The great massacre of 2008

There was a mass-killing this week in our apartment. Not nearly as scary as it sounds - we had been having a small ant infestation over the last few weeks - as few here, a few there. I set out a few of those little Terro traps and put up with the few that kept crawling around the kitchen. They are those tiny little sugar ants, so it's really easy to kill them and then put them out of your mind. Well, this week the little infestation turned into a huge infestation, when I found a million of them under the sink, crawling all over everything. So I bought another pack of the Terro traps and set all 7 of them up under the sink and sat back to wait for the little buggers to die. Under the sink, they were really out of sight, out of mind and really contained there, so I checked on them every morning to see if they were dying out for a few days, just waiting for the Terro to work its magic. It didn't appear to be working - there was still a million of the little pests, walking in a straight line all over under the sink.

So, yesterday afternoon, before my run, I went into the kitchen to take hamburger out of the freezer, opened up the freezer door, and was greeted by a whole stream of ants in the freezer. They had made their way out from under the sink, they snuck past the broom and mop, up the side of the fridge, and into the freezer. I swear, there is nothing worse than opening up the place where you keep food, and see a million tiny, creepy ants crawling over everything. Luckily, the freezer had frozen most of them, so there were little piles of ant carcasses all over the place, but at least they were dead and easier to clean up. So I spent the next half an hour sponging up all the ants in the freezer and flushing them down the sink drain. I cleaned up the whole trail up the side of the fridge, and the trail out from under the sink. I figured this could hold them off while I went for my run, then I could go to Safeway to pull out the big guns.

Post-run, I headed to Safeway to scan my ant-death options. I was going to just go with the Terro again, because it seems contained and safer, but it hadn't been working in the past and then I spotted the ant "spray". Now normally, I don't like the idea of releasing chemicals in aerosol form into the air in my kitchen where I prepare food. However, if you have ever opened up your freezer to find a colony of ants, you will understand that it makes you do things that you don't usually do. I was lured in with the promise of instant death to ants and cockroaches (not our problem, but hey, might as well prevent that too). I schlepped it back to the house and prepared for the fight to the death. I first opened up the doors underneath the sink and herded as many ants as I could from under there onto the floor in front of the sink. I then used the broom to sweep them into a small contained circle. Then I pulled out the spray can and opened up on them. And it worked!! Instant death! And not even any writhing in pain or dying a slow, painful death to make me feel guilty - these ants were goners the second the spray hit. And I'm not going to stop and think about what was in that spray that killed those ants so quickly - I am merely going to bask in my victory. So after decisively disposing of all living ants in the kitchen, I sprayed that spray anywhere that I have seen an ant in the last few days to discourage them from coming back. Supposedly, they won't come on old trails where they smell the spray. And for the last few days, I have not seen a living, crawling ant anywhere in my kitchen.

Which was really cool for awhile. This morning I thought - the whole thing was too easy - we've had a few ants here and there since we moved in - now I couldn't find one if I tried. I suddenly noticed that the kitchen was eerily quiet. Too quiet. I just know the ants are planning their next attack somewhere. They are laying low for a time while waiting for me to become complacent. So now I just have a general feeling of anxiousnesss - when will they attack again, and where. What can I do to prevent it? Coat the entire apartment in ant spray? No thanks... So, I guess I will have to wait patiently for their next move. The ball is your court now, ants. Bring it on...

Please see Part II below

I wrote the second half of the weekend visit and posted more pictures, but I started the post on October 16th, and it posted as of this date. So if you want to read the second half of the story, please scroll down to the post on 10/16/2008: Part II - A little San Francisco goes a long way...

longest Monday ever!

We went for drinks last night as an office after work to celebrate a co-workers birthday and had a really nice time. We walked down the Embarcadero to Pier 23, which was kind of a div-ey bar, but has a great back deck which looks out on the bay. So we had drinks and shared a bunch of appetizers - fried calemari, fried artichoke hearts, nachos, peel and eat shrimp - it was all delicious. I got to talk to a few more co-workers that I hadn't really had a chance to before, and it was just a really nice, laid-back outing. I was contemplating not going, and my co-worker Linnea talked me into it. I'm really glad I went.

