Last weekend we enjoyed a few days in California. There was a special treat for me in the fridge at Clorinda’s house – dark chocolate covered pistachios with a special message on the bottom, “For Keith, but Clorinda tasted”. Diana’s still searching for her special treat. I was able to reciprocate with some handmade ginger flavored chocolate hearts that were well received.
During a dinner at Adamo and Amy’s home, a local policeman showed up to return a sign that had been stolen from Gypsy Hill and spotted in a yard in town. Luciano took advantage of the visit to enjoy his first experience in a police car with the lights on.
The sunsets from Amy and Adamo’s home can be quite spectacular – even more so now that some trees have been trimmed back.
On Sunday I had a very enjoyable lunch at Santana Row catching up with Finn while Diana met up with her girlfriends for “Sip and Dip” at Kristina and Cat’s home. Finn shared his website which showcases some of his graphic design and mobile application work – finnrobertsondesign.com. He’s working on finding the perfect job match in this field just now. I met up with the crew at Kristina’s and we enjoyed a lovely dinner and sharing stories with her Mom. We spent the night in Los Gatos and I was able to visit some favorite old haunts – Carry Nations pub, The Great Bear coffee shop where we met up with Los Gatos Amy, and The Los Gatos Cafe for breakfast (and a special carrot and walnut left over treat for Clorinda).
On Tuesday we met up with a couple of friends of D’s from Australia – Renee and Daniel. Renee taught Alicia dance and singing when she was in Australia many years ago and has since married Daniel. They walked across the Golden Gate Bridge; we met them on the far side, and took them up to the top of the Marin Headlands for the best view of San Francisco.
From there we headed to lunch at a restaurant in Sausalito called Bar Bocce – an excellent recommendation from Amy that included a small beach and bocce court. Good food, great company, and excellent views.
Then it was back over the bridge for a tour of the city that included Coit Tower, North Beach, downtown, the very touristy Pier 39 (with only a few sea lions in residence), and dinner at The Slanted door in the Ferry building.
This weekend was mostly spent relaxing after the trip. We did see the movie “The Hero” on Saturday afternoon and both enjoyed it very much. It’s by a director named Brett Haley and starts Sam Elliot as an aging Western movie star. We looked up other movies by the same director and found “I’ll See You in My Dreams” – a similar movie starring Blythe Danner and Sam Elliot.
Dinner on Saturday night was at Wasabi with Patty and Brent. This is the sushi and Japanese restaurant that I first experienced with the Halls and loved. My second visit was just as good as the first. After dinner we walked over to Zin Zen where The Three Amigos band was playing. McD demonstrated her varied dance moves with Patty and some new friends that shared her exuberant dancing approach.
During the trip to California I was able to finish the book, “Two and Two, McSorley’s, My Dad, and Me” by Rafe Bartholomew. This is a very enjoyable read about the oldest continually operating bar in the United States and a father and son who have both worked there for many years – several together. Lots of insights into the operation of the unique bar are offered along with a lot of commentary on working together with one’s Dad. I was interested to read that the bar did not close down during Prohibition but was first closed during Hurricane Sandy. This reminded me of my experience trying to recover connectivity for AIG’s employees stranded at home during Sandy. This while all of the New York based team was completely offline due to lost electricity and connectivity. Not something that I hope to have to do again in my IT career.
A favorite music discovery this week was the album “The Convincer “ by Nick Lowe in 2001. I’ve always enjoyed his music and witty lyrics and this album contains a solid dose of both.
I’ve also been loving the new song “Java” by Stanton Moore’s band from their upcoming tribute to the late Allen Toussaint. The musicians are all stars, the arrangement excellent, and all backed by the incredible drumming of Stanton Moore. I was reminded of the first time I heard him – Levon Helm’s band was playing at jazzfest and Levon came out from behind the drums to sing a couple of songs. Stanton Moore took over at drums and I asked Denny who that amazing new drummer was. I was an immediate fan and have enjoyed several performances by Moore’s bands Galactic and his eponymous trio since.