A little Renoir, a little shopping find, a fun meal, and the best burger ever.

We are including a link to some pictures of our condo.

http://picasaweb.google.com/danklim1/March292009California#

We've been here a while now, and have not done this, or described it. it is quite spacious, clean and warm and enjoyable. We do get a kick out of the chaise lounge in one of the bedrooms, however, and wanted to give Matisse some competition.

O.K., after our picture taking, we went to an outlet mall in San Leandro. It was small, but I loved it, as they had a Talbot's outlet, and more importantly, an Eileen Fisher outlet. I did buy some things, I got really good bargains, so that was fun. (for me!) Dan then dropped me off at Jay and Lindsey's, he played golf, and Lindsey and I bought her some maternity clothes, and got some oilcloth material for her to use for their housewarming party coming up. We then just hung out and talked. I really enjoyed this, we haven't had much opportunity with just the two of us.

Dan then picked us up, and we met Jason at dinner in Berekley, at an enjoyable little restaurant named "Sea Salt." We met David, Mya and baby Elias there as well. It was great! They really seemed to all hit it off, which was great. David is really Matt's friend from high school who has lived out here a while, so he and Jay know each other, but only as little brother. I hope they get together on their own. We also really enjoy seeing David and Mya too, so it was fun.

Today, we began the day by taking a bike ride. or, rather, planning to. Ruth had mentioned this ride around Tiburon and Belvedere that we thought we took, but hadn't, so we tried today. Well, we decided to drive it instead! Ruth, you and Tom are more adventurous than us! It was very hilly, steep, narrow, with cars and bicyclists all over the place! But! it was beautiful in the hills of Belvedere, beautiful, beautiful homes. We then tried to ride our bikes to Mill Valley from Tiburon, got a few miles, but it was crazy------the cyclists pay little heed to the cars, dart in and out of traffic, and there were many cars, and arrow bike paths. So, we turned around, and looked at each other---Dan said, "it's time for lunch, should we?" And, of course, I knew what he meant, I had the same thought--------Phatburger! It was why we wanted to bike ride to Mill Valley, though we hadn't said a word to each other. This IS the best burger we had eaten last year, and by golly, it is still the best! Pat
The day was not done, though. We came back and then headed to Alameda where Jason and Lindsey were having a housewarming party, so we saw a lot of his friends, it was great as we know them and really like them. I also must say, Jason makes a better hamburger than Phatburger, it was delice!

still not the end of the day! we then went with Lindsey's parents, to their friends Fred and Mary Ann. Getting there should have been a simple trip, but Ken and I were stuck on the San Mateo bridge for 45 minutes at the toll booth. The traffic here is not enjoyable. The meal was great, asparagus soup, short ribs and panna cottta for dessert. We had a nice evening with them and then drove back to Novato. It was a very busy day.

Dan

I will add a note on Sunday, to catch up. Another Cinema Club sunday. Today's movie was "Every Little Step". It was great, the best movie we've seen in this series. It's a documentary of entertainers trying out for the revival of "Chorus Line", which is a story about the people in the Chorus Line. Very well done, very uplifting and enjoyable. I actually wrote Deb Lake, who is one of the people in charge of the Traverse City Film Festival, about it, and she wrote me back, saying she'd order a "screener" for Michael Moore to check out.

And Oh Yes----GO STATE!!!!!!!!!!!

Pat
Dan

The Devil's Bike Ride and The Angel of a Wine

We started the morning with a good bike ride around the area, biking to an old Naval Base, Hamilton Field, which has been converted into condos, office space and recreational facilities like the YMCA and a branch of the library. When we got back home, we realized we'd gone 6.66 miles, so we called it the devils ride. I think we should go for this same mileage on future bike trips, it's a good distance!

Yesterday, we returned to Sonoma to pick up a wine at Rochioli Vineyards. Matt and Rachel had gifted a lovely Sauvignon Blanc to me for my birthday, so i went to pick it up. It is indeed a lovely wine, and a beautiful winery, on a beautiful road in Sonoma. I have no idea how anybody ever finds all these wonderful wineries, it is a fun challenge and often a beautiful ride to find them.

We were to meet Kathleen in Healdsburg for dinner, but since we were early, we drove north from Healdsburg, past Geyersville and Cloverdale. We drove up into the hills a bit, found them quite rough and challenging. One road, that went up to "geysers", was gravel and one lane, and very steep. We decided we weren't quite that adventurous in our trusty Chevy Venture van, so we turned around. Found a few other roads, also going up steep inclines. It would be intriguing to go up there, but we didn't really have the time. (or the right vehicle) It's interesting how incredibly rural it is out there in the hills. Again, we saw vineyards and livestock farms. Very different from rural parts of Michigan, where the farms are in the middle of the towns, along the roads, everywhere.

We then drove to Lake Sonoma, which is also quite beautiful, and we had never seen before. It isn't Lake Michigan, however, or even Lake Leelanau!

We then drove to Healdburg, and met Kathleen at Zin, where we had eaten before. We really like this restaurant, and think it will be a regular annual stop. It was great to see Kathleen, she had been off on her own trip to Manhattan, so we hadn't seen much of her.

Another nice day.

Goldilocks would have loved this stairway walk!

We went into the city today, first of all to go to this store called Favor, which Jay wanted me to go to--he had bought my birthday present from there, a very cool bracelet, but wanted me to exchange it for another of my own choosing. So I did, and found it to be a very cool store. I tried taking a picture of it, but cannot. But, you can look for it at www.hotcakesdesign.com. I chose the dancing couples.

