A Toddler-Sized Turkey and Why We Give Thanks

Comparing poultry to a small child isn't very appetizing, but it is funny. Particularly in front of our Thanksgiving guests who have two kids, ages 4 and 2. 

Despite the oodles of comic relief turkey brought to the table this holiday....hehehe, puns are fun.....I resented that bird. Partly because it took the better part of a day to cook, but mostly because it was a slippery bugger...carving a turkey ain't easy. Next time, I'll prep with cornish hens a month before, work my way up to chickens, then slice and dice another 23-pound monster.

We had a terrific Thanksgiving. We reflected on past Thanksgivings, all the different stuffings, gravies and yams we've overeaten. We came up with a few new recipes of our own for this holiday, but held true to some good 'ol Snapper and Cain family staples. 

With all that said, I think we did a good job of bringing together parts of our past, but also had this holiday mark a new series of traditions for the two of us. 

We are so very thankful for friends and family and the blessing to have so much in life. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Spaaaa

Mom is in town this weekend, the second visit since Nathan and I moved here last spring! We took Friday to get some R&R at the Bodega Bay Lodge & Spa. After a massage and facial, Nathan, Mom and I felt amazing.

As I write this, Nathan is driving back to the City and my mom is "just shutting her eyes" in the front seat. I'm absolutely starving. Spa'ing really takes it out of you. ... Get off my back....a hot stone massage takes a LOT of work.

The Tiburon Mile

My friends and I walked side by side Olympians today. We kept up with them on land, but when they hit the water, we didn't see their faces, or ridiculously in-shape bods until the finish line.

Among other elite swimmers, we swam against the Beijing Gold Medalist in the 1,500 freestyle during the Tiburon Mile in San Franisco. Keep in mind, we were not seeded, and most certainly were not favorites, but we held our ow

n, finishing in the middle of our age groups, one of us, Jeanne (left), finishing  in the Top 20%. 

Tiburon Mile is a prestigious, International swim, where world champions come to test their open water endurance alongside average Joes/Janes like me, Jeanne and Sherri (middle).

We went into the competition with personal goals, none of which meant catching up to Tuni

sian Olympian Oussama Mellouli, who finished fifth overall wit

h a speedy time of 21 minutes (I finished in 37 minutes...and was thrilled).

BTW, the views were wonderful. Anchored in Tiburon bay is the world's largest mega-yacht, the Maltese Falcon. Nate snapped this shot during our swim from Angel Island. Pay close attention to the boats next to the Falcon - they're 20-foot wake-boarding cruisers. Not small by any means, but appear as toys.

Beautiful weather, matched with fun, truly laid-back swimmers, made the event one for my personal record book. Hope to bring you more fun news like this in coming months. 

Matt and KD Visit

Matt and KD visit from DC this weekend!

They arrived Thursday night, were jet lag champs and held out until about 11p.m. Granted, they slept until noon the next day...while I worked.

Activities tonight included chicken enchiladas, watching "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and playing with Andi dog.

Saturday we tour Napa Valley. It's Matt's and KD's first visit to wine country, and we'll take them to our favorite winery, Vincent Arroyo. 

New Kicks

Sorry. This is going to take the blog to a new (lower?) level, but I bought a pair of shoes while I was in Charleston. I love them, and you'll never guess who makes them. Wait for it...
They're Hush Puppies!

I never would have thought Hush Puppies would be cool, but I’ve absolutely fallen in love with these things. I’m so excited because I’ve literally been looking for a new pair since before we moved, which is something like six months of devoted searching. (Did I mention they’re super comfortable?) I’m done gushing, but I’ll probably be ready for a replacement pair around Christmas. Size 10…

Josh and Lindsay Get Hitched

My friends Josh and Lindsay finally got hitched last weekend in Charleston, SC. I made the trip out east, and I am so glad that I did. It was a beautiful wedding, the rehearsal dinner was amazing, and it was great to see them both. They married at a neat little Catholic church called St. Mary's. It was a quick wedding, clocking in under 40 minutes. I was excited because I got to take a nap before the reception.

