(The magnificent Golden Gate and I, Marin Headlands)
Welcome one and all while I regale you with tales of our harrowing journey East, South and West! While we enjoyed seeing each and every one of you, there was nothing like pulling up in front of our place and realizing we would sleep in our own bed once again.
Wednesday, December 20- We dropped Maddy off at Fortuna Animal Medical Clinic and headed south toward San Francisco (never, EVER call it Frisco or San Fran- the locals hate that. You must always call it San Francisco or "The City"... when in Rome...). We arrived close to 2:30 and it was a beautiful day, as you can see from the photos. It was a bit chilly, but the sun was out! We headed down to Ghiradelli Square (near Fisherman's Wharf) to get some real chocolate from the actual factory! We then strolled down the hill to the cross of Powell and Hyde Street, where the Powell/Hyde Cable Car runs. Since we rode this during our trip to the city three years ago, we nixed any plans of making the run again, and headed down to Pier 45.
(The view up Hyde Street)
The Musee Mechanique resides at Pier 45, along with all things touristy- this is where the famed Fisherman's Wharf sign is perched. The Musee is a warehouse chock full of turn of the century arcade games, all only costing 25 cents. We got some change and spent a good 20 minutes taking in all the sights and sounds. After this, we walked back to the car, and headed through North Beach toward Chinatown, where the famed City Lights Bookstore lies on the thin line between the two neighborhoods. We browsed around a bit, heading up to the third floor where you find nothing but Beat Lit. We then headed through the city and up California, one of the steepest hills in town. While driving Blu, my stick-shift Hyundai Elantra, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. But a little experimenting and I was doing great in no time. We headed down through the city toward the Mission district, where we had dinner at the Zagat rated Dusit, a thai restaurant. Fabulous food and great service for a very inexpensive price. No wonder they're Zagat rated!! While driving through town, I realized that there is something about this city that is magical. This was the third time I've been, and every time I visit, I feel like I'm home. Like I belong there. There is an energy to the place like no other. I never felt like this in New York or Chicago, but the city always makes me feel as if it's my kind of town. Tony Bennett was right... you will definately leave your heart there.
Thursday, December 21- We flew out of Oakland at 7:30am (yikes!) and arrived at John Wayne/Orange County airport a fast hour later. Due to the awful weather in Denver, many flights to all other airports in the country were delayed or re-routed. Our 12:15 flight to O'Hare was delayed to 2:15, then to 3. We finally left the OC at 5, arriving at O'Hare at 10:15pm, 4 hours later than expected. However, when we picked up our "Economy" car at Budget, they had upgraded us to a Jeep Liberty 4x4 for free- sweet! We swung by Terminal 1 and picked up my girlfriend Ann, and were on our way home. Driving through the thick fog put us in Moline, IL at 3am. Ugh.
Friday, December 22- Awoke to see my Mom resting comfortably in her recliner after her knee surgery a week earlier. We had coffee, chatted and then I got ready for my lunch date with Les. I swung by her house to visit with her beau Corey and their two Labs, Gracie and Booda. Les and I went to this fantastic mediteranean restaurant called The Phoenician- fabulous hummus, tabuolleh (did I spell that right?) and falafel. I was so excited to see such a great restaurant finding it's place in humble little Davenport, Iowa. Afterward, Rob and I joined Bert (my stepdad) at Moline Orthapedic while Mom worked her ass off at PT. The four of us then paid our respects at Ann's moms visitation, ending the evening with a Vanderaisin sandwich at The Belgium Village (a Quad City institution!!!).
Saturday, December 23- What a great day, spending it with both family and friends! We met our friends Kalyca and Wade at Happy Joes Pizza (another QC favorite). The last time we saw them was in March, and Kal was 7 months pregnant with their beautiful baby, Alexa. Rob kept their 6-year-old Cacie busy in the arcade while we chatted about all kinds of interesting things. We enjoyed a nice long lunch with all of them.
(Wade and Alexa)
(Cacie)
Sunday, December 24- It was a pretty busy day for all, while Rob and I visited the grave of my Grandma and Grandpa Bedford (my dad's parents) before heading over to my mom's parents and Bert's parents for a visit before heading back to Mom and Bert's for tapas and drinks. We all got buzzed on wine/beer and sat talking late into the night. It was a blast!
Monday, December 25- Ah the Christmas Day Orgy... the morning was spent opening gifts with Mom and Bert, then enjoying a huge breakfast of eggs and bacon before heading off to the Elfline's for Christmas number 2. We all ate way too much of everything, then Rob and I were forced to sing a number for everyone. I was slightly drunk, which of course made me sound fabulous, then we all had some of Ross' (Rob's brother) caramel shortbread tart- so good! We ended the night by playing Trivial Pursuit-Totally 80's.
Tuesday, December 26- This was our last day in the QC, and we had to do a few quintessential QC things before departing. We first headed to Arthur's Garden Deli for a sandwich, picked up some groceries at Hy-Vee, then made a fab soup for Mom and Bert before ending the evening with Whitey's Ice Cream. And yes, my intestine is still reeling from all the food over the break!
