My BART Adventure

Whew! I'm finally home.

This afternoon we had a going-away party at a local diner for a collegue who's leaving (even though she was sick and couldn't come). I hadn't eaten lunch so I ordered some breakfast for an early supper. I was ready to go about 5 or so but still had a few things to do at work so, instead of heading home like a smart person, I went back to the office. Big mistake.

About an hour later I headed home but when I got down to the BART station there were crowds around the gates. People were only coming out and not going in. I hung out a bit to see what was going on and heard a BART cop say the station was closed. As I left to go back to the office to wait it out, I heard someone say that a train had run over someone. Oh, no!

I checked online to see what was going on. One website said there was a person under a train, condition unknown. They figured it might be a couple hours before the trains were running through the station again. In the meantime, trains were being sent back at the neighboring stations.

The next station in my direction is pretty close so Gunther and I decided to hoof it. It only took a few minutes to get there but the lines to get through the gates were ridiculous. Gunther was reluctant to stand in line and was getting hungry so we went to a nearby Chipotle. I was still pretty full from my early diner breakfast but couldn't resist sharing a basket of crunchy tacos with black beans and rice. Yum!

That wasted about a half hour and by that time the lines had dispersed and when we got down to the platform the trains were running in both directions again. My train came in about 5 minutes so I left Gunther in the City and settled in for my commute. I even got a seat!

But that wasn't the end of my evening's adventure. We were in the tunnel in Oakland when the train pulled to a stop and an announcement came over the PA system that there had been an earthquake so we had to hold there for at least 5 minutes. I didn't think that would be so bad but after each earthquake they have to do a track inspection so we had to go very slowly for a long time. I overheard a station announcement when the doors were open that the quake was a 5.6 centered in Alum Rock down near Fremont where I used to live. That's pretty big.

Anne & Don in California: Napa & the GGB

Disclaimer: Some of the following photos were taken by Anne.

Today Anne & Don and I headed up to the Napa Valley and wine country. It was again a lovely day for sight-seeing. We stopped off first at the Visitors Center to pick up some ideas of where to go.

We decided to start at a big name so drove up the road to the Robert Mondavi Winery. The tours were a bit pricey for our taste so we just looked around. It's a beautiful place. As you enter, a statue of St. Francis welcomes you.

(detail of statue)


The parking lots are surrounded by fields of vines.


Colorful flowers...

...and a lively fountain beckon you inside.


We strolled around (some of us hand in hand) enjoying the sun and manicured vineyard.




Since I'm not a fan of wine I was hoping to find somewhere to taste some local olive oil. Just up the road from Mondavi we saw a blackboard sign advertising "Local Olive Oil Tasting". How lucky were we? Soooo lucky. The fun, off-beat store of the St. Helena Olive Oil Co. was offering tastes of not just olive oils but balsamic vinegars, fig compote, barbeque sauce, honey, pesto, and mustards. The flavor of olive oil that caught my fancy was lemon. It was so fresh tasting I just had to buy a bottle. I also got some Italian pesto and some local barbeque sauce. It was great place.


Anne & Don aren't big wine people either but they've had some and they knew they liked one from Sutter Home so we stopped at their store after seeing the sign for "Complimentary Tastings". As I was browsing I saw these funny flip flops that seemed to be sized for small round feet. Turns out they are coasters for wine glasses. I'm not sure why they need to wear crazy looking flip flops.

We then crossed the valley to a less-travelled road where Anne spotted a field with some grapes left on the vines.




Then I spotted a bunny.


We were not anticipating just how many wineries are in Napa Valley and just how concentrated they are. We drove by one after the other after the other after the other.



We were going to go to the geyser at Calistoga but I had read online that it costs $8 so we decided to skip it. We also choose to forego the petrified forest, so sorry, you'll have to wait for pics for a couple weeks until Mom & Dad and I visit it. We crossed over the hills to the west then drove south through the Sonoma Valley and landed in Sonoma for a late lunch at the awfully, unbearably cute and tasty Black Bear Diner (pot roast for me, ham steak for Don, chicken avocado club for Anne).

As we drove south on the 101, we spied the Marin County Civic Center which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. (better photos)


We paused at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge...


...crossed over it...


then paused on the south side and walked out on it for a bit.


It was getting darkish and I still had to drive back home so we headed over to Fisherman's Wharf and Anne & Don's hotel where they checked in, I used the facilities and we parted. I started home only to be stopped by a jam of cars trying to go home the same way as me.


I eventually made it across the bridge and home.

