Mystery Day Trippin' Part 2

Descending down the mountain, within about 10 minutes we were smack dab in the middle of the beautiful town of Berkeley, home of UC Berkeley, The Free Speech movement, etc. This clock tower called the Campanile is one of the landmarks on the campus. Jim was a student here back in the day when he was working on updating his Teaching Credential.

UC Berkeley

Jim was already wondering where our GPS that we call "Susan" was taking us. We meandered through the gorgeous neighborhoods near the campus. This is a place we have both loved since we were seniors in high school, cutting school every now and then, to feel the college scene and pretend we were a part of it. Yep, it's true we did it! And yes, we did get caught...but that is another story for another day! (And a perfect way to see if our kids ever do read this blog!) LOL!

Leaving Berkeley we headed south but not before passing the world class Clairmont Hotel. Our class had our Senior Banquet here back in the day. Now it boasts not only of their lovely, luxurious accommodations and cuisine, but also of their famous Day Spa.

Our third destination of the day...what to us is the Crown Jewel of the Oakland Hills, The Oakland Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is where Jim works in Monday mornings.

We brought a light picnic lunch and took it up to the upper tier of the Temple which overlooks the Bay and gave us this stunning view on Thursday. Again, it was very quiet and peaceful and we were the only ones up there. It is all about timing when it comes to avoiding the crowds.

Jim took this photo from the upper tier
of the Temple.
It is not a view one sees photographed often,
but I thought it was so pretty.
The water features and fountains and the
gardens are all so impeccably maintained.

After lunch we went to the Visitors' Center on Temple Hill. One thing we have been wanting to do is to go in and watch the movie about the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith on the big screen. It is 70 minutes long and very touching. We had seen it a few years ago and just loved it. We were not disappointed in this time at all. It was inspiring, relaxing, and a cool place to be on this very hot afternoon. It is good to be reminded of the sacrifices that have been made in the building of the kingdom.

In the foyer of the Visitors' Center is this
beautiful statue of the Savior entitled
" The Christus"
in a large rotunda with a high domed ceiling
and surrounded by large windows.
Being so much larger than life-size, it evokes
a true feeling of reverence as you enter.

His Hand

The Visitors' Center is also featuring
a traveling Fine Art Photography Exhibit
by Mark Mabry right now.
Here are a couple of his works
from his collection,
"Reflections on the Life of Christ"

It was hard to tell these photos
were not paintings.
They are just so very impressive.
If you live in the area you should
go and see them.

Well, knowing the guy who called me a Bench Barnacle, I knew it was about time for his afternoon nap! So I planned a little rest stop at Orchard Nursery in Lafayette, after we left Oakland. That way he could practice being a "Relining Car Seat Embellishment" and I could do some browsing in the nursery and gift shop. I come here several times a year, especially around Autumn and Christmas time, so this is not the first time Jim has napped here! Barnacle or Embellishment always kicks as interests wax and wane with perfect timing. Funny how that happens!

Oh, it was so fun to be here and so beautiful.
We were only here about 30 minute
and I'll have you know that
nothing of mine grazed a bench!
While he sawed zzz's under a shady tree.

Gorgeous...tell me it isn't so!
I love to visit nurseries and just see
how they are designed.
Orchard is the best in the area!

The Lazy K Gift Shop had some
Halloween goodies on display.
I only like the pumpkins at Halloween
and the fun for the little ones.
Count me out on the Spooky Goblins
and Witches,
Skeletons, Headstones, Spiders, etc.
They can RIP in my opinion!

Most of their fall collection is still coming!
Which being interpreted = I'll be back!

These looked pretty harmless!

Just scrumptious!

Look what I found in one of the big ponds.
It was about the size of an oval place mat!

The coy were over a foot long and so colorful!

The pond had this fun little water feature.

I love how the bubbles around
the edge of the water spout look like lace.

Just the sound of it cut the pain
of the heat considerably.

Oh my goodness, how I do love hydrangeas
on a rustic little wagon! Sigh...

Just down the road I selected this place for dinner.
I had been here once but Jim had never been and
I knew he would love it. He did!

We were gone all day long from 7:45 am until 5:30 pm. I felt it was a successful get away and Jim was very happy about all the things we did too. He says he is planning our next one. I guess at this juncture I should remind him that I don't do white water rafting and that where ever we go there has to be lots of benches.

But then one of the perks of a
42 year-old marriage is...
He already knows it!