Wild City

San Francisco is a very NOISY city. Even from our room on the 40th floor you can hear the sirens quite often. At night, like now, when we're sitting with the windows open (yes, the windows open on the 40th floor) you can hear fire trucks, police cars, all kinds of emergency vehicles.

Today I sat in the ACA Board meeting from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. We accomplished all our agenda items and had a nice visit during the breaks. Bryan spent the day wandering around picking up gifts for various people. He rode the F-line back to Pier 39 for something we saw there in a window for Brenna, ate lunch at a touristy crepes place, then walked through Chinatown again for some inexpensive gifts. He said he really enjoyed the day.

We attended a Cuadra reception for their clients that was a little on the quiet side, then decided to go back out for dinner. San Francisco is very busy at night. We left about 7 p.m. and walked back to North Beach. I wanted to take the cable car, but Bryan suggested walking since I'd been sitting all day. Uncle Jack and Chi say everything is walking distance, but I'm not so sure. Bryan selected Michaelangelo's Caffe on the corner by Washington Square and we enjoyed Caprese and Lasagna sitting in the open window looking at Coit Tower and St. Peter and Paul church.



After dinner we walked UPhill a block and half to Market and hopped on the cable car to ride back to O'Farrell. When the cable car approached the O'Farrell stop, part of the intersection was blocked by police cars. When we exited, we could see yellow police tape blocking off the entire block south of Market right in front of Macy's (and a nightclub next door?) We didn't linger, but while walking back the three blocks to the hotel we saw two men fighting in an alley next to a parking garage entrance. Two other men were failing to separate the men and the tourists were starting to watch. Our hotel entrance wasn't much farther, so Bryan approached the SFPD officer talking to the doorman and pointed out the fight - as the police officer started that direction, two women walked up pointing in the same direction.

Bryan wonders how San Francisco compares with New York City in terms of the sirens, the noise, the crowds, the people, the urban-ness of it all. He's still standing at the window watching the fire engines. While I've been typing this he's seen 2 police cars, 1 fire truck, and heard an ambulance. He said last night there was something driving by about every five minutes.

There is a lot of different people here - you can't walk a block without hearing a different language being spoken. Some by tourists and quite a bit of Chinese. I've heard Spanish, but it's not loose slangy Tex-Mex Spanish, it's a different sounding Spain-Spanish, and maybe Portuguese. Russian. Indian.

There's been a good deal of talk among the archivists about Hurricane Gustav today. The Society of American Archivists met in New Orleans in 2005 and ten days later Hurricane Katrina blew in. I'm just hoping that Gustav doesn't decide to visit Houston instead.

Tomorrow I have some interesting sessions to attend in the morning and then we have tickets for Alcatraz in the mid-afternoon. We have to be back in time for the ACA general business meeting followed by the reception co-sponsored with SSA.

SF Day Two

Thanks to the time difference, we woke up around 6 a.m. (Pacific time) and had plenty of time to get ready for the day. The Executive club offers a continental breakfast, which was plenty of food and very crowded! The view from the 45th floor is of the Oakland side, the other side from our room.

We left the hotel a little before 8 a.m. and headed for the Muni to catch the F-line to Fisherman's Wharf. We hopped off at Pier 39 and walked around enjoying the views. Because of the early hour, nothing was open! Apparently they don't open the shops until 9:45-10 a.m. and we were there at 8:45. So we watched the Seals (noisy) and Bryan took some phone calls from work. Pier 39 is just a big outdoor tourist area with restaurants and shops. Kind of like Baltimore's Inner Harbor, but all outdoors and more quirky.

We walked farther down the Piers and saw the Blue & Gold vessels, the Blazing Saddles bike rentals (tempting), saw the WWII submarine and Liberty ship (but didn't pay to go aboard), then ate at one of the many places along Fisherman's Wharf. We shared a *very fresh* steamed crab and sourdough bread. This seems to be the "local fare" here. Then we walked through over a dozen little tourist shops. Girls, you did NOT get a magnet, a t-shirt, or some other silly little trinket from San Francisco. Sorry!

We walked down Hyde Street Pier and saw the many historic boats and vessels there. Then we crossed to Hyde and Beach to search for any possible marker of where Michael Stuckey was killed. Lisa thought there was supposed to be a plaque there, but we couldn't find it. We bought some chocolates from Ghirardelli (only to discover them cheaper at a store 2 blocks later). Then we stood in the "tourist line" to ride the Powell & Hyde cable car. (We could have walked back to the hotel via Columbus in this time.) But we did really enjoy the cable car ride up and down Russian Hill and Nob Hill. It's a good value to ride from Hyde to Powell. We hopped off at the cable car museum - the active work house. The big sheaves turning the cables were very impressive, but extremely noisy.

We walked down Nob Hill to Grant St. and walked through Chinatown on the way back to the hotel. Once in the hotel, I checked in with the SAA registration and kept running into people I knew. But we had a tight schedule to get to the Giant's game. We took the N line - underground Muni - and it was very crowded with people going to the game.