We then did the Upper Market walk, taken from the book on stairways of San Francisco, previously noted. This was a delight! It was near Twin Peaks and Noe Valley, not too long a walk or too strenuous, but "just right."

It consisted of about 3 or 4 stairways, walking up and down the neighborhood, as they all do. The best one was the Vulcan Stairway, which was beautiful! Hidden down a small street, the first thing to hit it was the wonderful smell of jasmine. The smells were wonderful all the way down the path, as the residents all keep up their gardens, as well as a community garden at the end of it. There are colorful, delightful cottages that open up on the path, which has many tiers. Many of the stairways are like this, with homes all along the way, though this one was very beautiful with the foliage.

We also saw typically interesting San Francisco homes on the walk, one had a very colorful garage. I will miss these! We are beginning to plan our return home, and are getting sad about this.

I Talk to the Turkeys and They Do Listen to Me

On monday, we played golf at Indian Valley, a beautiful golf course in Novato, in the hills, and by the reservoir. It was a very nice golf course, and we both actually played fairly well. (for us!) We saw hills, horses, geese and turkeys as we were playing. No, they were not all on the golf course, but in the surrounding hills. I have learned to communicate with the turkeys, I am proud to say; when they gobble and I gobble back, they answer me! What a skill.

That night, we went to nearby Dominican University to hear Germaine Greer speak on her book, "Shakespeare's Wife." She was speaking to the students of the University as well as the general public, so her talk was a bit more academic than it normally would be. Here are my thoughts about it---Her whole premise was based on her "anger" at her male colleagues, and the Shakespeare "experts" of the 19th century who all assumed that Ann Hathaway was a sort of "hairy, illiterate older woman who seduced young Will". She is disputing that, but I thought she was motivated by her anger at men, and that she took a position and made assumptions to fit into this. Her saving grace, for me, was that she readily admitted this by the end of her talk, and hopes that we read her book to get curious about Shakespeare's wife and do our own research. Of course, she was talking to the students at Dominican U.

So i thought that was interesting, and i also remembered my feelings of ambivalence during the heydays of the feminist movement---i thought the outcome of their fervent writing, etc. was great, but it was hard for me to go along with them 100% because I can't ever take one side 100%, there is always another side.

I was surprised that Dan enjoyed her, and when i asked him why, he said it was because he found her thoughtful and challenging of what is assumed to be an accepted truth of Shakespeare's wife.

Thither and Yon

On Thursday, went back into the city because Laura really wanted to see the Yves St Laurent exhibit. She really enjoyed it and Pat also was happy to see it again. Dan and Jim took a walk around Golden Gate Park. We all ate hot dogs from the vendor and returned to the condo for a spaghetti dinner, which we all enjoyed.

Friday, we drove out to Armstrong Woods. These are beautiful woods---filled with huge Redwoods, stately and beautiful, yet fragile. It is a feast for the senses to visit these giants---the smell is distinctively woodsy, the earth feels damp on the path, it sounds still and quiet, and you look up to see the sun shining between the high branches. A real moment of presence.

On the way back, we made plans to visit an intriguing vineyard, the Old Hill Ranch. It is in Glen Ellen, and doesn't even have a "tasting room". We had gotten the name from a restaurant list serving wines with their meal, an expensive restaurant in the suburbs of Chicago, near Jim and Laura. I got intrigued by it, and made arrangements for a tasting with the owner, Will Bucklin.


We knew we'd have to buy a bottle or two, so we were hoping we liked it. This turned out to be not only an adventure, but a gem. He and his family own the oldest vineyard in Sonoma County. It's quite small by Sonoma standards. Will is a total iconoclast--he doesn't want his wines "rated" because he just wants to enjoy the growing and making of it, doesn't want to be corporate or competitive. He is his own person, and we really admired that. He sells some of his grapes to Ravenswood, for their most expensive reserve Zinfandel, other than that, he produces his own. His grapes are a mixture of Zin and other grapes, it is called a "field blend", though he calls the wine a Zin because it is 75% Zin grapes.

We then did the tasting, and it did not disappoint! It was really good. We bought a few bottles which were fairly well priced, by Sonoma standards---$34 a bottle. He will ship to Michigan and Illinois, so we can get his wines later, since bringing a case back home cross country seems like a bad idea, and Laura couldn't bring a bottle back either on the plane. So this was really fun to do, more so because we liked the guy and we loved his wine.

We came back home and Jim and Laura took us, and Jay and Lindsey out to dinner. We returned to The Lark Creek Inn, where we had gone previously with Kathleen. We were disappointed this time, however. Service was incredibly slow, items advertised on the on-line menu weren't being served, and the food wasn't nearly as good. The waitress spent most of her time changing our silverware, and passing out rolls!

Saturday we took Jim and Laura to the airport, came home, and vegged out. We had a great time with them. We asked them what their favorite activities were--Laura liked Armstrong Woods and the YSL exhibit, and Jim liked the stairway walks. (well, we ARE related!) They both also loved the ferry ride. It was a fun filled action packed week.

In the evening, we went to Yoshi's in San Francisco, meeting Jay and Lindsey there to see "Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks." This is one of Dan' favorites for years. It was very enjoyable. He had David Grisman with him, described as one of the "best" mandolin players in the world. He was very good, I actually enjoyed him the most. It turns out we share a birthday! (remember that, Jim!) o.k., now we're caught up with our blog! Today, we watch the NCAA, hope Michigan State gets to the Final Four!