Afterwards, I caught a bus to the SFAI campus to meet Neil for a lecture by a famous painter. Atleast I am told he is famous, I had never heard of him before. :( I don't really do a good job of keeping current on contemporary painters. Anyways. His name is Chris Ofili and he got famous by using elephant dung in his paintings. There was a big uproar in New York a few years ago when Rudy Guiliani denounced his painting of a black virgin Mary that incorporated elephant dung into it. I tried to copy some pictures of his work from the internet, and they came through all blurry, so here are some links to photos of his work if you are interested:

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~Museum/Armory/ofili.html

http://www.artnet.com/artwork/54076/759/afrodizzia-2nd-version.html

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/pictures/image/0,8543,-19204774275,00.html

http://www.villagevoice.com/2007-10-09/art/the-devil-and-chris-ofili/

Many more can be found on Google images if you just type in his name. The talk was very interesting and we got a lot of insight into the process he worked through as an artist and the things he was thinking about and struggling with as he made these works of art. Although I haven't heard of any of the artists that are giving lectures at SFAI this fall, I am looking forward to hearing all of them - I think it's so fascinating to get a glimpse into these artists' lives and hear their stories. I always assume that famous artists will be pretentious and condescending, and my experience so far with all of the lecturers to this point is the opposite of that. They are all really normal, down-to-earth people who are not afraid to say that sometimes they weren't sure why they painted something - they just wanted to. It's really refreshing to hear.

We didn't get home from the lecture until 10:00 and then still had to rustle up dinner. We managed to procure some KFC and had dinner at 10:30. Yikes - such a long day and I couldn't wait to climb into bed!!

I've fallen off the blogging wagon!

So sorry it's been so long since there was a post, and I sort of left you hanging with the Alcatraz story. I have to blog from home to post pictures, but I never seem to get a second at home to do it. I have plenty of time at work, but no pics! So, I'm going to do a general update now, and try to finish the story of the visit either tonight or tomorrow.

The main reason I didn't have enough time to post last week is that Neil had a paper due and was hogging the computer! :) To remedy the situation, he thought up the brilliant plan of buying him a new computer! To which I rationally replied - sure! Great idea! He gets a slight discount at the Apple store because he's in school and after we went and looked at the pretty Macbooks in the Apple store, that tiny discount was enough to rationalize the purchase of the new toy. So we have a payment plan all worked out, and Neil has a beautiful new computer that he got to take home from the store last night. This is one of the first "big" things that Neil has bought all by himself, with his own money, so this was pretty exciting for him. I must admit that the shiny new toy makes my old, boring computer look very dull and unexciting and I am jealous. Maybe his computer needs a new, shiny friend? :)

While in the Apple store, I noticed some new software called "The recipe manager". I was instantly sold. For those of you who don't know, I like to plan all of our meals out in advance for the week, which means a lot of catalouging recipes, word documents and shopping lists. I have been doing all of this manually for years now, saving menus and cookbook lists in Word. It's a total pain, but must be done or we would not eat. If I don't have a plan, I'm hopeless. I'm not one of those people who can look at a bag of flour, a lemon and a head of lettuce and make a meal. So when I saw this software, claiming to hold all recipes in a database searchable by meal type, ingredient type, etc., I HAD to have it. Once you put together a menu, the program also generates shopping lists based on the menu that you have created, which is exportable to your ipod. COOL! So I guess I got a new toy as well. I didn't have time to put my recipes into it yet, but it looks really cool so far. I am excited to streamline my kitchen!

We had kind of a blah weekend. On Saturday, I experienced an "I hate San Francisco" day that consisted of bad bus ride, bad Safeway visit and laundry back at the laundrymat. We tried to go to the Soap Box derby on Sat., which sounded really fun. The bus ride to get there was REALLY long because it was on the other side of the city, and everyone else was trying to get there as well. When I finally got there (I was meeting Neil, who was coming from his studio), it was really crowded and you could only watch the cars on big-screen tv's - the course was too packed to get close enough to see anything. So, after standing and watching the tv for 30-40 minutes, we were totally bored and had had enough. So Neil headed back to his studio, which would take him over 2 hours to get back to (bus service was ridiculous b/c of the derby) and I headed back to our neighborhood. The bus ride home was a complete disaster. The buses were PACKED!! And I mean to the point of not being able to breathe. And, inevitably, when buses are packed like this, someone always has terrible B.O. And since we're all standing with our hands above our heads to hold onto the rails, the B.O. is right at nose-level. I had to breathe into my shoulder for most of the bus ride to try and avoid the smell. The bus that I was riding takes you through a poorer neighborhood, so it's kind of interesting to notice the changes in the types of people riding the bus as you get closer to my neighborhood. I think I've discovered a new function of some kind - the strength of the B.O. smell drops is a function of how close you are to my neighborhood. The closer the bus gets to where we live, the less the B.O. smell. The farther away, the worse it gets...

