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Wrap-Up: April

April Wrap-Up time! Above is a picture of me reading in the Bougieville pool. SMS and I decided to have a lazy Sunday afternoon by the pool on a relatively warm day and it was delightful. I’m still a little leery of the hot tub as more and more kids ~~use it as a restroom~~ swim in it, but the pool is a real delight. Maybe I will even start lap swimming, but I don’t want to dry out my hair. Decisions!

Early in the month, SMS and I went out to dinner at Saltbox in San Carlos. I really like that restaurant. The menu always has a tempting healthy option, as well as a few comfort food items so there’s something to fit every mood. I ordered a glass of wine from Jax vineyards and it was amazing! I took a picture of the bottle. Jax will play a role later in the month when…

Rip and Linda came to town! On Friday, I met them at Jax for a glass of wine. There is a tasting room near the ballpark and it’s really a beautiful oasis. The patio is shaded and the small garden is beautiful. And, the wine is delicious! For dinner, we went to Altovino, which was excellent. I had incredible parking luck- the waiter even commented on it because he saw us parking when he was looking through the window! The food was good and while the restaurant was full, it was fairly low-volume so conversation was pretty easy.

Rip and SMS cooked dinner on Saturday, which was awesome. SMS cooked the salmon in the pizza oven using a cast iron skillet. It turned out really well. The trip overall was more mellow than others (no ragers in Napa) and we had the best time!

The last weekend of the month, I decided to take a trip to Washington, DC for my 25th (!) high school reunion. It was a lot of fun. I have not kept in touch with anyone (FB doesn’t count!) for over 20 years. This isn’t necessarily something I’m bragging about, it’s just what it is. I had a really nice time catching up with people who, honestly, looked almost the same to me. The fountain of youth has been found! The above pictures were taken near the end of the night, in case you can’t tell. Overall, it was a really nice event and I had forgotten how beautiful Georgetown is. It makes me want to go back for a slightly longer DC visit. Mom and Dad, answer your door! I’m here!

Even better, I had some sister time! Yay! Brady and I hung out twice. It was such a treat. My niece wasn’t feeling well, so we couldn’t hang out as a full family, but Brady and her son came out while her husband and niecie stayed home :(. On Saturday, we took a walk in Alexandria while on Sunday, Brady and I were ladies who brunched going to Zaytinya (love!), the Portrait Gallery, and a quick drink at a hotel bar. Then, I headed off to DCA to head back to CA.

So, that was April, a definite win!

2021 Wrap-Up: June

June was a busy month! SMS was in town for the first weekend and our anniversary. We went on walks, went to South Beach Bar & Grill in Ocean Beach, and went to the Hail and Farewell.

The Hail and Farewell was held at Liberty Station, which was a pretty good venue. There was some airplane noise and mild AV issues, but nothing terrible and it was really nice to get together as a larger group. I made a video where “Steven the Intern” was tasked with taking care of a baby egg, similar to a high school home ec class assignment. Other residents’ egg fates are shown in the video and it was pretty funny. I understood the assignment!

Then I was off for a family vacation around the US. In 10 days, I went to West Palm Beach, Washington DC, and Chicago. In WPB, I visited my grandfather and his wife. It was a quick trip, but it was really nice to see them. I went to the gym a few times and forget running to the gym- driving a golf cart is a lot more fun! I also ended up doing the Heimlich maneuver on an older gentleman who choked on a large piece of steak. I ended up doing a pretty deep finger sweep and hooked it out! Hooray! It turned out that the man had several serious medical issues, one of which required him to have his food served in very tiny pieces. In the excitement of going out to eat, no one had thought to check that his food was safe for him to eat. The crazy thing is, after all that excitement, they all stayed and finished their meal! I think I would have left after something that dramatic. But to each their own. Or should I say, when in Florida?

After WPB, I headed up to DC for a few days to see Mom and Dad. I stayed in their beautiful apartment downtown. One of our best adventures out was going to get drinks at the Southeast waterfront on a beautiful day. We sat at a second-floor, outdoor bar and enjoyed a few Happy Hour Tecates. It was really a relaxed, fun place to be.

We also saw a Nationals game! I love the Presidents’ Race and George did not disappoint. I actually can’t remember who won, although I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Teddy.

Brady and I went out for a museum day, which was a lot of fun. She was really busy since they just moved from Japan. They were not only busy settling in, but they were hosting a lot of visitors. She was also about to start her intern orientation so it was definitely a pretty crazy time for her. But I’m so glad we got to hang out. I also saw my brother and his family, but really, my time was too short! Although I got to see my nephews and niece, I was left wanting more! Fortunately, I saw them a lot more during the Thanksgiving holiday later in the year.

