May was a fun month with a lot of travel! Above is my little nephew, overlooking the neighboring buildings in Chicago. The windows kind of freak me out, but they seem secure so…stare away little man!
The month started with dinner out in Burlingame with potentially new couple friends. We went to Mykynos, which was absolutely delicious. One of our friends speaks Turkish, which apparently is very helpful in local Greek restaurants which are owned by a lot of Turks from one small town. When I asked her if they all got along, she said no.
We had an open house event at our work, which went very well. I think we made some excellent connections that will help with more referrals. Growth is always nice!
The next weekend, we went to a party to say farewell to friends leaving the area for Arizona. They’re older and retired, but their second retirement act will be there. They sold their house in about five days, so they will likely be set.
The next weekend, I went to a conference in Chicago, which allowed me to combine work with a family trip. It was awesome! I love my brother, sister-in-law, and their two sons. Their younger son is still so young so I was so excited to meet him! Both of the kids are so cute and have really great personalities. We went to my SIL’s parents’ house for a BBQ. It was fun to hang out with a bigger group and the food was delicious! I also went to my favorite taco place in Chicago- Flaco’s Tacos with their excellent iced margaritas. Not the highest-brow drink, but very tasty!
The following weekend was pretty event packed. On Friday, we went to the Brothers Osbourne. It was a great show. I’m so glad to see them live and I would love to see them again. We went to Yonsai handrolls before heading over to the Fox Theater in Oakland. I’ve never seen so many cowboy boots in the Bay Area than I did at that concert!
Later that night, we went a little north of the city and stayed a Courtyard. We were going to Napa on Saturday and we wanted to take advantage of being halfway there. In the morning, we went to Oxbow Market in Napa for breakfast. We went to Model bakery and got some excellent breakfast sandwiches. We also got a killer parking spot, which I wanted to sell when we left since some lucky BottleRock attendee really lucked out. Of course I didn’t but still, it was tempting in some ridiculous way.
We met up with our friends in Calistoga. We went to the Indian Springs pool which was an absolute delight. I was in it for awhile and finished with a long float on a raft. When I got out, I felt blissful. Seriously, I was so relaxed and I felt like I had a massage. There’s something to the healing waters and minerals!
We went to a tasting at Ehlers, which I had wanted to do for awhile. The wines were as delicious as I remembered from our informal tasting a few years ago. We had a nice tasting and our friend Paul was in his element, charming our wine taste leader. He wins- most popular!
SMS and I stayed at Brannan Cottage Inn, which was a delightful hotel. I recommend it- clean, cute rooms and a good price. We went to the Solage poolside bar for dinner which was definitely delicious, but also pretty pricy for what we got. It doesn’t help that my friend lives next to a delicious Tex-Mex restaurant that the four of us have been to so I have high standards!
The next day, Beth and I met up for a quick swim. Then SMS and I got breakfast at our hotel, followed by a 45 minute bike ride through Calistoga on the hotel’s complimentary bikes. Now we want to live in Calistoga! It was so relaxing and cute. We came back home and I felt like we had been on a much longer vacation. A really wonderful feeling!
To end the month, I went to an afternoon symposium on 5/31 celebrating the 40 year career of a preeminent auditory cortex scientist. It was really amazing to see how highly regarded he was by his former trainees who have gone on to do great things themselves. It was very heavy on the basic science, which is a whole other universe compared to clinical science, but I managed to hang in there and listen to receptors in Macaque monkeys and training mice to respond to oxytocin in two different groups: naive virgins and mothers. Seriously. Those were the groups. Very interesting. 😐
Finally, look at this cute picture of SMS! Awww, my heart melts! I’ve heard that Disney characters can’t break a hug, but what about when the kid isn’t hugging you back!?
Hmmm. I tried to comment but got a message that said my comment failed, so forgive me if you get two comments. I LOVE the sandwiches at Model Bakery. We are getting a franchise here in Walnut Creek soon, either this summer or fall. It’s taken forever, not sure why. The building is pretty old (maybe the oldest commercial building in town actually) which may be part of the hang up. But I’m excited about it.
Your trip to Chicago sounds great, always wonderful to spend time with family. And the trip to Calistoga sounds AMAZING. I feel like the restaurant you went to in Burlingame was on Check Please, Bay Area, but perhaps I am imagining that?