Mother's Day 2014

Thanks to the occasional business trip as we get to see Jeff (and sometimes Trish) a couple of times a year when work brings him to Northern California. This past weekend they had an overnight layover in San Francisco on a company excursion in Hawaii. We met at the Union Square Hilton early afternoon and spent the balance of the day together. We set out from the hotel to walk (yes, walk…Jeff’s idea) from Union Square to the Ferry Building. Actually, it was a beautiful day and fun to get out and walk the streets of San Francisco. 

Enjoying a glass of wine at the Ferry Building...

On the return trip we wimped out and took a cab back to the hotel. The driver was of Middle Eastern descent and said little to us except to ask where we were going. In the short mile back we had three near misses (entirely due to the cabbie’s aggressive driving).  Each time he’d swerve, blast his horn, yell something unintelligible, and speed ahead to leave the dazed driver wondering what just happened. Because there were four of us, Verne took the front seat leaving Jeff, Trish, and me to exchange looks and stifle laughter (out of fear for our lives) in the back seat. The final near miss occurred as we neared the hotel speeding down an alleyway and a Smart Car pulled out in front of us. This time Verne yelled out the window at the car calling it a "Stupid Car." The cabbie laughed uncontrollably. He'd found a kindred spirit! We arrived at the hotel all laughing and Verne told the cabbie that was the best ten minutes he’d had all weekend and gave him a big tip! The three of us agreed Verne has missed his calling and should be driving a cab in the city. He’d fit right in!

Backing up a bit, Verne and I had arrived in the City early that morning and attended a Georgia O’Keeffe - Modern Nature exhibit at the deYoung Museum. It was my fourth O’Keeffe exhibit and very different from the others I’d seen as it was limited to the artist’s years at Lake George. The paintings were predominantly her study of nature and finding the essence of her subject matter to the point they became an abstraction. For example, her first painting of the flower Jack in the Pulpit began with great detail and realism, but after several renditions was simply a very stylized, abstract painting of a stamen. Apparently, she believed that she’d captured it’s essence. To be honest, I preferred the more realistic version.

After our visit to the deYoung and trip to the Ferry Building with Jeff and Trish, we returned to our rooms to catch a quick rest for our night out on the town. Oh! Did I mention our room with a view? Not just any ordinary view, but a panoramic view of downtown San Francisco from the 33^rd floor of the Hilton. It was breathtaking!

We walked to the restaurant, E&O Asian Kitchen, where we enjoyed a relaxing dinner that I can only describe as Asian Fusion. The menu included a blend of foods and flavors with Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Indian influences. Our favorite selection was the corn fritters, a signature dish since opening. Sound like something you’d find in one of our Southern states?  Not even close! It was made with whole kernals of fresh corn and minced peppers (and a few other ingredients we have yet to identify) and quickly fried to a golden brown and crunchy consistency. My description doesn't begin to do this food justice, so on your next trip to San Francisco go to the E&O and have a plateful of fritters! You won’t be sorry. Our walk back took us through Union Square...

The McKenzie’s left bright and early Monday morning for their flight to Hawaii. We took our time and decided to have breakfast at an old favorite…Bette’s Oceanside Diner on 4^th Street in Berkeley. 

It was a nice reminder of the eight years we spent visiting daughters during their college days at Berkeley. Nothing had changed including the menu, so we had our favorite, the California (Bette’s version of an Eggs Benedict).  A visit to Berkeley isn’t complete without a trip to Stonemountain. We did our usual, Verne sat in the car and smoked his pipe and read the newspaper and I fabric shopped. A perfect Mother's Day!