Local Travels?

A couple of dear friends and I have decided that while we're currently unable to plan extravagant trips to exotic, distant venues, we will explore the interesting, kitschy, and/or lovely sights in our own Bay Area backyard.

Here's a short list we came up with of some of the places we'd like to go:
-Golden Gate Park
-Monterey/Pacific Grove
-Hearst Castle
-Sacramento Old Town
-Sacramento Capital area
-49 mile scenic drive through SF
-90 minute walk through the Marin headlands
-Filoli
-Winchester Mystery House
-Coastal drive
-Colma (who doesn't love a city with more dead people than living?)

We already crossed one item off our list since brainstorming - the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose.

As a fan of all things Egyptian since a young age I can't believe it's taken me this long to visit a museum, dedicated to Egypt, which is so close to home.

It was a lovely day and we spent over 2 hours wandering through the 4 exhibit halls.  I found it fascinating and  was only a little creeped out by the cat mummies (somehow I found them more disturbing than the people mummies?!?).

Sarah...in a window (she's there...you just have to look really hard)

 Two Lisas in two windows...

What's next?

SLC and Temple Square

I know this is rather late, but I don't want to forget it.

I was fortunate in December to get to spend some time in Salt Lake City and specifically in Temple Square.  I had a wonderful time exploring every nook and cranny of the Square.  Although, I somehow managed to miss the Family History Library (which is particularly ironic if you know me...).

I took about a million pictures.  Everything was beautiful, under a blanket of white snow.

Here is just a small sampling...

 Even under a blanket of snow...

Reminds me of home (Oakland Temple Visitor's Center)

By far the snowiest nativity I've ever seen (and that's counting the nativity at the Frankfurt Temple)

 I love, love, LOVE the detail on every facet of the temple.