The Tale of San Francisco

I was so prepared to write my blog entry the evening after our day spent in San Francisco but wouldn't you know my laptop crashed and I had to wait until we returned home so it could be repaired. Nevertheless I'm posting now.......

We had a wonderful time in San Fran. The weather was perfect! We woke up early and rode BART into the Embarcadero station and then walked down to the pier. The air was really crisp and fresh and the waterfront was quiet except for the several joggers out for their daily run. We walked around looking for a spot to get a quick bite to eat before our tour boat left for Alcatraz, but nothing seemed to be open at 7 am. So we snapped some pictures and waited until the Boudin Bakery opened and then we quickly ate sourdough bagels before it was time to board the boat.

We waited in a long line of people to board the Alcatraz tour boat. Once we boarded we were both feeling the motion of the water.....blah.....but it quickly faded once we started moving. It was a beautiful view from the water looking at the city skyline and the bay bridges. We snapped many photos as we pulled up to the island.

When we exited the boat and stood on the island it was so exciting! I was anxious to get inside this creepy prison and have a look around. When you enter the prison, you enter through the shower room. It was strange seeing these old prison showers. We were then given headphone sets to start the audio tour of the prison.

Here are a few snapshots.....

Prison Yard

Prison Cell

Prison Cell with escape hole

Prison Hall

Visitation area

After we finished the tour we walked around the island before boarding the boat to return.

Once we arrived back to the mainland we walked on over to the food stalls and shared a clam chowder sourdough bread bowl. We wanted to just have a small snack for lunch but the soup was so filling we both felt stuffed from just sharing one. LOL

After we finished eating we headed on over to the China Town District and it was an amazing transformation. All the buildings changed and you became immersed in another culture. There were delectable smells of Chinese steamed buns, dim sum, and other seafood delights. If we could eat we would have but there again we were stuffed!

All those hills and miles and miles of walking had our legs throbbing and blisters on our feet. It was worth it but we were ready to head back to the hotel. We walked on over to the BART station and hopped on board to get back.

When we arrived back at our hotel we freshened up. Our feet were sore and we were feeling sweaty and gross after all that walking. This day was our official anniversary and we wanted to head out for dinner. We had decided to have Korean BBQ for dinner and headed down to this small restaurant we heard great things about on YELP called Korea House. Oh wow what a treat!

The restaurant was buzzing and we were so excited to start eating. We sat down at the table and ordered; I had the Bibim Naeng Myun (Spicy cold buckwheat noodles with veggies) and "Z" had Dae Ji Bulgogi (Spicy BBQ pork) plus we ordered some Soju, and the waitress looked very surprised!

The food started to come out; first the Banchan or Korean side dished which consisted of fish cakes, kimchi, seaweed, mung bean sprouts, spicy anchovies, spicy squid, salad and they even threw in a free plate of Jap Chae (stir fried buckwheat noodles). We were seriously getting stuffed! The owner was totally wild and crazy she would come over to the table and feed you with her chopsticks, drop off free soft drinks and continuously refill your empty bowls. She wouldn't even let you say no to seconds she just starts bringing out more. We couldn't believe the incredible service. We have a confession......the food was so good we came back the next day for lunch LOL! If we ever return Korea House will definitely be on our "to do list"!

The next day we cuddled in our comfy hotel room and relaxed. We head out for a walk over to the strip mall across the street and popped into Trader Joes and we purchased some salad and mixed fruit to eat in our hotel room that evening. It was a nice treat to just stay in and relax.

The next morning we drove home earlier in the morning. It was a perfect trip.

Kicking off our Anniversary

Today we woke up early and drove over to the Bay area. We arrived around 9 am and went over to breakfast at this place called Country Waffles. I love breakfast! The food hit the spot and was a nice way to start our little Anniversary trip. I chowed down on cinnamon roll french toast and "Z" had the corned beef hash which is pretty much his standard breakfast dish.

