sunset adventures

Ahoy,

The day we spent in San Francisco was on a tour of sorts led by my cousin. I have distant family of sorts in the sunset in SF. I first got wind of this extended family when my family came out with me for my move to Berkeley for college. I'm pretty certain I would never have known them if I hadn't come here for college. I'm pretty sure a lot of things would not have happened had I not made the trek to college. Throughout my days in the East Bay, I would travel out to SF to stay with my family over holidays or extended weekends. It was like a home away from home, but with no central heat.

We started off the day first to the Moraga Steps and Turtle Hill. The mosaics are a gorgeous thing to look at, especially from the bottom. It was super windy that day up there. I felt like there should have been anchors or something to clip into. The view was worth it. Some people think Chicago is windy, but I dare to disagree.

Our next stop was Turtle Tower for Vietnamese pho. I enjoyed it. And it was served with raw meat on top of the soup, which is something I'd never had before. How strange! But the broth was really light, yet flavorful. My brother had a field day at a comic book store, again.

We made our way over to the Lands End Park because I wanted to show them the Sutro Baths. I'm sure it was once state-of-the-art, but now, lucky for us, it's in ruins and open for exploration. It continued to be the windiest I had ever experienced here. The paths are along where the walls used to be so it was totally a possibility you could get blown off and into the water, but we soldiered on to find the mostly secluded beach.

We did a little walking on the trails at Lands End despite the wind. Even went down and up the stairs to see the beach. At the labyrinth, we stumbled across somebody proposing and I'm pretty sure the girl was just cursing in her head and wondering why they had to stand in the wind. My brother also lost his hat here. That red hat, was lost to the ocean.

The following day, we departed early to drop off my brother at the airport in San Jose. While there, we made a doughnut & coffee stop and looked at the trees on display in downtown San Jose. And just like that my brother was gone again. I wish he would stay. Of the things I miss most about Chicago, my brother may be the biggest heartache. Driving back to LA was thoroughly uneventful. There wasn't much traffic and we took the scenic route.

windily windblown,
jt

half day

Ahoy,

We had to stay home for a brunch thing, but K got to catch up on sports. We jetted to go pick up A's friend and wander around their old haunts when they were young and reckless. I convinced them to take me to the creative reuse store in Oakland. I'm sure it's a junk store, but somebody's junk is someone else's treasure. I got a super cheap puzzle and postcards. I love this store because it's great for crafting finds. I haven't been able to find something similar that is close to where I am now. While waiting for dinner at "one of the best sushi places in the Bay," I dragged the boys to Berkeley Bowl, again. I probably couldn't count all the times I made someone go during this trip. It's my favorite grocery store on the West Coast. You have to go.

The following day we got an early start out to Santa Cruz to go see the monarch butterflies migrating. They stop at the Natural Bridges State Beach and clump up in the eucalyptus trees. I think we got there later in the season so we only saw a few clumps. At the peak, the butterflies cover the entire tree. We'll have to try again next year. We drove back up on the PCH and landed in San Francisco to see my family.

majestically blown,
jt

we're off

Ahoy,

My brother is an excellent shotgun rider for car rides because he is nothing like me. He sat still the whole time and buckled his seat belt. He was a dream passenger. Meanwhile, I had a grand time riding in the back. I had so much room to move around and snack. I'm so very grateful our friend let us borrow her car. A was incredibly pleased with K in the front especially given it was his first time riding in the car for such a long time.

We made a stop at In n' Out because people will be upset with you if you go to CA and don't get In n' Out. And arrived shortly after at the Sunnyvale Planet Granite. My brother and I opted to top rope, which A was very glad for so he could boulder to his heart's content. We got to spend a bunch of time there before heading out to SF to have dinner with A's friend at a bougie Vietnamese place in a sketchy neighborhood.

K got to cross the new Bay Bridge, I think he was only a little awed by it. A can't get over it because hometown pride. The next day was Christmas eve, so we couldn't really get out to do stuff. K got to watch a ton of basketball. We likely got out to make emergency grocery runs, but that's neither here nor there.

Even the day after Christmas was only mildly interesting because A really wanted to go shopping and buy things. So we went into the city to shop and climb. Finally made it to Dogpatch, which in my opinion is way dustier than La.B.

dustily sniffed,
jt

northbound

Ahoy,

This was our first day of adventure in the Bay and I was dying to get out and do things and not do the obligatory family things anymore, which was mostly sitting at a table for a long time.

We packed the car and loaded up on snacks to head up to Santa Rosa to check out the Charles Schulz Museum. He spent most of his adult life in Santa Rosa and became a big part of the community. There's a Snoopy ice skating arena that was the first to have some official ice hockey league for 70+ and he played on it! The cartoons were cute and funny. And K is totally like Charlie Brown.

We went a little farther from town to check out Armstrong State Park. We got in on just the last hours of daylight. A had a cup of coffee and I was carrying hummus and bread. Clearly, we had decided this would not be a serious hike. It's only after we are in the woods that we think we should be more prepared. We stepped out of the woods just as daylight was closing in on us. It was a lot of fun nonetheless, and we don't regret it because we wanted to be able to see the Museum without the pressure of closing time.

Our final stop in Santa Rosa was dinner and drinks with the Russian River Brewing Company. A is a fanatic. He bought 2 cases of beer from them because he could, but mostly because we would never have the trunk space to spare again. I don't care much for hops so the glory of the brew is totally lost on me. However, the beers on tap there are super cheap and strong, and food was decent/typical bar food. Apparently, the beer is in such high demand that they have to limit how many customers can get in stores, and they don't mark the trucks because folks will follow and buy out every store. What a phenomenon! He might be rationing his beers until the next time he can go.

mossily informed,
jt

backseat riding

Ahoy!

These are the things we did while K was here in LA:

There was an Annenberg Space for Photography exhibit about water levels rising, and natural disasters and how to plan for the changes ahead. I dragged along an old college friend. One of those people I keep missing when I'm in the bay or she is down here. It was great to see her again. The museum is free every day, so I highly recommend it.

We finally went to see an Upright Citizens Brigade show. I only have heard of them because Amy Poehlor, and she is fabulous. Tickets are only $5 and so worth it. The actress who plays Brita from Community was one of the cast members. A got a thai tea and subsequently a cup of coffee right before the show. He was double fisting his caffeine intake. We will definitely go back.

My brother loves noodles, so we took him to get ramen downtown. We also made a trip to the Evolv outlet. K got a whopping 3 pairs of shoes- more shoes than he's ever bought his whole life. I got 1, and A got 1. So I think the trip was worth it. I took him on a bicycle adventure to the comic book store, animal shelter, and ice cream. As we approached the comic book store he said to me,"I can't guarantee how long I'll take in here."

The next day we left for the Bay. It would be K's longest car ride to date, surpassing the 2.5 hour drives he made between Madison & Chicago. He's nothing like me, so he would do well.

carpingly adroit,
jt

happy new year!

Ahoy!

Holy moly! It's been so long since I've been on here, I don't even remember what my life has been. Moments like this when I notice that I haven't been documenting my life reminds me of the fact that I haven't been activating my brain to remember things. And also I use this blog to braindump things so I don't have to activate my brain to remember things.

Memory is such a tricky concept/feat. I find that writing things down, and writing about what I've done is a way of preserving memories. However, once it's been written - it's as if I've been given permission to forget. Something about giving life to words on a page is to take life from the words in my memories. If I were to preserve the life of my memories simply in my brain - the memory would change over time, possibly become more detailed, less detailed, possibly mix with other memories. What a trip!

deviantly anew,
jt