09.18.06
Posted in California Life at 1:56 am by mathagat
And, here’s to proving you don’t need fancy plans to have a great time. Lindsey and I were going to head to Monterrey and Carmel, two beautiful coastal towns just a bit south from here this weekend for a getaway. A last minute decision found us staying home to more fitting plans of resting together, playing about a bit and knocking a few items off the old to-do list.
The wife is off to bed for the night and I thought I’d do a spot of rambling before I join her. I just want to say, life with Lindsey is wonderful! I’ve just had one of the best weekends of my married life, and we really didn’t do anything that particularly extraordinary. Just being together for a straight 48 hours+ was all that was needed. With my school and a busy work schedule and her teaching coupled with a few J.Jill shifts thrown in the mix, we haven’t seen a whole lot of each other, consistently speaking.
Here’s a recap of our weekend in short form: laundry, library, mailbox place, farmer’s market, muy bueno mexican hole-in-the-wall in berkeley, rei, target, albertson’s, more laundry, delish baked salmon and roasted veggies dinner at home, bed, toast and fruit, nice drive around sf to kill some time, macy’s at union sq, cornerstone church, asian bbq, rest, school work, chores, amazing race, heineken, blog, bed.
Here here!
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09.17.06
Posted in Vacations and Trips at 7:26 pm by mathagat
Back in Texas!
The stars at night are big and bright….deep in the heart of Texas!!! It has been two months since I last saw the Lone Star State and I was very thankful for the opportunity to go home for the weekend. The weekend was full of family and friends. I had the opportunity to renew my drivers license with my new name, visit my old friends at Whispering Pines and share many special moments with my two wonderful nieces. In addition to amazing times with my family I was able to enjoy two full days of Fab Four fun.
On Friday Crystal McReynolds and I drove to Austin to meet up with Myra Moran and Courtney Scraggs for our quarterly girls weekend. It was an amazing rejuvenating time of extra long conversations and laughter. Sunday and Monday were full of family, Mom and Dad had everyone over for lunch on Sunday. It was so nice to be able to catch up with everyone at the same time. Travis, Lesley and Emma even spent the night Sunday night – I was able to spend a little extra time teaching Emma all the important things she has to learn from me.
Monday was a crazy time of shopping for all the items that Matt and I enjoy but can’t seem to find in California. Yes there are items that we just can’t seem to find here like Wheat Chex and cherry pie filling…humm I’ve got so much to teach these Bay Area people. I’m working on the Blue Bell! After our shopping spree it was a mad dash to fit it all in the suitcases. I swear I felt like I lived in a 3rd world country with the amount of goodies I was brining back. And of course a stop by the long-time craved Pappasito’s, and then we were off to the airport.
My weekend in Texas was wonderful and I look forward to visiting again, but for the time being Matt and I are going to work on living it up in California.
**Side note – when traveling never pack your suitcase too full…right now with all the FDAA regulations the airlines are opening all checked luggage. My suitcase was totally turned upside down when I returned home – I guess the poor security man was too busy picking up all my snacks that he had to just shove everything back into my case. I even ended up with some poor acid reflux ridden person’s Alka-Seltzer!
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Posted in California Life, Vacations and Trips at 6:27 pm by mathagat
Map of West Coast – Half Moon Bay
For the first time in a long while Matt and I both had the day off. We were so excited about our free time that we chose to enjoy the day by shopping and taking a day trip to Half Moon Bay. Our day began with a trip to Union Square in San Francisco. Union square is an amazing part of San Fran that is full of large department stores and shops.
After hitting the Macy’s one-day sale we decided it was time to head to the beach. Half Moon Bay is located one hour south of San Francisco right on the coast and is a very cute little town full of shops and surf. Matt and I enjoyed a drive down the Pacific Coast Highway through the newly opened Devil’s Slide and within one short hour we were at Half Moon Bay. We had packed a picnic lunch and thought we might eat on the beach but it turned out everyone else had the same idea. The parking lots for the beaches were packed. We ended up eating our picnic in the car away from the beach, but thankfully we did get great views of the sand and surf as we were driving by. After we ate we decided to enjoy the shops on Main street. Half Moon Bay’s main street is very similar to Fredericksburg – shops, restaurants, and wine. It was a great time. Matt and I browsed the shops until they started closing.
Taking Rachel Ray’s advice we asked the locals where we should eat for dinner. The owner of the furniture shop directed us to Barbara’s FishTrap – the down dive that guarantees a fresh piece of fish. He wasn’t kidding either! This was the tiniest, no frills restaurant with the best food. Evidently everyone knew about it because there was a bit of a wait so Matt and I passed the time by admiring the HUGE hydrangeas that grew outside the restaurant. These flowers were a big as my head – and I’m not exaggerating! After looking over the menu Matt and I decided to split the cholesterol special! It was a plate of fried fish, calamari, vegetables, fries, and shrimp! Oh my goodness 900000000 calories! And, we can’t forget the Chinese beer special they were running. We can’t remember the name, but it was a tasty lager. It was all delicious and worth every bite.
Behind the FishTrap is a very long pier that goes out into the harbor. Matt and I had some time before the musical so we decided to walk off a few of those calories. It was amazing, as we were walking down the pier we could see live starfish attached to the rocks in the water and tons of little crabs scurrying about. I was in awe! I’ve never seen a live starfish except in captivity at Moody Gardens. It was a great experience.
After dinner Matt and I enjoyed the final presentation of South Pacific at the Coastal Repertory Theater of Half Moon Bay. Of course it was a great experience and inspired us to visit the theater more often. We headed back to Oakland after a great day of fun eager to begin planning on next getaway.
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