ATT Park is beautiful - opened 8 years ago - and the tickets were fabulous (thanks Uncle Jack!) club level with interior food area. After walking all around the park, standing for a while in the bleachers to maybe catch a batting practice ball, we went up to the Club level and shared a Hot Mozzerella Panini (delicious). Bryan got popcorn and a hot dog, but I had to try this intoxicating smelling concoction called "Garlic Fries". Oh I wish Lisa had been with me, she would have appreciated the yummy fries covered with finely chopped roasted garlic and parsley. This was rich, but too much to eat alone - spicy and stinky.

We left in the 8th inning because we were a little chilly sitting still, and the Rockies had blown open the game leading 7-2. We wanted to get on the Muni ahead of the crowds, which we did, and get back to the hotel. It was after 10:30 p.m. and our bodies were tired.

So - this morning I'll be in the ACA board meeting all day. Who knows what Bryan will be doing? Tune in tomorrow to find out.

PS - two things. We'd heard that SF would be foggy and cold, but it was VERY warm during the day - over 75 and we are both sunburned on our noses/face. Also the hotel has no cold water. Well, I'm sure there is cold water somewhere, but when we come back in the evening and turn on the cold water it is HOT. Taking a shower is a tricky business of not scalding yourself.

SF Day One

Day one begins like any other travel day - going to the airport. Luckily we had very little traffic, whisked right through security, and enjoyed an uneventful flight with one quick stop in Phoenix.
We saw wind turbines somewhere in West Texas from our 34,000 ft cruising altitude,

The Super Shuttle in SFO picks up until the van is full, then pulls over, cuts off the engines and quizzes everyone about where they're going. That part took 20 minutes, but finally we were on our way, and because the driver dropped off at two residential addresses, we were able to see Courtland St. in Bernal Heights, Church St. and some other area in Noe Valley.

Finally we arrived at our hotel and checked in. We're on the 40th floor and have an awesome view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Since we hadn't eaten since breakfast (and it was now 5 p.m. central time) we grabbed a bite at a Lori's Diner. After walking around and finding Union Square and the Powell Muni/BART station, we went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner with Uncle Jack.

Uncle Jack and Chi took us on the trolley to a lovely local Italian place in North Beach Trattoria Condatina. Yum! We had a really nice visit and then walked all the way back, through North Beach and the Financial District. Chi pointed out buildings and local sites. We saw City Lights Bookstore, the Coppola-owned building, the TransAmerica Tower, beautiful bank buildings, and Lotta's Fountain, which I'd read about while on the plane.

We crashed about 10 p.m. last night - too tired to do anything other than load some photos onto the Picasa Web album. Check there for photos each day.

Another Back to School

Both girls started back to school today and all of the reports are very good. We had Meet the Teachers last Friday morning and both girls seemed to enjoy the idea of going back to school. They were up early this morning (which had nothing to do with seeing us off at 7 a.m.) and proudly showed Nana their classrooms. Cameron is in 4th grade, which is Texas history this year! Brenna starts 1st grade. Mom says both girls came home in a great mood! Yay for a good first day.

What Were We Thinking?

Five girls, pizza, lemonade, cake, cookies, music, and the Camp Rock movie=a very late night!

I had my first slumber party when I was nine years old, and so when Cameron asked me if she could have a slumber party for her 9th birthday, I thought it would be a great idea.

We had a little trouble scheduling the party first, because we traditionally have Brenna's party first (her birthday is first) and Cameron's the week after Labor Day (no birthday parties on Labor Day weekend; no one is available.) But since Friday was Meet the Teachers day and I had to take the day off work anyway, we decided to have the slumber party on Friday night.

The girls arrived around 5 p.m. Anna brought Claire and then stayed to help me ice the "microphone" cupcakes (in an ice cream cone with sprinkles.) I also made these fabulous Mini Caramel Apples from Family Fun magazine. They were a huge hit!

The girls played, sang, ate pizza, watched Camp Rock. Then came the "cake"

After the cake they finished the movie and moved into the front living/dining room for presents and games.

Her friends know her so well - she now can buy new books, rent a new DS game, and logon more Bella Sara cards. LOL!


The nice thing about birthday parties at this age is you don't really have to plan any activities.



They all played really well - and very loudly - until we told them to settle it down for some sleep. But sleep still evaded them until just past midnight. Brenna slept in her own bed and was up before 7 a.m. (as usual). After breakfast, they played outside for a while, then time to clean up, pick up, and get picked up.

Olympics

How cool is the internet?

Last night I discovered that you can watch events LIVE on the internet via nbcolympics.com. Over the weekend, the US team swept all three medals in women individual sabre matches, but the networks only showed the gold medal bout and you had to watch all day to make sure you saw it.

But last night I was sitting up late watching the Women's Individual Foil Olympic competition for the first time in my life. I can watch Sabre, but I don't "recognize" it since I didn't do it in college, and epee is foreign also, but THIS I RECOGNIZE from my three years of bouting in college. I found that I'd forgotten several dozen things (re: rules) in the 16 years since I last fenced, but after a few rounds it started coming back to me. It's so cool. No commercials, no NBC know-it-all, just live, like you're there.

