A Week In The Life: Day 5

Friday was a good day where we didn't get home till after midnight.
Jimmy had a meeting in the city so of course i tagged along.

First on my agenda was lunch. Ironically, I found myself at the San Francisco Shopping Centre. mallfood? Seriously? With all of the great food in SF, I end up eating mall food. Well, this wasn't your normal food court. No Panda Express or Hotdog on a Stick. No siree, in fact, most of the vendors are bay area based. And your food is plated on real plates with real silverware. And the prices aren't any more than regular mall food. this chicken arugula salad with soda was $7. Truthfully though, as tasty it was, i wouldn't recommend it because you're still eating in a mall foodcourt when there are so many other great places with better views.

After lunch, I was walking on Powell Street towards Union Square and this truck pulled up with this huge crate. ummm...wonder what's in it?? Although, there were no vent holes, so who knows if it was serious or not. The marking on the box indicated that it was from the California Academy of Sciences though.

Did I leave my heart in San Francisco? Absolutely. And so did a lot of other people and artists. This particular heart was left in Union Square.


I recently heard about Britex Fabrics from some facebook chatter, so I had to pop in and check it out. 4 floors of fabric and notions. I was out of my league.

but was loving the eye candy. shhh...i saw the "No Photography" sign after i took this shot.

It was a gorgeous day to walk to Chinatown.

Kitty Kat graffiti in an alleyway on Pine Street.

After walking and window shopping for the last 2 hours, I ended up at the Museum Store at SFMoMA. Such fun stuff in that store.
There's a nice little cafe in the museum, too. I gave myself permission to enjoy a latte and cookie while people watching. I saved most of the cookie for Jimmy because I suspected he'd need a little energy pick-me up after his long meeting.

Yerba Buena Gardens is right next to SFMoMA. It was nearly 5pm, so I stayed nearby Jimmy's meeting, not knowing exactly how long he would be.

The sunny, almost warm (mid 60s) day beckoned the city dwellers to the large lawn at the gardens.


The tall Jukebox looking building is the Marriott. St. Patrick Church in the foreground was founded in 1851.


I bought a fun book at the museum store called "All Over Coffee". All Over Coffee is a featured strip in the SF Chronicle.
Jimmy's meeting lasted longer than expected. Originally I planned on waiting at Yerba Buena Gardens, but once the sun disappeared, it got cold fast. so i was thankful that the Marriott was nearby. I hung out in the lobby till I got a call from Jimmy that he was done.

But truthfully, our fun day was just starting.
Because the best part of the day was going to dinner at the Bowens.
And playing football with the kiddos.
Then tucking them in at bedtime.
And hanging out with Ed and Angie, talking till midnight.
Love that family like they are family.
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A Stroll on the Beach

Flat Stanley had such a great time with us. He was so excited to see the grand ocean from our high vista point.

Then when I looked down at the beach from our perch above, I saw this guy walking along the shoreline. Barely looking at him at the time, I snapped a quick photo. But as I looked through the camera lens, I realized the young man forgot to put on his pants. and underwear.
I didn't tell Stanley.
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A Visit from Flat Stanley

Our 7 year old nephew asked us to host a visitor this weekend and we were thrilled to have his company. Flat Stanley, who was flattened by a bulletin board that fell on him, made his way from nephew's home in Southern California to spend some time with us in the Bay Area. We had a lot of fun taking him to San Francisco and showing him the sites.
Flat Stanley loved climbing up this tree to get a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Madeline took Flat Stanley to Fort Point. He got to help load the big cannons with cannon balls.

Fort Point is at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge and one of Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Madeline's favorite spots, so they brought him here to share the beautiful views. What a gorgeous spring day, too!

He really liked the city views from the municipal pier at Aquatic Park.

But when he looked at the prison on Alcatraz, he got a little scared. He had heard that bad guys used to stay there but we told him all the bad guys are gone and it's a fun tourist destination spot now, where people can learn about the history of the prison and Alcatraz Island.

A silly seagull landed on Flat Stanley's head. At least it didn't poop on him.

Sweet! He was so excited to ride on a cable car!

He met a funny pirate at Fisherman's Wharf.

Flat Stanley saw a lot of sail boats in the bay so we showed him where most of them are docked when they're not being used. He also liked the Bay Bridge in the background but admitted the Golden Gate Bridge was cooler.

