Cross Posting Test

Oh, San Francisco

Our trip to San Francisco this last Thanksgiving week felt like a melange of places and times and parallel lives put together.

Nov 17 (Sat): Could have beens

Dex took us to San Jose / Silicon Valley and we visited the Google campus. Man, nice facilities-- quirky buildings, nice cubes, gourmet cafeteria, beach volleyball court, table tennis. And these are just the amenities we could spot from walking the periphery. Our trip was cut short when the guard shooed us (and a couple of other tourists) off. =) Couldn't help but wonder what it's like to work for them, with all those perks-- not to mention the stock options!

Next, we went to Stanford. Campus was well laid out and there were guided tours of the facilities. Cathy and I debated on which campus between Harvard and Stanford we preferred and we ended up split (with me favoring Harvard). - I allowed myself to indulge in thinking: would I make the grade and get into an Ivy League?

We ended the day with a visit to Cathy's aunt in Daly City. It truly felt like entering another country, what with the different styling of the houses and the Filipino faces speaking English with an American twang. - Could this be a view into what Manila would have looked like if the US had annexed the Philippines as a state?

Nov 18 (Sun): Journey to the East

Ah, the quintissential tourist trap - the sightseeing bus tour. We took the hop on, hop off tour around San Francisco. We took the requisite pictures of the hilly streets and the street cars. We also dallied in Fisherman's Wharf where the Christmas tree was being lit for the season. Afterwards, we decided to be adventurous and take the Muni - real public transport. This took us to Chinatown and more points due east than we expected.

From the amahs pushing their ways through, to the high-pitched jibber jabber, to the overpowering smell of Chinese herbs, menthol, and produce, there was no denying it: the moment we stepped off the bus in Chinatown, we were transported to a place more akin to HK than to the US of A. Dont get me wrong: I am used to Chinatown. But this scene, in the US-- the idea did not click. In any case, we regained our bearings and headed for a late lunch. The much-anticipated San Francisco dimsum ended up being a major disappointment. The 'highly recommended' dimsum place was blah by our Filipino-Chinese standards. I blame it on our gullibility and thinking Fodors can actually judge a good Chinese restaurant.

In any case, the Chinatown was not without its highlights. We chanced upon a branch of Quickly - a familiar chain of stores selling milk tea tapioca and pudding drinks. We also perused Chinese DVDs and CDs and even lineups of English movies with Chinese subtitles-- just for the heck of it. All that was missing from the picture was some street urchin hawking live snake and it could have been a stroll down Ongpin.

Nov 19 (Mon): So Close, Yet So Far

Monday was supposedly Alcatraz but in my book, it was Jollibee day. We knew there was a Jollibee outlet in the city but we did not know exactly where and what to expect. I was confident my nose would lead us to it but 30 mins of walking down the busy financial center later, I knew my aural facilities was not up to task. We sought Dex's assistance to get us exact directions and armed with the address, directions from three passersby, and thirty minutes walking in a drizzle later, we caught sight of the overweight bee. The cashier greeted us with a cheery and unmistakeably accented 'Gud morning, maam/sir. Welcome to Jollibee!". I was ready for some 'langhap sarap'.

While Cathy immediately gravitated towards the chickenjoy, I could not decide among the spaghetti, palabok, and burger steak. I 'settled' for both the spaghetti and palabok (pictured). At $14 dollars for the lot, it was the most expensive Jollibee I have ever had. But I have to say: It was worth it. I was prepared to be disappointed too. Whether it was the long trek, the sense of purpose and fulfillment in finding it, or comfort in the familiar: I was sold. This was the very definition of comfort food.

We made our way to the Alcatraz cruise departure point and got on an earlier trip. Alcatraz was interesting but what stuck with me was the prisoner's accounts that the most excrutiating part of being there was seeing/hearing the city's sights and sounds and having it so far out of reach. I could certainly relate to the feeling and pondered the idea all the way back to the 'mainland'. We had a late lunch of clam chowder at Boudin's (yum) and dallied feeding the pigeons- to the busboys chagrin. We finished much earlier than expected so we decided to take the Muni again- this time to the Golden Gate bridge for some up close and personal shots (pictured). Satisfied, we headed back to San Ramon where we had dinner with Dex at Fresh Choice, a salad and soup buffet place. Hmmm, in restropect, food truly was the highlight of this day.

