A Beautiful Outing to Filoli Mansion and Garden

Yesterday, our Wonder Daughter Breanne Christensen took me on an outing to see Filoli, a historic house and garden about 15 minutes from us. The word Filoli is made up of the first two letters of the words Fight, Love, and Live. "Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life."

Our friend Mary George who is an insider at Filoli met us there, helped us to get in, and gave us our own personal tour of the house. She used to be a docent there and now helps in other ways. The house was a lot more interesting than I expected. Inside looked like something you'd see in a movie or Downton Abby. One interesting tidbit. It was built by a couple who lived in San Francisco, but after the 1906 earthquake (magnitude 7.9!) they decided they didn't want to live in such a dangerous place so they moved down the San Francisco Peninsula. Their new house was built about 200 yards from the San Andrea Fault, the same fault that's in San Francisco. Oh dear! But was built to the highest standard of seismic safety available at the time.

Some movies filmed there are "Heaven Can Wait," "George of the Jungle," "The Wedding Planner," and "The Joy Luck Club" among several others. Oh, and there's an aerial view of it in the intro to the old TV series "Dynasty."

After Mary gave us the tour, Breanne and I were on our own to explore the gardens. The temp was delightful! I borrowed a wheelchair with a high back that reclines and strapped a pillow to it. Bree pushed me in it about 2/3 or 3/4 of the time. I loved it! Good thing she is as fit as she is beautiful. At the end, just before the exit we sat on a bench and ate our lunches.

Thank you Breanne (and Mary)!