Being flat certainly has it's advantages. For instance, traveling is a cinch because he can just slip into an envelope and go anywhere. But when the wind kicks up and he's posing for a shot, he can easily blow away. Luckily, Uncle Jimmy was there to save him.

Our nephew loves baseball. So Flat Stanley was super excited to go to the SF Giants Ballpark. Nephew will be a little jealous!

Uncle Jimmy and Flat Stanley watched the Giants play a pre-season game. Go Giants!

We had a lot of fun with Flat Stanley and we'll be sad to see him go.
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Blackout in Chinatown and A Bit of Pukey Cuteness

Jimmy and I went to San Francisco for Valentine's. It was also the celebration of Chinese New Year.
So we were casually driving down Grant Ave, watching all the people, listening to the firecrackers,
and enjoying the sights and sounds of a busy Chinatown.

We heard sirens coming towards us, and as we approached an intersection, we saw the big fire truck quickly coming down the road so (of course) we waited for it.
It turned onto Grant Ave. right in front of us, barely missing that black car you see on the left.

Then stopped, blocking the road, so we patiently waited till we could move. What else could we do? Then another fire truck came up behind us, blocking us in from both ends. A fireman from the truck in back came to us and told us we had to back out, but right at that moment, the front truck moved forward just enough for us to squeeze by, so the fireman told us to go forward.

After we got past all the fire trucks, I said to Jimmy "Dang, I should have had my video camera out instead!" So even though I thought it was too late, I still took it out and start taking video as we continued down Grant Ave. I liked the sounds of the firecrackers.

So, we're casually driving down Grant Ave. again, enjoying the sites and sounds of the city. Then suddenly...

Blackness!

Well, this time, I got it all on video:

then:

Kinda cool, right?

Afterward, we went to Ghirardelli Square for ice cream, of course. And being Valentine's night, the line was longer than we'd ever seen it, but it moved pretty fast. Every time we get ice cream at Ghirardelli, we get it to go and walk to the cable car turn around on Hyde St and listen to the street performer. Then depending on where we parked, we walk along the waters edge at Aquatic Park. It's really quite romantic at night. Yep, even after 19 years of marriage, we can still find romance.



I LEFT MY HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO (Tony Bennett)

The loveliness of Paris
Seems somehow sadly gay
The glory that was Rome
Is of another day
I've been terribly alone
And forgotten in Manhattan
I'm going home to my city by the bay.

I left my heart in San Francisco
High on a hill, it calls to me.
To be where little cable cars
Climb halfway to the stars!
The morning fog may chill the air
I don't care!
My love waits there in San Francisco
Above the blue and windy sea
When I come home to you, San Francisco,
Your golden sun will shine for me!
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Cool Like Dat

I'm usually self-conscious taking photos of strangers, but this time I couldn't resist. These 3 guys were so freakin' hip and I can only hope to be cool like dat when I'm their age.I know it's hard to tell in this photo, but both of the guys on the right are on their laptops. Sharing not only photos, but other miscellaneous technical information with each other. Sweet.

Jimmy and I finally celebrated our anniversary last weekend. We went to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Palo Alto then headed to San Francisco for ice cream at...Ghirardelli Square, of course! We drove around the city for 4 hours, going to miscellaneous "Points of Interest" on the GPS, which included the Grateful Dead home near the corner of Haight and Ashbury, Billy Goat Hill Park - a park on the side of a high hill, new-to-us vista points in the Presidio, Alamo Square and the Painted Ladies, Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park and a lot more, finally getting home just after 2am. But if any of you notice the times I usually post my blogs, after 2am isn't late for us.

While we were in SF, we stopped by AT&T Park.We'll be back there all day Saturday to watch Supercross races. It'll be fun as long as it doesn't rain. I'm bringing my Kindle because I'll be interested for 5 of the 10 hours, but my mind will wander a lot, that I know for sure. I'm reading "The Lovely Bones" because I considered going to the movies to watch it, but decided to read the book first.
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18Nov "Today I am Thankful For"

...a beautiful afternoon in the city.

Jimmy had to go to SF for a quick conference, so I tagged along. While he was there, for a whole 32 minutes, I did some window shopping around Union Square. Got a few ideas for Christmas presents.

When he called to tell me he was done, we walked to Pier 1 and sat by the water, chatting and watching the ferries come and go. We were only "in" for a couple of hours, but as always, enjoyable.
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Halloween Recap

Hope you all had a bewitching halloween! It was nice having it fall on a Saturday, wasn't it?