I wish I had taken more time off and my camera, because Charleston is a great city. It has all that southern charm that DC (which I love dearly) could never quite muster.

The trip out there wasn't quite as easy as I would have hoped. My flight left San Francisco at 11:30 PM on Thursday so I was a little tired when I connected in Cincinnati. So when I fell asleep at the gate waiting for the flight to Charleston I was really asleep. The Knapp's are known for being solid sleepers, and I held up the family name by sleeping right through the boarding. When I woke up the plane was just pulling away. I walked up in a daze and asked what happened. The lady at the desk said, "We called your name, hon." I was like, "Did you think to ask the guy who was drooling on himself 5 feet from the gate if he was Nathan?" She said, "Uh, no."

Luckily, they got me on a flight just a few hours later. Since I was only an hour and a half from home I called my parents and asked if they wanted to come over to Cincinnati for lunch. They graciously agreed, and while I waited I decided to have a latte from Starbucks. No problem, right? (WRONG!) I was ecstatic when they showed up, and we headed for lunch. We had a great chat and lunch and were about ready to leave the restaurant when I excused myself to go to the restroom. Fast forward two hours later to an empty stomach, a quick trip to the emergency room door, and a pondering of what just gave me food poisoning.

Given the timing, I'm pretty sure it was the latte. The guy who ordered after me sent his back because his wasn't warm. I didn't even think about it until later, but that couldn't have been a good sign. Has anyone heard of getting sick from a bad latte?

Well, long story short, I skipped the emergency room and barely made it back for my connection. This made the trip all the more memorable, and the fact that I got to see my parents really helped make the trip. (Otherwise I might still be curled up in the bathroom at the Cincinnati airport.)

Fort Funston

I admit it's a little odd that we blog about our dog, Andi, to the extent that we do, however, she's earned the attention. Because of Andi, we have friends in San Francisco - no lie. With a dog so cute, strangers approach you, want to be your friends. So here we are, at the beach, with our new friends. Thanks, pup.

About the photos: This morning at Fort Funston (one of the many WWII-era posts in the area) Andi swam and played keep away with her new dog friends. Nathan and I got to spend time with the owners, too - who have become fast friends.

Breakfast for dinner

It's the reason why there are IHOP's and Denny's on this blue planet. The concept that you can eat breakfast any time of day - and in these two cases, feel the obligation to binge eat - is exciting.




Nathan was celebrating the success of two offers, one from Stanford the other from Ogilvy PR. We chose french toast, strawberries, bacon and fresh whipped cream. My shoulder ached shortly after my fifth piece of toast. I shrugged it off to swimming. Although I had an inkling it was congestive heart failure.

It would have been worth it, had it been.

Breakfast for dinner is phenomenal, and punctuated with freshness in California. Access to the finest organic fruit makes it all the better and sweeter, of course.

Napa

Best New World wines. Snob haven. Gorgeous weather.

All the Napa Valley stereotypes are true. So is it worth the hour drive from San Francisco to wine country? Absolutely.

Being the microclimate with some of California's best weather, you can be foggy and 50 in SF while the sun's baking the vines in Napa Valley, only 40 miles northeast of the City.

A few friends from work gave us the insider's tour Saturday. They shared their favorite, and some new, stops along the back road that snakes through Napa. We went a bit off the beaten path, which I loved, and Vincent Arroyo, most notably the best winery during our full-day excursion, was terrific. Cabernet and petite syrah were out of this world. We bought a bottle of "Nameless."

We will be back. And if you come and visit, we too will give you the insider's tour.

Bay to Breakers

Every year there is a mini marathon run from the bay, across the heart of the city, and ending at the beach - thus, Bay to Breakers.

Sounds competitive. Sounds fun. Sounds festive. Unless you're fully prepared for this...spectacle...Bay to Breakers can catch you off guard. Think long-distance run meets Mardi Gras...
Exhibit A: Bad naked people. You know the type. God never meant for these men to be naked. As far as I'm concerned, His most significant oversight EVER













Exhibit B: Good naked people.














