Daphne and Colette go to UC Berkerly

The girls get a ride with J. to UC Berkeley.



J. went to Berkeley so she is an excellent tour guide.

What a beautiful campus." says Daphne. "How lucky J. was to go to school here."

Daphne and Colette are so busy looking around that they lose sight of J.


"Oh dear, where could she be?" the girls ask.

They decide to climb a nearby Hollyhock to get a better view of the campus.

"There she is!" shouts Daphne. She is so excited she falls off the Hollyhock.


"Don't worry, I've got you." says Colette.


"Oh, Colette, I'm so glad you've got my back." says Daphne. "Thanks for being there."



 "Whew," says Colette. "Now that we've found J. let's get a coffee and relax before we go home.
 

The girls settle in to a patio table and wait for J.  to bring them their Java.





"Wasn't that fun?" they ask each other.

"It would be great to go to school here." they agree.


Hugs and kisses to J. for the lovely afternoon and great tour. We had such fun, and we hope to see you again soon.

Susan.

Open up that Golden Gate ...

What a glorious sight!

Daphne is excited to ride the cable car to downtown San Francisco.


Colette has graciously offered to take the pictures today, so she isn't in many of these.

They decide to go to Ghiradelli Square first.

Daphne asks Colette why Ghiradelli is famous and when she hears it's all about candy she has to see it.

Daphne is tickled to see cable cars, just like the one she took to get here, on the package.

And the beautiful Golden Gate bridge is on these packages.







Outside the girls find mermaids in a fountain. "This is so cool," says Daphne.

"And here is the big sign." says Daphne with her best Vanna White arm sweep.

The waterfront across the street is beautiful.

"Let's have a coffee at the Buena Vista," Colette suggests. "This is the restaurant where they invented Irish Coffee."

"That sounds great." says Daphne, settling in at the bar. "I'm going to try one of those."







More adventures to come. Stay tuned.



Hugs
Susan

Castle In the Air

Daphne and Colette are strolling up Fourth Street in Berkeley when a beautiful shop catches their eye.




From the street they can see other mini people.

"Let's go in," they say together.


Inside is a fairy land.

 

There is a Chinese royal family dressed in exotic silks.

There are ancient castles.

And a beautiful Lenci Bo Peep has lost her sheep.


Hey Bo! Look on the other side of you. Your sheep are right there next to the big glass jar of babies.

Daphne and Colette have their picture taken with some of the shop residents. (Thanks to the permission of the kind shop keeper.)

Colette and Daphne even go under the sea to visit the mermaids. What an enchanted place.

There were wonderful antique miniatures in glass cases all around the store.

Daphne is curious and concerned. "Why do they have these people locked up? Is this some kind of zoo?" She is worried that someday someone might want to put her in this kind of zoo.

"No, no." says Colette. " They are in the cases to protect them from being damaged by the big peeps. They are very happy in their little homes."

Daphne is relieved, but still a little creeped out.


Visit Castle in the Air's website here: http://www.castleintheair.biz/

Or in person:
1805 4th St
(between Hearst Ave & Virginia St)
Berkeley, CA 94710

You will be enchanted.

Hugs,
Susan

No need to whine when there's wine everywhere

Colette is so glad Daphne is visiting because it gives her an excuse to visit Napa again. It is one of her favorite trips.


Daphne loves the scenery on the drive up. "What are those funny bushes all in rows," she asks.

"Oh Daphne, those are our favorite bushes. Those are the grape vines," says Colette. "They use the grapes to make the wine."

"How do they do that?" asks Daphne.

"Let's go to a winery and find out." suggests Colette.

"Oh yes. Let's!" Daphne is so excited.


Their next stop is the Sterling Winery.

They have to take a cable car up the hill to begin the tour.

 

The pleasant young host helps the girls in and tells them to enjoy the ride. The view is incredible and the girls are busy pointing out everything they see.

 

"Colette! Don't lean out so far! You'll fall." Daphne grabs Colette.

"Oh, Daphne. I'm glad you've got my back and keep me from getting into trouble."

Inside the winery the girls are enjoying the tour.

They have never seen anything as big as these vats.

The oak casts are a tribute to the cooper's skill. The have an austere beauty.


"Look Daphne," Colette points. "Those big barrels on the right are for 1:1 people, and those little barrels in the room to the left are for 1:12 people."

"Wow, Colette, you sure know a lot about wine." says Daphne.

