September

Yesterday, Stacey and I celebrated the end of the summer with a trip to Santa Cruz.  Our first stop was Bonny Doon Winery.  We have been buying their excellent wines for a while, so we were excited to finally make it to their tasting room in the mountains above Santa Cruz.  We tasted, among other things, a very interesting dry Orange Muscat and an amazing dessert wine called Le Vol des Anges.  Our visit might have been perfect had a bus full of screaming drunk winery-hoppers not arrived while we were there.  One woman stumbled across the floor, lost her shoe, and then ran out of the tasting room, stealing a bottle of Viognier Doux on the way.  Classy.

Next stop: Santa Cruz Boardwalk, which just celebrated its 100th birthday.  Santa Cruz has plenty to offer, including some great beaches and the beautiful campus of the University of California at Santa Cruz, but my wife is from the Jersey Shore, after all, so she does enjoy a good boardwalk.  We had fun riding the Logger's Revenge and playing pinball.  We also thought it would be fun to ride the Sky Gliders, below.  They moved slowly and looked tame.  Too bad we are both afraid of heights!  I think we hyperventilated the whole way.  They're higher than they look.

We also attempted a round of mini golf in the pirate-themed Neptune's Kingdom, which is delightfully tacky (see below.  That volcano "erupts" periodically, and cannons shoot smoke rings into the course).  But it was incredibly busy, and after waiting...and waiting...after the first two holes, we finally cut our losses and went to dinner.  Aaarrr!

Two weeks ago, I helped Loa, my cousin Jeff's wife, throw a baby shower for Jessica, my cousin Rick's wife.  Their daughter is due on October 20th.  I'm looking forward to meeting her!

At work, we are participating in a department-wide photo journal this month.  Since we work in seven different offices across the country, it gives us a chance to see what everyone else's work life looks like.  I thought I'd include a picture of the view from our library, below.  That's the Ferry Building and the Bay Bridge in the distance.

Labor Day in Marin County

For Stacey and me, Marin County has served mostly as a gateway to Sonoma County, its neighbor to the north and oenological superior. However, for our Labor Day outing, we wanted something slightly closer to home. So we headed up to San Francisco, over the Golden Gate Bridge and into Marin, with its million-dollar views and multi-million-dollar homes.

Our first stop was Muir Woods National Monument, so Stacey could finally see some redwood trees. I have been to Muir Woods before, and as I recalled, the drive there is as good as the destination. From the peninsula, you drive through San Francisco and over the bridge. On a clear day like today, the view is stunning. Once in Marin, the road winds through eucalyptus trees, the scent of which finds its way into your car even with the windows closed. Eventually, you are driving along the edge of a valley with views of the Pacific Ocean (you can barely see it in the picture below).

Muir Woods is lovely but tends to be crowded. Of course, today was no exception -- but it was a nice walk nonetheless.

And we saw deer! Three of them were eating along the banks of a stream with no concern for the hoard of tourists snapping photos a few feet away from them.

When we'd had our fill of nature, we drove into the town of Sausalito. Sausalito, with its ferry from San Francisco, its views of the city, and its downtown shopping, is a major tourist destination. Somehow we managed to spend the afternoon there without getting anywhere near the crowds -- even though the Sausalito Art Festival was going on this weekend.

Our primary destination was Fish., a small restaurant on the docks that's run by a former fine-dining chef with a staunch commitment to sustainable seafood. It was worth the wait in line for our food: a Miyagi oyster po' boy with a spicy chili-lime slaw, and a crab roll with fresh-cut shoestring fries. The po' boy was delicious, but the crab roll, below, stole the show. This may be the West coast's best answer to New England's lobster rolls: a buttered and grilled roll (from local bakery Acme Bread Company) filled with a pile of Dungeness crab, dressed in just a bit of butter and some chives. Better than a lobster roll? I'm not telling.

After lunch, our path back to the parking lot just happened to lead past the Heath Ceramics Factory Store. Heath is a local ceramics manufacturer that's been making simple, beautiful tableware for sixty years. They aren't cheap, but the pieces are timeless and sturdy -- and luckily, you can buy discounted seconds and discontinued items at the factory store. I picked out the vases below. I love them.

Happy fall, everyone! OK, I know it doesn't start until September 22nd, but it might as well be fall once we're past Labor Day. My first week of school went well: one down, fourteen to go!