Camerasutra

Sonoma County in the Spring does not even seem real.  The rolling hills are of a shape and color that I’ve not seen anywhere else.  The gnarled trees are so interspersed on the hillside that I can’t figure out if they are that way intentionally or by freak accident.  And perhaps best of all, this incredible countryside produces lots and lots of delicious wine and awe inspiring food.  Seriously, what else could you ask for?

Jess and I arrived in Healdsburg to meet up with my friend Kim around lunch time.  Kim had to finish up some website designs for Preston Vineyards, so we killed an hour walking around town, eating Mexican food, and gawking at the rich people inside the Hotel Healsburg.  When Kim finally finished up her work, we raced in the Dodge Avenger to see if we could get to the winery before the designs did.

Preston Vineyards, like most of the vineyards around here, is so beautiful that it doesn’t even seem real.  The sun is out, the temperature is perfect, the organic gardens are growing, the chickens are happily hatching, the fresh aroma of biodiesel and photovoltaics is in the air, and inside they are pouring amazing wine into your glass.  Best of all, when you finish that one, they refill it.  There is no better man to be pouring your wine than Ken.  He is quick with a joke or a light of your smoke….he says “man, what are you doing here?”.  If that is not already a song lyric, it should be.

On the way over to Preston Jess told us that when she and her Mom first drove through this area, it was not a destination.  Rather, it just happened to be on their route.  When they stopped to eat, they inquired what all of the tiny little trees were.  They were amazed that there was field after field of them.  The waiter informed them that they were grape vines….also know as wine trees.

After imbibing a bit of wine, we grabbed the bocce balls and headed outside for some serious bocce balling.  Kim methodically destroyed each one of us and we quickly moved away from the court before anyone’s feelings got hurt.  Jess grabbed a fresh orange off of the tree and we headed onto to the next stop.

Just when you didn’t think it could get more surreal, enter Bella Vineyards.  Bella has built an giant network of caves underneath their vineyard to house a cute gift shop, a tasting room, awesome t-shirts, and endless rows of barrels containing wine in its various stages.  My favorite part of this stop was seeing the guy brave enough to wear his AIG Hawaii shirt out for tasting.  I at least hope he blew most of his bonus money at The French Laundry.

After tasting, I finally got to see my buddy Greg, a.k.a Fish, a.k.a Kim’s hubby.  Greg and I went to JMU together and had the pleasure of sharing many fun times when I was living in Northern California.  Greg rode his bike across country a few years before I did and he still commutes an hour each way to work on his bike.  I think if I lived in an area this gorgeous, I might do the same.

We ate dinner at SCOPA restaurant in downtown Healdsburg.  As Kim and Greg are good friend with the owners, we were able to secure the only outside table. This earned us cool evening breezes, fresh air, and plenty off nasty looks from other customers who coveted this sacred spot.  Our waiter was Scott Beatie.  I came to find out that he used to run the bar program at Cyrus restaurant but quit to write a book on Artisanal Cocktails (more on those cocktails later).  The food and service at SCOPA are second to none.  I don’t think I can ever eat another meatball unless it is from here.  Best of all, the amazingly thoughtful owners had a stash of gluten-free pasta in the kitchen so Jess was able to slurp pasta with the rest of us.

For an after drink cocktail, we headed to the bar at Cyrus.  The drinks there are the ones featured in Scott’s book.  I’m a bourbon and ginger guy, but I thought I’d better branch out since I was at one of the best bars (if not the best bar) in the area.  I started out with a Manhattan.  I cannot begin to articulate the complexities in this drink except to say that it had at least four stages of happiness with each sip.  I wish I had a few more livers and a corporate expense account to take to Cyrus because I want to try all of the drinks.  The most beautiful drink that our group ordered had egg foam and flower petals on top.  If you’re ever in the area, do not miss getting a drink at this bar.

I have never woken up in the same house as David’s girlfriend, Ali, and not had an amazing breakfast.  This morning was no exception.  She treated us to a veggie egg scramble, toast, avocado, imported jam from Maine, coffee and tangerine juice.  It was the perfect meal to get our brains moving before needing to use them at the science museum.