After touring the wine making rooms the girls ask another tourist to take their picture on the terrace in front of the incredible view.

Across the valley is an Italian castle. They make wine there too, but they don't have time to visit it today.

As they leave the winery Colette stops to show Daphne how the grapes grow on the vines.


Daphne is impressed by the big cluster of grapes.


In the fall, Colette tells her, these will be made into wine.



Daphne is hot, tired, sun-kissed, excited, and has never been happier in her life.

What will the girls do next?

Come back later and find out.


Hugs,
Susan

Daphne and Colette meet.

And they like each other at first sight.

Colette welcomes Daphne with a big hug.

"Your home is lovely," says Daphne.

Daphne is very impressed with this modern California house. She didn't know dolls had anything but Strombecker furniture.

"You must be hungry after that long flight," says Colette. "Come up to the patio. I have prepared Margarettas and and sushi for us."



Daphne feels like she is in a movie.

When the girls run out of Margarettas at home they go out for more.

"We have the ice cream truck for the kids , why don't we have a frozen margarita truck for us adults?" Daphne asks Colette.



Daphne is having such a good time. She didn't know California would be so wonderful.

But when they get back to the house all Daphne can do is go to bed.

Colette must think I am a real party pooper thinks Daphne. She doesn't want to disappoint her new friend.



But Where is Colette? Is she disappointed? Does she think Daphne is a wet blanket?

Oh, there she is. I guess the girls aren't so dissimilar after all.



Next they go to Napa.


I wonder how tired they will be tonight.


And I wonder if they will be able to keep up with Carol and Susan.



Hugs,
Susan

Leavin' on a jet plane ...

Daphne is trying to decide what to pack for her trip to California. It's so hard to choose what to take.

She has to decide pretty soon because she has to be on the plane tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m.

She is wondering if she needs her dressy hat with the feather. And how many pairs of shoes should she take?

Yes, definitely the pink bathrobe. Is there still room in the trunk?

Should she take her guitar?


Should she learn to play it before she takes it on international trips?

Daphne knows that California is way out west. Does she need her cowboy boots?


They are a little big, but they would be handy for preventing snake bites if they wanted to hike through wild places.


Come on, Daphne. If you don't stop dithering that Jet plane will be leaving with out you.

Susan, are you paying attention? Stop blogging and start packing!!!


California, here we come!!!

Hugs,
Susan

California Dreamin' ...

Daphne is busy getting ready to go on a trip to California.

She is very excited. She has heard a lot about the Golden Gate state.

She has some postcards from her aunt who traveled there in the 1950s and she keeps looking at them and imagining herself in the places they show.

Daphne's friend Betty Flagg has an old friend in California and Betty has arranged for Daphne to stay with her. It is very kind of both Betty and her friend Colette to do this. Daphne is very excited to meet Colette because Colette's Realitty is on the Left Coast.





Daphne has heard that California is very modern. She hopes Colette will want to go shopping at one of the new indoor malls.

And maybe they can go bowling in an air-conditioned alley.
Daphne thinks the new bowling outfits for women are pretty cute.

They could go for coffee after at the cafe on Main Street.

And maybe they could go on a road trip to see the countryside.

Apparently California has a variety of different countrysides to choose from.

Daphne would like to see them all.

They could pick up some souvenirs along the way.

And maybe they could pick up a couple of those hot motorcycle gang members that Daphne has heard so much about. She loved Marlon Brando in The Wild One.

Hmmm, Colette lives in California. She probably already knows a few.

If the road trip takes them far away from Colette's house they could spend the night in a fancy modern Motel.

Daphne has never stayed in a Motel. It sounds very exotic and worldly to her.

Catalina Island also sounds very exotic and you have to take a boat to get there. But maybe that's asking for too much. The trip is an incredible adventure as it is.


Still Daphne can't help wondering what the natives of Catalina look like and what their language sounds like.

Of course Daphne could always take the train down to Los Angeles. The Daylight Limited sounds very nice. Maybe Colette would come too.








After all, who wouldn't want to see Walt Disney World and Knott's Berry Farm? They are world famous.

They grow oranges in California, and apparently they grow them big.

Daphne can't wait to taste the freshly squeezed juice.

Oh yes, California is very exciting for Daphne. She can't wait for the day she leaves. She can't wait to meet Colette. She can't wait to see what adventures they will have.

Daphne has to go now to finish packing so she will be ready to take that modern jet out of that futuristic airport.


She is so excited she is beside herself.







Hugs,
Susan