Sunday, August 8

I can't believe today was our last day together! Derrick and Michael went to the Oakland A's game today so they didn't go on any adventures with us. They were pleased when the Athletics beat the Texas Rangers 3-2. Uncle Nick met us at our hotel at 9 AM this morning and we loaded up into one car drove to Bud's to pick him up and headed up to Muir Woods. The day was cool and misty. We were a little bit sad we couldn't enjoy the view on the drive down to the woods, but grateful there was a place to park that wasn't too far away. Uncle Nick graceously treated us to the park admission and we took the longest trail around the park at length of 1.5 miles. We spent more time looking up than watching where we were going so it was a meandering walk. Visiting Muir Woods is like being transported to another world and you can't really wrap your mind around how big the trees are until you see them. It was Banana Slug day at Muir Woods and we happened to spot one and admire it.









When we left, we had a bit of time to go to Stinton Beach which was close by. It was still overcast and we had some remains of the picnic lunch in the trunk from the day before, so we tailgated in the parking lot before walking down to the beach. The beach was overcast and cool, but some people were still in the water. We stuck our feet in the Pacific Ocean and then took a short walk down the beach. Arthur paused to work out a few equations in the sand.









On the way back to Berkeley, we decided we should get some wine to bring to Mr. Fisher's house. We made a quick stop at a neat little wine shop, stopped on the Richmond bridge for a photo op, then decided to swing by Palm Court and recreate the Chelle/Cole pose. Derrick and Michael picked up Jocelyn on their way to Mr. Fisher's house as they had the other car.









We then headed over to Mr. Fisher's house who graceously welcomed us. Nicole remembered where the blackberry bushes used to be that we had picked many years ago. Mr. Fisher's friend Sue prepared a lovely dinner of lasagna, salad, mixed veggies, and bread with a dessert of ooey gooey brownies. (See creating-a-foodie.blogspot.com for the recipe.) We shared some wine and told lots of stories, including telling Sue the bald-headed head story. Arthur had gotten Mr. Fisher some magnetic BBs known as Buckyballs and Michael was enjoying playing with them but everyone took a turn fiddling as well. One Buckyball got lost under the table and we made vain attempts at finding it; at one point there were more dinner guests under the table then on top of it. Uncle Nick hit it off with Mr. Fisher and I think they would be friends if they lived closer to each other. We also had fun debating ways to reassemble the Buckyballs into a cube. Between two doctors in philosophy, an engineer, a doctor in literature, an airplane pilot, two teachers, and two managers, the various approaches to problem solving were interesting. We all hugged goodbye and promised to get together again soon.












Derrick and Rach took Uncle Nick to our hotel to get his car, while Chelle and Cole took Arthur and Jocelyn back to Berkeley. Uncle Nick is flying back to LA way too early so he can go to work on Monday, and Derrick and Michael leave at 6:50 AM. Chelle, Cole, and Rach are going to meet at the airport for breakfast one last time!