Fresh pineapple for breakfast, expertly prepared by Phyl. Maui Gold pineapples are so delicious!
We went for a Pleasant Holidays orientation at Westin Kaanapali – a beautiful hotel!
Shopping at Whaler’s Village was our next stop, followed by lunch at Leilani’s, and a long relaxing afternoon. Ahh, paradise.
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Maui – day 1
The next week will be spent in Hawaii with cousins Phyllis and Carol.
So exciting! Our first stop, just 1.3 miles from the Kahului Airport: Discount Fabric Warehouse. 
The best selection of Hawaiian prints in the Islands.
Our condo is in Kaanapali. 
Grandmothers looking at the refrigerator
Sound asleep, but when Carson is awake, he likes to be held and carried.
This morning, after he woke up, Carson could not be soothed. I changed his diaper, I tried to give him a bottle – nothing seemed to work … until I discovered a special spot in the living room where Carson could watch TV. There I stood and gently bounced until Thais came home. Whew! Rita, Lenin’s mother, came in the afternoon and I told her about the magic spot. 
She said, “I know this spot. I always stand here looking at the refrigerator so Carson can watch TV.”
Happy Birthday Adrienne
We met for lunch at the Yard House in Roseville.
The Yard House is located at The Fountains – a collection of 40 shops and 9 restaurants in a beautiful outdoor setting.
Rice farming
Field preparation began in March. The time of year to keep your windows closed and change your walking route.
Now the fields are being flooded to a depth of 5″ prior to seeding.
Water flowed from one field to the next.
Farmers watch carefully to maintain the 5″ water depth for the next five months.
There were two different crop dusters flying over Justin’s house today. This one flew directly over Justin’s house every 10-15 minutes. 
There are short landing strips all over the place with a supply truck standing by for reloading.
This has nothing to do with rice, but it’s a pretty good picture of Justin’s walnut trees (on the right side of the driveway only). On April 1, only catkins were visible.
Carson
Grandma-time with Carson today. Swaddled:
Unswaddled:
The best part – in Mom’s arms:
From radar to reality
Doppler radar showed this on Sunday afternoon:
It looked like this at Justin’s house. 
The rain stayed to the north. 30 minutes later the sky was blue, the sun was back!
Back to Virginia
Until next time, Billie.
I hope you will come back to California soon. There is still so much bike riding to be done.
Rainy Friday
No bike riding today. So we shopped, toured IKEA (Billie’s first time), had Salmon BLTs at Cafe Bernardo, explored some retirement communities in N Natomas, and bought groceries. Billie is a phenomenal cook. 
Tonight, she made salmon (a favorite) with honey & brown mustard, fresh peas, and seasoned rice. Yum!
Chinatown and cable cars
Today we checked off a couple of things on Billie’s bucket list. We drove to Walnut Creek and took BART into San Francisco. A very friendly boy going to the Giants game with his dad started up a conversation with Billie:
Near Market & Embarcadero:
Don’t let the smile fool you, I’m hanging on for dear life:
There are so many places to eat in Chinatown, therefore hard to know which one to choose. We took Sunset magazine’s suggestion and ate at R & G Lounge. Excellent choice!
Dubious Billie explored the markets and herb shops with many unusual offerings, including different varieties of ginseng (some cost $400/lb) or dried sea cucumbers.
The Fairmont Hotel:
The Buena Vista Inn serves the BEST Irish coffee!
Golden Gate Bridge:
There was a 45-minute wait for the cable cars, so we walked along the wharf and caught a bus.
Our BART ride back to Walnut Creek was packed! Commuters and Giants heading home. 
Check and check. Now Billie needs to add more things to her California bucket list. Fun day!
arletelouise 