Our annual block party and parade started at 4pm.There's always been a good turnout, but this year there seemed to be twice as many people as there were the previous years. I'm sure it's because it was the weekend and more people were home rather than still at work.

The parade was lead by the 12-and-under costume winners. Of course, 2 of them were Starbucks cups. Any guesses how many Starbucks we have within a 1/2 mile radius from our house? 5.This year, we had 2 bands!

My favorite - the Tall Flags:They hold a spot near to my heart because in high school, I was part of Tall Flags:Now if that doesn't send you into a fit of giggles, then you've got a broken funny bone. Head to the ER, stat.

After the parade, we went to the parentals for dinnerand helped hand out candy...as well as eat some, too.

On our way home, Jimmy suggested going into the city. Of course, I'll never turn down a trip into SF...even if the Bay Bridge was broken. Since we were coming from the parentals, it was the bridge we needed to go in. So we took the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge instead and stopped at Fort Baker to enjoy the orange views.then headed to Twin Peaks for a mountain top view of the city lights.It was the clearest of nights and surprising warm, too - It was 1am and half the people were in short sleeves, and short costumes, too. lol.

The night wouldn't have been complete without a drive through the Castro on Halloween night. Halloween in SF is a Big Deal and the biggest parties are in the Castro. Unfortunately, a few violent shenanigans have happened in the past, so they've canceled city sponsored events and increased official presence, which seemed to keep the crowds calmer. By the time we drove through, it was around 1:30a.

There were still lots of people, but most seemed to be heading home and there was no evidence of any shenanigans of the unhappy kind. You can't end Halloween without at least one Elvis sighting. You saw him, didn't you?
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Friday in the City during Fleet Week

Last Friday I went into the city with a friend who had moved away 13 years ago to what she calls her Azkaban - Tucson, AZ. I can understand why she calls it that, growing up in the Bay Area and having to move to the hot desert in the middle of Arizona.

We went walking along one of our regular spots before she moved - Lands End, where the rocky cliffs meet the ocean, on the north western part of the city. And on a day like Friday, clear and sunny but not hot, the views were spectacular. Rosemary, this is the view from the trail, right before we walked up the stairs to see the USS San Francisco Memorial. With all the fog we had a month ago when you were here, we couldn't even see the ocean much less the bridge!

Last weekend was the celebration of Fleet Week where Navy ships come to the city and the Blue Angels perform to a crowd of over a million people. They come a couple of days ahead to practice and serendipitously, we were on the trail when they were practicing.
Two fighter jets high about the Golden Gate.

A single jet (the speck by the 1st tower on the left) approaching the bridge, flying between the two towers. Can you imagine if you were driving on the bridge, how thrilling/exhilarating/scary that would have been? In reality, he was probably above the towers, but it certainly looked like he was below them from my viewpoint.

Diamond formation flying over the Presidio.

I felt very lucky that we caught their practice run. In fact, they had to call off the show on Saturday due to low clouds and fog. It was still cloudy on Sunday, but they were able to perform. I think I got the best show of the weekend with the sunny blue skies.
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Rosemary!

It's an awesome feeling when you finally meet someone in person when you've "known" them for a couple of years already. I've been reading Rosemary's blog for 2 years. Rosemary isn't afraid to pour her heart out in her blog, and it's why I've always been drawn to reading what she has to say. She's passionate about what she has to say, whether it's the freezing cold winters to her childhood in Southern California to her beloved family, including her fur family. She can be witty, sarcastic and sincere all at the same time. I love it!

She and her wonderful husband, Steve, are in San Francisco for a few days and of course, when I knew she was coming, I knew we had to meet. I knew that we'd just click...so much so, it was like being w/ family. It was so easy, it really was like we've known each other forever. Jimmy and I shared a few of our favorite spots in San Francisco, showed them where we dream of living in the Presidio and froze our butts off near the coast, trying to glimpse views of the Golden Gate Bridge...too much fog! We easily chatted about family, books, pets, growing up in California, Idaho...conversation just came so easily. We hung out for a short 4 hours, it went too quickly, before we had to head back to San Jose. While I wasn't surprised how easily we clicked, I was surprised at how sad I was when we had to leave them. It felt like saying good-bye to family, especially since we have no idea when we'll see each other again. Hopefully since her gson is here, they'll be able to make annual trips to the Bay Area. I already miss them! It was a great GREAT day. And one of these days, hopefully, Jimmy and I will find ourselves in Idaho to visit them, too.

Love you Rosemary! That's from my heart!
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