The first thing we did is stop at their local Safeway grocery store so I could order cake and cupcakes for the wedding. I did the negotiating while Bean and Mr. 246 found a nice shady spot somewhere in the shopping center so Bean could move about.
I think he found quite a nice spot hidden behind some not-yet-filled shops. No car traffic and some wonderful views. (The shopping center was atop a hill.) Best part? Their was a grapevine area with two rows of grape plants growing quite happily in the sunshine. And look! The grapes are starting!
The next stop was at the venue location. Sadly I didn't take many pictures because I was too busy taking video while narrating notes to myself about decorations and placements and other wedding planning tidbits. We got a lot figured out, even if I do still have a ton of work left to do. Here's two sneak peeks from the wedding venue that I managed to steal out of some of the video I took.
This first one is part of the "Lower Terrace" fountain landing area. We will be getting married in front of that archway which is actually a fountain that will have water coming down the sides. If you look closely at the right side of the upper brick "wall" (the bricks you see in the second stone wall section in the middle of the picture) there is a overturned pot. This is also part of the fountain and will be pouring water into a kind of moat that the stairs actually go over. (Ignore the ladder and the rakes...they're doing some maintenance today!)
The second shot of the venue I have is of my favorite part. The outdoor fireplace! I just love everything about it. I wish I had a zoomed out picture so you could see the surrounding area and the little stairs that lead into the woods...it's just amazing. The whole venue has tons of stonework and bricks and awesomeness.
After meeting with the venue coordinator, we walked over to a nearby park (a quick 3 minute walk!) where they were actually having a Re-Opening after doing some extensive work on the park to help restore and preserve parts of it. It's the Kennedy Wheels Tailing Park. It's part of the Kennedy Gold Mine and has these HUGE wooden wheels that helped move the water for the gold mines.
I could not believe how big these water wheels were. Part of the preservation project was to build a structure to protect the last standing wheel. For comparison, that tiny person in the picture below is Mr. 246:
We didn't quite understand the wheels and how they worked, but from what I gather they helped moved water away from the gold mine down a hill, then up a hill, then back down to a "waste" water section that was dammed off.
Here's an illustration of the area we found on one of the information boards. The yellow arrow is actually the wheel you see above. (Not pictured is the actual gold mine way to the left.)
We had lunch behind that wheel building, overlooking the area in front of the dam. (There's no water there today, so it's just fields.) It was beautiful anyway though. If you squint you can see the dam. (Just left of the clump of trees on the right-hand side is the dam.)
Actually, we didn't eat lunch there. The Bean did. It was her lunchtime
and she had food packed...we didn't. We did manage to find a nice shady
spot!
Bean wanted leaves for lunch. We decided that wasn't a good idea. Do you see what Mr. 246 is holding? Genius idea he came across online...bring an avocado on-the-go, then when it's food time for baby then just break it open and spoon it out. Self contained baby food! She loves it. I may have sneaked a bite or two.
On our way leaving the park they were packing up from that morning's Grand Re-Opening events. They had these gorgeous leather jackets for sale.
They second two looked definitely handmade and I'm pretty sure they were since there were a bunch of legit looking mountainous men around. I am too shy to take pictures of strangers, but I did get a picture of their sign!
When I got home I Googled about these mountain men and of course I could find nothing of their local chapter...but I did learn some about Kit Carson himself.
So, Bean was fed then it her naptime. With no real suitable place to nap except the car, we loaded her up, got some drive-thru food and parked in a parking garage and had a mini picnic while Luna got some much needed rest:
The last order of business of the day brought us back to Safeway so I could meet with the florist. Mr. 246 entertained Ms. Bean and they wandered about the store hooting and hollaring and reading books while I spoke with the most amazing lady ever about flower arrangements.
After Safeway, we needed another mini sit-about so Bean could stretch again before we left for our hour long ride home. We went pretty close by to the first spot of the day, but this area had a patio-like area so we didn't have to sit near itchy grass. No grapes near this spot, but there was a bunch of lavender!
I got this beautiful picture of Lunabean. In this picture she looks so....different? Maybe it's because I hardly have any profile shots of her.
She was quite entertained by the car keys and a baby wipes container:
I can't quite remember if I mentioned this or not but Luna took her first step on June 10. She's been gradually moving a bit more every day and this girl wants to go. This is why we made it a priority to give her lots of time to roam about on today's trip. We would not have a happy child on our hands if she was strapped in a car seat, or stroller, or baby carrier all day. So...this was our third "Let the Bean Stretch" hang out session of the day. And she sure did stretch. Remember the wipes container and keys? She played with them for fifteen minutes straight. She just kept throwing them and going after them. Pretty much playing "fetch" with herself:
Pardon our pantless child...we knew we were going to have to change her again before we left so we just kept the shorts off.
We drove home early enough to have a normal evening and get Bean to bed on time. Later on in the evening I had to make a decision about dinner and I knew I wanted to use up what we had on hand and I randomly discovered that we could make Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza. I just had to say the words to Mr. 246 and he was on top of it. It was complete with Mr. 246's ketchup and mustard pizza "sauce" concoction. After eating it I felt awesome and disgusting.
So, my lovely readers, that is what I leave you with tonight: Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza. I hope you enjoyed "tagging along" for a short bit today. Thanks for stopping by!
-Ms. 246
Yippie for walking, Luna! It's amazing the independence they get when they start walking. I also never realized those wheels were so large!
ReplyDeleteYea, she definitely has a different opinion on things now that she can move around so much. We were surprised by the wheels as well! I didn't even realize how huge until I looked at the picture.
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