After breakfast we bummed around doing a little shopping and such and then popped on over to the movie theater to see a movie that we've been curious to see but couldn't because it wasn't playing in our city. But luckily we were able to catch it over here. So the movie is called "Catfish" and is a documentary based on a relationship built on Facebook that ultimately turns out not to be what it seems. It was fascinating and yet not too far fetched as the internet gives many people the opportunity to role play and be someone they are not. I was highly entertained and glad we went out of our way to see it.

After seeing this film we still needed to kill sometime before we could check into our hotel, so we decided to sneak into another theater to see "RED". I'm not really sure how I feel about this movie.....it's a little outrageous and really action packed. I wasn't too impressed with the story and would probably only give this movie a 2 star rating.

Next we hopped on over to Ohana Hawaiian Barbecue for lunch and treated ourselves to some Hawaiian food. Hmmmm.....I said we weren't going to eat any Hawaiian food before our trip to Hawaii but oh well......It was F'ing delicious! Plus I was quite hungry after sitting through two movies. I had the BBQ chicken and "Z" had the chicken katsu, we of course shared food and even ordered some spam masubi; after all the meal would not be complete without a little Spam! LOL

We checked into our hotel; The Crowne Plaza. It's a pretty nice room and we are both feeling pretty comfortable here so far. We went down to the steakhouse located in the hotel and enjoyed cocktails with some calamari and scallops. I think my cosmopolitan did not agree with me, (did I mention I hate alcohol) and then we topped the evening off with dessert. I had the strawberry shortcake, personally I felt that it was awful! And "Z" had the mudpie; which was a very healthy portion and much much better than my dessert choice.

Geez......it sounds like we did ALOT of eating today.....LOL! But it was a really great way to kick off our weekend. Now we just need to do some major walking in San Francisco tomorrow; I don't think that will be a problem.

Apple Hill

Today we went over to Apple Hill in Camino, California and it was a beautiful fall day, perfect for apples, pumpkins, and cider; too bad it was spoiled by severe crowds and horrendous migraines. Yup a perfect day ruined by a combination of car sickness and head pounding pain. Why must I be so tortured?

The day started with so much potential.........a light breakfast of oatmeal with walnuts and raisins at Ernie's Cafe in South Lake Tahoe. Yummy! And then a beautiful drive on highway 50 through the mountains.........

But then......it turned........we spent the majority of the day battling for parking spots and trapped in the car as we maneuvered our way through the apple orchards. We stopped at the Jack Russel Brewing Co. for some hard cider and blueberry ale.....both of which I did not partake (alcohol is not really my thing) but hubby seemed to enjoy. Then we headed over to Rainbow Orchards and had some apple cider donuts and apple juice which we're both delicious but nothing to get too crazy about. And then lastly we stopped at Boa Vista Orchards and spent some time looking at the craft booths and shopping and oogling at produce......lot's of good stuff!

And then it happened.....the dreaded migraine.......it was the worst one EVER! I can't even begin to describe the  pain.......but I'm not sure if anything could be more painful than that damn migraine! I suffered for 3-4 hours until finally some medicine was able to calm it down. Thank god!

Then we headed back into town and enjoyed pizza at this delicious place called Gremaldi's and WOW that was quite a treat! I don't think I've ever had a better pizza........

Mix the good with the bad and all in all it was a decent day. I'm looking forward to the upcoming week though........we will be celebrating 3 years of marriage in San Francisco! Can't wait!

Getting Excited!

We leave for Hawaii in 30 days! I can't wait!

We are starting to get better adjusted, still some kinks to work out but for the most part we are comfortable. We went over to Zack's parents house last Monday and cooked dinner for them so that was fun. We did a whole German themed meal in-light of Oktoberfest......I think they enjoyed it. I love to cook, especially for other people so it was nice to do for once. I think we will make it a regular weekly thing.

We also went to see Social Network and I can't say enough good things about the movie. I really really enjoyed it!

I also visited an old girlfriend and she has so much in common with me it's almost scary. The best part is that she's leaving her job and is taking a personal break from working so the two of us will be able to really catch up.