Next: Anne & Don visit San Fran without me (sniffle) then Yosemite with me (yea!)

Anne & Don in California: Berkeley Pier

On our drive north after lunch I mentioned (as we passed through Berkeley) that it had been a really long time since I had been to the pier at the Berkeley marina. It's quite long and from it you can see many of the famous bridges and sights of the SF Bay. It was just about sunset on our way back south so I suggested we stop and walk out on the pier.

The view to the northwest of the pier.


Don and Anne (left of frame) walk off into the sunset.


The Golden Gate Bridge shares the golden spotlight with the sinking sun.


Mt. Tamalpais and other Marin hills where we had just been a short while ago.


Sailors head home in the soft light of dusk. Can you spot the Richmond Bridge in the background?


The San Francisco skyline behind the sister islands of Yerba Buena and Treasure Island.


One last view of the GGB spanning the Golden Gate -- entrance to the SF Bay.


Next time: A&D visit Napa Valley, Calistoga, and the Petrified Forest (oh my)

Anne & Don in California: Muir Woods

My sister Anne and brother-in-law Don are spending 10 days here in my neck of the woods. Just as I was putting on my shoes this morning I got the call from Anne that they had arrived. She said there was no rush so I made a quick stop at Starbucks on the way. Once I got to the airport, I paused at the curb just long enough for them to pop the hatch, toss in their bags and climb aboard. We exchanged hellos then Anne said, "What do you think about going up to Muir Woods today?"

I had no problem with that though I worried their day would get long (their flight from St. Louis left before 6am!). Once we were on the road, it was too early (and out of the way) to check them into their hotel so we came back to my place to find maps and consider our route. By that time we were hungry so grabbed lunch at a local family restaurant (rib-eye with shrimp for me, chicken burrito for Don, breakfast burrito for Anne). It was a gorgeous day for tripping around the Bay Area so Anne and I enjoyed the weather and scenery on our drive north while Don caught a few winks in the backseat (sorry, no photo).

We arrived at Muir Woods to find the typical weekend parking hassle. They have two parking lots but if they're full you're supposed to park on the side of the narrow road. We drove to the end of the long, long line of parked cars but decided we'd rather spend our time waiting for a parking spot to open up than walk that far from -- and back to -- the car. We circled the main lot a couple times then shifted to the auxiliary lot where we got lucky and snagged a spot after only 15 total minutes of stalking.

If I had a color design for my life, Muir Woods at this time of year would be it.
(Click on the photos to see a larger size.)


Wouldn't you like to just hang out in this living room?


There was just a slight sense of fall in the woods with a few yellow leaves...




and just a trickle of water in the creek.




I love being in amongst the super tall trees with their orangey-brown trunks on display.


The fallen logs and branches of shorter non-redwoods strike a counterpoint of mossy green.




I was headed back down the main path when I spotted a deer several yards away. It was crouching low to the ground acting almost like it was injured or ill. Then all of a sudden others were there and two of them were fighting. They were close enough that we could hear the crack of their antlers crashing together. Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough to catch it with my camera and the shots I did get of the deer were too far away and blurry (as you can see).




Of course, we had to take the traditional "there are people inside a tree!" shot.


The angle of sunlight in the late afternoon provided some dramatic views of these amazing trees.


Next time: A&D visit the Berkeley Marina fishing pier

Words for Hunger

For all you vocabulary fans: FreeRice.com

For every correct word chosen from a four-word multiple choice list, FreeRice.com will donate 10 rice grains to the United Nations World Food Program. So far 232.7 million grains have been donated and the site only began on October 7. I earned 1000 grains tonight.

The site itself is gorgeous and they customize your test as you answer the questions. Read the FAQ for a description of how it works. I fluctuated around the mid- to low 40s. How 'bout you?

Here are some of the more difficult words I got (descriptions in the comments):

teredo
hebdomadal
meretricious
amercement
leister
rumen

SoCal on Fire

I've mentioned here before how much I love views from above. This view is sadly lacking in joy, however. The red marks on the satellite image of Southern California represent active fire areas this afternoon. And it's easy to identify the smoke flying out to sea. What's crazy to me are the plumes of dust kicked up by the gale-force winds blowing down from the desert and through narrow canyons thanks to those awful Santa Anas. Click on the link below the image to see a larger view (takes awhile to load) which you can zoom in on.

One interesting thing I heard on Nightline tonight was that they got plenty of rain down in the Southland a couple years ago so there's loads of fuel (read "shrubbery") this year for the fires to burn. One of the most dramatic videos I watched was a darkened street full of burning embers being swept away to start up more fires wherever they may land.