Anyways, by the time I got home and off the bus, it had been about an hour and I just couldn't get the B.O. smell out of my nostrils. It was just hanging with me. Maybe it was me... I don't know, but it was just so irritating. I stopped by the library to try and pick the day up by picking out some new books. I swear the smell was in there too! I just couldn't get away from it! So I took my books and headed for home. I needed to do laundry, but realized that I didn't have any portable laundry detergent or fabric softener, since I had been using Laundry Locker's services up til this point. So that required a trip to Safeway. Safeway, I learned, is PACKED at 5:00 on a Sat! I had to fight my way through numerous crowds, down numerous aisles to get about 3 things, then I had to wait in line for about 30 minutes to buy three said items... There are just so many PEOPLE in San Francisco!! Then another walk home to pick up laundry and head to the lovely, sparkling clean laundrymat. (please note the sarcasm in that sentence). Actually, it's not really that bad, I guess and it's a lot closer to my house than the laundry locker. So I only had to carry 25 pounds of laundry one block. And I only ended up spending about $13. So doing the laundry by myself has some advantages over having someone else do it for me. I'm learning...

I don't like to leave my laundry while it washes and dries, so I sat in the laundrymat and read, which was actually a good part of my day. It was quiet and there was the nice smell of laundry detergent, and the calming hum of the machines. I'm reading a book right now called "Deconstructing the Twinkie" which is about one man's quest to understand all the ingredients of a Twinkie, and where all the ingredients come from. It's actually a little disturbing - the chapter on flour goes on for pages - just flour! And the number of chemicals involved in making the flour that we eat is amazing - it includes chlorine! Yes, the same chlorine that is in bleach!! Yikes. I knew there was a reason that I never liked Twinkies!

While doing the laundry, I got a call from my friend Krista who I haven't spoken to since March, and this made the day all better. Even though it had been a long, smelly day of fighting crowds, it ended well with a great conversation with an old friend. Then Neil and I went out to dinner at this place called "Asqew Grill" that specializes in skewers. Chicken skewers, beef skewers, seafood skewers. That is their speciality. It was very good. I can see that my dining budget is going to have to increase. There are just too many good restaurants in close proximity to us!

Yesterday, Neil and I rode across the city to REI for a class on changing flats and cleaning your bike. There was also supposed to be a section on riding in S.F., which was what Neil was interested in - different routes, etc. - but it ended up being really short, with no real information. But the changing of flats was what I attended for. I haven't had a flat on my bike yet, and I bought it in April, so the longer I ride, the more terrified that I am that I will flat in the middle of nowhere and have no idea how to change it! So, this was a really necessary class. I am now perfectly equipped to change a flat by myself - no more worrying!

Then we rode to Sports Basement, back on our side of town, shopped for a little while, and by the time we got home, it was already 4:00. It was a really cold, overcast day and we were both pretty chilled at that point, so we turned on the heat dish and cooked ourselves in the apartment for awhile. Then Neil got to go buy his computer and I got my software and we spent the rest of the night just really vegging out. We were both so tired from all the riding. It was a nice, cozy evening. Sometimes you just need one of those.

Speaking of nice, cozy evenings - I'm having a little bit of a seasonal crisis. As in, there are no seasons here... My body is so in tune to the northwest seasons - Summer is July - mid September, fall is mid-September through Nov. Winter is Nov - March and Spring is Mar - June. This does not apply in San Francisco. Summer is never ending!! I can't believe I'm complaining about this, but my seasonal clock is SO out of whack. It's been summer now from July through October, and I've had enough. I had this book when I was little that had a story about it being Christmas year-round and how all the joy wears off of it after a few days. That's how I feel right now. I want some crisp mornings with a chill in the air, I want the beautiful foilage that should be out right now and I want some cool, foggy days where I can snuggle up inside and enjoy the warmth. I do not want any more 79 degree days and I've had enough sunshine. It is hibernation time, for goodness sakes! I need some time off - time to just eat and relax, you know? With all this sunshine and warmth, I feel guilty if I'm not outside making the most of it. So yesterday was very welcome! Unfortunately, the sun is back out today... I'm sure all of you in Portland are hating me for saying this and I'm sure I'll be eating my words come April, but for right now - GIVE ME FALL!!

