Mini-trip to Seattle

Had another mini-trip to Seattle this week. There was some Microsoft conference, so I actually wasn't able to find any hotel close.

Fortunately, there was still an approved hotel. And even luckier, it happened to be the Willows Lodge. I had been there once (taking clients to lunch at the Barking Frog), and had always wanted to go back. Well then, here was my chance.

I rented a car and met my boss Carrie for a few minutes to check out some houses in Seattle (don't ask...just looking). Then I drove north to Woodinville, Washington, which is a sort of wine country.

It's just gorgeous. Really gorgeous. And I thought I was in absolute heaven.

First, they're doggy friendly (they even have a dine with your dog program). I was greeted by a lazy "lodge dog" Ruthie (a mix of Bassett Hound and Rottweiler). When I say greeted, I guess she actually just raised her eyes from lazy lids at me, and flipped her tail once or twice while snuggled in her raised bed next to the reception.

When I walked into the room...well, there aren't words, and pictures absolutely don't suffice.


The fireplace was lit, music was playing. It was a mix of craftsman style with lodge--large wooden beams, slate accents, warm rich colors. An enormous soaking tub next to a large window facing TV and fireplace.

A large walk-in shower with digital-controlled temperature. A balcony overlooking the most serence landscape, including a lush weeping willow (my favorite tree!).

I never wanted to leave, but as it was 8:30, I walked across the parking lot to the Barking Frog, where I enjoyed a cocktail, a glass of Viognier, Grand Marnier marinated prawns, and snapper with a sweet potato cake and wonderful succotash.

Full and sleepy, I walked back to the room, and straight away began to fill up the tub. It took such a long time because the tub was huge. No complaints here. I put the Karate Kid on TV, slipped in the tub, and had a chat with my hubbie, who had been to the Giants game (impromptu, with amazing seats....). I wish I could have stayed here forever, and look forward to making it back.

The next morning I woke up early in order to enjoy the room service (brioche french toast, french pressed coffee), enjoy the room, the view...

Before heading to my meetings in Bellevue. Driving was really fun (I never drive here), and the weather was lovely for Seattle. The meetings went well. Ended early, I hopped on an early flight, and Ian picked me up. Good times.

If I were a barking frog, my name would be Jean Claude.

Chapter 2b--final week with Jeff

Lots to put in here. Monday (this is like July 30) I met Jeff in Seattle on his way back from Canada, and on my way...well, to Seattle for work. I usually stay at the W when I'm there, so we were roomies for the week. My actual work week was typical there, except Tuesday night my boss Carrie and I picked Jeff up from the hotel, and she took us to her neighborhood of Wallingford. We saw her adorable new house, and the 4 of us (including her husband Paul) walked to a local Thai restaurant. After dinner, they drove us through some really cute neighborhoods near her, which was nice to see a little more of Seattle than simply downtown and Microsoft offices.

Wednesday, Jeff and I bought scalped tickets for the Marlins game, and that was a great time. The weather was great, we had amazing club seats. I love Safeco field. Really lovely. We had hot dogs and beer and cracker jacks. Can't get much better than that.

Thursday morning, Jeff flew back to San Francisco, and I flew in later that day after my meetings. Ian and Jeff picked me up from the airport, and as we were all starving, we dropped my bag off and walked a block to Pauline's Pizza. It was pretty delicious.

Friday was the 4th of July, and really beautiful outside. We headed to the Fisherman's Wharf and walked around a bit before taking one of the double decker sightseeing buses (the downtown loop).

We sat on the top, and were driven around for an hour and half seeing the sights of the city.

The coolest thing I learned about the city is that the water's edge is actually where Montgomery St now is--since then, there have been many many blocks added on. Essentially, all of the additional blocks were built on top of the water, and there are between 15-20 ships buried underneath the financial district.


We got some seafood at Fisherman's Wharf on our way back and sat by the water and ate (trying to avoid the grubbing, hovering seagulls). Then we headed to Westfield Mall to see Kitt Kitteredge, an American Girl. Quality entertainment.