The California Academy of Sciences has recently moved into a brand new building in Golden Gate Park. It is one of the first building in the US to be awarded the LEED Platinum certification for sustainable design.  Not only is it one of the most efficient and sustainably designed buildings, the architecture is stunning.  Dan and Susu had told us that the planetarium is probably the closest we’ll ever get to actual space travel, but when we arrived at 11am the next available show with tickets was at 1:30pm, so we chalked up another reason to return soon.  Instead we did the audio tour of the entire museum.  The tour was great!  My favorite part was the green, living roof.  It was designed to look like the museum had risen out of the ground and not disturbed any of the land where it was placed.  Here are some pictures from inside.  By the way, that albino alligator is real.

After the museum, Jess drove back down to shop with Susu while David and I hung out at his house with Carter.  She still wasn’t feeling great.  Dave thought it might help her if he reduced his beard and mustache to a simple mustache.  We did not notice a change in Carter, but we did notice a change in Ali.  The mustache eventually had to go.

Today is Dan’s birthday, so Susu reserved a table for us at Teatro ZinZanni. It is a dinner theater that is the perfect blend of Moulin Rouge and Cirque Du Soleil.  The show is in a very small circus tent at Pier 29.  When you enter, you feel like you’ve stepped into a different world.  For the next few hours we were entertained with juggling, dancing, singing, and acrobatics while we ate a gourmet five course meal.  I would recommend the show to anyone, but I recommend you sneak in a flask of your own booze.  We each got a cocktail, a glass of wine, and we each split the wine pairing with the meal.  This, plus the $12 per person unexplainable service charge came very close to $200.  Teatro ZinZanni is one organization that does not need a government bailout.

This morning I got to see my good friend David Bennett.  There is a good chance you’ve seen him doing something crazy on my blog in the past.  He is at his best when dressed in his adult sized gorilla suit singing Neil Diamond songs.  He is back living in San Francisco while getting an MBA from the Presidio School of Sustainable Management.  Its a program that I would love to do, but I’m not sure I want to make the investment.

Since we were doing the Alcatraz tour in the afternoon, we only had time to grab lunch.  We went to Velo Rouge Cafe near his house in the Inner Richmond district.  This place takes there food and coffee very seriously and all of the artwork, bumper stickers and t-shirts make you feel terrible for not biking commuting more.  My favorite was the shirt that said 53 miles per burrito.  As always, actual mileage may vary.  I couldn’t take fault with the fact that they were also playing English Premier League soccer on the television.  While we were eating, David’s girlfriend Ali pulled up on what else…a bicycle.  I felt like the circle had been completed.

We had a bit of time to kill before our 2pm Alcatraz tour, so David took us to see Andy Goldsworthy’s new sculpture in the Presidio.  The sculpture is called Spire.  The artists has taken several of the old, fallen cyprus trees that were originally planted there and grouped them into one giant spire that rises up out of a cleared patch of forest.  Around the spire, they have planted new cyprus trees that will grow up around the sculpture.  Now I have another excuse to get back to San Francisco each year.

The Alcatraz tour was great.  After seeing So I Married an Ax Murder, I had hoped we’d have a tour guide like Phil Hartman, but The Rock is another sad example of humans being replaced by space age robots.  Your only options when it comes to your tour guide these days is picking which language you want coming at you through the audio tour headphones.  Jess and I both chose English, it was the right choice.  The tour is great though.  I would recommend it to anyone.  They say that jail is for those who break the rules….Alcatraz is for those who break jail’s rules.  It doesn’t look as intimidating when filled with a bunch of picture snapping tourists in jeans and wind breakers, but I’m sure it was not a pleasant place to live back in the day.

David’s poor dog, Carter, has been having alot of medical problems lately and was once again at the hospital.  Tonight we went to pick her up after she had some exploratory surgery.  The pet hospital is in the Mission district which is known for having some of the best Mexican food in the entire world….second only to Mexico.  There is no surprise that the best tacos you can get are not served in a fancy Mexican-themed restaurant with a trained chef, but from the side of a giant taco truck on the side of the road.  I got the idea that it was the real deal when I noticed brains, neck, head, cheek and tongue as taco options.  I opted instead for a steak, beef and veggie taco.

The animal hospital was a pretty sad place.  Architecturally it is incredible, but it is filled with people who are there because there pet’s medical issues were serious enough to need the best specialists available.  Jess and I waited in the lobby while David and Ali went back to meet with the doctor.  To add to people’s stress, the coffee robot in the lobby has no instructions.  It is the same one that we have at work though, so I helped guide a few folks through the process.  When Carter came out she looked like she had just been to hell to meet with the devil.  She was shaven, bandaged and had a giant feeding tube coming out of her neck.  It was pretty difficult to see her suffering like that.

