Nikki and I had a few stops planned on our way to Vietnam. The first one was in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend. On the work side, Nikki had a few meetings and I had a conference to attend, but the main priority was catching up with all our friends in the Bay Area. Of course, good food was a key factor as well and we didn't hesitate to hit up Alice Waters' Chez Panisse on Saturday night with our friends Annie and Jason. The food was of course excellent, though I have to say that our friends Ken and Becky Wiseman may have topped Alice's cuisine with their homemade bruchetta and quiche (as well as fantastic CA north coast champagne!) when we joined them for brunch in their exquisite garden the next day – definitely have something to aspire to!
By Monday, Nikki had unfortunately developed a pretty nasty cold, but that didn't stop her (us) from taking advantage of a bright and sunny Labor Day morning to scale Mt Tam for one of the coolest views of the Bay Area that I've ever seen. We stopped into the city to try a famous/infamous sandwich shop in the Castro called Ike's (worth the hype) and briefly catch up with Madhu, Bendett, and Amanda in Dolores Park (and set up some Indonesian New Years' plans!). Madhu's new place is pretty sweet!
I got to hang out with Mahoney (and of course Jillian and Joceyln) a ton on this trip since his new gym was right by our hotel/SFO. I'm sold – cross-fit is the new sensation – run, lift, and eat like a caveman! We blasted Op Ivy and ran around the gym, BBQ'd, and of course went surfing. Despite the, um, "sub-optimal" conditions which necessitated a ½ mile walk when we got out of the water, we tore up south OB. As you might expect, I actually got two sessions in that day with a nostalgic trip to Linda Mar in the morning with my buddy Eric. I'll be sorry to leave these chilly-shark-infested waters! That evening, Ken organized (at great effort!) a very touching going-away dinner with the MLPA crew – thanks to everyone that came by and the kind words!
Of course, one going away party is never enough, so Nikki and I organized a happy hour on our last night where we could catch up with all our Bay Area friends. After Nikki's meetings and my conference (during which I got to see the president of Kiribati speak!), we posted up at a place called Maya for some delicious tacos and drinks – it's going to be a while until we get good Mexican food again! It was a huge success and I'm soooo glad that so many of our friends came out – including many that we haven't seen in a long time. You guys are so great and thanks for giving us a fantastic sendoff!!
No comments:
Post a Comment