The rest of the day is a bit of a blur, except I know we decided to go back to the house, make dinner (Mexican Mush anyone?), and play UNO (unfortunately, we didn't see any fireworks--it was an awfully foggy night, and we didn't feel like fighting the crowds).


Saturday we trekked to the San Francisco Zoo, which was great.

I always love the zoo, but it was fun with the three of us. We took bunches of silly pictures, ate a bunch of Dippin Dots.




This video is only worth watching sound on (and way up). Not as funny as in person, or the next giraffe that Jeff gave personality to--sad we missed recording that, but the giraffe turned out to be an opera star, and the crowd all loved it.

Our next stop was home, right before going to the Giants game. Yes, folks, 2 Major League baseball games in just a matter of 3 days. The AT&T stadium is really striking.
Sitting up high, you have great views of the Bay Bridge and the water.
Also a good game, although the seats weren't as great. The weather sure made up for all that, and it was a fun night.



Last full day together, Sunday morning we went to the delicious Absinthe in Hayes Valley for brunch, and shopped around there a little bit. We then decided to head to Crissy Field for some bocce ball.

We set up shop on the beach, and played for a couple of hours.

Once home, we made a quick trip to Mission Beach for some good old hamburgers.

Monday night Jeff flew back home. It was actually very sad, and I think we both had to try hard not to cry. Ian and I both really miss having him around.

If I were a kangaroo, my name would be DeeDee.

Chapter 3--Our week in between

Welcome to Chapter 3: otherwise known as the week when Jeff went north to explore Canada, and Ian and I slipped back into our daily life together.

Highlights of that week definitely happened over the weekend, where each day was a new Bay Area treat. Friday night, I surprised Ian on a trip across the bay to the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland. It's such a quaint place. College Avenue is lined with boutiques and restaurants, and the streets leading off the main strip are laden with tree-line sidewalks and craftsman-style houses.

The destination was Diesel Bookstore, where David Sedaris was giving a reading. Kind of a fluke, the place was packed--we bought our 2 books, and then left because we didn't actually have tickets to see him read. We decided to grab a bite, and return to get the books signed.

Dinner was across the street (where we could spy on the goings-on) at a pizza joint that absolutely hit the spot. Maybe it was the red and white checkered tablecloths, or the groups of seemingly very nice people, but it was a great experience.

By the time we headed back over, it seemed the reading was still happening. We stood outside for a minute before someone told us we could fight our way through and sneak in the back to hear the rest, which is just what we did. Sedaris is such an entertaining guy, and even all the way in the back (with no view), it was easy to chuckle. Hate to admit that we spent the next 3 hours waiting for him to sign the books, but we're happy we waited. We asked him to simply sign his name, but then we also asked for him to draw a smiley face (I like to see what different peoples' will look like)...he sketched a side profile of an Abe Lincoln-looking figure.

We spent our Saturday at Crissy Park--it was our first time there, and it's wonderful. It may be familiar from movies--seems like a lot of films shot in San Francisco utilize its amazing scenery, and with good cause. On the strips of beach or expanses of wild fields, you have captivating views of the water, the Golden Gate, Alcatraz, and the city skyline. Pretty amazing to think that we live here. Continually. It's somewhat of a surreal reminder.

The occasion was the celebration of our friends marriage: Daniel and Ole.

Gay marriage is finally legalized again here, and our friends were among the first to say I Do at City Hall. Saturday, it was a mix of family and friends, lots of bottles of champagne, balloons, and a bubble machine. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

Sunday we made it to Market Street for the annual Pride Parade.

We missed the Master of Ceremonies, Cyndi Lauper. Really disappointing since we stuck around far longer than we intended just to see her, and she bailed early. Still an experience just the same.

It was a hot and sunny day, we had large glasses of beer and walked amongst the throng of interesting people, from the crazy balloon people, to the downright naked ones (all of them older men).

I think that wraps up that weekend. Good and busy, and lots of firsts.

If I were a balloon animal, my name would be Olivia.

