| Melody's Circle of Life |
| Circle of Life Family Gatherings in July and September (cont'd) |
| September 10, 2006 -- the Get Together with my brother Michael and his family from New Zealand |
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| In front of Tommy's Joint where we all met -- my Dad took us to this authentic "hof brau" place countless times when we were kids -- and it hasn't changed much. (Unfortunately, Stephen, Liezl & Dad could not make it to this get together due to sickness) But we've got Michael and his family, Merehuka, bro Michael, Mereana and the twins, Rangitau & TeRuiRui, Jerm, Megan, me, Jennifer & Pascal |
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| After we left Tommy's Joynt, my sister and Pascal went to the baseball game and the rest of us headed over to Golden Gate Park -- Michael wanted to check out the De Young Museum and the buffalo. |
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| The "new" De Young Museum, which my brother found "interesting." I still don't like it. |
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| We went to Golden Gate Park to Children's PlayGround where we all got to ride on the merry-go-round that's been there forever... |
| But I was pretty shocked and upset to find that Children's Playground has been completely gutted out -- apparently to be rebuilt again. No more moon swings, just the remnants of memories...the bongo and conga drums playing in the distance at Hippie Hill... At least the merry-go-round and the buildings are still there. |
| The girls rode the merry-go-round several times and even got free balloons because the vendors were getting ready to shut down. they had fun in spite of the loss of Children's Playground, which will never be the same again. |
| Some areas remain intact -- a purple tree blooms in front of the restrooms and there are the old green benches we sat on as kids when we took a break from skateboarding down the hill or playing at Children's Playground. |
| Michael and his wife Mereana (who used to be called Sharon, and I still keep calling her that!) |
| the girls get their balloons...in the background is the empty abyss of what used to be Children's Playground... |
| Mike joined us for this get together in San Francisco as well... |
| Hooray for the balloons, which helped Melissa, who got lost and drove around in circles, finally find us in Golden Gate Park! Wouldn't my Mom be proud of all five of her beautiful granddaughters?! |
| I took a picture of this egret who stood perfectly still in the fountain/pond in front of the De Young Museum. actually, I took a bunch of pictures of the bird! |
| The egret flies away through the fog... |
| Melissa and the girls sitting at the old fountain in front of the "new" De Young Museum... |
| after checking out the buffalo, we all headed over to Fisherman's Wharf for hot fudge sundaes at Ghirardhelli Square... my brother said they had to do it. he led us on this weird journey through San Francisco, down Lombard Crooked Way, etc., making us all feel like tourists! Here's the beautiful "Balcutha," a ship that has been docked in San Francisco for at least 40 years because I first walked on it when I was around five in 1962... you can still go on that ship, which reminds us of days long past... |
| The girls at Aquatic Park overlooking the bay as we made our way to Ghirardhelli Square. the fog had rolled in and it got quite chilly...See the Balcutha in the background? |
| The wall is all that's left of the old Academy of Sciences, the Natural History Museum, the Aquarium and the Planetarium, which is supposedly being rebuilt... |
| The Music Concourse still remains, thank heavens! |
| In front of the Japanese Tea Garden which thankfully still remains as well. |