Back to Chrissy Field

This entry is a follow up to our post on Stinson Beach...

The weather the day after Stinson was gorgeous so we drove the 3 miles from our apartment to the Presidio and Chrissy Field in San Francisco (we already blogged on both locations - scroll through our archive if you're interested). Yes, our topic this time lacks originality, but we're proud to say we have pics of Chrissy Field.

Photos: Click Here

Stinson Beach and Sausalito

Pics from our Saturday trip to Stinson Beach can be viewed here.

Stinson Beach is about 45 minutes north of San Francisco. Heading north across the Golden Gate Bridge the drive is quick, winding and packed with, of course, jaw-dropping coastal views. Stinson Beach is part of the national park system. I was very pleasantly surprised, so much so that I see myself getting a cold during the next heat wave in San Francisco....cough cough. The beach is well-maintained, dog-friendly and consumption of adult beverages is encouraged by the locals. I can't think of many finer things than drinking beers and laying in the sun. Nathan was carded by the park ranger twice. The woman was convinced he was from Marin County High School. We had a good laugh.

We stopped in the low-key town of Sausalito for dinner on the way back. It's famous for the house boat lifestyle - of which we and most of the world cannot afford - and cute, intimate restaurants. We ate at a lovely Italian place and Nathan had a pesto gnocchi with pine nuts; I had a caper and kalamata olive penne dish. We sat outside, eavesdropped on the other patrons' conversations and headed home.

Pet Shop of Horrors

Andi and I went to the pet store today to pick up some rawhide chew treats. They keep her from chewing on hats and shoes, so they're a real necessity. I asked for whatever they had in bulk, and the young lady behind the counter graciously explained that they didn't really sell anything in bulk. They were, however, happy to sell me any number of rawhide extravagances for roughly the price of an entire herd of hampsters. She showed me rawhide chews, donuts, braids, and rolls, each a little pricier than the last. I stood there asking about the benefits of each one, when she slipped Andi something to try.

"That's gross looking. What is it?" I stupidly asked.

"Pig heart," she said without blinking, "She can have it."

"Oh. Thanks." I said.

Andi didn't show much interest and continued to sniff furiously around the aisle. I bent over to grab a couple of the cheep donut rawhides as fast as I could before she could eat something really expensive or gross when the lady handed her a long, thin treat from a small bin.

"These treats are even healthier than rawhides. All natural and not processed," She said as Andi chewed away at it furiously.

"How much?" I asked.

"Um, I think $5. But this one is on the house."

"Great. Do I want to know what it is?"

"It's a ______," she said nonchalantly, "She'll love them."

Alright, I like to think that coming from the Midwest, having spent a fair amount of time with people on their farms, and having a father who was once kicked in the head by a goat there isn't much about the farming world that can really gross me out. However, her description of the so called "bully stick" almost made me run screaming from the store. We try to keep the blog G-rated so if you really want to know what a "bully stick" is, click HERE.

So it was overall an exciting trip to the store. We ended up with two free bully sticks, a free larynx, and a free pig heart in addition to the two rawhides I actually purchased. Not bad for $10. However, not unlike the crack someone asked if I could spare on my way home through the Haight, I'm sure Andi will be hooked and we'll be back for more.

So here's her chewing a bully stick. Disgusting. Sorry.

Hearst Castle at San Simeon

Greg didn’t mention that when we went camping last weekend I took a little side trip while he and Andi hung out Sunday morning. I snuck out of the tent before 8 a.m. and headed up the coast to Hearst Castle. Greg was there with his family in third grade, but I had never heard of the place and wasn’t sure what to expect.
A little background…

William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951), newspaper magnate, son of self made millionaire mining tycoon, and larger than life figure of the early 20th Century, inherited a 250,000 acre ranch when his mother passed away in 1919. As a child he had camped in “tents” on the ranch and fallen in love with one of the mountains there. He decided to build a home for himself on that spot and put San Francisco architect and civil engineer Julia Morgan to work. Under his direction and seemingly infinite bank account, the project eventually turned into four “castles” with his own home, “Casa Grande”, growing to 60,645 square feet before he finally stopped building in 1947(not because it was too big, but because he became too ill to live there).

It is truly a sight to behold with authentic Roman ruins surrounding the pool, 15th century wood seating from Italian cathedrals, beautiful mosaics, and innumerable works of art from around the world.

George Bernard Shaw once said, "San Simeon was the place God would have built--if he had the money."

In order to see this colossal monument to human wealth however you have to go through a touristy gift area and board a bus up the mountain. The tour itself was a little hokey but there is not disputing the place is absolutely unique.

