Bay To Breakers

In the land of San Francisco there is one event that reigns supreme above all others: Bay to Breakers. This 7 mile trek across the peninsula is a mobile riot that unsues annually. Those of you not in the area should know a few things.

1. It starts at 8 am (we got up at 6).
2. Crappy beer consumption is required.
3. The more outlandish your costume is, the better you are.
4. For whatever reason, tortilla throwing is a big part of it.
   

With that said, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.


We were three of about 100 vikings. We had a long boat. We passed out at noon. It was amazing.

Tiny Time

Last week my older sister and nephew made the trip west to Cali. We did the usual smattering of touristy trotting around. It was great to get one last look at a lot of the places I love around here. I am really going to miss watching Rodeo Beach from my office window.
At the Aquarium of the Bay - all the sea stars were feeding! That's this bat star's stomach exuded from it's mouth! I had a total geek session when I found one that had a little fish in it's stomach. Truly gross and awesome.
We spent a record 98 degree day at Muir Beach exploring tide pools and avoiding ugly naked guys. It was also very very windy so everything we brought with us got choked with sand - we had to call it quits early and seek refuge in the house. That night we ate out at Pacific Catch, a restaurant that is a little commercial for my taste but has a delicious menu ranging all over the Pacific. Shelby got a sushi-based dish and I got tacos - it was lovely!
On Friday, we drove up the road a ways to Mt. Tamalpais State Park (Mt. Tam to the locals). We stumbled on this giant amphitheater in the park and I had flashbacks of hiking in Greece and Turkey. Let's just say the ancient Romans, Greeks and Lydians were way better amphitheater makers than anyone in Marin county. I so wanted to find a the entrance to the vomitorium, to see mason's marks, and feel the worn places were people have walked for thousands of years. Alas, no such luck. Llama Lady - this would have been prime jumping picture real estate. Anyways, they do plays up here in the summer, and they were building the set for The Wizard of Oz while we were there. I don't think you could pay me to watch a whole show on these seats though - ouch!
Further down the path we saw a wild turkey! This place is ridiculous.
From the top of Mt. Tam you can see the entire Bay Area, the Farallon Islands, and the curvature of the earth. I am going to miss the coast so much. We found this view on our vertical "short cut" back to the car (which my nephew renamed Charlie).
After Mt. Tam we braved the outdoors again. This beach is adjacent to Rodeo Beach; I'm not sure if it has its own name or not. I had never made it down here before, but I will certainly be going back before I leave. As the waves moved toward the shore, Tiny would hold up both arms and shout "It comes! It comes!" Then "P'CHOW!" like Mickey Mouse in the wizard's hat on Fantasia he would conduct the crashing on the beach!
Totally my favorite 2 year old!

Portland Pit Stop

The Gerding Theater at the Armory in Portland, Oregon - the location of my next internship and the reason I'll soon be moving to Portland! I spent a 2 1/2 days there recently checking things out and loved everything I saw. Portland Center Stage undertook the renovation of this historic building making it both the first historic renovation and the first theater to receive an LEED platinum rating (i.e. really really green). That's their company fleet, the little blue zipcar in front. There are so many exciting things to say about this place, but I couldn't possibly list them all here. Let's just say I'm very excited about where I'll be working and who I'll be working with.
One block away from the theater (which in Portland is 200ft) is Powell's Books, the world's largest independent bookstore. This is one of three rows of the theatre section, a section usually dedicated to the tiniest deepest recesses of book retailers. This section was less than half Shakespeare. I love the guy, respect his work, but honestly, it was great to see so many other playwrights represented. Laying out on the end of one of the shelves was a book on Julie Taymor; I expect to be spending a lot of time and money at Powell's. They even have an art gallery upstairs currently dedicated to paintings on black velvet.
Also within a block of the theater are a gelato shop, a Whole Foods, an Anthropologie (that's cool clothes for all you boys), and a microbrewery! Heaven.

I honestly didn't take nearly as many pictures as I should have while I was in Portland. I was furiously taking notes about neighborhoods and things I liked about them, but I did make it to the zoo.
These fruit bats put on a pretty good show. I didn't spend as much time at the zoo as I really wanted to because I'm pretty sure every elementary school student in the greater metro area was there with me. It was terrifying and very good birth control.
Did this little appaloosa try to get away? I don't know why anyone would literally bolt a plastic toy to a curb, but this is a major drawing point for me to move into this neighborhood which already has a lot going for it.

Look for many many more Portland pictures in July...

Geysers, Goats and Petrified Forests

So what are the main attractions in Napa? Wine, you might guess, well you are so wrong. Where else on earth could you see an Old Faithful geyser, belching 4-horned sheep aaaannnnd a perfectly preserved petrified forest? You have no idea right! So secretly the Napa Valley is a great place for geology buffs because millions of years ago the area was formed by volcanic activity. (Incidentally, volcanic soils are great for growing grapes.)
This little gravel pit is pretty pathetic for anyone who has ever been to Yellowstone, but the geyser was still pretty B. A. However, my professors would cry if they new that the little plaque in front of the geyser there reads something to the effect of "Many years ago, travelers trekking through the bamboo discovered the strange pool of heated water..." Because bamboo was definitely introduced in the area in the 1900's way after this place was discovered. Now what they lacked in historical accuracy, they made up for with random farmyard animals.
This one's for you Llama Lady - that was one good lookin' quadraped.
These creepy guys are Jacob's 4 Horned Sheep. Yup - there's actually four of them. They sound more like foghorns than sheep and were not into the whole petting zoo atmosphere like the other critters. (There were also african pygmy goats and fainting goats.) A geyser and 4 species of smelly herbivores and a fantastic postcard all for $7. What a winner! Now on to the really good stuff...
Millions of years ago, the volcano where that hill (Mt. St. Helena) sits erupted. Pouring out this ashflow:
The ash flow knocked over a forest of coastal redwoods, buried the hills, and with lots of time and a little geologic magic petrified the trees resulting in one of the best preserved groups of petrified trees in the world.
While there we also got invited to go on a short nature walk with the grounds keeper. He point out lots of wildflowers, and some of the local trees including the madrones, and this manzanita with caterpillar.
And then... we went to Taylor's Refresher (A-mazing burgers) and theeen Copia (culinary museum) and theeen we had to go home to take naps. :D

Indulgent Dorkery

Last weekend, Alyssa and I were invited to her vineyard's open house. How could we say no? It ended up being a weekend of indulgent and intellectual treats. We started off our wallet emptying spree at the outlet mall, finding something cute to wear. Sheenie had to work the open house, so Alyssa and I headed to the Greystone Culinary Institute of the Arts just north of St. Helena. The bookstore there is fantastic. It is a combination of a college bookstore and culinary arts extravaganza to put Williams Sonoma to shame. We both bought gifts for assorted foodies in our lives, and headed down the road to Duckhorn Vineyards.
The open house was Cinco de Mayo themed. We tried, we really tried, to sample all the wines and all the food, but we couldn't. There was ceviche, duck and masa or polenta, fish tacos, seared ahi, everything was delicious, but I don't think we even tried half of all the options. The food was well paired with their selections of Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and (of course, at Duckhorn) MERLOT! Desserts were also delicious - Mexican wedding cake cookies, teeny tiny Mex. chocolate cupcakes, and itty bitty banana cream pies.

After the open house we were too stuffed to move, but managed to go to Stave (the wine lounge) and got sucked into sitting with 3 obliterated wastes of space at a different place called Bounty Hunter.