Our computer isn't fast enough, uncluttered enough, to upload the fancy viewer that would let me watch all four foil bouts at the same time on a split screen during the round of 32. About 11:30 p.m. I realized I HAD to go to bed, and I wouldn't get to see the three US fencers live.

So I got up this morning and rushed to the computer to watch the medal round LIVE for women's individual foil. The US women had been knocked out of the competition while I slept, and Italy's Trillini had just lost a semifinal to a Korean. (Which was shocking because the Italian trio were expected to sweep the medals this year.) Then we watched Granbazzi lose to Vezzali. Then Granbazzi bouted Trillini for the bronze, and Grabazzi took the medal, her first!

Cameron and I were at the computer for the entire gold medal match - and for a moment I thought Korea's Hyunhee had figured out Vezzali's strategy and was going to win - letting time run out and she was a point ahead (5-4) but Vezzali came on strong at the last 10 seconds and scored twice (the last with four seconds remaining) and took it back. Vezzali is the first woman to win three gold medals in women's individual foil back to back to back. She won a Silver in 1996, Gold in 2000 and 2004, and this sets a new record (I think - hard to know without the announcer...)

When I get home from work tonight you will find me on the computer searching for more LIVE events. It's a good thing the atheletes are sleeping during our daytime hours or I might have to take a lot of my vacation time to sit on my *fast* computer at work and watch Olympics all day.

Appreciation

These beautiful flowers arrived today at my office from a researcher who spent about 8 days in the Archives working on a NASA book project. The flowers actually prettier in person and smell lovely. Everyone at the reference desk saw them since they arrived during the half-hour I took for lunch today, and they are very impressed. My co-worker, Jean, received some also - a half-dozen pink-orange roses with white peruvian lillies that arrived in a closed mailing box. She gets back from her vacation tomorrow, so I put them in the vase and added water per the instructions. They'll open up and be gorgeous by tomorrow morning.

How kind and thoughtful of our researcher.

Edouard Arrives

East of us - in Winnie, Texas. So we're on the "clean" side with almost no wind (and what small amount is recorded at the Island is coming from the NW, pushing the tide out.) We woke up about 6:30 a.m. to light rain and Bryan left for the office. Now, not quite two hours later, the rain just increased from a light rain to a steady rain.

I expect we'll have rain for the better part of the day while Edouard moves inland, perhaps still at a westward angle across the northern side of town. Ironically, the north side of Houston may be more strongly affected than those of us in the coastal counties.

As Galveston city manager commented this morning, "We plan for the worst and hope for the best." Personally, the image of Father Frank Fabj saying the Memorare at the end of every Mass during Hurricane Season at Sacred Heart Church keeps flashing in my mind. Even though he's no longer at the Galveston church, I know he must still be saying the prayer to the Holy Mother for protection over his native home. She has always favored him and he continues to lead people to her.

Waiting for Edouard

Edouard has all of Houston in a tizzy. We're ready and waiting here at the house with no plans to leave and hopeful that the flooding won't be too severe. Naturally the meteorologists are so excited they can't help reporting that pressure in the eye is dropping (indicating the storm may be strengthening) without a big silly grin on their face. This is their moment.

Houston is taking the threat seriously as many remember that Allison (2001) was merely a "weak" tropical storm that brought nearly 37 inches of rain and killed 22 people. (By comparison, the last major hurricane we had in 1983 killed 21.) I do appreciate the television coverage of the Houston and Galveston mayors getting information out to their residents. It sounds like they have some good plans in place. I like that Mayor White (Houston) encouraged residents to check on their neighbors, especially elderly or shut-ins.

JSC closed at noon and will remain closed tomorrow. Our campus closed at 3 p.m. and will be closed tomorrow. Bryan and I have "battened down the hatches" and hopefully the wind won't be too strong. (Ugh, thinking of the yard cleanup after Rita in 2005.) If the storm strengthens and makes a direct hit, I'll blog again tomorrow as long as we have power.

Cantering

Riding lessons are going very well! On the third lesson, Bryan and Cameron both learned to Canter. Apparently this is harder than it looks on television or the movies. This week, at the 4th lesson, they tried again and looked much more comfortable. Cameron went first on Friday.

(Turn sound down, because the wind is blowing loudly across the camera microphone.)



Brenna hasn't cantered yet. She is still walking, trotting, learning turns, basic control over the horse. She's riding a new horse, Sally, who really wanted to trot, not walk. On another video Brenna is telling her "Whoa, walk!" - learning to keep control. She says to the instructor, "She wants to be the boss." The instructor calls back, "No, you're the boss." So Brenna leans down, taps her finger on the horse's neck and says, "You hear? I'm the boss!" Unfortunately, the wind noise on the microphone drowned out the last line. So I'm showing you this video of her doing the turns and practicing basic control. She looks like a little horsewoman just doing her thing.



I took some video of Bryan also, who looks real comfortable riding on Partner.

Almost finished

Last fall after we had the bathroom remodeled, we moved Cameron into her own room. We're almost finished fixing up her bedroom! Today we added curtains to the windows. The only thing left is to finish painting the little secretary desk that will go in the corner under the fancy lamp. I've sanded and primed it, but never quite made the time this weekend to put on the final coat of paint.

So, what do you think about the curtains?