloon...



Performing - the twins did an iteration of Abbott & Costello's "Who's on 1st?"...



And lots of eating...





Fresh King salmon from Alaska, courtesy of Les & Ann



A hand carved fruit basket courtesy of the Benjamin family and Bob



Homemade ice cream courtesy of Uncle Harry



And last but not least there was some gorgeous scenery

$2 day at the Jewish Museum

And what would be the attraction to the Contemporary Jewish Museum, you say? Well, it was designed by a famous architect (Daniel Libeskind) AND one of our friends helped build it - I think he may prefer to work on a building NOT designed by a "famous" architect next time, something with fewer obscure angles!

Housewarming or happy birthday to Bob...

Bob decided he needed a little excitement in his life, so he sent out an Evite for a "Happy Birthday to me" bbq/potluck at our new apartment.





He challenged everyone to bring something exciting. Consequently, this wasn't like any other potluck I remember. There was lots of salad and fresh fruit, of course, plus fresh made bruschetta, handmade dolmas...







fresh, raw oysters courtesy of David and Kami...





and rhubarb cheesecake to finish it all off!



Then, it got so windy we ended up hanging out in the fitness room rather than at the picnic tables...







But I think everyone had fun anyway.

A little tour of our new place

We're technically in Sausalito - no, not in a houseboat - but we do have a good view and easy access to the Marin Headlands! Sausalito is know for their floating houses, referred to as houseboats but really they're houses on concrete barges so not boats at all in my book.





The majority of Sausalito is built either on top of the hill, like our apartment, or crawling up the side of the hill. Makes for some creative streets and structures.



Our apartment isn't as unique as some we looked at, but we like it. We looked at one that was so crooked there was a 1" gap between the window glass & frame - that was "unique" in a not so good way. And we looked at one that had a turret and sounds of the ocean - which was unique in a really good way. In the end, this one turned out to be the best fit for the time being.



Interestingly, about the time we got all settled in, Suzanne's working arrangement in AK ended, so we decided that while Bob continues the job search, maybe it's the appropriate time for Suzanne do some studying ... unfortunately those Architectural Registration Exams don't take themselves.

Some of our friends

We haven't managed to get a group picture of our friends here in SF, but we do have a few nice photos nevertheless.



Ben, Kristen and Parker at the SF Zoo



Betty, JoAnne and Adrienne post afternoon tea



The monthly "Supper Club" out for Eritrea cuisine (you eat with your hands).



Our Filipino friends - Trinidad, Buena, Emiliana, Betty, Cecilia, Alfred & Earl - after Union Sunday

Year in Review

It's been quite a year, hence the long silence - maybe we'll just do a quick rundown of the highlights... They go back to Feb 23, 2009 "Back to the Park!" Yes they are backwards if you start from here! We got caught up when we got settled.