She did not look like a dog that wanted to be left home alone, so we canceled our concert plans and instead stocked up on beer and wine and had a great night of just hanging out at David’s house with popcorn, booze, music, good friends, Boggle and the world’s best Boggle player.  My only advice coming from the evening is don’t play Boggle with Ali.  She will destroy you…

Today was a much more relaxed day of tourism.  We finally took the opportunity to sleep in and catch up on a bit of shuteye before driving up to San Francisco.  After a quick trip through the Presidio, we headed over to Fort Mason in the Marina district to eat a Green’s.  Green’s is a vegetarian restaurant that is run by the San Francisco Zen Society.  They have one of the best views of the Golden Gate Bridge looking through the sailboats in the Marina.  They also have an extensive winelist and a world class chef.

After lunch, we walked around the Marina a bit but it was soon time to head to dinner.  We had plans to drive out to Pleasanton to see my college friend Christine, who moved to the area with her family about a year ago.  They live in a very cute residential neighborhood in a gorgeous house with an enormous back yard that produces fresh fruit all summer long.  We hung out for a few hours, chatted, drank some wine, played around with her two beautiful daughters and once her husband got home from work, we sat down to a delicious spaghetti dinner.  I hadn’t had spaghetti in a really long time and now I’m starting to question why not.  For dessert she made the Southerner in me proud by pulling out the Southern Living cookbook for some fudgie spoon pie to go over the vanilla ice cream.  Thanks for a great afternoon and evening Christine!

Today we headed south in our tour of Northern California.  I had originally thought we’d go down to Monterrey, but once I heard about The Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, that became the destination.  I had seen stickers for this place while I was living out here, but thought the thick “O” on the sticker was a record, so I assumed it to be a record store.  Its a bit difficult to explain what it is other than a complete anomaly in the physical laws and forces that govern our planet.

The drive south of San Francisco is one of my favorites.  Since we’re here in the spring, we are being treated to alot of blooming colors everywhere.  Since it is the foggy pacific coast, we’re also being treated to alot of beautiful old lighthouses

The story starts out that the gentleman who bought this property from the lumber company wanted to clear some flat land atop the hill and build there.  The lumber company discouraged that since everything that gets built up there seems to slide back down the hill.  He built anyway.  His house then slide down the hill.  Although this house stopped when it encountered a tree and grew up to become a tourist attraction.

The tour completely blew my mind for a couple reasons.  On the tour, your guide demonstrates all of the crazy anomolies about this 150 diameter “spot”.  The first demonstration was on an area of land that they had leveled with concrete blocks.  There is a level there to show you that its level.  Next he gets two people to stand across from one another and then switch sides.  On one side, one person appears taller, and when they switch, the other person appears taller.  Seriously?!?!?

Next you head up the hill to the house.  Outside the house, they have setup a board that runs slightly up.  He uses a level to prove this and then pours water down the center groove of the board.  The water then flows “up” this board towards the “spot”.  HUH?!?!?!

Then you enter the house.  Trying to walk through this slanted house is strange, but there is something much more powerful going on.  I was so incredibly dizzy inside there from the moment I stepped in.  There is definitely a force inside the house that pulls on you more than the tilt of the floor would explain.  It is the craziest feeling.

I was so happy to get back outside the house…mostly because I was sick of being dizzy and off balance.  The tour ends with two more heigh shifting demonstrations.  Outside the house he has a group of people line up from 6′ down to 5′2′ on a very slight incline.  The shortest person starts out on the left where the stage is taller.  The 6′ tall person understandably looks much taller than the munchkin on the opposite side.  The everyone switches and the 6′ tall person looks like an Ewok.  Come on!?!!??!?

Jess and I left the Mystery Spot feeling like we had just been sold a stack of lies by an alien.  It was time for some Mexican food.  We drove into downtown Santa Cruz to a place that Susu had recommended.  It was so good that it made me wish I had a Santa Cruz county zip code.  Jess agreed but thought we’d need to get much hipper, hippier, buffer, tanner and/or just plain weirder before we could make the move.