It’s Like a See-Saw: Playing catch up, and keeping current

Although we’re still catching you up in chapters for the past month, when thinking about the original purpose of this blog I thought I’d interject with events of this past weekend. In case you had forgotten the original purpose like we somewhat did, essentially it was a way to talk about getting to know our new home (San Francisco), and to write about our adventures, things we like and don’t like, and how we’re making our way through the city.

This weekend we really focused back on exploring new things. For those of us that know we are constantly revisiting our haunts (Mission Beach, anyone?), it was a happy weekend when every single thing we did this weekend was brand new for us.

Friday night, it was Ian’s turn to decide on dinner, so we set out to the unknown destination, and wound up at L’ardoise Bistro. It was great (and such a nice surprise for Ian to have planned). We ended up sitting at the bar, but decided it might be just as nice (if not nicer) to have those seats. We each had a kir, split unique (delicious) escargots, and had the perfectly cooked hangar steak with pommes frites.

Located in the Castro, it sat on the corner of a cute flower-lined segment of Noe. Really fun.

We took the J down Church St Saturday morning for brunch. I had seen a place called Chloe’s Café that looked cute and was popular the last weekend when we happened by. It turned out to be delicious. Ian had the best French Toast he’s had in a long time, I opted for the Avocado and Jarlsberg scramble with rosemary toast and fresh fruit.

The coffee was great, and wouldn’t stop steaming. Not like you needed the proof, but here’s a picture anyway because it was just so fascinating.

After breakfast, we wandered around Church popping into the different antique shops, which made for a fun day of wandering. We also found a German specialty store, where I bought some gluhwein fix—very exciting! We stumbled upon 2 open houses, and were not disappointed. I think the only disappointment stemmed from the fact that the second house will never be ours. Yes, we’re used to the cost of housing being higher, but the $1.1 million price tag is beyond us. The house was much like ours in Durham in many ways. It was actually right beside Chloe Café, and was a yellow bungalow (right in the city!). Such character, in great condition. We had a lovely chat with the realtor, and were sadly on our way.

Saturday afternoon we decided to see a play. After a bit of searching and sifting through the large list of performances in the Bay Area on a Saturday night, I decided on a performance of Amadeus taking place in the North Bay. It was given by the Marin Shakespeare Company, just across the Golden Gate and in San Rafael. It was at an outdoor theatre, and we were encouraged to bring a picnic, blankets etc.

The ampitheatre and general area were lovely and pastoral. We were among the first to arrive and settled into our large wooden bench with a large blanket and a bottle of chianti.

The performance lasted until nearly 11, and by then we were bundled and snuggling. The full moon rose over the stage the later it went (the tiny dot in the picture below), and the performance was entertaining and quite funny. It at least seemed a nice, different thing for us to do, and my goal is to make it back for the other 2 performances before the season’s end (A Winter Tale and Much Ado About Nothing).

Sunday morning we opted for brunch at 2223 on Market. What a great choice that was! I’ve been wanting to go for dinner (it looks charming and delicious), and brunch was a fantastic treat. Ian struggled with the menu—because simply everything sounded so good. He ended up ordering the Chorizo scramble, but found himself picking off the large quantities of cilantro when it arrived. If it were me, I would’ve been super excited about the bonus, but Ian hates cilantro. The server, absolutely above and beyond what I’ve seen lately, stopped by and insisted that he bring Ian something else. What a shock. He swiftly returned with the new dish, the homemade corned beef hash and poached eggs, and Ian was very happy. I thought my dish fairly good—the French toast with sour cherries, valhrona chocolate, and almonds, but ultimately decided I made a poor choice (as it was like dessert). Overall, you could tell that they knew what they were doing, served scrumptious food, and engaged in thoughtful service.

We decided to go for a walk to shed off some of the feelings of being stuffed, and popped in a few stores. Ian bought a soft, new hoodie, and the walk itself was much needed. I also stopped at the gym on the way home, and was finally able to use the exceptional Microsoft discount.

In the afternoon, I made some calls and watched a movie, while Ian piddled on the computer (OK, he actually did some work). For dinner, we opted to eat out again, and had Indian food at Pak Wan on 16th. The atmosphere was lacking (the smell of smoke was so strong, our clothes still smell—and not of cigarette smoke, but of campfire smoke). The food, however, was excellent. Again full, we decided to have a walk down Valencia before calling it a night.