The area of high pressure over Salt Lake (that's causing the severe winds from the east) is supposed to diminish and move on by Wednesday so there may be some help for firefighters in getting some of the fires under control with some higher humidity levels.

That same high is giving us some pretty warm weather up here in the Bay Area as well. I hope people are being very careful with their cigarette butts and are making sure they put out their camp fires and grills.

Phantom Unsafe Passenger Reading

I have so many library books on my front passenger seat that when I added the weight of my work bag to the pile it triggered my car's seatbelt sign sensor and the dashboard light began flashing warning me of an unbelted passenger.

Books on the seat:
The Bishop's Heir (read), The King's Justice (in bag), The Quest for Saint Camber, King Kelson's Bride by Katherine Kurtz
Dark of the Moon by John Sandford
Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn

Can You Speak Up?

Ah, Fleet Week. Who doesn't like screaming engines and screaming to be heard over them? I'm surprised we got any meetings accomplished today with the Blue Angels and their jets flying over downtown all day. I'm sure glad our big anniversary party isn't this week. I may have to wear ear plugs tomorrow.

A Chicken Coop of Goodness

I arrived home just at 8pm this evening with high anticipation of some good TV. Little did I realize how much good TV was happening at 8 o'clock. I already had my DVR scheduled with the results show for Dancing with the Stars and the second episode of the current cycle of America's Next Top Model.

When I turned on the TV it was tuned to the Food Network and my favorite, Good Eats, was on and it was about waffles. How could I miss that?

Then I found out that it was Barry Bonds' last game with the Giants. I just had to watch that. So I had all four of my tuners going at once.

But then I suddenly remembered that Joanna had said Kid Nation was on tonight. I watched it last week but hadn't set a series recording. I abandoned Good Eats and flipped over to CBS. I tuned in after the chicken controversy but caught the water challenge and Michael's triumph at the town council meeting. I was so glad to see him get the $20k gold star. He deserved it so much more than the graffiti-drawing suck-up Greg.

ETA: I just tuned into Bionic Woman and, hello, John just might be right.

The Return of the Dance

Oh, I'm so excited that Dancing with the Stars is back. It is the most fun on TV. My favorite stars so far are Hélio Castroneves, the IndyCar driver, and Jane Seymour who I've loved since Somewhere in Time with Christopher Reeve.

I was a bit apprehensive when I saw that last year's profressional champion Julianne Hough was paired with Hélio. She is so good she deserves to last to the final. I didn't think to give him much of a chance so I was worried she wouldn't be around very long. But their foxtrot tonight was divine. Hélio was so elegant and smooth. I can't wait to see him dance more.

Jane is paired with Tony Dovolani who is one of my faves of the pros. They also danced the foxtrot and it was perfect dance for her. I'm not sure how she's going to with the Latin numbers. Can you believe she's 56?

Last night everyone was saying that the boxer Floyd Mayweather was going to be the toughest competition for the guys but he was awful. I felt so sorry for his partner while they were dancing. I was disapointed the judges didn't call him on how awful he was. At least they gave him the worst scores of the night.

The new pro Mark Ballas (who is paired with Cheetah Girl Sabrina Bryan) is too adorable for words. I'm glad he got an excellent partner (they rocked the cha-cha last night) so he'll be around for many weeks to come.

SepteRemember: John #8

In 1984, my older brother Mike got married in Idaho. John and I were in high school and were so excited to go, perhaps because we took our exams and got let out of school early to travel there by car. The car we took was the little red Toyota Tercel, or the Toy as we called it. There was just enough room in it for Mom, Dad, me and John.

John and I had saved up to buy our first ever Walkman for the trip. I don't remember what tapes we took along but we kept hearing one song over and over on the radio: True Colors by Cyndi Lauper. Hearing that song sure takes me back to the cramped backseat of the Toy and fighting with John over whose turn it was to listen to the Walkman.

We did some pretty cool stuff on that trip. If you happen to be going anywhere near southern Idaho (like Yellowstone), I highly recommend you go to Craters of the Moon National Monument. Now that's some odd landscaping. However, I wouldn't recommend the slow drive through Route 12 north of there where all you see for miles and miles are trees and waterfalls (and more waterfalls). Okay, some people (Dad) might like it, but for me it got rather tiring. I was happy to get back to civilization.

