Yes, I have been on vacation and away from my discipline of writing and somewhat less intercessory prayer, too. We stayed in Oakland at an Air B & B that was quiet and enjoyable. We often ate out with Karen or at one of the sibling’s homes. The visit started with a big bang luncheon at Mark’s house in Forestville, CA with all the siblings present. Lunch at Becky’s Chinese restaurant. We ate dinner with Anthony’s family and his Mom, Karen, at the Golden Squirrel one evening. Lunch in Marin after seeing the Golden Gate Park Marin headlands area. Lunch another day with Karen and I cannot remember the name of the place but great Mediterranean plate. A dinner with Jackie’s family that was all delicious. They grilled flank steak. I will have to try that for us! Breakfast at a place we used to visit with Karen. Not nearly as good as pre-Covid. At least, now she knows! We usually ate a small breakfast, one meal out and a snack or small other meal.

We also went to Peet’s coffee almost daily and bought my favorite, Arabian Mocha Java beans, which they do not ship to area stores here. We will enjoy that for months to come as we are frugal in our usage. Before Bob and I met I lived across the street from the original Peet’s so it holds a special place in my heart. Daily I would smell the delicious scent of coffee beans roasting. They are now owned by someone else and run on a much larger scale.

Bob remembered the French Bakery. Once we found it we were there often, too. The breads, the cookies, the cookies, the specialty cookies, brownie, etc. Safeway still had Svenson’s Bear Claws which we only get here rarely if Sam’s happens to get a large box of pastries from them. At Safeway I can buy a tray of 6 and yep, they are in my pantry and freezer right now. Bought various forms of sour dough bread and enjoyed all of it.

Bob has noted that we often eat our way through vacations. That makes a problem with going to one place repeatedly. We know all the things we like and where to get them! See’s candy, which they reportedly sell at one store in Cincinnati, makes the best vanilla walnut fudge. They also let you taste a piece of candy of your choice.

After we got home a magazine came in the mail noting one especially delicious English pub. Drats! Had we known we could have eaten there!

Visiting Bob’s sister reminds me so much of visiting Queens, New York when his grandma and aunts lived there. Dense population, extreme difficulty if you want to park a car, public train running all the time, homeless population (now called “the unhoused”) also in high density. There is a vibrancy of human activity here, too. Shops and wares that are fresh and I want to taste all of them. A new upscale market called “Market Hall.” We walked through it but did not purchase anything. We were actually getting sated with foods by then.