San Fransisco, and Frank Lloyd Wright!

Frank Lloyd Wright is one of my favorite architects, so wherever I go, I always check to see if any of his work is nearby. To my delight, there were a few in the San Fransisco area so we planned a trip to go and explore the city and the best of the buildings in the proximity.

First stop: Berger House by Frank Lloyd Wright in San Anselmo.







Next, we headed off to the great San Fransisco Golden Gate Bridge!








There was this really cool battery called "Battery Spencer" that used to guard the gate.









Once we crossed the bridge, we headed down to the wharf to get some good old clam chowder for lunch... Mmmm!









We then drove through downtown in peak traffic to go across the Bay Bridge and then make one more stop at another Wright designed building.












Another Frank Lloyd Wright House - Feldman house in Berkeley, CA!





All in all we had the most wonderful day exploring the San Fransisco area!

Napa Valley

Our first day with the Van Straaten's was just wonderful! We went to Yountville, to a beautiful park where the kids could play and we could catch up with the family and hear of their new life in Napa.







After lunch we took a drive past an exquisite spa and hotel that was super modern and "green". Needless to say, I got very excited and got Andrew to take me there again later for a better look! Sadly, the Van straatens were due to go away with some friends for a few days, but we stuck around and used their home as a Holiday Venue!

On our way to visit the Van Straaten's in Napa Valley,CA

Napa Valley is about 6 hours drive from Los Angeles. Andrew and I climbed in the car at 7 in the evening and went for it so that we wouldn't have to waste the next day driving up. The trip was really beautiful, and the sun stays up for a long time in the summer.

The ground in the valleys are extremely fertile and there is much farming land on the route up there.

Halfway we stopped at a truck stop town to get some much needed coffee and to update our dear friends in Napa of our progress. They had insisted on waiting up for us so we were eager to get there as soon as was possible! We really have missed the Van Straaten family since Anton Graduated and was called to a church up there.

We arrived at 1 or so in the morning, chatted for a few minutes and then went to bed so that we would be functioning again in the morning! We are in store for a wonderful weekend! So great to see you Anton, Marietjie, Naomi and Olivia!

New additions to the apartment!

This evening was "work on home projects" night at the Zekveld home. There are not many more pleasing things for a wife than to see projects get done, so tonight was the best!!! look what we were up to...

I had stained the wood for a new frame in preparation for the work party...

I was recovering the new dining room chairs that I got with fabric that matches the colour of our dinner plate set...

My most handsome husband was putting together a frame for our bathroom mirror...

And these were a romantic addition to our bedroom entrance!

The lanterns from my wedding were hung in the passage to hide an unattractive light fitting.

All in all we had a great time! Three cheers for the team!

Fun at the Dodgers Game

Today we had the wonderful privilege of going to the Dodgers Game with the Bird family. Scott Bird is Andrew's boss and one of his favorite people. Amy, Scott's wife is one of my favorite people! And let's not forget those most adorable 3 boys - Jonah and Noah (who look more like Andrew's kids than Scott's) and then Jacob who is still in mummy's tummy due in mid October. The trip to the game was also to celebrate our 4 month Wedding anniversary. On our way there, Andrew and I stopped at the best pizza place ever! So yummy! We just got our new cellphones and mine, which has GPS, was directing the way through the traffic to the Stadium.

The parking lot of the Stadium overlooks Downtown Los Angeles

Inside the Stadium, the noise is very loud! It felt much like going to a rugby match back home!

There is the Bird family! Thanks for inviting us to come along!

Noah is 2 years old and a real cutie!

Jonah is 4 and just loves "Mr Andrew and Miss Vicky"!

On the board after the 7th inning the crowd sings "Take me out to the ball game" Here's a video of it if you want a taste of the sorts of things that we do at the game!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk3MAQQSoT0&feature=PlayList&p=B6EE988C01AFFBC7&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=23

The game lasts quite a while and the sun has set...

With the game over, we took some pics and then headed off our separate ways! We had a great time! Baseball may not be as cool as Rugby but it sure beats a Cricket match!!!

Celebrating One Year of Friendship, and 2 Months of being in the USA!

The 15th of June marks exactly a year since we met in Palm Springs. We were introduced by a mutual friend, Kerry, at the 2008 conference and our eyes met that day for the first time! It just so happened that Resolved this year fell on the exact same weekend so we got to celebrate this anniversary in the same place that it all went down in! After the morning sessions we jumped in the car and headed off to the Aerial Tramway that takes you up the mountain against which Palm Springs is nestled.

We arrived and bought our tickets for the cable cars and watched ours dock at the station ready to take us up, up and away! We had no idea what to expect up there, but we had had some suggestions to take a jacket with...

When we arrived at the top after an exciting ride in the rotating tram we landed on what seemed to be on another part of the world because it was so different to the desert-like, flat terrain of Palm springs. The view of the surrounding area was absolutely breathtaking and you could see for miles and miles!
After a bit of exploring, we headed indoors where it was warmer to get some lunch. On our way there we met a tame squirrel who was quite happy to be stroked. This was a great treat for me because we don't get to see squirrels like this back home in Durban... Such delightfully bushy tails and cute little ears... I believe they are seen as a real pest here in California.

We spent the afternoon just chatting and wondering the peak of the mountain but had to head back in time for the evening session of resolved so we begun our descent to the warmer plains down below!


Before we headed back to the conference centre we went to see the giant wind turbines that litter the hills around the area, also something I'm not used to seeing, and enjoyed the arid landscape that is so typical of southern California (I've been told to use the term SoCal - it's what the locals have nicknamed it!)

A random boat in the middle of nowhere! For the video of the parable of the "Pearl of great price" which was filmed here in Palm Springs for last year's Resolved Conference, click on this link - it's very cool:

http://www.resolved.org/Video.aspx?height=410&width=640&titlevar=TheParable&videosource=

We had such a great time of reflection over the last year of being the closest of friends and the wonderful journey that our 2 months of living in the USA has been. Thanks for sharing it with us!

The Resolved Conference, Our Trip to Palm Springs

After meeting Andrew for the first time at the 2008 Resolved conference, there is always going to be a special connection to this weekend of the year, and this event. Friday finally came about and we madly did a whole bunch of packing in the morning before we headed off. Before we left Newhall, we fetched another seminary couple, Johnny and Jenny McClaughlin who were going to carpool with us up to Palm Springs and enjoy the benefits of our Air Conditioning which is a must have in the extreme heat up there! We hadn't spent much time with this Irish couple together so we were excited to get the chance to get to know them better. We had a great drive up there, and arrived with plenty of time to get some In-N-Out before checking into our Hotel!

Johnny and Jenny McClaughlin, seminary couple

The giant wind turbines were are all over the hills near Palm Springs

The beautiful mountains that make up the backdrop to Palm Springs

Our Hotel, The Marriot Courtyard

Our room in the hotel

The Registration table - arm bands this year instead of tags

The long wait for 3500 people, mostly young adults, before the first session - a whole buch of pushing and shoving! And total anarchy once the doors do open!

No, we don't know the people behind us who are smiling!

With the best biblical teaching you get and music of the highest class, we will be thouroughly saturated in the Word this weekend!