maggie poses a good question...

maggie in a recent post asked 'why is it called the golden gate bridge when it is not actually golden?' well this was an excellent question and i set out to find the answer. here it is-

the golden gate bridge is named for the Golden Gate Strait, which is the entrance to the san francisco bay from the pacific ocean and is approximately three-miles long by one-mile wide. the strait was named "Chrysopylae", or "Golden Gate" in 1846 by Captain John C. Fremont of the topographical Engineers of the U.S. Army. it reminded him of a harbor in Instanbul named "Chrysoceras" or "Golden Horn". we stayed in a hotel on the Golden Horn when we were in Turkey and it is similar to the strait leading into the san francisco bay, so i would say it is aptly named. anyways, the name of the bridge has nothing to do with its color but instead with the name of the strait it crosses.

further info- it's painted an "international orange" because a) that color blends well with the warm colors of the land and b) it is easier to see for passing ships

for this information and more see goldengatebridge.org

thanks for your question maggie, i feel smarter now!

you've been patient, and here they are...

my ring bearing nephews
when ben found out he got to keep the purple velvet pillow- "it was all worth it"

the flower girls
sophie is on the left, and she was adorable in her "princess dress"

the bride and groom (with my dad officiating behind)

the groomsmen
my brothers are on the ends and of course jon in the middle

the bridal party
my mom and dad looking sharp
jon and melissa being introduced (i love this picture)and then this is a good shot of my hairstyle, which melissa and i referred to as "the pomp"
it had some decent height to it in the back, and yes there were also flowers back there

sophie dancing with her dad
i had to put this one in because it's so cute

so there's a taste of the wedding, hope you enjoyed it!

the location

they day before Jon & Melissa's wedding was of course the rehearsal. the wedding was at a place called Russian River Vineyards about an hour outside of san fran and it was beautiful. the day of the rehearsal san fran was fogged in which meant the airport was shut down for a bit, and many friends and family were delayed in coming. thankfully the fog lifted pretty early and although many people missed the rehearsal, everyone eventually made it to the rehearsal dinner which was nearby. here are a few pictures of the vineyard the day before:

the wedding was held in the grass under that tree at the end of the long path. it was gorgeous with the vines surrounding. melissa's dad drove a car down the dirt path with her and the bridal party inside during the processional so that we would not have to walk the long path to process in, but instead just from the end of the path and across the grass. my dad officiated the wedding- that's him walking down the dirt path contemplating the next day's activities

at the other end of that path (so atop the hill) was the reception. this is where the food and tables were
and across from that is this cool building and in front where the dancing was. apparently bats live in there
if you're wondering why i'm drawing these posts out and not posting wedding pictures it's because i don't have any yet....i didn't take any but am planning on getting my mom's tomorrow. i'll post them when i have them. until then i'll try to just keep pulling you along...hoping for more

next CA post- Granny Thollander's house

my Granny Thollander (famous for things such as "Granny Thollander applesauce" and "the J sweater") is awesome.

she lives in one of those old row houses that you think of when thinking of san francisco (or full house)

notice the Swedish colors (blue and yellow) and the butterfly on the door- she loves butterflies

on her car she has put butterfly stickers over places she has scraped or bumped it- awesome


and you can see the golden gate bridge from the house (when it's not foggy)


but because that's not a great picture, here it is closer up. i love the golden gate bridge. i recreated the bridge in colored pencils in 7th grade (a splendid piece of artwork if i do say so myself) which hangs in the Thollander household (the VA Thollanders that is)


it was wonderful to reconnect with her and so many other family members!

California Post #1- Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon

Sunday night I returned from CA and my brother's wedding. it was fantastic, but more on that to come...

my first day in san francisco (thursday) my folks and i met jon, melissa, and melissa's mom at a bar across the bay called "Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon". for the history lovers out there, here's a bit of info on it:

• built in 1880 as a bunkhouse for oyster workers, it was turned into a saloon in 1883. it is built from wood from an old whaling ship
• it used to sit on the border of a dry county, and for military men leaving for overseas is was their first and last chance for alcohol depending on if they were coming or going
• men going off to war used to write their name on money and leave it on the wall so that they had money for drinks when they returned. as many never did you can still see the money tacked up on the wall (it's pretty amazing)
• Jack London (author of Call of the Wild) used to hang out and write here, and the cabin that he lived in while in alaska was found and brought to rest right next to the saloon
• others such as William Howard Taft and Robert Louis Stevenson also used to frequent this bar
• and the coolest fact of all- in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 the pilings under half the floor sunk a bit into the mud and could not be pulled up. the building is still structurally sound but the floor slants probably a good foot or two. the clock on the wall stopped at the exact time of the quake and still hangs there.

here is Jack London's cabin-
and on the ferry back across the bay

apple cider vinegar....nature's cure?

with the flu season upon us (or coming shortly) i'm trying to do everything i can to stay healthy. so along with vitamin c and echinacea, here are the ingredients for my favorite herbal remedy- switzle.

• water
• honey
• apple cider vinegar

so yeah not too difficult of a recipe. simply heat up one mug of water and then add apple cider vinegar and honey to taste. probably 3-4 tablespoons of vinegar (rough estimate) and then honey until you can stand the taste. you can drink it hot or cold, and even make it in mass quantity and then reheat. i especially like to drink it anytime i have the hint of a sore throat.

and in case you were doubtful of the benefits of apple cider vinegar, one website says it helps with

• allergies (including pet, food and environmental)
• sinus infections
• acne
  
• high cholesterol
• flu
  
• chronic fatigue
  
• sore throats
• arthritis
  
• weight loss
• and more!

now i don't know that i buy in completely that it is the end all cure, but i think it definitely helps! give it a try and let me know what you think!

(the picture above is the kind that i use, available at most health food stores)

u2

i realize my last post was also about a concert, so in the future i'll try and be a little more creative, but until then...

last thursday u2 came to charlottesville and i got the chance to go. now i think u2 is great, but i was blown away by the show. not only was bono amazing in concert, but the stage alone was worth going to see! it's known as "the claw" and is designed to give a 360 degree view of the stage. it consists of an inner stage and outer circle connected by moving bridges. it takes between 120-180 trucks to transport everything (depending on what source you ask) and is 164 feet tall. during the concert bono called it his "space junk"
here are a few pictures-

the whole stadium

you can see bono here both on the outer circle stage and on the screen

and then all of a sudden the screen began to grow!

but dont' worry you can still see the picture

oh and the screen can move all the way down too (it was ridiculous)

besides all the sweet technology the music was amazing and bono had a really cool message. he talked a good deal about some social issues around the world and at one point led the whole stadium in a chorus of amazing grace.

here's some video for a little taste-
this first one notice the moving bridges