It was a good walk, and surprising in that we made purchases at 3 different stores. A new picture frame, some cards for friends, and the saddest—the Abandoned Planet bookstore is closing and they were having a ridiculous sale. All books were $1, except for books over $20—those were 75% off. We made out with a stack of books for $31…3 of those had been pricier, but I can’t believe what was selling for a dollar. On the final 2 days of being open, they’ll be selling all books at 3 for $1. Very sad, as it’s a beautiful store, but I was pleased with what we left with.

Alas, that brings us into a new week. It’s insane that I’m wearing boots and a sweater today (and was all weekend). It’s July, for goodness sake! What’s up with the 50 degree weather? Strangely, I’m used to it already….

If I were an antique store, my name would be Annabelle.

Chapter 2a: Monterey and Carmel with Jeff

Jeff arrived in SF on Thursday. Ian took a half day to hang out with them. I'm not going to talk about what they did while they hung out (although, I did recommend a great place to them for lunch and they went--I mention this now because this blog in part is supposed to be about getting to know SF and our neighborhood. It's called Monk's Kettle, it's awesome, and it's in our hood). Mostly because I wasn't there and don't remember what they told me. Also because most of what they did when I wasn't directly involved was play Grand Theft Auto. For hours. And hours.

Anyway, they call me at work and decide they want to go to Monterey for the weekend. Perfect opportunity to get in the car and explore California. What a great way also to escape the sudden heat wave, and our lack of air conditioning. I make reservations for Friday night at the Portola, and a mere 24 hours later and we're driving south. The trip was a little long--partly traffic and partly the wildfires on 101. This is definitely something new to us. We've been near hurricanes, tornadoes even, but wildfires? The helicopters flew back and forth over the stopped traffic, attempting to get the flames under control.

Monterey was great. Sunny and warm (I hear it usually isn't). The room was nice, just about right on the water.

We walked over to the old Fisherman's Wharf and walked along the dock.

It's really quaint. It was such a boardwalk-beachy feel, but distinct from the east coast. Almost old-world. I've never been to Coney Island, but maybe this could be a small town version of it.

The sea lions are right there in the water, so we had a long session of picture taking and looking out at the boats and the near sunset. But alas, we were hungry and found deliciousness at The Old Fisherman's Grotto. A slight bit touristy, but delicious nonetheless.

The next day was packed with the famous Monterey Bay aquarium, Cannery Row, walking along the water, and gazing at nearby sea lions. Guess I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. The aquarium was great in some areas, lacking a bit in others. The views in Monterey are stunning.

We decided to stay another night in Monterey, so after eating some fairly yummy Mexican food, we bought some beers and played UNO / watched pay per view in the hotel room.

The next day we wanted to finish up Monterey in the morning--there was a pool and with the beautiful weather, we wanted to take full advantage. Alas, it rained. We spent the morning in the hotel, watching soccer, eating breakfast.

Overall, I might say that you would be fine spending just a day here. Parts of Monterey can be...how would I say it...well, a little run-down. And once you see its 3 or so main attractions, you feel like you know that part of the area pretty well.

Sunday afternoon we opted to drive to Carmel by the Sea. We didn't realize how close it actually was. And unfortunately if we had realized, we would likely have stayed there Saturday night instead. It's absolutely charming.

The main drag is just lovely, the inns are overflowing with charming Bavarian character....and the beach is just lovely. It was a nice afternoon, only filled with a little regret that we had to return so soon.

If I were a penguin, my name would be Stan.

This is less to do with what we've been up to, and more to do with how funny I look

OK, so in March, I went snowboarding in Vermont with Micah, Marianna, Scott, and a few people from Arnold. Good times were had. (you may have read the giant post a few months back) As you are supposed to with these trips, you share images with the people you know and the entire world by posting them on some sort of community site. I shared some pictures.

