The one thing I never liked about California is the freeways. And driving to East Oakland, then into San Francisco and back again after dinner was just plain stressful. Add in driving rain and its even worse. I just don’t know how people do it. However despite the rain, Ben and I still had a fun day in the city — a late lunch with Ben’s girlfriend’s Nana at Passion Pies, then Golden Gate Park museums. Ben spent a couple hours at the Academy of Sciences while I went across the way to the Museum of Fine Arts- de Young.
The views from the observation tower of the museum were great. I could actually see the flowers at top of the trees closest to the museum (9 stories up). Unfortunately, it was rainy and windy so my photos didn’t turn out the best, but good enough to do what they’re supposed to, which is remind me of the experience of being there. The other fun thing was looking down at the plaza below at the Dr. Seuss-like Plane trees.
Dinner was perfect — a fresh seafood place next to the park, happy hour prices, sitting on the enclosed patio with a fire going. As always, Ben and I shared a beer, then sampled each others’ entrees– me ceviche and calamari, Ben sushi and poke. On our way back to Michael and Brandon’s in East Oakland, we stopped at the Rainbow Food Coop. Founded in the 1970s, the store is huge! For example, the bulk foods sections was 10x the size and variety of the A2 coop or Whole Foods. There was even a counter just for kimchis. However, we now have enough food in the car to easily last us a month.
What I learned today: 1. The Catholic Press Publishers, for which Nana is an editor, uses a printer in Dexter, about 4 miles from my house; 2. Motawi Tile is everywhere! including the SF art museum gift shop; and 3. I really want to take ceramics next semester at WCC and create some pieces similar to what I saw in the museum.
