At the end of January our daughter came to visit for three weeks. At the beginning, three weeks sounded like a wonderfully long time, but in the end, time, of course, flew by way too fast. We filled those three short weeks with a lot of fun activities and tried to make the most of the time. Unfortunately, the Geek couldn't take off all of the time, but we still got several weekdays that we could spend together.
Since she still has quite some clothes here and didn't need to bring any, she filled her suitcase with the delicious things that we miss here.
Since she misses it so much in Germany, we spent a lot of time at the ocean, walking along the beach during sunset...
whale watching (unsuccessfully) ...
hiking the headlands ...
spending an incredibly windy day in Point Reyes, looking for elephant seals and their pups ...
and watching more sunsets.
One day she came with me to German School and did a fabulous presentation about Germany for my students. They loved her and we ended up having a pretty lively conversation in German.
We walked around the lake where we discovered American White Pelicans for the first time.
We walked among ancient Redwoods and she tried to hug one...
She spoiled our friends' dogs and the resident cat in our garden; they in return adored her.
We played cards on those rainy afternoons (we didn't have many of those) while drinking feshly pressed blood orange juice (this, of course, is for Bleubeard and Elizabeth's T Tuesday; it feels good to be back!).
And way too soon it was time for her to say goodbye to her parents and California.
There will be more about our time with Kaefer in upcoming posts.
27 comments:
Sounds like an awesome time with your daughter. I loved all the photos very much-awesome to live near the ocean too. glad you got to see the pelicans-we seem them when the migrate in and out of the area.
Happy T hugs Kathy
It sounds like such a wonderful visit Carola. I'm sure you are crushed it is over, but it sounds like she made a lot of time for both you and your husband.I bet it also went very quickly for your daughter also. It's fun seeing all your photos from your walks. You visited some beautiful places. It's good to see you back for T, and hope March starts off well for you. hugs-Erika
So glad that you got to spend quality time with your daughter. It looks like you have a lot of fun together. Loved seeing all the goodies in her suitcase as well. The ocean is gorgeous as are the Redwoods. I have never visited CA but if I do, I would love to see those things.
Happy Tea Day,
Kate
Blood orange juice? First time I ever heard of it. So, does it taste like orange juice or is it flavored? Our son comes for one week to visit. You think 3 weeks fly, try one week! I am so happy you had such a lovely time with her. Lovely photos especially of your family. Happy T day.
The poor white pelicans normally live inland where climate change is reducing their opportunities, and they are on the coast in desperation, I heard. Everything is so problematical!
Good to hear that you had such a good visit.
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
It sounds slike you all had great family time together. Your daughter is pretty and I like all these pictures. Hiking, the beach and watching the sunset are all that I like too.
Happy T Tuesday!
Tolles erstes Foto und das zweite ist echt ein Brüller :-)
Oh, ja, das Meer.
Und deutsch, ja. Mein Brasilianischer Kollege hat auch so seine Probleme damit, ist immer sehr "niedlich" und man merkt, wie unlogisch Sprache ist.
Ich freue mich, mehr zu sehen/lesen.
What a fabulous travel you had with the family. Happy memories
I was here earlier, then got a phone call that was very disturbing about a dear friend who just died. I simply couldn't concentrate.
So wonderful to see Kaefer in the states after seeing her in Germany, Austria, etc. for weeks on end last autumn. I laughed at her suitcases. I wonder what the customs officers thought.
I thoroughly enjoyed your walks along the beaches. It was good to see Kaefer by the Golden Gate Bridge, too. Loved tyhe photos in the Redwoods. She sure took to the animals.
Wow, that blood orange juice looks wonderful. They are quite hard to get here, so it was great to see the glasses of freshly squeezed juice.
Thanks for sharing your visit with Kaefer to the ocean, beaches, and forest, as well as the time you spent at home. Thanks also for sharing your juice with us for T this Tuesday, dear Carola.
I am very happy that you all had a wonderful time together, Carola, and especially that you immersed yourself in nature so much. It is the healing balm we all need - and ever more frequently too. Hugs - David
Such a great post - full of your sweet daughter and all the fun things you did - thanks for sharing it all. My favorite picture was your first - you all look so cool. I would frame it. How great she came to your class as well. You live in a beautiful place with so many pretty things to see. Happy T-day Carola. Hugz
What a wonderful time together :) Sounds like you made the most of it. Happy T Tuesday!
Sounds like an awesome time with your daughter. Your photos at the beach were amazing. And the resident garden cat has nearly the same markings as my cat, Quill! Happy T Day
Aaaww you made miss the wonderful years i spent in California. We went to the Redwoods on our 25th Anniversary. Best memories ever... and the beaches.. sigh.. So glad you got to spend time with your daughter.. and i must say that is one GRAND suitcase! Happy T day! Hugs! deb
PS.. love your drink presentation... gorgeous!
Hi Carola,
love your photos today - beautiful - that first one is so funny! I would really love to visit the giant redwoods too. I thought your juice was going to be beetroot, it's a similar colour to mine today. Happy T Day! Elle/EOTC xx
It's so nice your daughter came to visit. Yes, 3 weeks goes be fast when the kids are home. As always your photos are fabulous. Have a very lovely day.
I agree that 3 weeks is wy too short, but then, any amount of time would probably be too short. It looks like you had a lovely time though.
I really like the blood oranges. I remember them from Italy and in my childhood we had them in the Netherlands too.
Those redwoods are amazing! I would love to see those. And do a tree walk too. Then you saw seals and pelicans. How wonderful.
Did Kaefer grow up in California, or did you move there later?
I was amazed at the map of Germany (I love maps). It's very accurate too. What's with the bread prices? Comparing?
I always enjoy your blog as your photos are so good.
Happy T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca
I just did a comment and it disappeared, so here is another one:
Three weeks is not really a long time, but it sounds as if you really made the best of the time she had. Visiting the ocean as often as you can and I love all the photos you took.
The German language is complicated with all the grammar rules. I learnt German at school (proper German) and I remember reading German literature books like Thomas Mann and herman Hesse. Im remember choosing Der Richter und sein Henker because it was so short. Then I got the hang of reading German and I started reading books for pleasure. My favorite in those days was Konsalik. I must have read every book he wrote. Nowadays it is Andreas Eschbach.
My spoken German is abominable. Fluent 'coal miners' German. I can chat ten to the dozen but without proper grammar. Awful.Sorry.
Happy T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca
It sounds like you had a wonderful visit. There is nothing quite like having a daughter :)
What a grand time you had! And I'm sure those weeks flew by like minutes. But I smiled big when she didn't bring home any clothes -- just snacks and treats! Now THAT is a daughter who knows exactly what to do! I loved every moment in this post!
Looks and sounds like a fabulous time spent with your daughter.
Loved seeing all of your photographs.
All the best Jan
What a lovely bag full of goodies! Looks like you had a wonderful time! Belated Happy T Day, Chrisx
You are so right, Carola, in that time does fly by so fast when we are enjoying precious time together with family. So enjoyed seeing photos of and reading about the activities you enjoyed together. My favorite was the first photo of the three of you together, and of course the wonderful ocean views. Kaefer really knows HOW to pack a suitcase !
From reading this, you made the most of the days with your daughter. Beautiful views of the ocean, the seals, and the headlands.
How cool that you got to see the pelicans!
Sounds like a wonderful visit, Carola.
Such a lovely post!
Hugs and blessings.
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