Bay Area Trip Part II: Fun

I know... pretty lame, completing blog entries a week late.  Just a few quick bullets and photos from last weekend's Bay Area activities.

• Meeting up with Christy and U-Boat in SF, after dropping off my rental bloatmobile off at SFO and taking BART up.
  
  
  Because, really, all the good parties end up in the bathroom. Oh, wait a second...
  
  
• Oakland Farmer's Market with Christy! It's embarassing that I think of myself as a recreational foodie, but that I've never actually seen artichokes in bloom. Wow! A very pretty flower. Plus you can totally see, "Yep, it's just a big damn thistle."
  
  
  
  
• CalTrain with Chuck down to South Bay, to end up at Perlick's birthday party. Happy birthday Perlick! If it helps you feel old, he's 35. Duuude.
  
  
  I brought provisions for margaritas and whipped up a batch. It was great to see that there are some young tEps (Darwin, sMark) hanging out with the Bay Area drooler crowd. In fact, sMark noted that this following conversation took place:
  
  Chuck: Yeah, so I sent it to a professional; I didn't have the right equipment.
  Bats: Oh, I guess you're not a tool whore like me.
  Perlick (to his co-workers): Yeah, if you guys are ever in the Boston area, and you need a tool, this is your man!
  
  We were talking about bicycle repair. Really. Um. Yeah.
  
  
• Dinner over at Schmooz & Jen's--a kid-filled evening! Jason & Felicia, Lucky & Karthiga, and their respective kids were all over that night. Max also has one seriously awesome treehouse now.
  
  
  
  
• A morning park hang-out session with the Schmoozes, and Pearl & Steve (and kids). Pearl is an architect now; she wanted to pick my brain about some building geekery stuff; I was happy to oblige.
  
  
• Lunch with the rotating crowd back at the Schmoozes--Perlick & family also rolled by, and later Jofish & Erin.
  
  
  
  
• A ride up to SF with Jofish & Erin, followed by dinner at SPQR with Judy & John--lovely little Italian Restaurant. I thoroughly recommend their little dishes, such as Brussels sprouts with garlic, parsley, capers, and lemon. Excellent octopus as well. However, not enough critical mass of omnivores to try Beef tongue with horseradish sauce, or other, even odder food. The main pasta dishes were good, but not as stellar or inventive--if I went back, I'd go for a vast selection of antipasti instead.
  
  
  
  
• Jazz with Judy & John at Yoshi's San Francisco--Latin jazz by Eddie Palmieri All-Stars--fantastic and kickin'. If I go back, though, I would recommend either buying reserved seating or having dinner there--otherwise, it is a scramble for the seats that are left over.
  
  
  
  
• I got dropped off at Seppo's in Oakland--a bunch of folks were throwing their Alinea Challenge Party. I consider myself quite fortunate that I got to sample some of their results--holy cow, odd tasty weird science!
  
  
• Travels home sucked--not only being sick and groggy-headed, but dealing with a three hour delay due to weather at Logan, and arriving home around 1 AM. Ugh.
  
  

Huge thanks for everyone's hospitality!! Wow... an incredibly full, but tiring, weekend wrap up to a long trip. But I think I'll be back out there in July, if plans hold! Hope to see y'all soon!