We rode on a train through Napa Valley. While on board we had a gourmet lunch.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Winchester Mystery House
Sarah Winchester was the wife of the heir to the Winchester Rifle Company. After the death of her only child and then her husband, Mrs. Winchester thought that she was being haunted by all of the ghosts of people killed by Winchester Rifles.
She the moved from the east coast and started building onto an old farm house. She had builders and carpenters working on her house 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from 1884 to 1922! The mansion has 160 rooms, 2,000 doors, 10,000 windows, 40 staircases, and 13 bathrooms! The cost of construction at that time was $5,500,000!
The coolest thing about the house is that it has some secret passages. The house also windows, doors, and even a staircase that don't go anywhere. Notice the door on the outside of the 2nd story of the house in the picture below.
Grave stone of Charlotte "Charley" Parkhurst
Riding Freedom was based on a true story. We went to the historical society to research Charley Parkhurst and see her gravestone.
Pioneer Cemetery, Freedom Blvd. Watsonville, CA
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Eco San Fran
San Francisco is very environmentally friendly. Not only do many restaurants and businesses have recycling, bit they also have compost bins. This one was in a Starbucks.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Clang Clang Clang went the cable car!
San Francisco cable car ride! These cars are not self powered. They grab onto a moving cable, under the street, that runs the entire length of the line.
826 Valencia
Our friend, Katie Steele, took us to visit another Takodian at her work. We were told we were going to see Molly Parent at the tutoring center where she works. We were pleasantly surprised when we entered a pirate supply store on our way.
The place where Molly works is a pirate supply store AND a tutoring center! The tutoring center helps public school students, mostly, after school and even on weekends. They also offer reading and writing workshops for students and teachers. The walls were filled with books, there were trees as support posts, and smiling children working at large, dark brown tables. It was a whimsical place to work.
You might be wondering why this tutoring center is in the back of a pirate supply shop. Well, the people who started this tutoring center found this spot and they liked it but they needed to have a store front because the space was zoned for commercial use. The people wanted their tutoring center to be a nonprofit organization and they didn't want to charge money for their tutoring service. Thus they needed a store front. A pirate store seemed the logical choice.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
San Francisco: Day 1
We had a long, but nice day of traveling yesterday. We sat next to a girl who was a senior in high school and had never flown before. She was pretty nervous to be traveling alone, so of course I started talking to her. She was very grateful.
We had a layover. Mr. Prior occupied himself by figuring out his new smart phone and I was able to finish my book, My Most Excellent Year, during our 3 hour layover in Denver, Colorado. We arrived at our hotel around 5pm. Then we went out to eat at an Italian restaurant near our hotel.
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