David Rodeback's Blog

Friday, July 31, 2009

At Large in the Bay Area

I'm back. Here are some highlights which have nothing directly to do with politics, life among the Mormons, or anything else I usually belabor here at the blog.

I returned from a nine-day vacation earlier -- much earlier -- this morning. I've been to southern California many times, but never before to northern California or, for that matter, northern Nevada. We stayed in Palo Alto most nights, but once each in Monterey, Reno, and on the shore of Lake Tahoe. We did some of the usual tourist things in San Francisco, including:

• crossing the Golden Gate Bridge (not to mention the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge),
• watching women make fortune cookies by hand in Chinatown (which seems more oriented to tourism than Toronto's Chinatown),
• group-pedaling a four-wheeled "surrey" around Golden Gate Park,
• strolling along Fisherman's Wharf;
• sampling chocolate at Ghirardelli Square,
• riding cable cars and a bus, and
• driving slowly down the famously crooked block of Lombard Street. (The straight, steep drive uphill on the back side of the hill was more of a challenge than the downhill slalom, though the latter might have been too much of an adventure, had the cobblestones been wet.)

We did some tourist things outside San Francisco, too, including:

• an excellent hike through the redwoods at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park;
• a drive along the coast on State Route 1;
• window-shopping in lovely Carmel-by-the-Sea, where we also enjoyed the beach and (gently) crashed an outdoor wedding party long enough to enjoy a good mariachi band;
• a visit to the striking grounds of the Rosicrucians' Egyptian museum in San Jose;
• a day and a night on the California side of beautiful Lake Tahoe;
• a visit to Virginia City, Nevada, an old mining town which doesn't look anything like the Bonanza set and clearly never has;
• an interesting, half-day guided tour of Stanford University, including their art museum.

In Palo Alto we also went thrice to Trader Joe's, a grocery chain which emphasizes healthful foods without being a health food store. It's in a number of states, not including Utah, alas.

We went to a Black Bear Diner in Monterey for dinner one evening. I was in a burger mood, so I ordered their signature Big Bear Burger. It was excellent but turned out to be unconscionably large. At length I managed to conquer it. (Though slowly diminishing, I myself continue to be unconscionably large. This may not be a coincidence.) The Mama Bear Burger would certainly have been sufficient, but after lately wise-cracking about girly men, I couldn't order that in the presence of several devoted readers, could I?

On Monday, while I was away, my five-year blogiversary passed without comment here. I had considered interviewing myself on the occasion -- readers seem to enjoy that -- and it's simple enough to blog from the road, but I was too busy being on vacation. I had considered asking my readers what an appropriate celebration would be, but I was . . . too busy getting ready to go on vacation, not to mention changing jobs.

Here's one item on which I plan to follow up sometime soon here at the blog. My brother-in-law, Russell Hancock, plies his PhD in economics as President and CEO of Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, a "neutral forum" and think tank which studies Silicon Valley in economic, demographic, and other terms, and labors in some interesting ways to be a catalyst for change. I had an interesting conversation with him about Silicon Valley, the recession, and other related themes, some morsels of which will likely interest my readers here on the Wasatch Front, which is rather optimistically beginning to style itself "Silicon Slopes." (See those notes here.)

Kathryn Class comments (8/3/09):

I wish we had known about your vacation. We'd love to have seen you guys! Your were right in our backyard, basically. It sounds like you know how to plan great vacations! I'm impressed with all the things you came up with to do. Anyway, glad you had a great time. Say hi to everyone for us.

David Rodeback comments (8/3/09):

I'm gnashing my teeth! What a glaring omission by our frazzled brains! Next time!

Kathryn Class comments (8/3/09):

That's okay. If we ever get up the Utah way, we'll stop by. Since we have no family in UT, we'll have to make a point of going there sometime -- our kids have never been there.

David Rodeback comments (8/3/09):

I wouldn't be surprised to see us back in the Bay Area sometime in the next few years. Meanwhile, we'd be delighted to welcome you to Utah and help you have a good time.

Leslie Dalton (a.k.a. DaltonGirl) comments (8/3/09, via Facebook):

I'm sorry you missed the Academy of Sciences, but so glad you got to go to the Rosicrucian museum. One of my all-time favorite elementary school field trips.

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