Getting ready for a party

Dottie & Jerry as they were leaving their home getting ready to go to party. Aren't they an adorable couple?

Fun with Jerry & Dottie

Cousin Dottie & Hubby Jerry are celebrating 50 years of marriage. Jerry is not to drive any longer so we were their designated drivers. We had a lot of fun taking them out to lunch at Jerry's favorite restaurant "Black Oak Restaurant". Since they go there often, everyone knows them. James is one of the workers there and he had fun teasing with Jerry....

Oranges & Lemons

We were very excited to see orange and lemon trees, full of fruit. Larry was even more excited when he & Jerry went in their back yard to pick the fruit. What a treat!!!

Architecture

The architecture in San Francisco was very interesting and beautiful. Here are a couple of interesting buildings:

Crookedest Street

One part of our trip was a trip down the crookedest street (Lombard Street). The picture below is one that was taken of a view of San Francisco below and you can see the winding Lombard Street. The next one is taken at the bottom looking up where we came from.

Sea Lions & Alcatraz

We went to Pier 35 and were able to see some large Sea Lions lounging around. Off to the end of the pier was Alcatraz. Due to lack of time and the huge amount of walking, we had to view it from a distance.

The Palace of Fine Arts

Palace of Fine Arts. The Panama Pacific Exposition of 1915 was an event dedicated to progress, the celebration of the completion of the Panama Canal, and the rebirth of San Francisco following the disastrous 1906 earthquake. The Palace was built in 1913, however the structure has deteriorated. It is now undergoing extensive rennovations so we could not go inside. It is quite spectacular from the outside and when it is fully functional houses many concerts, events, science museum, etc. The outside was a wonderful park that is enjoyed by many local residents.
We really enjoyed the beauty of the Rotunda and the grounds.

Golden Gate Bridge

We also drove around and over the Golden Gate Bridge. It is quite a beauty for all to enjoy.

Robin Williams' house

As part of the city

tour, we drove by Robin Williams' house. As you can see it has a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean and is quite an estate in its own right. Toma also mentioned that Robin Williams flies a special flag to indicate times when he is at home. He is also known for giving gigantic Hershey bars to trick-or-treaters that stop by.

Day 2- Meeting with cousin Cary Davis

Toma Davis is talented in many ways, especially music. Both she and Cary as well as their daughter are very skilled musicians and Toma sings with the San Francisco chorus as well as for other musical events in the area. We went to lunch at a Chinese Restaurant and enjoyed the food as well as the visiting. We then headed out to tour San Francisco.

George Herzog Civil War Metals

Day 2 -- We finally met with cousin Cary Davis and his lovely wife Toma.

We first talked with Cary and compared family history. He has done extensive research on the Herzog family history. Some of the things we learned about Great-Grandfather George Herzog was: George Herzog came to the country in 1858 and became a naturalized citizen in 1872. George was in the NY Calvary was serving in Richmond, VA when he was captured and his horse was shot out from under him. He injured his arm and most of his teeth were knocked out. As a prisoner of war, he was exchanged. He was paroled approximately one week before the defeat of Gettysburg. He made his way back to Washington, DC to join his unit. 11th New York detachment was sent to do patrol in Purdy, TN where he met Sarah Outlaw. Cary has the metal from George Herzog’s uniform, a button from the NY regiment and bullet. It is thought that his uniform was destroyed in a garage fire along with several other pieces of family history.

Seeing the metals was such an awesome treat. After we left the motel, we headed to San Francisco. Cary's wife, Toma, was to get off work at noon so we headed downtown to meet her.

Day 1 picture

San Francisco here we come

We took a late night flight from Atlanta to San Francisco. We were very thankful the flight went well, however, neither of us were able to get much rest. We arrived at the hotel and were able to go to bed around 1 am, however, we did not rest well in different surroundings. Now, here were are at 7 am Pacific/10 am Eastern and can't sleep as our bodies are still on Eastern time.

First order of business is to get quick breakfast, pick up rental car, then call Cousin Cary Davis. He is going to meet us at the hotel, we will have get acquainted time, sharing of family pictures and the DVD Beth made before he takes us on a tour of San Francisco.

When we finish the tour, we will head out to Vacaville for the 50th wedding anniversary of Roberta's cousin, Dottie & Jerry DeRosa. We look forward to seeing family that we have not seen in years and having a fantastic cousin reunion.

Sunday we are to go to church with John & Linda Nice. Linda (Blackwell) & her family were close family friends of ours when we lived in Juneau, Alaska and her sister, Patty is now our sister-in-law.

After visiting with John & Linda, we will head back to San Francisco, check into our hotel, and call Cousin Cal Vaughn. He & Shirley are here to take care of grandson, James, while son Brian & Tonette are here for a job fair. We look forward to another great cousin reunion before heading back home on Monday.