I will be heading out to several elementary schools next week and checking out where I want to complete my demonstration teaching......I'm nervous and excited. I know it will all go well, but still a little nervous.

And besides all of this excitement we are also planning to head to San Francisco for our 3rd anniversary on October 21st. It's been a while since we've been there so it should be really fun. Then on Halloween weekend we are heading to Apple Hill for some apple picking, cider, and pie. Can't wait!

And We're Back!

We made it and are almost settled in. It feels strange to be here and it was exciting and yet at the same time depressing…….

Let me explain……

Reno is the place that you visit and when you leave you “think” you miss it but when you get back you can’t think of a single reason why you felt you missed this place at all. We both grew up here so of course we both have memories of our childhood town but I guess things seem so much different after you leave and come back. I was feeling an overwhelming sense of indifference about our decision to return, while I’m grateful to be far from Ohio and near family, as we continue to drive through the streets around the city I feel that around every corner I’m forced to drift down memory lane.

I’m sure I must sound like I’m suffering from some kind childhood trauma that I’m being forced to relive but this I assure you is not the case. I loved my childhood! And somehow being back here makes me feel like I’m once again that child……..and there’s the problem……I am an adult with “adult problems”, I have faced many challenges in the last year that had made me wish I could be a kid again and not stress over adult matters but in reality we know this cannot happen, but here, being back in Reno I feel the sense that I’m somehow trying to resort myself to that child like state of mind. I’m beginning to wonder if this is normal…..what is normal?  Am I the only person who dreads the feeling of being trapped? This town is too small, too many opportunities to revisit old memories and childhood friends or people I feel I knew in some past life. I dread having meaningless conversations with people about myself when I bump into them at the grocery store…..I enjoyed being able to live a near non-existence in Ohio and I must say that is the one thing I’ll miss.

During my last visit back home I recall celebrating my Bachelorette party with some old friends and being hit on at a bar by an old high school acquaintance who didn’t recognize me, blame it on the booze or the fact that he hasn’t seen me in over 7 years but unlike the show Cheers, I want to go where nobody knows my name. (Did I mention that this old high school acquaintance was an ex-boyfriends friend who I may or may not have punched in the face after he toilet-papered my house during senior year) AHHH I hate small towns!

Ok, I sound ridiculous…..I admit it!

We have enjoyed a few of our visits down memory lane………

On Monday we popped over to one of the local casinos and enjoyed a little breakfast for only $4.99 and then reminisced the days of eating cheap casino food with our parents and getting to pick the Keno numbers on our parents Keno sheets……….sweet sweet gambling……..I’m sure every casino had to know that the only reason parents played Keno was because kids found the game to be irresistible……..picking numbers at random and getting filled with excitement seeing them pop up on the big flashing screen……..Wait! And we can win money too!….....geez…….when I grow up I’m going to gamble all the time! LOL! Luckily this is not the case and even in Vegas I feel guilty for throwing away $20.

We’ll see how it all plays out……It can’t be all that bad…….right?

A New Day, A New Blog

Well, I’m here, a “New Me” and a “New Blog”. I can’t contain my excitement!

Life is crazy and unpredictable and yet somehow I feel I wouldn’t change a thing about it. If you are a previous visitor of my former BLOG then I thank you for stopping by. If you are a completely new visitor I welcome you as well.

We are MOVING! Packing…..Packing……and more Packing! Our lives are consumed with boxes! But I couldn’t be happier about it. We pick up our rental truck on Tuesday a big 22ft Penske and a car trailer too. It’s going to be a big haul, driving a total of 2,200 miles to our final destination or as “Z” would put it, “Our Placeholder”!

We have had one hell of a year! We moved to Ohio in June of 2009 after a job transfer and suffered through a horrendous time that I won’t even begin to describe. Those of you who are familiar with my old blog should already understand. But now my life is surrounded with the optimism for the future.

A new journey waits, though it may not be the one intended it’s one I’m willing to embrace. I hope you will too and join me.