What a wonderful, busy weekend!!!

Starting on Thursday, in my office, we began to hear the loud sounds of the Blue Angels flying around San Francisco. This was the start of a wonderful celebration known as Fleet week to celebrate the Navy down by the wharf. Practice continued on Friday and some of my co-workers and I went to the roof of the school to watch and it was soo cool to be able to see them fly over us. I was really excited for the actual show that was to happen on Saturday.

Saturday morning came and I woke up excited to be able to go down to the wharf to watch the show. Rachel and I got up early and went to some sales that were happening down in the shopping district and then took BART to the Embarcadero. We stopped at the farmer's market which happens every week at the Ferry Building. There were so many people out trying all of the many samples and buying the wonderful fresh produce that was being sold. We decided to walk down to Fisherman's Wharf from there and got some free stuff along the way. We staked out our spot where we would watch the show and sat down to wait the hour until it would begin. While we were waiting, there were a few other planes that were doing tricks to entertain.

After switching off to go and get lunch, Rachel and I were extremely excited for the show to begin. We waited and waited and they finally came out at 3:20 to do a few tricks. They then disappeared and we never saw them again. After 20 more minutes, we over heard people say that they were not going to perform today. It was such a disappointment and we went home to rest for the night without seeing the Blue Angels.

The next day, I woke up early to go to Mass and was given the opportunity to go with Rachel and S. Mary Susanna to her brother's house in Healdsburg, CA. It was a wonderful drive up to Sonoma County. We spent the day traveling to 3 different wineries and were given the chance to taste many delicious wines. Even though I really had no idea how you are supposed to taste wine (should have stuck with that wine tasting class in college), it was a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon and the wineries were very busy with people tasting the different wines. We then went over to S. Mary Susanna's brother's house for lunch. I was amazed at how easily her family welcomed me into their home and treated me like I was another member of the family. It was so nice to be welcomed with open arms and to be invited to watch the football game and enjoy a meal with them. After visiting for awhile and then checking out the plaza in the town we traveled home.

On the way home, I was reading the Dominican Volunteers newsletter and read the article written by Dan. After reading this article and reflecting on the day I had spent, I realized how true everything he said was. Throughout the entire day, S. Mary Susanna was extremely generous to Rachel and I and this even extended to the hospitality of her family. It is easy to see how the sisters can be so hospitable when you meet their families and they are the same exact way. It was really nice to be able to spend this time with her family especially because it has been challenging being so far away from all of mine.

We finished off the night with a trip down Lombard St. (the crookedest street) and then drove through the Short North which was packed from the Columbus Day celebrations. All in all it was a wonderful weekend spent, but I wish that I could have had a vacation day today to relax after this very busy weekend!!

~Liz