Sunday, August 8

I can't believe today was our last day together! Derrick and Michael went to the Oakland A's game today so they didn't go on any adventures with us. They were pleased when the Athletics beat the Texas Rangers 3-2. Uncle Nick met us at our hotel at 9 AM this morning and we loaded up into one car drove to Bud's to pick him up and headed up to Muir Woods. The day was cool and misty. We were a little bit sad we couldn't enjoy the view on the drive down to the woods, but grateful there was a place to park that wasn't too far away. Uncle Nick graceously treated us to the park admission and we took the longest trail around the park at length of 1.5 miles. We spent more time looking up than watching where we were going so it was a meandering walk. Visiting Muir Woods is like being transported to another world and you can't really wrap your mind around how big the trees are until you see them. It was Banana Slug day at Muir Woods and we happened to spot one and admire it.









When we left, we had a bit of time to go to Stinton Beach which was close by. It was still overcast and we had some remains of the picnic lunch in the trunk from the day before, so we tailgated in the parking lot before walking down to the beach. The beach was overcast and cool, but some people were still in the water. We stuck our feet in the Pacific Ocean and then took a short walk down the beach. Arthur paused to work out a few equations in the sand.









On the way back to Berkeley, we decided we should get some wine to bring to Mr. Fisher's house. We made a quick stop at a neat little wine shop, stopped on the Richmond bridge for a photo op, then decided to swing by Palm Court and recreate the Chelle/Cole pose. Derrick and Michael picked up Jocelyn on their way to Mr. Fisher's house as they had the other car.









We then headed over to Mr. Fisher's house who graceously welcomed us. Nicole remembered where the blackberry bushes used to be that we had picked many years ago. Mr. Fisher's friend Sue prepared a lovely dinner of lasagna, salad, mixed veggies, and bread with a dessert of ooey gooey brownies. (See creating-a-foodie.blogspot.com for the recipe.) We shared some wine and told lots of stories, including telling Sue the bald-headed head story. Arthur had gotten Mr. Fisher some magnetic BBs known as Buckyballs and Michael was enjoying playing with them but everyone took a turn fiddling as well. One Buckyball got lost under the table and we made vain attempts at finding it; at one point there were more dinner guests under the table then on top of it. Uncle Nick hit it off with Mr. Fisher and I think they would be friends if they lived closer to each other. We also had fun debating ways to reassemble the Buckyballs into a cube. Between two doctors in philosophy, an engineer, a doctor in literature, an airplane pilot, two teachers, and two managers, the various approaches to problem solving were interesting. We all hugged goodbye and promised to get together again soon.












Derrick and Rach took Uncle Nick to our hotel to get his car, while Chelle and Cole took Arthur and Jocelyn back to Berkeley. Uncle Nick is flying back to LA way too early so he can go to work on Monday, and Derrick and Michael leave at 6:50 AM. Chelle, Cole, and Rach are going to meet at the airport for breakfast one last time!

The Most Ironic Thing Happened in Berkeley

This story is so amazing that it deserves its own post.

On Saturday we were planning on taking a picnic lunch to Napa Valley and wished to purchase a styrofoam cooler. We went to Trader Joe's to buy the food, but they (in their eco-conscious, organic goodness) do not sell styrofoam in the store. The cashier recommended we that we try the gas station on the corner, but they didn't appear to have one and didn't speak English.

Pushed for time to get to a tasting, we decided to try to stop at a store Chelle was familiar with on the way to get Bud. Chelle called ahead to see if they did have cooler before we wasted more time playing the parking game. The nice man on the phone assured us they did have styrofoam coolers.

During the checkout process, there were two open lines. Our cashier was a nice Asian man, and behind us was an African American male cashier. Chelle was almost done paying and Nicole was helping to bag. We were chatting and the other cashier noted our cooler and said, "You ladies were the ones who called about the cooler."

I replied that we were indeed, and that we realized we were in Berkeley and styrofoam coolers were hard to come by, so I thanked him for having them. He said that, actually, they like styrofoam in Berkeley because styrofoam is an oil-based product, and there is a lot of Big Oil money in Berkeley. Chelle was half listening to the conversation, but engrossed in paying her cashier and not really following along.

I looked at the other cashier for a second and said in shock, "Are you a REPUBLICAN in BERKELEY?!" He grinned from ear to ear and I could tell I hit the nail on the head!

I paused for a second more and said, "Are you a BLACK REPUBLICAN in BERKELEY?!!!?!!! The man's grin on his face was priceless!

At this point a vortex of slow-motion engulfed the scene and everything came to a screeching halt. Everybody in the checkout lines stopped and stared and Michelle had a mortified 'Oh no, she didn't!' expression on her face.

The cashier said, "This day is off to a very good start." We finished our transaction and I told him to have an excellent day.

