San Francisco 2012

Text Box: We had a wedding to go to in Palo Alto, for Anne Marie Nicpon, a dear friend and junior bridesmaid in our own wedding 26 years earlier. It was great to go to her celebration, and we extended it to a very long weekend trip to a beautiful city and some of Madeline’s cousins and uncle. It was lots of fun.

Text Box: When we arrived in town on Friday morning, we drove out to Half Moon Bay and then drove across the mountains on Tunitas Creek Road, where we saw these beautiful trees.

Text Box: Later that evening, we went to the rehearsal dinner outdoor barbeque, which was located in another park with beautiful trees and moon.

Text Box: The wedding Saturday wasn’t until 5pm, so we drove down to Monterey and around 17 Mile Drive. The highlight there, of course, was the Lone Cypress.

Text Box: After we returned and changed into our nice clothes, we went to the wedding at Stanford University. It was a beautiful campus, a beautiful church, and had a good looking bride and groom (and us) around as well.

Text Box: Arlene walked Anne Marie down the aisle, where she was given away to Matt. The Mass was very nice and the reflection was terrific, since the priest had known Matt for a very long time. The music was also nice, conducted by Anne Marie’s brother, Carl.

Text Box: In the morning, we took a long walk, going to Chinatown again and walking along the cable car tracks. Uncle Al then picked us up with the gang and took us to places tour buses might not go, like the Painted Sisters, China Beach, and Golden Gate Park.

Text Box: The next morning, we went to brunch with the new couple, said our goodbyes to the Nicpon family, then moved into our hotel in the city, where we walked down to Chinatown. We then went to dinner with Madeline’s uncle, cousins, and their families, and returned to their house for fun before we settled in at the Marriott Marquis and had a lovely view from our window.

Text Box: We saw Alcatraz, and then had some marvelous views of the Golden Gate Bridge before driving down the coast a little ways and having dinner.

Text Box: Our last full day, we took a bus to Golden Gate Park and roamed through the Botanical Gardens and the California Academy of Sciences, which was a combination of three museums.

Text Box: We ended our trip with a ride on the cable car to Fisherman’s Wharf, before going out to dinner with a friend of Dan’s. Lots accomplished in a short period of time, and lots of people visited.