For Labor Day weekend, my friend and former boss, Mike, graciously invited me out to the San Francisco Bay area to spend the weekend visiting with him and his wife, Sue. Mike gave me my first job out of college 7 years ago (technically, he made me an offer heading into my senior year while interning for him), but he has since retired and moved to Oakland to be closer to his family. While I've moved on to work for three other companies since working for Mike, I'm always grateful that we've remained friends and to have him as a strong mentor. Prior to this visit, I hadn't seen Mike and Sue for over two years, so there was lots of catching-up to do, on top of playing host and tour-guide to me.
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| Napa Valley |
First major stop on my itinerary was to visit Napa Valley. I've always heard great things about Napa, but I was always skeptical and thought it was probably the usual hype that I was hearing from people, but it turned out I really enjoyed the area. While the wine that Napa has to offer is definitely the main attraction, I found the atmosphere in Napa really calming and a great place to just "get away" for some R&R. We only did a day trip to Napa, but I'd definitely like to return for an extended stay in the future. During our day trip, we went to three wineries that Mike and Sue belong to as wine club members: St Supery, Peju, and Whitehall Lane. Of the three, Whitehall Lane was definitely my favorite. St Supery seemed like it was just scaling-up, while Peju came off too stuffy and pretentious. Whitehall Lane was just right (I know, kinda sounds like the story of the three bears).
The next major impression of San Francisco that stuck with me from this trip was what a great city for food -- San Francisco has so much variety and fresh foods to offer. So far in my 12-in-12 stops this year, San Francisco ranks high up there with Iceland in terms of places that has great food to offer. One of the best things I've eaten all year, has to be the Dungeness Crab & Avocado salad -- huge portions of crab minus all the work of shelling the meat out!
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| Dungeness Crab & Avocado Salad |
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| Dungeness Crab |
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| Seafood Tostada |
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| Calamari Caesar Salad |
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| Grand Marnier Souffle |
Of course I couldn't visit the Bay Area without seeing all the tourist sights that San Francisco is known for, such as Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz, Cable Cars, and of course the Golden Gate Bridge! It blows my mind how many long bridges there are connecting the Bay Area together. I must admit, there is something unsettling in the back of my mind while driving over these bridges knowing I'm in an earthquake-prone area....The other thing that stuck out for me were all the expensive homes that are built on the hillsides -- that too isn't very appealing to me knowing "the big one" could strike...
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| Golden Gate Bridge |
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| Bay Bridge |
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| Alcatraz |
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| Seals on Pier 39 |
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| Cable Car |
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| Pricey Homes in Sausalito |
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| Mike & Me |
While I only got to get a flavor of San Francisco in a few days, I know I definitely want to go back to visit again and absorb (and taste) more of what the city has to offer. The highlight of my trip remains the warm welcome I got from Mike and Sue into their home -- their hospitality really warmed my heart, and I'm so grateful to have them in my corner. Thanks again, Mike & Sue, for a great weekend! I couldn't have asked for better hosts and tour guides...
I think it's awesome that you still keep in contact with a former boss. Mike must be a really great guy. ^_^ I don't even keep in touch with any of my teachers from school. San Francisco~ I've never been even though I have a cousin who lives there. Wine country and food~! My favorite things~ mmm very envious. Seems like you had a lot of great salads this trip! I would also love to try that Dungeness Crab. As you have also mentioned I heard from others that it is very good. I live in the mountain area now so I miss fresh seafood. T_T This year is almost up. I can't believe it! It's not easy to plan 12 for 12 but you are almost there.
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