I'll post the remainder of the story about the visit tomorrow.

Part II - A little San Francisco goes a long way...

Okay, okay, I will finish the story.

So, let's see... We were sitting in traffic, one block from the parking garage at 6:45 and the boat was l eaving at 6:50 and then Lila saved us and noticed that we were sitting next to an open parking space with no time limit! Halleluia!! We pulled into the parking spot, and Neil and I took off running towards the dock, with the parents following as fast as they could behind. As we turned the corner, we saw a few people still boarding the boat - the boat was still there! I found a tour worker at the entrance and told her that we had three people still coming and she said that we had three minutes and then the boat would have to leave. We dashed back out to the street to see if the parents were coming and witnessed them dashing across the middle of the Embarcadero, which is a four-lane highways with traintracks in the middle. It was quite a sight and I was very impressed! We were the last five people on the boat, and they were nice enough to hold it up for us. What a stressful drive - I was so sure we weren't going to make it and I was feeling so glad. Best feeling ever.

So, on with the trip. The boat ride out to Alcatraz lasts about 15 minutes, and it was a beautiful night for a cruise on the bay. The wind had died down and it was almost balmy. There was a beautiful sunset and a gorgeous view of Golden Gate Bridge.

We pulled up to the island and at the barracks where the guards and their families lived while Alcatraz was a federal prison. It looked pretty eerie at night. This building has not been restored yet, and so is not open to the public. I think it would be really interesting to see, though.

After exiting the boat, a guide walked us up to the prison, stopping to give us little talks along the way. Then we picked up our audio tours and started making our way through the prison. Neil and I had already visited Alcatraz when we came in June, but I didn't mind going again - I think it is so interesting and so fun and the audio tour is really superb. I thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

After the audio tour was finished, we joined a guide who walked us back down to the dock while telling stories about famous escape attempts from Alcatraz. No one ever escaped from Alcatraz and lived to tell about it. We got back to the dock and boarded the boat and headed back to the mainland. We arrived on the island around 7:10 or so and the last boat left at 9:25, so we were there around 2 hours. I could have spent a little bit more time. On both tours that I've been on now, I've had to leave for the boat right after the audio tour was done. I would like to just wander on my own sometime. I highly recommend this tour for anyone visiting San Francisco, though. I think it was very fascinating.

By this time, we were all completely wiped out. We got dropped off at our apartment and mom, dad and Lila headed back to the hotel to catch some shut-eye and prepare for tomorrow.

Day 2: Sunday

This whole day was a little bit more laid-back and relaxed than Sat. We started out by sleeping in a little bit and meeting for breakfast at the "Squat and Gobble" - a little breakfast joint on Chestnut Street. Mom was quick to point out that chickens do not, in fact, gobble. They cackle. Just so you know... :) It's a really cute little restaurant and we thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast. And coffee.

After breakfast, we checked mom, dad and Lila out of the hotel, picked up the doggies and headed for the Golden Gate Bridge. Sunday morning is definitely the time to hit the bridge. There was actually parking, which is amazing, and the hordes of tourists were apparently still recovering from their Saturday outings. Mom, dad and I walked out on the bridge for a ways for some great views. It was one of the most perfectly clear days that I have seen in S.F. But you be the judge:

I had carried the doggies out onto the bridge with me and once we got onto the bridge, the wind picked up a little bit and they started shivering, so:

I don't know if you can see it that well in the picture, but Lola actually tucked her little head inside my fleece. They got all warmed up and apparently I was getting quite a few "looks" while we were walking back to the parking lot. When we returned to the parking lot, mom and dad went to look for a bathroom, and while waiting for them, we discovered that our doggies are little celebrities! Asian tourists started flocking to them - taking pictures of them, taking pictures of each other holding them... Lola even got her picture taken with a tiny baby! I'm not sure if chihuahuas are not that common in asia or what, but it was really cute to see. Mom and dad had my camera at the time, so I don't have any shots of this phenomenon, but it was really cool. The doggies did pretty good with all the strangers.

Once we managed to tear the doggies away from their adoring fans, we got back in the car and headed for the beach.