Wednesday, December 27- Time to head to Cincinnati!! We loaded up the Jeep and headed East to see all our friends! But first, a stop in to see Nikki at Vintage Salon- the girl knows how to cut hair! Since my hair was so rudely butchered back in October, Nikki set me right and now, I have a fabulous head of hair. We then made it over to Charlie's house, got ourselves beautiful, and met everyone over at Hofbrauhaus in Newport, KY. We all ate, drank and were Mary... I mean, Merry!
(Mark, Melissa and B)
Next, we all headed over to Union Station for some Karaoke. While it was definately no Mary's, we still had a pretty bitchin' time. We even had the rare glimpse of Boy George, who serenaded us with Karma Chameleon!
(Chuck and me)
(Chuck, Charlie and Mel)
(Diane, Jess and me)We made good time into Chicago during rush hour, and finally got to the Hyatt, our home away from home before our flight out of O'Hare the next morning. We treated ourselves to real Chicago-style stuffed pizza at Giordano's (it's no Gino's or Lou Malnati's, but it was good) and hit the sack.
Friday, December 29- We flew out of O'Hare at 11am and made it to Dallas/Ft. Worth around 1:30. We ran our fannies from A to D terminals to find our flight to Orange County had been cancelled. When we arrived at DFW, the weather was slightly rainy. But by 4pm, it was pouring, hailing, along with tornado sightings!! At one point, we had to evacuate away from all windows due to tornados and high winds. Being the smart girl I am, I called American Airlines and changed our flight to leave on Sunday, and lucky us, my Dad (who lives in the Ft. Worth area) picked us up 20 mins. later! We were really quite happy we were able to see my Dad and step-mom Cathy over the holiday, as if it weren't for the nasty weather, we would have just flown out of DFW and never see them!! We were thinking the fates just knew we needed to see each other, and made it possible. We all had a nice meal out, then relaxed and watched tv before hitting the sack.
Saturday, December 30- When my Dad bought his house 10 years ago, Cathy couldn't understand how or why he wanted to. She loves to tell the story of when they went to look at the house, how a mouse ran across the floor in front of them. And all Dad could say was "Just think of what this house could be, Cathy?" Boy was he right. It's been 5 years since our last visit to Texas, and there have been some major renovations since then. A great room has been added with a wall of windows that looks onto the in-ground pool, barn and acreage. Dad also put in a humongous master suite/bath that is about as big as our apartment. They aren't quite done, but it already looks beautiful!
One of the best parts about visiting is all the animals on the property. Dad and Cathy own three dogs and two horses. Max, the long-haired Doberman mutt; Maggie the aging Golden Retriever; and Hanna, the skittish German Shepard beauty. And let's not forget the horses, Gummi and Rocky.
(Max)
(Rob and Maggie)
(Cathy and Hanna)
(Gummi)
Whenever we are visiting Texas, there is usually only one request... we have to eat at Babe's. What is Babe's, you ask? Only the finest Chicken Fried meat in this here 48 continental United States. Babe's is located in teeny tiny Roanoke, Texas, a mere 20 minutes north of Dad's house. Upon driving down the street, it looks like a scene out of To Kill a Mockingbird. Babe's is in the middle of the block on a gravel road, and looks like a mecca of neon and fried-worshipping congregations of people. Folks drive miles upon miles to feast upon Babe's, and will wait upwards of 2 hours just to get in the door. When we gave them our name, we were quoted a 90 minute wait. You gotta know that if people are waiting that long to eat at your restaurant, you are sitting upon a gold mine.
(Dad, me and Rob, awaiting all that fried goodness)
(One of my favorite signs inside Babe's)
Upon sitting down, the waitress takes your drink order and asks you if you want Chicken Fried Chicken or Chicken Fried Steak- you only have two choices at Babe's. Babe's is family-style, so when the food arrives, it's comes with plenty of helpings of mashed taters and gravy, biscuits, creamed corn and a platter of chicken or steak (I always get the chicken!), with seconds and thirds not far behind.
(My plate, right before the orgy of food)
(Rob and I- look at that platter of chicken to share just between the two of us!)
We ended the night with Dad and Cathy on the couch, watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
Sunday, December 31- Finally, time to come home. Dad dropped us off at 8am, and we boarded our flight to Oakland shortly after. We had a beautiful flight home, flying over the Colorado River Valley and the Grand Canyon. I've never seen it before, and seeing it from thousands of feet in the air was breathtaking. Here is a shot I got from the plane.
We arrive in Oakland at 11:30am to find American Airlines had lost our bags (they have since been found and are on the way to us via FedEx). After all is said and done, we are happy to be home, to sleep in our own bed, and to pick up Maddy on Tuesday- I miss my girl!!
1 comment:
Greetings from Arizona. I'm so sorry I missed you when you were in Cincinnati. Thanks for sharing the tales & photos of your adventures.
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