Exhibit C: Superheroes

Baker Beach

San Francisco experienced a mini heat wave mid-week. Friday was especially beautiful, so I took a half day and we headed to Baker Beach, about a 10-minute drive from our apartment.

The surf was rough, about six-foot waves with the biggest undertow I've ever experienced. And the water temp was chilly - about 55 degrees, which is San Fran standard.

The craziest part of the beach trip was playing fetch with Andi. She loves the game now, and likes including other dogs that walk by. This one hippie's dog was interested in playing, so the hippie grabbed Andi's tennis ball and chucked it, I mean HEAVED it, into the surf. The ball actually went beyond where the waves were breaking and I about shit a brick. Andi just takes off straight into the water - just as a huge wave was building, prepping to crash on shore. Andi grabs the ball, but then disappears under the swell for a few seconds...then shoots out of the water at the crest of the wave as it reaches shore. She could have died. I would have killed the hippie.

But, she was fine. Tail-wagging and exhausted, she decided that was enough fetch for one day.

What do drivers training, TomKat and Greg have in common?

Not much, really. But there's a story here. So keep reading.

PG&E requires employees to take advanced drivers training - something to do with its safety values. Anyhow, everyone from the linemen to administrative assistants and engineers have to get behind the wheel and revisit the fears and insecurities of teenage driving lessons. Events in life most of us would like to forget (especially those of us who failed the written test the first time through).

My training, however, was unforgettable. The instructor, Mr. Wiseman, was a 70-something PG&E retiree. He knew everything there was to know about safe driving - and there's plenty if you're as bad as I am. He was the ultimate back-seat driver. But none of us cared because he had a gold mine of stories to share during our 8 hours of driving time last Thursday.

"So my son is a biiig Holywood director, you know."

I thought to myself, "yeah, whatever old man, just keep your eyes on the road and make sure my co-worker in the driver's seat doesn't kill us."

"His name is Len Wiseman and he directed a little movie called Die Hard and the Underworld trilogy. He's married to Kate Beckinsale, in fact. And the other night he called me telling me how good of a time he was having in Napa with his good pals Tom, Katie, David and Victoria."

Crickets. Silence. Big eyes.

Either senility had set in, or his son was actually famous. And clearly this minivan, filled with Utility employees, was not used to even the most indirect brushes with fame. We were totally engrossed.

"Yup, he hangs out with the Cruises and the Beckhams. The trip to Napa was for Katie's birthday party. Tom rented out space at a luxury resort in wine country. Nice, huh?"

Something like that. It was beyond cute how this little old man, teaching drivers training, had a larger than life connection. (Never judge a book by its cover)

But the real moral of the story is: Don't be a deadbeat son and horde cash from dad. The old fart should be living the high life off his son's B-movie money, not teaching us how to drive.

Josh visits!

Lots of fun at the beach, the park and the bars this weekend with our friend, Josh who came to visit. The weather was a little on the cool side, but sunny enough that we could lay out at the park and take the dog to the beach. It's that type of weather where if you have a long sleeve T and jeans you're very comfortable. People here keep saying how cold and windy it is, but from an East Coast/Midwest perspective, this climate is just fine.

The weather this weekend just begged for beer consumption. Golden Gate Park is one of those places where public drinking is acceptable and evidently, not a big enough misdemeanor to get you noticed by police.

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.

Under the (glorious) weather

Nate is a little sick today. We think it has everything to do with him unable to adjust to the manic nature of San Francisco weather. So, I'm sitting here at our new favorite cafe, Sacred Grounds (yeah, I know...), eating a peach and ginger scone with Colombia Supremo coffee. A nice after work mini-meal. (I need to save my appetite for our Stouffer's Chicen Parmagiana. Don't ask my why Stouffer's is getting all snooty about marketing their frozen meals - get over yourself, Stouffer's...it's Parmagian...there's not one decent Italian on the planet that's going to let you get away with using an authentic name.)