We drove along the coast and the ocean for awhile. Not really by choice - we kind of got on the highway and there was no way to turn left into the neighborhoods for a long time. So we went way down the coast and finally turned left at the zoo and started driving back towards the city. We got to see some of the Outer Sunset and Parkside districts. It was interesting to get to see some of the different architecture out there. Meanwhile, Lola tuckered out in the front seat:

She's got her head on dad's leg while he's driving...

We headed to Golden Gate park and took a leisurely drive through the park, with a little detour around Stow Lake and Strawberry Hill. Today was definitely a day of leisurely driving - we didn't get out of the car much and it was really nice. After our drive through GG Park, we headed to Alamo Square, with the famous "painted ladies" - the park with the victorian houses and the city in the background, which you may recognize from the intro to "Full House" and other classic sitcoms. We got out of the van here for some pics, a bathroom break, and a little sit-time in the beautiful sunshine.

It was just a fantastically beautiful day and really nice to just sit and take in the view. We rested there for awhile and then headed off towards Neil's studio.

We drove across the city to Neil's studio and he gave everyone the grand tour. Then we went to lunch at a little cafe down the street. There was a costume party of some kind going on in the neighborhood and we saw some really interesting characters walking by while we were eating. The lunch was good and the sunshine was warm. We ate at the tables outside on the sidewalk to take advantage of the 80 degree October weather.

And that was it - we headed back to the apartment for a little rest before everyone had to hit the road. We got a last few pictures with the doggies:

It was hard to say goodbye after such a nice weekend and we miss everyone so much now that they are gone, even two weeks later... It was a great visit and we look forward to having family come down again! Who will be next!!?? :)

A little San Francisco goes a long way...

Well, we had quite a weekend. My mom, dad, Neil's mom Lila and the doggies all arrived Friday afternoon for a whirlwind weekend. I got off work a little bit early on Friday, and we all met up for a little reunion at our apartment. It was so great to see family again and to hug the doggies again. Mom brought us down a whole cooler of home-grown veggies - they were wonderful at dinner that night. Plus, two dozen home-grown eggs - nothing better than fresh from the chicken!

Since it was a beautiful, clear evening, we headed out for a little drive around the Presidio and down to Baker Beach...

It was super-windy on Friday, though, so we packed it in pretty quick and headed back to the apartment for a yummy dinner and some nice conversation. Poor dad tried to find a parking space - they had their mini-van with them - and could never find one. He had to go back to the hotel and then walk back to our apartment. So, when it was time to go home that night, everyone had their first S.F. bus ride. The bus driver let them ride free! It was really nice.

Swarley remembered how much he loves Neil's pillow! For some reason, he always made his bed on Neil's pillow - never mine, and he obviously remembered that. He made a beeline for Neil's side of the bed...

The next morning was early! Mom, dad and Lila rode the bus back to our house again, doggies and all and arrived around 7:45. After breakfast, we headed out to start the busy day. We tried to cram so much stuff into one day - I've learned not to try and do that again! We caught the bus down to Pier 39 at Fisherman's Wharf - which is basically just a huge tourist trap designed to separate tourists from their money. It is actually the world's third most-visited tourist place in the world, behind DisneyLand and DisneyWorld. No fishing really happens at Fisherman's Wharf anymore - and there is really nothing much there now, besides souvenir shops and over-priced restaurants. Still, tourists stream in by the thousands - I'm not sure what they're hoping to see. But nevertheless, we visited there. It's kind of expected that when you come to S.F., you see Fisherman's Wharf, so we did. The only interesting thing at Pier 39 is the Sea Lions that have taken over some of the old abandoned piers.

You can see how thrilled Dad and Neil are about the sea lions... And they were loud! There were fancy yachts moored right next door - those poor suckers. They probably signed leases before they realized they were next door to hundreds of noisy, smelly sea lions. Here's a treat for your eyes and ears: (That's Swarley barking at them in the background. He hated them!)

After we quickly grew tired of the Sea Lions and mom had satisfied her souvenir shopping urge, we walked back along Fisherman's Wharf to the National Maritime Historical Park. This is right by the Aquatic Park and Hyde Pier and has 7 historical boats moored. You can walk on the pier and just look at the boats, but we paid the entry fee and got to go out onto the boats. A couple of them were closed for the day but there was one really cool big old boat that we got to go onto.

