Saturday, November 29, 2008

Thanksbegiving

Thanksgiving 2008
I just got back from an week's vacation in the Bay area for Thanksgiving.  I visited Meg & Rich in Silicon Valley, and Steph & Aaron in San Francisco.  But over the week I ranged far and wide, from Monterey to Napa.  In seven days I:
  • Had excellent Mexican in Mountain View
  • Toured through the Napa Valley and had a very fun tasting at Sequoia Grove.
  • Drove to Monterey to visit Meg's future home, the Hopkins Marine Station and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, both of which were amazing.  This includes her future colleagues in that grad program, who were a very sharp group.  I was especially impressed by the details of the experiments they were working on - biomechanics, mostly.
  • Had North Beach Pizza with Steph & Aaron and Meg & Rich.
  • Hiked up over Russian Hill to go out for a very fun italian meal.
  • Played through Gears of War 2 with Aaron.  Nerds!
  • Helped (a little) with making a huge and amazing Thanksgiving Feast.  The real credit goes to Steph:
    • Brined Turkey
    • Sweet Potatoes
    • Garlic Mashed Potatoes
    • Rutabaga
    • Italian sausage and sourdough stuffing
    • Bacon, roast chestnut, and cornbread stuffing
    • Homemade gravy
    • Homemade cranberry sauce
    • Rolls
    • Blue cheese & walnut spread
    • Pumpkin Pie
    • Chocolate Pecan Pie
    • All Paired with fantastic wine
  • Went for a appetite-building walk along the waterfront to Fort Mason to see a nifty instrument that uses the flexing of the Golden Gate Bridge to estimate the temperature.  Solid science, engineering geekery - pretty perfect for me.
  • Tried to visit the new California Academy of Science, but went to check out the Presidio after seeing the hours-long line to get in to the museum.  Next time...
  • Ate a ridiculous amount of leftovers

Not so much a real post as an after-action report, but it was such a great week, and packed to bursting with excellent times.  I recommend any and all of it for anyone who finds themselves in the Bay area.

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THE MIND IS NOT A VESSEL TO BE FILLED BUT A FIRE TO BE KINDLED