It was a whirlwind tour of the San Francisco area, but Lena promises she’ll be back (with the family) for a longer visit. Arrival at SFO took a while to get through customs, but Arlin and I were finally relieved to see Lena come through the doors. And I’m pretty sure Lena was pleased to see us there.

On the Sunday, we went to Arlin’s church and from there we went to a winery for a tour and tasting. Don’t know what Lena learned, but I learned that if we ever get to Coarsegold, we’ll need owl houses (the California barn owls are the best for hunting gophers, those that the dogs don’t harass first) and an insectarium for Phil to manage (varieties of good bugs keep away the bad bugs).

On the Monday, we had a visit with another cousin. Ryan McDonald has a common great-great (etc) grandfather with us and with Lena. He seemed pleased to meet both his Swedish cousin and his American ones.

On the Tuesday, Lena visited the Martinez Junior High School in the morning and was able to observe a few classrooms. They are doing a lot with technology, so she got a few ideas to take back home with her. Then in the afternoon she went to Alcatraz! A friend of hers from Sweden was also visiting the area and had an extra ticket (hard to get any time of year now) and they both loved the tour. Now they see why Caryn and I count Alcatraz among the top “must do” activities.

A full day in the city, walking from Union Square through Chinatown, to Pier 39. Then Cable Car back to Market Street and the BART home again.

A morning in Berkeley at a scrapbooking store and a walk to the campus.

We managed to find time for fika and meals too. We tried to see the Golden Gate Bridge several times, but it was mostly fogged in as usual.

And then it was time to take her to SFO and bid farewell.

But she promises to come back!