The blue angels were in town for the weekend for Fleet Week, so we got to see the opening act do some cool stunts while we were out on the pier. I also got some really nice pictures of Nob Hill and Ghirardelli Square. The water in the front of the picture is part of Aquatic Park - an enclosed piece of the bay where people come to swim - brrr!! :)

We spent quite a bit of time perusing the ships, then took a bus to the North Beach neighborhood for lunch at Rogue Brewery. It was a really necessary break and nice to stop walking for awhile. We had been on our feet from 8:30 - 12:30. After lunch, we hopped back on the bus (you see a theme here...) and headed to Chinatown. This was a real hit with the ladies. The men, not so much!

In Chinatown, every two feet is a little bargain-prices souvenir shop, or a shop of some kind. And mom and Lila and I managed to hit a bunch of them! There are some of the most interesting things I have ever seen in some of those shops! And the food markets are really fascinating, with chickens and ducks hanging in the windows. Chinatown goes on for quite awhile and with all the bargains to be had, it took us awhile to get through it. Lila liked it because she was taller than most of the people there! Unusual for her at 5'2! Lila and Mom found a stack of T-shirts for $1.88 and even managed to suck Neil in - he bought a Chinatown t-shirt. For $1.88, they were actually really nice t-shirts!

I actually really enjoy Chinatown a lot, even though it has all of the cheap souvenir shops and stuff. It is colorful and bustling at all hours of the day, and really feels authentic. Chinese people actually live and work here, and shop in the markets. Although it is jammed with tourists, it also feels very much like a neighborhood - with a heartbeat. I couldn't say the same for Fisherman's Wharf! And the shops are really fascinating - you never know what you're going to find!

However, I think by this time, Neil and Dad didn't care what we might find, they were just ready to move on! Although Dad had a good time taking pictures of the architecture and other stuff.

At this point, the doggies had been riding in their backpack for most of the day and had been really good and quiet and patient. But I just started to feel so bad for them, cooped up in the little pack, so we let them out and walked them on the leash for awhile. Before you judge us too badly for having them in the pack, we walked them along Fisherman's Wharf, but they couldn't be out on the Hyde pier, and so we put them in the pack, then we rode the bus and ate lunch, then rode the bus again, then walked in Chinatown where it is REALLY crowded, so it really wasn't very possible to have them out of the pack. Anyways, I think they were probably really glad to get out. So we were just about to exit Chinatown through the gates, and Lola spots these two stone lions that are guarding the entrance to a shop, and gets all hunched down and starts growling at the lion. Of course, the lion ignores her. So she starts barking, which gets Swarley barking, so our two little dogs are creating a little stir, barking their heads off at two stone lions. Not so bright, those two... It was adorable. Lola flounced off afterwards like she had SHOWN that lion who was boss. We walked through Union Square to get to the cable cars, but there really isn't much in Union Square except really expensive shopping, so we didn't stop. I don't have any pictures of this part of the trip, because the dogs were out and I was distracted. We waited in line for awhile and then managed to hop on a cable car. Mom and I got stuck inside and Lila got seated on the outside, and Dad and Neil got to stand on the side. Again, no pictures of this because I had terrible seats.

I think at this point, we were all just exhausted and wanted to get home. Unfortunately, this would not be as easy as anticipated, because the Blue Angels airshow had just finished and everyone and their mother was trying to leave the Fisherman's Wharf area where, unfortunately, the cable car let us off at. So we ended up walking home to our apartment. About 12 blocks or so... Which doesn't sound so bad, but you try it after walking around San Francisco from 8:30 - 4:30. Needless to say, we were WIPED by the time that we got home around 5:00. Everyone crashed in the living room except me, who was responsible for making dinner - homemade pizza. (Note to self- Next time BUY the pizza, stupid!) Neil took some cute pics of the doggies while I was slaving away in the kitchen...

