Wednesday, November 14, 2007

OK, let's try this again

Here's an update:

Tour d'Organics: A bike ride with the AIDS/Lifecycle crew. We were one of the few groups to do the century option, so when we finished the food was almost gone. This would have been disappointing, except all the food was vegan in addition to organic. Where's the beef?

Washington Monument

S and I went to Washington DC to visit her brother. I was surprised how collegiate the city felt, students scurrying to class were much more prevalent than the suits I imagined. Seeing how slowly people drove during off-hours, I can see why traffic becomes such a nightmare with more people on the road.

S, D, R and I went to the Ghiradelli Chocolate Festival. We "conservatively" got 45 tastings between the 4 of us and by the end of the day swore off chocolate for a week. My favorite was mousse brownies. On the way back we stopped by an art gallery. I asked one of the docents, "I saw a painting of a campfire on a beach when I was here a few months ago. Do you have the name of the artist?"



Within minutes S and I found ourselves in the "viewing room" with the docent, who had fetched the painting from an upstairs office, and the manager. Dimming the lights to show the layers of the painting, the manager explained Larry Horowitz's techniques for painting, his history, and how this gallery had found him. Soon after hearing the $3500 price tag, though, we had to say goodbye.

Later that week, I saw the Oakland A's lose for the second time this season. Getting a hotdog in that stadium is tortuous: an extremely inefficient serving process combined with unmotivated workers means that you have to spend an inning waiting for precooked food.

Closing out September was a trip to Yosemite. As we summited a trail that had passed Vernal falls and topped out at Nevada falls, it began to hail. Back at Curry Village that night, we celebrated with beer and pizza. Before leaving, we did a hike to Tafte Point, stopping for a pleasant sit on one of the crevasses.

Scenic seating

In November I saw friends from out of town, as well as went out of town to visit family.

Last week I celebrated my birthday at one of my favorite bars, Zeitgeist. It was a lively night; interesting conversations over a medium tasty beers and punctuated with rounds of "Happy Birthday." In recovery mode over that weekend, S revealed her surprise: a getaway to Santa Cruz. Secluded bed and breakfast, watching surfing competitions, spa and sauna, beer and wine tasting, a hike through a monarch habitat to the beach.