Moving right along...today I officially rejoined the American workforce. PG&E New Employment Orientation started at 8a.m. in San Ramon, about an hour east of San Francisco. It's gorgeous country, San Ramon - dark green rolling hills - all the evidence of the Bay Area's very wet rainy season.

I learned about gas and electric commodities, transmission and state regulation. All thrilling. The fact our company only "uses" 1% coal for energy resources is encouraging, but what's really in a statistic...I haven't completely chugged all the Kool-Aid.

Food

This morning we took the No. 21 bus downtown just in time to have the best pick at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market.

Lilacs were fresh off the farm and so were the oranges. That type of benefit - fresh flowers and citrus in season year-round - will take some getting used to.

About the oranges: They were truly the best tasting fruits I have ever had. Incredibly juicy, ripe and a deep, deep orange color. They tasted just like you imagine the perfect orange should taste. We bought five of them at 8:30a.m. for $4.37. It's now 2p.m. and there is just one left. We'll probably pay dearly for that, but it was worth it.

The lilacs were a gift along with a nice bottle of pinot noir.

I'll tell you how the dinner party goes tomorrow. Evidently, the host is quite the chef.

For all the "Vans" out there

If you're family, you'll appreciate this post.

What you're looking at is the Queen Wilhelmina Windmill on the very western edge of Golden Gate Park. It's a century-old structure and to this day serves a purpose. Housed inside this somewhat out-of-place symbol for everything Dutch is a pumping station that irrigates Golden Gate Park. There are tulips everywhere and just beyond the windmill is the Pacific Ocean.

This morning I ran the expanse of GGP - from eastern end, just two blocks from home (see previous entry for map), to the ocean. It's a hilly 3-mile run, but time passes quickly as you inspect towering cyprus and evergreens. And when you hit the coast, you remember why you packed your entire home, moved - all inside a three-week window.

This is what it looks like from the beach.

Nathan and I are planning a bike ride/picnic tomorrow - he hasn't seen it yet.

A new bed

I woke up around 6 a.m. because I couldn't stand the Aero bed, not even for one more night. The sun was up so I walked Andi by Golden Gate Park, said hello to some joggers, avoided the homeless (I have justifications for being a little stand-offish) and Andi sniffed a couple doggie butts. All in all a successful first morning.

It got even better when we decided to go purchase the bed for our guest room. Until actual guests arrive, we'll retired the Aero bed and sleep soundly. A second reason, and for the sake of our sanities, we needed some furniture in this very empty apartment. Our movers won't be out here until April 3 - nearly two weeks without couches, rugs, dishes, TV or PC - ! - ugh, no Internet.

But we got creative. The San Francisco main library, across from City Hall downtown, gives you a free hour to surf online, so we've managed to check email, Nathan is job searching and right now, I'm using terminal #480 to write this very entry.

Now, we're not going to give you a play-by-play run down of our daily lives - that would be incredibly boring. But for these first few days and weeks, some of you might find it fun to share in our first West Coast memories.

(Pics of the new apartment to come!)

Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park is without a doubt one of the biggest attractions that convinced us to live inside the City. This blog entry is dedicated to the giant green space...

Three miles in length, the GGP is home to museums, a golf course, rec. fields and miles of jogging and biking paths. And it's larger than New York's Central Park. With that much green space, it should be perfect for Andi and a great outlet for me and Nate.

A big perk is the proximity to our place. Check out the very bottom left-hand corner - that's where we live. You can be on-site within five minutes. A big draw living close to GGP is the exposure to an extremely diverse cross-section of people. You got the active yuppies like us on the volleyball courts, jogging paths and bike trails; then the dog lovers, horticulturists and 60-something hippies sprinkled in; and you can't ignore all the trust fund wannabe homeless.

Pics

The tan building in the foreground is our new home.