He was still chuckling when we left.

Saturday's Poll

Today's poll relates to the photo of the young man below:

Saturday, August 7th

This morning Nicole and Chelle woke up and went to Trader Joe's to grab things for a a picnic lunch. Then everyone met at our hotel. Uncle Nick drove his car while Chelle navigated with Bud and Jocelyn in the back, and Cole went with Rachael, Derrick, and Michael. We drove to Napa Valley and sneaked into a tour at Rutherford Hill Winery at 11:30. We sampled 5 wines throughout the tour as we went into the caves to see the wines being aged. We were not overly impressed with Rutherford except for the vastness of the caves as our tour guy seemed to be bored.









Then we drove about 4 miles to the Perj Winery. They had several tasting stations so as soon as we got there we sampled several wines as the wine host explained about the wines. His name was Jeff and he was fantastic.





We went out to the picnic tables by the vineyards and ate our picnic lunch. Jocelyn gave each of the sisters a jar of the homemade plum jam that she makes from Berkeley plums. Then we wandered the grounds and took some shots by the koi pond.













Finally, we drove a few miles to the Rubicon Winery, which was owned by Francis Ford Coppella. This was unique in that they had a small film museum, wines dating to 1868, a fabulous gift shop, a huge tasting room, and a snack bar. We wandered around and debated about driving back in the traffic. We ended up just hanging out for 2 hours and we were the last people to leave. The weather was PERFECT as was the scenery. If Nicole had a spare $300, she would have bought Mark an awesome guilloutine (sp?) cigar cutter.















Arthur had to do some work to prepare for Monday so we dropped him and Jocelyn off back at the apartment. Then the rest of us went to Zachary's Pizza for dinner. We had an awesome deep dish pepperoni pizza. Tomorrow the sibs and Nick are going to Muir Woods while Derrick and Michael catch the A's game. Then we are invited to Mr. Fisher's house for dinner!



Cheers!

Polls

Not too many people are voting in our polls. Arthur is leaning toward the Hemp Convention opportunity so we really need your opinion.



Today's new poll involves the Interceptor 2, pictured below:

Friday, August 6th

First this morning we met at Arthur's apartment and walked over to Yoli's for breakfast.



The video should end with the following picture but the time was cut short.





Then Arthur wanted to take us to the Berkeley Rose Garden which was beautiful. There was a crocheted sign post there- so typically Berkeley. A second sign warned not to drink the water in the creek, but it was OK for bong water. The garden was a good place to take a sibs photo.















After that we visited the UC Berkeley bookstore and bought some Berkeley/Cal t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hats. Then we drove across the Bay Bridge to San Francisco to get to Pier 39. We parked in the parking garage and bought tickets for the Blue and Gold Fleet for a 60 minute tour of the San Francisco Bay. We went out under the Golden Gate Bridge and then circled back to journey past Alcatraz and Angel Island. The scenery everywhere was amazing. We then walked up to see the sea lions and had a snack of pretzels and salt water taffy on Pier 39. We fed a seagull and a pigeon whose mother must of taken thalidomide. We called him Stumpy. We also picked up some Boudin Sourdough Bread in the tourist trap.













Sea lions are adorable!



Derrick had never seen Lombard Street so we wanted to do that and Coit Tower. We got in the queque for the climb and decent and then tried to park at Coit Tower (not happening) and but snagged a spot on Broadway View Terrace and hiked up to the park. The line was long so we just took advantage of the fantastic 360 degree free view. Then Uncle Nick called and said he was here(!) so we planned to meet him at 6 PM at the House of Nanking, a restaurant in Chinatown that Bud recommended.





We played the parking game again, then walked to the restaurant. We were seated within 5 minutes. It was perfect timing because the line was down the block when we left. Uncle Nick found us. Bud recommended we just ask what was good, and let them bring us food. We had mushrooms with onion and basil, fried chicken wontons with peanut sauce, shredded greens, fish with sauteed spinach, sesame chicken with squash and sweet potatoes, garlic beef with fried rice noodles, pork with cucumbers and basil, and tempura batter green beans with shrimp. We had TsingTao beer to drink and hot tea made in a tall glass without teabags. It was out of this world!











Then we tried to go ride the cable car up the Powell/Hyde street hill but the line was so long and the fog blew in and it was cold! So we walked across the street to the Buena Vista to get Irish Coffees and a bite of dessert.




Cole and Chelle took Nick back to his car, and then took Bud back home. Rach, Derrick, and Michael are staying at an Emeryville hotel for the rest of the time. Nick is staying at the Hampton Inn by the airport. Tomorrow we are all meeting at 10 AM to do Rutherford Napa Valley Wine Country. Mr. Fisher invited us all to his house on Sunday night for dinner!