SepteRemember: Mom #8

One of the longest-lasting memories I have of my mom is the letter she wrote to us kids expressing how disappointed she was in us and our lack of interest in doing our chores. I think I may have been in junior high at the time or possibly younger. I remember crying and crying about it. I think I could've withstood a spanking better than those pointed words on the page (carbon copy, I think). I found that letter years later and still felt so guilty and sad.

Squawk!

That's just stupid of them to vote off Chicken. That Ashley is worthless. She and her huge breasts and ugly lip piercings should've been outta there. Or the most-annoying-so-far Peih-Gee (or PG). I thought for sure she'd be first one out. You know how the tribes love to get rid of those early in-your-face, let-me-tell-you-what-to-do "leaders", especially those with a high, whiny voice.

I was disapointed in Frosti's performance in the challenge. I expected him to fly over those walls seeing as how he's a practitioner of Parkour. (btw, he's orginally from Traverse City and is, interestingly, half Russian/half Japanese)

I just love Courtney, the ultra-skinny, platinum blonde New York City waitress. Her interviews are hilarious.

TP to the HC

Please correct me if I'm wrong but isn't there something seriously and inherently wrong with using Handel's Hallelujah Chorus to sell toilet paper?

SepteRemember: John #7

I don't like to drive and haven't from the very beginning. As John is only a year younger than me, I was particularly enthusiastic about him learning how to drive and getting his license. So, of course, he could drive me around.

We had a couple cars at the time, one of which was a full-size Chevy van. John's a pretty good driver but for some reason he kept veering to the right side of the road. I asked him what was going on and he said he was trying to keep the steering wheel straight. I looked over and sure enough the horizontal supports on the steering wheel were askew which made driving like an airplane pilot a bit of an adventure. He thought he had to have them parallel to the ground.

Stay on the road, John!

Happy Birthday, John!

Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday

Misery is in the air
People dying everywhere

Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday

Now you've lived another year
Surely death is drawing near (but)

Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday

You are now entering your 40th year of life. Congratulations on making it this far.

SepteRemember: Mom #7

When I think back on all the birthday presents I've received from my mom perhaps the most memorable one was what she sent to me in Barcelona. My birthday is often near Easter and she wanted to send me something that didn't weigh very much and therefore wouldn't cost too much to ship. So her ingenious solution was to send some marshmallow peeps. If I remember right, they were the yellow kind. She also sent a tape of a Tigers game she had recorded from the radio so I could experience a bit of home while I was in baseball exile.

SepteRemember: Mom & John #6

This is one of my favorite photos of our family. I was too little to remember sitting for this photo session but from this shot it sure looks like we had a lot of fun. Well, I look a bit mesmerized. And John seems awfully interested in that funnel. I bet there's candy inside. Mom looks a lot like her sister Joyce in this photo. Joyce married my dad's brother Dave so their girls are our double cousins. I always thought that was pretty cool.



From this footnote to the proceedings it look as if Dad was:

1. 1) really tuckered out,
2. 2) suffering from narcolepsy, or
3. 3) hamming it up as usual.

And for some reason, I don't appear that amused.

SepteRemember: Mom #5

While I'm pulling out the old photos I just had to include this one of my mom when she was a girl. Aren't those curls awesome?


She still likes having curly hair. I remember (not so fondly) our forays into home perms when I was in high school. For some reason, mine never came out like the box showed. And boy were they smelly! Mom sure put up with a lot for us girls.

Mom goes to the hair salon nowadays. I've sworn off perms and other curling mechanisms. I did henna my hair red for many years. But after seeing some white hairs recently I've let my natural color grow out just to see what it looks like.

Here's a couple photos from this week of my mom with her mom and her birthday candles in Pennsylvania.

SepteRemember: John #5

Here are a couple other pictures of little John. Isn't he sweet? These are from 1974. He turned six that year.

The first one is John with his dad (nice beard!) and grandpa: three generations. John is the youngest of six as is Dad. I don't know about Grandpa. I don't think he had that many kids in his family. At this time Grandpa was living in Virginia and we were up in Michigan. This may have been the trip where he moved up north to live with us.


Grandpa moved not only himself but his TV too. We didn't have one before then so you could often find us kids hanging out with Grandpa in his room with our eyes glued to the tube.

This second photo is from Carolyn's birthday party in June 1974 when she turned 9. That is not Carolyn's midrift. I doubt Mom would've let us wear something like that. Mike was the only dark-haired one of us six kids. I wonder if he ever felt odd about that. Knowing him he probably just thought that made him special. Doesn't he look like he's up to something? John looks like he's eaten a tad bit too much birthday cake.