San Francisco
First off, let me apologize in advance for any typos or unfocused ramblings, because I've been up since 4:45 am. Stupid jet lag.
Rob had one more night out in Japan with Jeff & Macky. Yokohama style. You'll have to ask Rob about it, though, as this is (most of the time) a family-friendly blog.
Shabu-shabu dinner
We flew to San Fran the next day, and were met by the one and only Chad Fox, who so graciously allowed us to take over his apartment and life for nearly a week. Lemme tell you about Chad. I have known him since Cleveland 1988 or so. Chad IS Cleveland to me and we spent a lot of time reminiscing about it (much to Rob's boredom). Chad is also responsible for introducing Jeff & me.
The main reason we were in SF, though, was for Karla's wedding. I got to meet Zion and his family beforehand at a family dinner. Nice people. I also saw my mom, Karla's mom, and various Hungarian step-relatives I haven't seen in awhile. Karla seemed very happy, and they got my approval to marry.
The wedding was lovely. It was in a Garden Center in Oakland, and the weather was perfect. Karla looked beautiful, of course. The ceremony was Quaker style, which meant that there was a period of silent reflection punctuated by people getting up and saying nice things, giving advice, telling funny stories, or reading poems. I tried to avoid it, not really enjoying public speaking, but after being poked by both my mom AND Karla's grandmother, I was compelled to get up there and say something that I cannot remember. Anyway, it was really nice and full of fun people, including Katie, whom I have not seen since 20 years ago in Cleveland.
The family
Katie is on the right
Here's a slew of wedding pictures.
Apart from wedding-related festivities (the dinner, dancing at the End Up, the event itself), we spent a lot of time relaxing, keeping stupid hours, being slackers, playing instant-gratification DJ (think of a random song and download it), and exploring the lovely city of San Francisco. We were blessed by days and days of (from what I hear) unusually nice weather. What a great place. So colorful. So full of amazing architecture. It was so awesome to spend all that time with Chad (it had been like 8 years or something since I'd seen him, and I don't know how long since we had that kind of quality time). The experience reminded me of who I was. Really. I can't thank Chad and his city enough for the sense of affirmation.
This is the mission from Vertigo
In case I got homesick for Japan
Chad lives in a really interesting building. His neighbors live in the apartment that once housed Janis Joplin, and his other neighbor is Vale, the guy who started RE/Search publishing. He is an SF punk institution and has hung out with the Avengers and Devo, along with other early punk greats. He also had an Abyssinian cat, which is my favorite breed. This is the first time I ever got to touch one. I know, I'm a dork.
The view from Chad's roof
The day I was supposed to leave, Chad and both slept right through two alarms. We are blaming the constant sounds of construction outside his windows that drowned out the sound of the alarms. So I got a bonus day! Chad & I had a dinner and a movie date. The dinner was at The Stinking Rose, a famous restaurant specializing in garlic dishes. I love garlic and have always wanted to eat there. On a whim, I ordered the rabbit. It was crusted with rosemary and (duh) garlic, and roasted with black olives. Di-vine. With the bottle of red (NOT chilled, thank you) and the garlic mashed potatoes, it really felt like a proper feast.
The movie was Zombie Strippers, starring Robert Englund (aka Freddy Krueger) and Jenna Jameson. If you don't know who that is, I can't tell you. It was awfully great. I mean, literally.
Here's a bunch of San Francisco pictures. You should go see them, because there is lots of cool architecture and street murals and stuff that will help you see how colorful the city is.
I did manage to catch my flight the next day. This one had a connection in Seattle, which I had so far managed to avoid going through. I saw the Space Needle and the hideous EMP from the air. It was really tempting to just walk out the front door of the airport. But, I had barely enough time to make my next flight, so not enough time to contemplate it. But I'll see you in 3 months!
This month'll fly by. Jeff's folks are coming next week, we are going to Shimoda again, and Jeff's (not) birthday party is on the 23rd (all you Japan-dwellers had better be there!).
Crap. I just realized that I didn't do the post on Rob's visit here, like I thought I had before we left for SF. Maybe I'll post some of that tomorrow. Maybe I won't. I got stuff to do.
Rob had one more night out in Japan with Jeff & Macky. Yokohama style. You'll have to ask Rob about it, though, as this is (most of the time) a family-friendly blog.