Yesterday, for some reason, I started getting comments on one of the pictures from that trip. It came from a funny little moment where Scott, Micah, and I, very mountain manish and unshaven, decide we would up the manhood degree and make some snowbeards by shoving snow in our faces and seeing what would stick. Immediately you look more manly because you're beard is all white and snowy. It instantly inspires questions in the minds of onlookers. Things like: "That must be cold." Being cold is much more manly than being hot. "He must have just climbed a mountain." Only manly men climb mountains and come back with snow covered beards.

Here is the picture:



So here's what started the funny. A friend of mine, who has just moved to London, noticed the picture for some reason (he said he was bored and snooping around) and so he wrote a little something funny about my beard. Due to the way Facebook works, this brought the image to my "friend's" attention and so more comments followed. It wasn't long before my nerd friend in arms found a likeness of me in some of my favoroite pop culture toys.

Ladies and gentleman. I look like a G.I. Joe. A G.I. Joe with a red beard who skies. By the way, He has a TERRIBLE name. That G. I. Joe's name... Snow Job.



I mean seriously! Could the name be any worse? I'm not going to get into definitions here, but if you're resourceful enough, you can start putting two and two together. Why couldn't his name be Skier Guy or Alpine or something. Even if his name was Allen it would be an improvement over Snow Job.

Well, I think it's funny anyway and it makes me want to buy the figure. I'm glad that the only G. I. Joe I resemble likes to ski and isn't into missiles or something.

One great thing that came out of this, is that I was reminded of something so so hilarious.

At the end of every G. I. Joe episode, there were these public service announcements used in an after school special kind of way. Pretty much to keep kids from burning down the house or talking to strangers. Stuff like that. In every PSA, there were always some crazy kids doing something dumb, and at least one G. I. Joe telling them to stop and do it this way instead. Usually the Joe used was one relating to the issue. If about fire, the fire guy is used. If it dealt with girls, one of the females characters made an appearance. You get the picture.

Well, they were funny by themselves, but what's even better, is a few years ago, someone decided to remix those videos. They dubbed over funny dialog and made the situations WAY funnier. There are tons of them and I recommend you all go search them out. Pretty easy actually. Youtube is littered with them. Just search GI Joe PSA.

Anyway, there is one about Snow Job! Katie, who works with Lori, posted this video during the "Ian looks like Snow Job" set.



Pretty hilarious.

Well, I just realized this is getting silly and long and I should probably go. I started this during a break while something was uploading and it's done now. Sorry it wasn't about what we've been up to. I seem to be pretty bad at that part of the deal. Hopefully I'll be better at it later. :)

We miss you all!
Ian

Chapter 1 – Virginia, June 13 – June 15

Highlights / Not such highlights of the trip:

Flew into RDU early Friday morning. Not a highlight.
Steph picked me up, and we went to Chic-Fil-A for breakfast. Highlight.
We went to see a matinee of Sex and the City (and got pedicures). Highlight.

Drove to Virginia. Ambivalent.
Trying on Deedahn’s bike helmet and deciding who has to wear it to dinner. Highlight.

Watching Jeff ride Deedahn’s bike around the circle. Highlight.

Had dinner at super essence of Lynchburg and all things small town and greasy for Jeff’s birthday with Deedahn and Steph: Highlight.
Bowl with ice cream scoops of butter (with no bread). Highlight.

Lots of fried food, brown salad bar, Coors Light, and a carafe of Woodbridge for $8. Not a highlight.
Laughing about it. Highlight.
Playing UNO and drinking. Highlight.
Having birthday cake for Jeff’s 33rd birthday, and spending it as a family. Highlight.

Mom’s wedding: Highlight.
Guy singing I Will Always Love You awkwardly during wedding. Highlight.
Torrential storms soaking us all and destroying the reception setup. At first—not a highlight. After a minute, hysterically highlightable.
Seeing Mom really happy. Highlight.
Changing out of our soaked and gross wedding clothes: Highlight.
Watching cheesy movie and ordering greasy pizza: Highlight.

Having Gran come over for a long chat. Highlight.
Playing WhooNu and having lots of wine and beer: Highlight.

Ian not being there. Not a highlight.