So my time in San Francisco is almost over... Sad! I have three more shifts at work and then I'm on my way back through Phoenix to get to Austin. I'm so used to NOT driving my car that the next few days in ole Zippy will almost be like torture. I am completely content with any and all bus drivers driving Miss Stacy. :) So what's been going on since the last post? A LOT actually!
Let's start with Donna and Shelly's Trip:
Donna, my Southwest Airlines flight attendant/bestest next-door-neighbor and her sister-in-law Shelly came in for a weekend of fun. They sadly arrived on the anniversary of my daddy's death, but it was good to have friendly faces close by to keep me company. We went to dinner that Friday night at my local favorite The Grove to enjoy more delish food. The next morning - Muir Woods!
Let's preface this by saying Shelly is a huge fan of National Parks. As in - has a passport and collects stamps from each and every park she's ever visited. She was so excited about the NP's, Donna and I both got hooked and got our own Passports (you can learn more at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Park_Passport_Stamps, it's very intriguing). We then headed into the woods, and took about three hundred photos. You think I'm joking, don't you? Nope. Here are a few of the shots that I took and then aptly stated "nailed it" afterwards.
Some educational information....
Told ya. That's only a small portion of all the HUGE trees. Can give you a crick in the neck if you're not careful. Then we drove over to Muir Beach, which was just beautiful - couldn't have asked for better weather.
I suppose I could have cleaned the water spots off my camera first... but we were pressed for time. Lots to see, lots to do. It took 20 minutes to get a parking spot on the hill to see this sight:
There is no place safe from my cheesiness. Take a glimpse at the Lincoln Memorial circa 2007:
Oh yeah.
After the Golden Gate Bridge extravaganza, we went back to my apt and got ready to meet up with Donna's nephew and his girlfriend in the city. After checking out her adorable place with grandma-like Tiffany blue couches (no disrespect intended, I was sorely envious of those couches), we took off to meet Shelly's old co-worker at the:
Apparently, it's a big deal here....
Donna and I made a new friend - Justin from Germany. At least, that's what we think he kept saying. He was a sweet widower who just wanted to dance. Not too shabby either!
Yes, he was kind of tiny.
Awww.
Seriously, this weekend was exhausting. Because the next morning we went to Alcatraz.
Of course I planned my outfit accordingly....
A "Chamber of Commerce" kind of day (per Donna)
We then had brunch with Donna's nephew Nate and girlfriend Katie at the Buena Vista Cafe, where they ordered the famous Irish Coffee (
http://www.thebuenavista.com/home/irishcoffee.html) and I had a good old fashioned Cafe au Lait. After brunch, we took off across the bridge to Sausalito. There Donna reconnected with her jeweler friend at Sausolito Jewelers (
http://www.sausalitojewelers.com/index.html) while I drooled over all the beautiful jewelry. I quenched the jewelry hunger by buying my mom and I new cable car charms. During the day, I kept getting text messages from Pegah's husband Dave, because she had gone into labor that morning. After I took the ladies to the airport, I headed over to Berkeley and waited for bebe Leila to be born.
We're working on trying to make her more "camera ready" - she doesn't like the flash too much... Yet.
Aunty Stacy and the cuddlebug. How sad am I going to be to not be across the bridge from this little one? I don't even want to talk about it.
November went by really quickly - I went out to Austin for some quality time with the bro, his girlfriend Erin, and their dogs Hitch and Duchess, who have a very complicated love/hate relationship. The dogs, that is. Hitch is a lovey dovey pup who just loves to please, and cuddle. Here from last year:
And Duchess is a spoiled little wiener dog. Duchess looks like a miniature version of Hitch, actually, and they act like brother and sister. I had fun, we played a lot of video games, namely LittleBigPlanet (
http://www.littlebigplanet.com/). It's actually the cutest video game ever made. Unofficially, of course. I had 8 glorious days off, then had to return to 5 days in a row. Including Thanksgiving. And while sick. Thanks for the pity, that's what I was going for. I had a horrible sinus infection and couldn't TASTE FOOD for like 5 days. It was awful. I ate soup and drank ginger ale while I should've been eating Turkey and mashed taters. Not to mention this:
The beautiful and scrumptious pecan pie from Flying Star - picture thanks to Uncle Marc and Aunt Pam, who thankfully ate some in my absence. Don't worry, I'll be back up to Albuquerque to get more (time TBD).
This last weekend, the MAMA actually came to visit! I know, I was shocked and amazed too ;) I showed her the way to eat her way around San Francisco. I don't think she minded too much. We ate at such fine establishments as: Mel's Drive In, Squat and Gobble, Ole's Waffle Shop, Rose's Cafe, and I showed her the evil that is Susie Cakes.
Strawberry and Nutella crepe from Squat and Gobble
I took my Mama to my church on Sunday and she loved it like I knew she would. It's a predominantly African-American population and they share the gospel with some Charisma. No kidding. I always leave wanting to put a "praise the Lord!" or a "Lord have Mercy!" after anything I say. So if you're ever in San Francisco and are looking for a sound congregation that Speaks where the Bible Speaks and is Silent where the Bible is Silent, the Uptown Church of Christ is where it's at. Plus it's fabulously located. Get off the 22 bus and walk up the stairs to church.
Proof that Lady came to see me.
Stay tuned, I'll let you in on all of my Austin adventures soon!
I'll miss you, San Francisco!