Yesterday morning I had to ask the question of my CA hosts that no guest wants to have to ask, “Hey Dan, do you guys have a plunger?”.  Dan replied with what no guest asking this question wants to hear from their host, “Uh, no…why?”.  Well, within 15 minutes Dan and Susu had a brand new $30 plunger from Bed, Bath and Beyond and I had achieved a new level of humility…thanks Chorizo Burrito and Sausage Gumbo!

For Brunch Dan and Susu took us to Koi Palace, which is (very well) known as one of the best Dim Sum restaurants in the area.  15 minutes after opening there was a completely packed restaurant and standing room only in the enormous waiting area.  It was not a minute after Susu told us that all of the celebrities eat there when they’re in town that we noticed Supermodel Josie Maran standing a few feet away.  She lives in area and was there with her parents.  We were all debating whether that was actually her when I noticed she was holing a Josie Maran wallet.  Jess was brave enough to approach her for a photo.  Here I had my fancy Nikon DSLR, an off camera flash, Jess, Susu and a supermodel and only had time for a single shot in a crowded room with terrible light.  The results speak for themself.  After the photo shoot, we all looked up some pics on her website and on Google search.  I got a bit flustered afterwards….holy Maxim bathing suit shot!

The 30 minutes that they quoted us turned into over an hour.  We were entertained though by supermodels, giant crabs, foreign languages, men in funny hats making Dragon Beard Candy, irate customers and incredibly expensive shark fins.

Once we finally got a seat, the food started flying at our table immediately.  I was completely lost.  They would yell something in Chinese and present us with another bamboo steaming basket.  It was much like a gameshow where you had an equal chance of ordering delicious steamed dumplings, chickens feet or iguana turds.  Thankfully Susu speaks Chinese and was able to manage the whole process.  The dumplings were delicious.  I was not brave enough to try the feet.  I was kidding about the turds.

With a belly full of Dim Sum we headed up to the city for some tourism.  We drove up through the Marin Headlands as we happened to be there during the small window that the Point Bonita Lighthouse is open (its only open 9 hours each week).  It is one of the few active lighthouses in the area.  The high winds meant we couldn’t cross the bridge to get to the lighthouse, but we were able to get next to it.  Jess ran the entire trail from the car as the surplus of oxygen at sea level made us feel like superheroes.

Once we got back into the city, Dan suggested we get a snack.  We happened to be next to Bill’s Place, Home of the Hamburger which has been serving top shelf chuck burgers since 1959.  I’m pretty sure our waitress was there on day #1.  The burger, fries and coffee ice cream were super delicious and I enjoyed the framed White House plates collection decorating the walls.  As we exited Bill’s I noticed a guy in a superhero outfit helping an old lady cross the street.  Its so nice to be back in a city where nobody looks twice at something like that.

On our way back to Dan and Susu’s house, we drove through my old neighborhood in the Upper Haight and over Twin Peaks.  I’ll give you a dollar if you can show me a better view of the city.

For the evening activity Dan suggested we play badminton at the Golden Gate Badminton Club.  I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a better suggestion for a Sunday evening.  Since we showed up an hour before close on a Sunday, we not only had the place to ourselves, but the guy behind the counter gave us a crazy discount, free shoe rentals and gifted us matching headbands and wrist bands.  Badminton was much harder than I remember from playing lawn badminton at the lake.  By closing time my headband was completely saturated with sweat.  Jess and I will be looking for a local badminton club once we get back to Boulder.

I would have bet my mortgage that Koi Palace was to be my most unique dining experience of the day.   Sadly, I would have lost my house.  For dinner, Dan and Susu took us to 99 Chicken, a Korean beer, chicken, salad and popcorn restaurant in San Jose.  The meal starts with a free salad bar of lettuce, broccoli, coleslaw, pickled radish, canned corn and jalapenos.  I returned with my salad to our table that now had a basket of popcorn and a plastic 40oz bottle of cheap Korean lager.  Shortly thereafter the owner, began bringing plates of spicy fried chicken and a shiny silver bucket for discards.  By the end of the meal he was bringing free shots of something clear and delicious for Dan and I.  It was obvious that he had been helping himself to this beverage most of the night.  This was further evidenced when he turned the bottle up and began chugging.  I highly recommend this place to anyone.