Click here for the PHOTOS.

I took these while on one of their five tour options (each costing $20 and a brilliant marketing scheme).

If you're interested, here is a great PBS web page on the "Citizen Kane" scandal. Orson Welles loosely based the movie on Hearst (Xandadu=San Simeon), who threw a massive fit and pretty much succesfully kept the movie out of theaters for 25 years. It's an amazing story.

This Bud's for Andi

Nathan is currently on a tidying-up warpath. He is incredible. Arm that man with a shredder, Avery filing system, and black permanent marker and he's ready to conquer clutter. So while he goes nuts cleaning the apartment tonight, I'm sorting through our virtual clutter - the external hard drive. If you have one, you know it's the two-point-oh version of an attic.

You just throw everything in and boom - you've got space where you need it!

On my search I found some cute photos of Andi and her friends back East. If you're weirded out by photos of our dog - multiple cute, furry, huggable photos - then read one of the other umpteen posts.

You've been a good dog...lately...Andi. So this post's for you.

Trudie and Andi in D.C.

Lilly and Andi in Grand Rapids

What she likes to do most

New Photos and Time Change

It's been a few days since our last post, and we sincerely apologize to our very dedicated readers about the gap.

Who am I kidding, I'm tracking this pitiful little blog with Google Analytics and on the traffic map there's a huge bulls eye right on San Francisco and Grand Rapids. So, thanks mom and dad, you make up half the readership!

Anyhow, make me feel a little less deflated by checking out the photos from our first camping adventure to San Simeon State Park. We got sun, hiked some and Andi got bit by a tick...right where no decent lady dog wants a tick bite. Yeah...

PHOTOS: CLICK HERE

As for staying in touch with everyone back East, we owe another sincere apology - this time we mean it - for calling anyone during prime sleep hours. We're still getting used to the three-hour time difference.

Andi's Visit to Crissy Field

We took Andi to the beach (Crissy Field) for the first time last weekend, but we forgot to take the camera. Probably one of the most beatiful views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the happiest our dog has ever been, and we forget the camera. Oops. We found out that Andi loves to swim, and cleaning sand from between a dog's paws isn't the most fun thing in the world. After I washed her off, Andi curled up and slept for 12 hours though. She was a happy dog.

Crissy Field was originally an airfield on the Presidio Army Base. In the 1990s the Presidio ceased all military operations and the base became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Before it was an airfield, the area was a rich salt marsh (now there is a beatiful protected pond) and a gathering ground for Native Americans. It later served as the landing site of Spanish explorers and Russian, English and Boston traders. Today its a beautiful park, dog beach, and grassy area.

Muir Woods, IKEA!

We took our first Bay Area excursion Saturday with my dad and stepmom.

Muir Woods is home to hundreds-year-old Redwood trees - absolute behemoths with remarkable lifespans. Everything we saw that day, not only in Muir Woods, but driving across the Golden Gate Bridge, through Marin County, was beautiful.

We wrapped up the weekend getting a few last-minute furniture pieces at the Scandinavian wonderland better known as IKEA. Not like this is news to anyone with a "cheap, but nice" furniture itch, but if you don't go in that place on a mission, you end up in the poor house.

Settling In

The movers came today, unloaded all our stuff, so now there's...well...stuff in our apartment.

It's nice having couches, utensils, napkins and other household items that make you feel civilized. Don't get me wrong, eating on the foot of our bed for 10 days was great...

We were eating cereal for most meals of the day out of our Dora the Explorer paper bowls. We re-rinsed plastic cutlery and shared drinks out of a SF Giants collector's cup. Yeah, that sad mental picture you have is pretty darn accurate.

But now, all is better. Life is renewed. And yes, I like having the things in life that make living convenient and sometimes - gasp! - easy.

"The coldest winter I ever spent..."

Mark Twain once said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."

Great quote, right? I thought so. It sounds like a Twain quote, its funny like a Twain quote, and incredibly smart like a Twain quote. Unfortunately, Twain didn't actually say it, but I'm going to keep telling people about it. Mostly because the weather here is INSANE!

It's sunny/warm/cold/foggy/freezing/hot or some combination of two or three of those things within a couple of hours. Not that I'm blaming San Francisco for making me sick, but there should be some sort of warning when you enter the city.

"Warm coats and hats required at all times. Sudden drops in temperature can be dangerous!"

I'll let you know what progress I'm making in lobbying for this sign. In the mean time, if you want to read more about the Mark Twain dispute, here is an interesting link that explains why this quote, and many other quotes, are misattributed to him.