Shabu-shabu dinner
We flew to San Fran the next day, and were met by the one and only Chad Fox, who so graciously allowed us to take over his apartment and life for nearly a week. Lemme tell you about Chad. I have known him since Cleveland 1988 or so. Chad IS Cleveland to me and we spent a lot of time reminiscing about it (much to Rob's boredom). Chad is also responsible for introducing Jeff & me.
The main reason we were in SF, though, was for Karla's wedding. I got to meet Zion and his family beforehand at a family dinner. Nice people. I also saw my mom, Karla's mom, and various Hungarian step-relatives I haven't seen in awhile. Karla seemed very happy, and they got my approval to marry.
The wedding was lovely. It was in a Garden Center in Oakland, and the weather was perfect. Karla looked beautiful, of course. The ceremony was Quaker style, which meant that there was a period of silent reflection punctuated by people getting up and saying nice things, giving advice, telling funny stories, or reading poems. I tried to avoid it, not really enjoying public speaking, but after being poked by both my mom AND Karla's grandmother, I was compelled to get up there and say something that I cannot remember. Anyway, it was really nice and full of fun people, including Katie, whom I have not seen since 20 years ago in Cleveland.
The family
Katie is on the right
Here's a slew of wedding pictures.
Apart from wedding-related festivities (the dinner, dancing at the End Up, the event itself), we spent a lot of time relaxing, keeping stupid hours, being slackers, playing instant-gratification DJ (think of a random song and download it), and exploring the lovely city of San Francisco. We were blessed by days and days of (from what I hear) unusually nice weather. What a great place. So colorful. So full of amazing architecture. It was so awesome to spend all that time with Chad (it had been like 8 years or something since I'd seen him, and I don't know how long since we had that kind of quality time). The experience reminded me of who I was. Really. I can't thank Chad and his city enough for the sense of affirmation.
This is the mission from Vertigo
In case I got homesick for Japan
Chad lives in a really interesting building. His neighbors live in the apartment that once housed Janis Joplin, and his other neighbor is Vale, the guy who started RE/Search publishing. He is an SF punk institution and has hung out with the Avengers and Devo, along with other early punk greats. He also had an Abyssinian cat, which is my favorite breed. This is the first time I ever got to touch one. I know, I'm a dork.
The view from Chad's roof
The day I was supposed to leave, Chad and both slept right through two alarms. We are blaming the constant sounds of construction outside his windows that drowned out the sound of the alarms. So I got a bonus day! Chad & I had a dinner and a movie date. The dinner was at The Stinking Rose, a famous restaurant specializing in garlic dishes. I love garlic and have always wanted to eat there. On a whim, I ordered the rabbit. It was crusted with rosemary and (duh) garlic, and roasted with black olives. Di-vine. With the bottle of red (NOT chilled, thank you) and the garlic mashed potatoes, it really felt like a proper feast.
The movie was Zombie Strippers, starring Robert Englund (aka Freddy Krueger) and Jenna Jameson. If you don't know who that is, I can't tell you. It was awfully great. I mean, literally.
Here's a bunch of San Francisco pictures. You should go see them, because there is lots of cool architecture and street murals and stuff that will help you see how colorful the city is.
I did manage to catch my flight the next day. This one had a connection in Seattle, which I had so far managed to avoid going through. I saw the Space Needle and the hideous EMP from the air. It was really tempting to just walk out the front door of the airport. But, I had barely enough time to make my next flight, so not enough time to contemplate it. But I'll see you in 3 months!
This month'll fly by. Jeff's folks are coming next week, we are going to Shimoda again, and Jeff's (not) birthday party is on the 23rd (all you Japan-dwellers had better be there!).
Crap. I just realized that I didn't do the post on Rob's visit here, like I thought I had before we left for SF. Maybe I'll post some of that tomorrow. Maybe I won't. I got stuff to do.
posted by Sandi at 8:16 AM
2 Comments:
Just wanted to tell you I have an Abyssinian...you're right they are the best breed and you are not a dork;-)
Hi Sandi,
I've read a good chunk of your blog as I'm in the situation of trying to get a visa for China from Japan. Your info hopefully will prove to be very helpful!
I have a blog too, http://ahfeckit.com to detail my adventures, as I sold my house, all my stuff, quit my job and decided to travel for a while. I hit the States last October and drove from east coast to west, before finally meeting a girl in Atlanta I've fallen for (aww).
I'm off on the second part of my trip now, to SE Asia and your info on Visa's and China is really great (Definitely going to see that snow tiger in Beijing Zoo).
Just wanted to say 'Hi and thanks!'
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