General Motors EV1 Electric Car- starting the modern era in electric cars!

The last stop on my trip was Chicago. Ed and Meg were the most awesome hosts in their new apartment. That they own!! Super impressive, says this perma-renter!

The best coffee maker instructions. Illustrations provided for the real caffeine-deprived dummies (meeeeeeeee!)

Tasty, tasty frozen margaritas. Right down the street!

I went on a run that ended up being longer than I wanted, but I really wanted to run out onto the fishing pier/jetty to see the dramatic cityscapes!

I had been to Chicago a few times before but had never been on a river architecture tour. Ed took me on one that is supposed to be the best (Chicago Architecture Foundation, I think) and it certainly seemed so! We had a great guide and learned a lot.

Finally, we met up with Meg for lunch. She gave me her own architecture tour with the cool triangle-shaped hotel with a great (closed!) rooftop bar and the Walgreens in a former bank that makes good use of the old vault!

And just like that, my grand tour of America was complete. SMS and I spent the last weekend of June in San Diego. We had a nice hike in Torrey Pines, admired native plants, went to Blue Ribbon Pizzeria in Encinitas, and saw a music bus with a stage on the double-decker.

Summer tomato plant. Spoiler alert: Aphids 1, Plant 0

Catch-up: Fall 2017

Alright, whoever guessed that I wouldn’t keep up with the European vacation posts gets their money back and more. Forward this post to seven friends and in 30 days, a check from a very legitimate source will appear.

I kid, I kid. Although I will finish the posts, I’m afraid I’m going to have to do a linkback similar to the Switzerland trip from last year. A lot has gone on this Fall and I’ve done myself a disservice in not keeping up with my blog in real time since the main purpose of this thing is to serve as an e-diary for the places I go.

So. After an amazing September vacation, it was a bit of an adjustment to realize that the vacation we had been planning for almost a year had come and gone. It was so awesome and we had the best time. SMS and I had a wonderful time with his family in Italy, which was sandwiched between a road trip encompassing Germany, Lichtenstein and Switzerland before and Slovenia & Germany after. Things that happened in October and November include…

Continue reading “Catch-up: Fall 2017”

Washington DC Weekend

East Building, National Gallery of Art

This past weekend, I spent in Alexandria hanging out with my Dad. It was pretty mellow but the most beautiful Fall weekend- tons of sunshine and the most perfect temperature.

How I would feel in a museum without lunch first…

On Saturday, Dad wanted to check out the East Building of the National Gallery of Art. We took the metro into the city, which takes a little longer but it’s so nice not dealing with weekend traffic and parking. When we got off the metro, the first order of business was lunch because I was hungry. I hadn’t eaten a lot of breakfast and I had gone for a run so I would be running on fumes if we went to the museum first. We ate outside and had burgers and beer. It was awesome.

This is art. It has its own security guard so people don’t step on it. I guess
that’s what happens when you have art that looks like a puke-colored melted bag.

Afterwards, we headed over to the East Building. I could tell there were some updates but overall, it looked the same. The most noticeable thing was the sun slats over the upper skylights. The Calder mobile is still in the grand foyer and there is a lot of colorful art well-placed throughout the open main area. We went to see the Photography Reinvented: The Collection of Robert E. Meyerhof and Rheda Becker. It’s a temporary exhibit through March 2017 with 33 excellent modern photographs from influential artists. My sentimental favorite is Hiroshi Sugimoto since I have fond memories of an incredibly staged exhibit of his in the Hirshhorn Museum (2006).

From the Hirshhorn Display. It was amazing. Photo Credit

Afterwards, we headed home and tried to watch The Lobster but we didn’t have any luck in renting it online.

The next day, we went out to brunch in Old Town. I scored a sweet parking spot, so I was already feeling pretty cheerful! We went to Virtue Feed and Grain. Brunch was tasty but Dad definitely won with his order. Here’s a tip to me: don’t order Mexical breakfasts on the East Coast, it just isn’t the same. Also, do not order a Bloody Mary at Virtue- it’s watery gazpacho with vodka. The mimosas are much better (I had a sip of Dad’s!).

The rest of the day was pretty mellow. I did some online coursework and watched football. It was a really relaxing weekend and I was glad for the quality father-daughter time. Oh, and the quality time with the birds. I can’t forget the surrogate children.

Bath time!

Bird Love