California Girls

My dear friend Linsley came to visit the weekend after my birthday. Whenever the three of us are together, it's guaranteed there will be at least three instances where laughing attacks threaten to send food or drink shooting from our noses.

Linsley and I grew up together in Grandview. On occasion, I would babysit Linsley and her two little sisters. It was probably one of my more favorite babysitting gigs because their mom, Gina, would pick me up to take me to their house for the evening, and on the way there we'd pick up a Morrie's pizza for dinner. Also, the girls were not babies, which made watching them easier because they were fun, well behaved and quite delightful. They had a relatively early bedtime, they had endless supplies of Diet Dr. Pepper in the garage and they had That Thing You Do on VHS. Every time I watched the girls, after they had brushed, flushed and put to bed, I'd pop open a Diet Dr. Pepper and pop in That Thing You Do.

But I digress...

Linsley and I came to be great friends over the years and spent a lot of time together when I lived in Seattle and she attended Seattle Pacific University. She got to know Justin well, too, and when the time came, we asked Linsley to be a bridesmaid in our wedding. After we moved away, she was one of our first California guests and was lucky enough to visit when we lived in the motorhome in Morgan Hill. We called her our Motorhomie.

We went to San Francisco the first time she came for a visit, but we were just newbies ourselves and didn't know the first thing about playing tourist in the city. We went back this time to see some new sites, such as Coit Tower, Lombard Street and The Painted Ladies (a.k.a. the Full House houses). We even went on a 1-hour Bay cruise that took us under the bridge and next to Alcatraz.

Listening to the cruise commentary.

The mighty Golden Gate.

Justin was so happy to be on a boat with two beautiful ladies, he couldn't keep his eyes open!

Alcatraz.

The descent: Lombard Street.

A Trip Down Lombard Street. Narrated by Team Thompson and the Motorhomie.

Linsley, a man and The Painted Ladies (the houses shown at the end of the Full House intro)

The supposed real Full House house.

Justin and Linsley at Coit Tower.

Team Thompson with the Bay Bridge in the background.

On the way home we stopped for burgers at Burger Meister in Daly City and then drove out to the beach to catch the sunset. Afterward, we had a little ice cream birthday cake at home.
Lins and I left JT at home Sunday and walked down the road for a pedicure before we took her back to the airport. We were so glad to have another of our friends from home come visit. It was a great weekend of catching up, eating, girl talk, laughing, touring and enjoying each other's company.