We finished dinner around 5:45 and left to catch the bus back to the hotel and pick up the car to drive to Fisherman's Wharf and catch the ferry to our Alcatraz tour. I figured that we would have plenty of time - the tour didn't leave until 6:50 and Fisherman's Wharf is just over the hill. Well, I underestimated the effects of Fleet Week. Even though the show had ended at 4:00, traffic was still all snarled up and our bus wasn't coming. So we started - you guessed it! - walking towards the hotel. It came up on 6:10 or so, and I was starting to get a little bit worried about the time crunch. Just then, our bus came in to view, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, that sigh must have cursed us somehow. A few blocks away from our stop and the motel, the bus driver decides to put the bus in park and WALK AWAY! He mumbled something about, "I shall return", got off the bus, ran across the street and out of sight. We waited anxiously as the minutes ticked away and no sign of the bus driver. 6:15, 6:16, 6:17... We finally decided to just get off the bus and walk. As we started walking up the street, we noticed the bus driver running back to the bus with his lunch now in his hand. Perfect time to stop for a snack, buddy. You're already way behind schedule with the traffic, why not make it worse by picking up lunch at this time? Perfect... We made it to the motel and into the van around 6:30. Twenty minutes to get to Fisherman's Wharf - no problem, right? Well, there was the little problem of the traffic clogging all the main streets of the Marina and Fisherman's Wharf. I drove like a maniac - California stopping like a pro - as the time slipped away from us. We got into a small traffic jam on Bay st., losing us a precious 2-4 minutes, then managed to get off the main road and onto some sneaky side streets (yeah, we're locals!). Once into the heart of North Beach, though, there was no going side streets, you have to get back onto Bay St. if you want to get to the Embarcardero and Fisherman's Wharf and the embarkation point for the cruise to Alcatraz. So we had gotten as far as we could, and I steered the van back into the traffic on Bay St. We were creeping along. The parking garage we were aiming for is right next to where I work, so I knew exactly how close we were - just a few blocks. I could taste it, but we just couldn't get there - we were barely moving. I was about to just die inside - the one thing on the trip that Lila really wanted to see was Alcatraz and I was going to ruin it by underestimating the Fleet week traffic. World's worst tour guide would be my new title. The time was now around 6:45 and we were so close, yet so far away. Sitting in the middle of traffic with the parking garage only a block away...

Would we make it in time? Stay tuned for tomorrow's post! It's taken too long to write this and upload all the photos and I need to go to bed and get my beauty rest. This will have to be a two-parter. Plus, I like the idea of leaving you all in suspense for an afternoon, if indeed anyone ever reads this thing...

See you tomorrow - wooo ha ha ha ha (That was an evil laugh)

Our first visitors!

We will officially be having our first visitors here in S.F. this weekend! My mom, dad, Lila and the doggies are starting the trek down today, to arrive tomorrow in S.F. I've been anticipating this visit since we moved in and can't believe that it is finally here!! YAY! I've got a full agenda planned for us to see all of the sights which will hopefully be lots of fun. It will be great to see family members face to face and especially great to see the baby doggies again! We're having Lila bring their little backpack so that they can travel everywhere with us!

Life has finally been slowing down a little bit for us, now, and starting to feel less like a vacation and more like life again. I'm really trying hard to get back on track for triathlon training, but kind of having a rough time. Last night I was supposed to go on a 45-minute bike ride but took a two-hour nap instead. :( Oops... There was a really bad headwind and the bed just looked so much more inviting. It's probably a bad thing that the bed is right in our living room - it makes it that much easier to rationalize a nap!!

Neil continues to be at school painting all the time. His life is pretty redundant at the moment. So nothing really exciting to report there.

Stay tuned for reports about this weekend's adventures!

Free Bluegrass all weekend...

Today was a day full of Schlepping. I schlepped groceries from Trader Joe's to work at lunchtime, and then shlepped them home again after work. I then discovered the flaw in the Laundry Locker service as I schlepped 40 pounds of laundry 8 blocks and three flights of stairs home. This really doesn't sound that far, but trust me, when you are carrying 40 pounds of bulky laundry, it feels like miles. Needless to say, I was ready to be done with the schlepping, but there was still Safeway to visit and two large bags of groceries, including milk, to be schlepped home. The two definitions of schlepping that I found are: 1) To carry clumsily or with difficulty;lug and 2) To move slowly and laboriously. These absolutely define my activities today. Oh the joy of living in San Francisco!

So, now that you've heard the word schlepping enough, on to the post about the weekend. It was really great. San Francisco puts on a bluegrass festival every year in Golden Gate Park with five stages and probably 50-60 performers. It was estimated that 400,000 people attended this year. And the best thing about it - it is absolutely FREE! YAY! The weather was more perfect than you could ask for - blue skies and 70 degrees with a really perfect sea breeze. Friday night was the opening sets and me and my co-worker, Linnea, caught a taxi over to the park to meet up with Neil and art school friends to catch Robert Plant and Allison Krauss. It was AMAZING!! Thousands of people were crowded into Speedway Meadow - people of all shapes and sizes and types. The music was fantastic and they sang "Down to the River to pray" from the Oh Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. It was beautiful.