The Denver airport was filled with visions of Spring Break yesterday when we arrived in the mid-morning and the shouts and anxiety of people who should have shown up sooner.  We were passed by one couple who were trying to figure out how to get to their flight on time.  She lovingly exclaimed, “Don’t give me any sh*t!”.  He warmly replied, “For f*cksake!”.  Love was in the air…

Fortunately Jess and I arrived 3 hours in advance.  This gave me time to order a gut bombing chorizo breakfast burrito. It was like a throw pillow full of sausage.  I have never had food disagree with my internals quicker.

After arriving at SFO we took the 20 minute train ride to the rental car counters only to discover that our discount car agency was nowhere to be found.  Only after reading my confirmation did I discover that we had to take a shuttle to the Holiday Inn Express in Burlingame.  I’ve never rented from a low-budget agency, but it can’t be a good sign when the first car you see is a minivan that appears to have lost in the Demolition Derby.  When I asked the guy behind the counter what had happened, he informed me that it was a bit top heavy from all the cocaine that it was transporting and flipped during a police chase.  I waited for the punchline that never came…he was completely serious.  So, I reluctantly gave over my credit card and we loaded up our gorgeous blue Dodge Avenger and gunned it down the highway.

We’re staying with Jess’s good friend Susu in Redwood City.  Redwood City has no Redwoods, so Susu took us to nearby Woodside, which is one of the wealthiest communities in the US.  It is home to many of the Silicon Valley elite and a few actors and musicians.  We picked up a real estate flyer for a $10 million estate for sale, but decided that we weren’t in love with some of the finishes, so we’ll keep looking.

Susu’s husband, Dan, loves to cook and treated us to his family recipe of gumbo.  It took several hours to prepare and was easily the best gumbo I’ve ever eaten.  It was the perfect food to go along with the Elijah Craig bourbon and Schwepp’s Ginger Ale.  For dessert we took in a 10:25pm showing of I Love You Man with some popcorn.

After snowboarding a couple weeks ago, I thought I would definitely try it again, but I thought I’d also continue to split my time on the slopes between boarding and skiing.  After boarding on Saturday, I’m not so sure about that anymore….I might just be a convert.

Unfortunately, Jess was too sick to be able to head to Winter Park with Greg, Kristen and myself, but we managed to still get up early and head up to the mountains.  I started off a bit rocky, but quickly remembered what I was doing.  By the end of the day I was feeling very comfortable and really did not want to leave.  I left feeling very dissapointed about the warm Summer weather that is sure to melt all this fun by mid-April.  We are definitely getting season passes next winter and will be on the slopes  a ton.  I just hope global warming can hold off a bit longer.

After skiing I came home to another birthday surprise.  Jess had set out my favorite cocktail and made pizza with my favorite ingredient…anchovies.  You know you’re getting older when all you want for dinner is Kentucky Bourbon and salty fish.

Later that evening a bunch of friends came over to eat cake and watch Will Ferrel’s You’re Welcome America, A Final Tribute to George W. Bush.

Tonight Jess showed me that getting older doesn’t have to hurt.  She took me to a lovely and delicious dinner at our favorite 4580 Restaurant here in North Boulder.  I tried to convince her (and myself) that it would be a good idea to eat a bacon wrapped date for each year I’ve been alive, but I quickly realized that this would do nothing for my longevity.  So, I opted instead to have one for each decade.  I had a coupon for the percentage off my entree for each year of my life.  When I told the waitress that we’d be taking 33% off my bill, she looked at me as if to say, “we’ll be taking 18% off your bill and I’ll have to see your ID before we even entertain the idea of Bourbon”.  I’m taking that as a good thing.

After dinner Jess presented me with far more than she should have for birthday presents.  She got me a studio photography class here in Boulder than included 2 hours of studio time after the class.  She also got me two Annie Liebowitz photography books.  Thank you so much Jess for making this a very special birthday!

Last night Andy and Debby invited Jess and I over for dinner at their new house, which is about 14 miles from mine.  After driving down to Santa Fe for a few years to see them I can finally leave at 5:35pm for a 6pm dinner.

If you’ve read any of my blog entries from my trip to Santa Fe, it will come as no surprise that Debby cooked us the best meal we’ve had since we last saw them and the best meal we will have till we see them again.  It is such a treat to have her cook for us.  The highlight of last night’s meal was the cheddar grits.  I felt as if I were back home in Georgia…thank you Debby!

Thank you guys too for the birthday candle in the Mounds bar!