There are six units in all, and the highlight for me is the backyard (not shown). It's completely overgrown at the moment but the landlord encouraged me to take all the green thumb freedoms necessary to turn the perrennial and annual boxes back to life. Might try growing some tomatoes, too.

Now the highlight for all of you that want to visit is the second bedroom - we purposely wanted an extra room so friends and family could stay with us - and offset the rather pricey airfare. In fact, our living room could double as another bedroom. Something to think about when you're planning your first visit.

For more pics from our recent long weekend in San Francisco - which turned out to be a scouting trip to land this apartment - click here. You'll see shots from the Ferry Building Farmers Market and pics in and around the Golden Gate and our new neighborhood, the Upper Haight.

Upper Haight? NoPa? Panhandle?

Here it is! Fulton & Cole

Hello cruel blog world! Please go easy on me. This is my first post ever, and I'm worried by admitting this I’m starting down and have already lost all credibility. It makes me feel like the last person to get a phone, and upon further thought this seems like a pretty good analogy. I picture this conversation between "Stella" and "Old Lyle" with the role of Lyle being played by myself.

Stella: We need a phone.
Old Lyle: Stella, for the last time, if I want to talk to Jebediah, I'll ride my horse the fives miles to his farm!
Stella: Fine. But the next time you lose your teeth riding over there to borrow Fixodent, you can find them yourself.
Old Lyle: Whatever.

fin

Feel free to examine this for deeper meaning, but back on topic. To start, I wanted to be able to say that Greg is once again not quite spreading disinformation but disseminating something less than the full truth. However, it looks like our neighborhood is, indeed, Upper Haight. I thought we were in NoPA (and actually might be) but that neighborhood seems to be a little more east. I wanted to be in NoPa, or North Panhandle, because it has a real live neighborhood association with meetings, block parties, and a crime watch. From there I alternatively thought we might be in Western Addition, Richmond, and Pacific Heights. I haven’t completely ruled any of those out yet, either.

Confused? Me too. Just pick your favorite sounding neighborhood, and we'll just go with that.

Upper Haight

You're sitting there wondering if it's pronounced "Height" or "Hate," right? It's the latter, and don't feel bad you didn't know. It went over my head, too.

This weekend Nathan and I learned quickly the Haight was a big piece of '60s cultural revolution. We are children of the 80s and 90s, so give us a break... we're not completely in tune with our references to the Summer of Love.

So, the Upper Haight. It's our new neighborhood as of Saturday, March 15. We signed a year lease in a very cool 1910s-era building (about 6 units) with 2 bedrooms, a small fenced in back yard (great for the dog) and walking distance to shopping, both commercial and bohemian. Very cool. Pics of the apartment and neighborhood to come.

We're two blocks from Golden Gate park and steps from the University of San Francisco. Everything we need and everything we really want are within a few minutes walk.

This week I wrap up work and tie up loose ends so Friday, MOVING DAY, goes without a hitch!

So much for long-term planning.

If we haven't been staying in touch like we should, then you'll be surprised to know Nathan and I are pulling up our DC stakes, packin' up the wagon (with our dog, Andi) and heading to San Francisco.

Why San Francisco? Let me explain.

What brought us to DC in the first place was an opportunity for me (Greg) to build a new Web presence for the National Association of Manufacturers. That, and an opportunity for Nathan to grow roots in either his education (law school) or network his butt off to find a great career start. He happily went for the latter. I worked downtown, literally steps from the White House and Nathan did his 9 to 5 on the waterfront in Alexandria.

And so here we are. A long introduction to what's happening in our small world, but now you have enough to digest.

Keep coming back to our blog. Subscribe to our RSS feed by clicking "Posts (Atom)" at the bottom of this entry. RSS lets you check back in to see how the move went, how life is treating us and how another chapter of our lives is unfolding.

...moving details...

Apartment hunting: March 13-16
Pack-up/movers come; all worldly possessions shipped: March 21
Family move via airplane: March 24
Worldly possessions in San Francisco: March 27
1st day at PG&E: April 7