Nov 20 (Tue): "When you're tried, you take a nap-a, you dont move to Napa"

OK, Cathy kept repeating that quote from Sex in the City so it stuck. Anyway, Tuesday had us hieing off to Napa Valley / Sonoma for some serious wine-tasting. Neither Cathy nor I really drank wine so it was an interesting experience overall. We visited three vineyards, each having very different specialties and atmospheres (distinctly French, or Italian, or somewhere in between) and sampled their brews. I can safely say I am now a convert. I henceforth plan to drink more wine, now that I am familiar with the pretension around inspecting, sniffing, sampling, and swirling it.

The scenery and the pace made this the most relaxing day of the entire trip. It prepared us for the long day that was our Yosemite trip.

Nov 21 (Wed): The Great Outdoors

Wednesday had us waking up bright and early to catch the 530 train from San Ramon to our pickup point in San Francisco. We did not know what to expect of this day except the long drive out to the park. We were in for a pleasant surprise. When the scenery started to give way to tall trees and lush verdure, we knew we were in Yosemite. Our senses were engulfed by the fresh scent of trees/pine(?), the cool mountain breeze that steadily grew cooler as the day went by, and the pervasive green as far as we could see. We were also struck by the sight of El Capitan's sheer rock face. Too bad the water had dried up on the falls, else it would surely have been a sight to behold. - None of the parks we have gone to before came close to this as a sampling of the great outdoors.

Summary

Cathy and I inevitably had to decide where San Francisco ranks in our list of fave US cities. While it did not unseat NYC from the top spot, or Boston from #2, it would rank in the top 5. Certainly, this trip offered the most diversity of all Cathy and I have had to date. And it is one that will certainly be worth coming back to.

PS Thanks to Dex for his hospitality during our trip!

Into the Wild

Sometimes you wonder why you ever put it off.

In this case, it was this trip to Red River Gorge. Otherwise known as Kentucky's Rockies, I've heard about it before and have always wanted to see the fall foliage there. Missed the chance these last two years but was not about to miss it again this year. So on November 13, seven of us plied the 2.5 hours from Cincinnati to Slade, KY.

We started bright and early at 8am, converging at a Mcdonalds somewhere in KY to switch up passengers. Was it our imagination, or were people looking at us weird? Yep, we were definitely not in the city anymore.

Our first stopover was the Kentucky Horse Park. As the name suggests, it was all about our equine friends. Because of an err, navigational error, we ended up in a track meet at the other side of the park. In any case, we FINALLY (! - the park has 1,224 acres in all) found the stables where one could rent horses. We were too early for the next ride so we toured the museum. History of horses, anyone? It was good for whiling away the time till the horses were ready.

We got assigned horses according to 'riding experience' and build - needless to say, I got the largest horse of everyone in our group. It was a guided 45 minute trail ride, which was really a leisurely trot around the general area of the stable. It was good fun, the pain to the backside, aside. (Trivia: because of the recent drought and shortage of hay, one of the horses we were riding would have cost $500. Their monthly upkeep is ~$200 though).

The excitement worked up our appetites and we were ready for the buffet at the mountain lodge. But as fate and our GPS would have it, we ended up in the middle of a sub-urban community. We settled for a Chinese buffet instead.

After a hearty lunch, we proceeded to the Natural Bridge. The Natural Bridge is a 900 ton sandstone arch that does, in fact resemble a bridge. Getting to it was a rough, mostly vertical trek. What was supposedly a leisurely 30-minute hike had us wheezing from the exertion. Our full tummies were partly to blame as were, in Cathy's and my case, our heavy snow shoes (alright, it was my idea). In any case, we were not immediately appreciative of the display of colors and natural splendor (thirst and exhaustion does that to you) but we gradually succumbed to nature's charms. We took pictures knowing the camera would not capture the beauty of the scenery. In the end, everyone hied off home with sore muscles but filled with their memories of the day. All in all, it was a good day with friends, against a backdrop of nature's unabashed display.

Who's to say that all the anticipation from having put it off did not add to the excitement?

Into the Woods

It's that time of the year again where it's hard to keep track of the days as they whiz by.

Daytime is also getting shorter. It was definitely time time to soak up as much sun as possible, while available.

November 3 (Saturday): Visited Little Miami Park for the first time. Hiked around the park and enjoyed the crunch of dried up leaves as we trudged through the woods. It was a good time to be out: not too cold (though winter was certain hinting at his approach) and not too hot. We soaked up the last bit of sun before heading off to the mall =).

November 4 (Sunday): Watched a production of "Into the Woods" at Xavier University. Not bad at all. The music itself was not that impressive but I liked the storyline. It played with themes like: what happens after we get what we want?

Happily ever afters -- redux.- Too much work if you ask me, especially on these weekends that end too soon.