We're Expecting!

Cameron at Work

We had someone come to look at the house mid-afternoon today. So without much warning, Cameron and I had to evacuate.

Since I still had work to do we went to the office. And holed up in one of the conference rooms in back.

At first Cameron was excited to be in a new place with new smells.

He made himself pretty comfortable.

But pretty soon he discovered the 9-5 life wasn't for him.

San Francisco - Memorial Day Weekend 2011

To honor Grandma Klco, the Klco family decided to go on a family trip to San Francisco and the Bay area. We met up in the Cleveland airport and flew over together.

On the first day of our vacation in the Bay Area, we checked into our hotel in Sausalito, a small town south of San Francisco and spent the afternoon walking around town. After a wonderful dinner, we went to the Golden Gate park to take pictures of the bridge.

The next morning, we got to Muir Woods before the park even opened, which is the best way to visit the park. Admission was free and we were one of only a handful of groups wandering among the majestic redwoods. It is hard to describe both in words and film the true size of these mammoth trees.

The entrance to Muir Woods




Standing inside a redwood

After we walked a couple trails through the woods and retrieved some supposedly missing film, we headed to catch a boat to Fisherman's Wharf. Once we got off the boat, we got to ride one of San Francisco's many streetcars.

Most of Fisherman's Wharf is roughly akin to a larger Mackinac City, but the Musée Mécanique should not be missed. Easily the one of best, and definitely the cheapest attraction in San Francisco.

On our third day of vacation, we started the day early to head out to Chateau St. Jean in Sonoma, after sampling several wines and wandering their beautiful vineyard, we had lunch at Gott's Roadside, a restaurant featured on Diners, Drive ins and Dives.

We really didn't have a plan for what winery to visit in Napa so a fairly aimless drive and some quick Google Map-ing later we ended up at Paraduxx winery and spent a relaxing mid-afternoon sampling their blended wines.

On the drive back some of us were fairly sleepy...

On our final day of vacation, we went into San Francisco. We started at the SFMOMA, before splitting up and heading up to meet with friends. We met Sean, Vince and Ashley downtown and then went up to the Castro to get subs at Ike's Place. After we got our sandwiches, we went up to a park in the Mission district and spent a relaxing afternoon catching up before heading back to catch our flight.

You can find all of our photos on SmugMug:

• Sausalito - Day 1
• Muir Woods & Fisherman's Wharf - Day 2
• Wine Country - Day 3
• San Francisco - Day 4
  

Catania Again

I got another chance to visit Catania, Italy and decided to visit some sites I had not been able to visit before.

The Greek Theatre
First I visited the Greek Amphitheater in downtown Catania.  For a cultural relic, it was surprisingly hard to find.  Although it was along one of the main roads in the city, it didn't have much of a sign and the entrance was only as wide as a small storefront.  Once you walked into the entrance, the vista opened and you could see the ruins opening up before you.

The Greek Ruins in the middle of Catania.

Over the years the Catanians had built into the amphitheater, the restoration had meant that most of the newer buildings were torn down, but at one point in the museum, you walked directly from ancient Greek ruins into an 18th century Italian apartment.

San Nicoló
Next I went to the abandoned Church of San Nicolo.  Tricia and I had visited there before, but this time the church was opening for visiting.

San Nicolo

The church was fascinating on the inside.  It was soaring with white marble and simple, but elegant design.  Restoration was underway when I was there, but besides the cupola, you could see most of the church.  One of the coolest things in the church was the marble designs running through the middle of the floor.

Apparently, the church was part of one of the largest and wealthiest monasteries in Europe.  The monks were known for the generosity among the community as well as their ostentatious ways.  At one time, the monastery was one of the most powerful institutions on the island, being a virtual kingdom within itself.

Parco Bellini
Finally I went to the newly-reopened Parco Bellini.  It is one of the largest parks in downtown Catania and was as beautiful as it was large.

The gazebo at the Parco Bellini

Click on the slideshow below for the rest of the photos:

Christmas Decorations

Tricia and I were just about the last people to get a tree this year that the Optimist's tree sale, but we got a beauty.
 

The tree, pre-decoration. 

After running all over town we were able to find some lights and were finally able to decorate it.

Fully lit and ornamented. 

Tricia and I got a new ornament to celebrate our new life together, you can see it on the upper-left, it is a white figure of two people holding eachother.

The tree and Santa.

Tricia also set up a Christmas village on the old desk.

Tricia's Christmas Village

Winter 2010

So far this winter has been interesting. Here in Kettering we are experiencing record snowfalls and currently have about 2' of snow on the ground. While the snow may be a headache for Dan and I, Cameron is loving it!

Fall 2009

Here are some photographs from fall. Cameron really enjoyed the leaves!