Oh yeah, the sunny, beautiful blue skies didn't come out until Sat. Because the concert is free, there are no lights really set up and so all concerts ended around 7:30. This one started at 5:15 and ended at about 7:00, so we all headed out into the Richmond District to a little dive bar called Hockey Haven, which is ironic, because the only piece of hocky paraphernalia in the whole place was one Shark's jersey. But, I digress... It was not a place I would have gone into on my own accord, but we had a great time. Good beer, good people, good talks. Then we had the adventure of trying to find the right bus to take home at 9:30 at night in a neighborhood that we don't know that well. Luckily, Linnea had her iphone with her and GPS'd us home on the right buses. What a fun toy...

Saturday, Neil had to go into the studio and get some work done, so I went to the festival alone and met up with Linnea and some of her roomates and friends. I got there around 3:00 and saw three bands - Hot Rize, Odessa and Steve Earl. I didn't really know who they were, but we had a blanket, and some cold beer and it was a gorgeous sunny day. The whole vibe was just very mellow and there was just a general feeling of good will around. That could be a direct correlation to the large amounts of pot that were being smoked, but I couldn't tell you for sure... :) But the cross-section of people that were there was so interesting. Of course there were the hippies, but there were also frat boys and white-haired librarian-looking types. And everyone co-existed very peacefully. The people-watching opportunity was almost as good as the free music. Neil took the camera on Sat., so I have no pictures to post.

Sunday, Neil and I picked up some t.p. and coffee - two very important staples in life - from Costco in the morning and then headed back to the festival. It was really nice to have Neil with me - Sat. I was in a large group of people but felt strangely alone. I think it can be that way when you don't know the people in the group that well. We got there at 1:00 and set up our blanket at the Star stage to hear Ben Kweller. Neil's friend Lindsey from school joined us and we kicked back and listened to the good music in the sunshine. Elvis Costello followed Ben Kweller at the Star stage, so we stuck around for a little bit of that. Then we made our way to the Rooster stage to hear Iron and Wine.

I don't know who this is, but Neil did and, apparently, the rest of San Francisco knew who they were as well and also headed to the Rooster stage. So we ended up behind the stage, in a bush. But it ended up being a great seat, because there weren't very many other people back there, so what we lost in amplification from the stage, we gained because it was a lot more quiet than being in the crowd. Not to mention, we were in the shade and it was a gorgeous view.

I don't know if you can really tell the size of the crowd from this picture, but the stage was in a little valley and both hillsides surrounding the stage were covered.

So, after that show was over, Lindsey headed for home and Neil and I headed over to hear Pegi Young, who is Neil Young's wife, in the hopes that Neil Young would sit in on the set. He did not. :( By this time, the sun and all the walking around the festival had really drained us, so we decided to call it a day. On the way out we caught the end of Ricky Skaggs set, and I took a short video to give you all a taste of the bluegrass. So without further ado...

On our way out, Neil had to stop for the bathroom, so I snapped a few more pictures of the beautiful day and setting.

It was a great weekend, but all the activity took its toll on both of us. I fell asleep on the couch at 7:30 at night and officially went to bed at 8:30. And slept like an absolute rock. What a great weekend, though - and the best part, absolutely free!! Well, except for the taxi ride and the beer... Oh well.

Last night I snapped this picture of the fog rolling down Russian Hill. Whenever the fog starts coming in it reminds me of that movie that Charlotte lent me - "The 13th Warrior". It's all about these "monsters" that come out when the fog starts rolling in and they sound their horns to summon all the bad guys. Well, let me tell you, the foghorn at Golden gate sounds exactly like someone is summoning the bad guys and then the fog starts creeping in... It's kind of a deliciously creepy feeling. But absolutely beautiful...

stay tuned...

Sorry I've been so out of touch on the blog lately - we spent all weekend at the Bluegrass Festival which is put on for free in Golden Gate Park. It was an awesome weekend with great tunes, but I am absolutely wiped out right now, so the post and pictures will have to wait until tomorrow. It's 8:30 and I'm going to bed! So stay tuned for the full post tomorrow night. Hope everyone had a FANTASTIC weekend!