Browse Category: outings

Pre-Thanksgiving Weekend

Last Wednesday (11/17), Brother, Joy, and Mommy came up to visit me.  The timing coincided with a bunch of things that I already had planned for the week and they somehow came together just fine.  I picked them up on Wednesday night and they spent Thursday exploring the city and also went to Alcatraz.  Meanwhile, I went to work and we also had our annual Craft/Bake Sale Fundraiser.

We always have a Happy Hour afterward so the family took BART over to the East Bay and got to meet the gang at work.

HH was at Marc 49 and we had a fun evening decompressing from the crazy month of planning and the actual fundraiser.

The interesting part of the evening was that I saw my mom drinking a beer for the first time!  For all my life, she didn’t drink but I guess retirement has changed things.

On Friday, I already had the day off to visit the de Young Museum with Stephanie.  So, that morning, I took the family to Mama’s for pancakes and waited a good 45 minutes to get in.  Luckily no one was in a hurry so we endured the wait and had a feast of pancakes, french toast, eggs, and corned beef hash.  Afterward, we met up with Stephanie at the mall and headed out to Golden Gate Park.

The family went to the California Academy of Science and the two of us went to the Van Gogh exhibit.  It was a rainy day but it didn’t matter.  We all still had a good time.

Later that evening, we met up with the rest of the girls at Embarcadero Center for Light-up Night.  HH was at Osha Thai where we enjoyed appetizers and Effen drinks.

By 6:30, we paid the tab and headed outside for the lighting and caught the fireworks in the rain.

Immediately after the fireworks, we walked over to the Hyatt for the tree lighting.  Unfortunately it was quite a production and we had some time to kill.  That was when things got a little fuzzy since people were at the bar and bringing me tasty drinks.

About 20 minutes later, they started the countdown and the snow fell while the lights turned on.

My mom eventually got tired and took Muni home.  Meanwhile, the girls took off for snacks at Palomino while Jes, Brother, Joy, and I headed over to One Market.  Sometime between the Hyatt and the restaurant I fell ‘cuz I woke up the next morning with a huge scuff on my knee.  Whoops.  As dinner started, Joy wasn’t feeling well so we went home early while the boys finished dinner.  As I was taking care of Joy, I got a text from Jes that said “Peanuts in your brother’s dessert.  Hooray.”  Here’s his side of the story:

Yep, he was struck by the peanut monster once again and ended up yacking at the restaurant and in the street on the way home. What a mess.

The next day we took it easy as everyone was recovering from a fun fun evening.  We had porridge and fried dough for breakfast, grilled cheese and tomato soup for a snack, and then Bakesale Betty’s for lunch.  Yum Yum…if that doesn’t take care of a hangover, nothing will.

Before taking the family to the airport, we stopped at Modern Mouse for Eleen’s anniversary party.  We got to hang out with friends and browse the merchandise as the rain poured down.  The drive to SFO was a little scary but we made it and the family got home safely after an hour-long flight delay.

Here are the rest of the photos from the weekend.

Happy Halloween!

I spent this Halloween at the Oakland Museum of Art to check out the Pixar exhibit featuring artwork from the past 25 years.  It was so cool to see all the drawings and models that go into making a movie or short film.  Made me want to watch all the earlier films again like the first Toy Story and A Bug’s Life. Cameras and cell phones weren’t allowed in the exhibit so this is the only photo I got while I was in the gift shop.

On Friday, the Rehab therapists all dressed up like the Muppets.  I managed to put together a Beaker mask to wear on my head complete with buggy eyes, a big egg-shaped nose, and fluffy orange hair.  I borrowed one of the doctor’s lab coats and had to walk around wearing Jes’ work shirt and tie too. Teresa was Fozzie Bear.  I don’t have a group photo of everyone yet but I’ll post one as soon as I get a copy from my friend who took one.  We had Miss Piggy, Kermit, Animal, the Sweedish Chef, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear, and even Rizzo the Rat.

Here’s a photo of the mask close-up.  Too bad I didn’t have time to figure out how to make a draw bridge mouth.

Food, Drinks, and Buttons

I attended my first Yelp Elite event on Monday and Jes was my +1.  The event was going to be just around the corner from home so it was a good one to RSVP for and luckily I got in!

So after work, we walked to the restaurant and had a fun time eating, drinking, taking photobooth photos, and people-watching.  I was a little worried about what kind of people I’d have to be in the same room with but it turned out to be a pretty big venue and everyone was just doing their own thang.

I also managed to collect an array of miniature buttons that were sprinkled on all the tables.  I heart free food and drinks with a little shwag on top.

Take Two

Due to the events of Saturday afternoon, we watched the Blue Angels on Sunday instead.  With the Giants playing on Thursday and Friday and sailors partying in the city, the streets were packed all weekend.  It’s always fun to watch the planes zooming over our heads and around the city and there’s nothing better than being able to just walk up stairs to the roof to watch the show. Yay!

It was also a gorgeous weekend with clear blue skies and warm temps.  Summer came really late this year.

Birthdays

On Saturday, I was on my way home from Safeway with a 6-pack of beer for our afternoon on the roof to watch the Blue Angels when I got a call from Ryan.  They were on Red Alert and I made a left turn to their house.  Jack was napping and Jes came over to keep me company.  Once Jack woke up, he wasn’t too surprised to see me and kept saying “Baby Sister in Mommy’s tummy”.  I guess they really prepped this guy for what to expect.

He happily played with his blocks and we watched Sesame Street together.  He had some juice and even used the potty before we headed out to dinner. We already had plans that evening so Ryan’s mom took the next shift.

That evening, Jes had planned a belated Birthday Dinner for me at Paragon.  He reserved the private room and had everyone join us.  Dayantha and Krissy drove down from Sacramento and Jen and Kevin drove up from Redwood City.  What a treat!  While we were having dinner, Ryan sent us a photo of Reese.  Woohoo!  If Saturday was my actual birthday, we’d be sharing the day!

Harvest Moon over the Ballpark

On Friday, SF warmed up and Michelle and I went across the street to watch “Aida” at the ballpark for free.  It was a live simulcast of the opera and we got some really cool seats up in the top level.  From there, we got an unobstructed view of the jumbotron and watched the Harvest Moon rise up from behind.

Ryan and Jack also stopped by for a little bit.  Jack was having a great time until the opera actually started.  The singing started, there was a quick pause, and then we heard him say “I don’t like that.”  Haha.

So they quickly left and we enjoyed the rest of the evening at the opera.  Too bad we got tired by 10 and had to leave before the opera finished.  Oh well.  It was still a great way to spend a warm Friday night.