Travels

I think I fell down on my travel log of the last week.
As a result, I am going to describe some of the highlights while awaiting some yummy crepes courtesy of a fine Englishman.

Friday's hightlight was walking with Mary and her friend Lou. Mary and Lou know each other from a former job. We talked about everything under the sun and I was able to use my story of, "I was on a plane with Matt Gozales!" to derail a potential conversation about the presidential race. I did indulge a bit and told them about my new man, Marc. They were hopeful and suggested that I have him out for a thurough evaluation before taking any additional steps. I'm fine with that. I'm sure Marc would have fun and I just love that little corner of Cape Cod, I'll go back any time.

Friday night was back to Boston to stay with bestfriend Hilary. She has the cutest condo in Chelsea. I was very, very impressed. A condo and it is NICE. We enjoyed a little chatting, went out for Indian food and crashed.

Saturday we met up with Kate & Heather, and Heather's friend Cynthia. I know Heather from volunteering at Habitat for Humanity in San Francisco. She knows Cynthia from their time in the Peace Corps. Kate was with me & Hilary at Smith - and she and I did our Junior Year Abroad in Italy together. Kate's an Artist... so she was a good guide for our tour of the ICA. But we all met up for lunch at the ICA Cafe. Very fun.

Now the company at lunch was just fantastic. But that would be boring to read about... so I'll move on to the incredible exhibit at the ICA. The featured show was of Tara Donovan. She builds organic shapes with everyday objects. One of the most sucessful is the straw wall. She piles up straws and then sculpts out forms. Magical. If you are in Boston, I highly reccomend a trip.

After the ICA, Kate, Hilary and I went down to Harvard Square. We were chasing a display of jewelery that my housemate's friend had on display. But we didn't know where the display was, only that it was in Cambridge. Well, we didn't land near it and were swamped by the crush of visitors to that area for the Head of the Charles. So, we did what most people would do - ducked into a pub for a drink and nibble.

Saturday night, Hilary tolerated my domestic leanings and we made a yummy lamb stew with lemon & olives. That stew was yummy and much different from the lamb stew I made for Marc, Roy, Rob & Ron last night. There is the oddest streak of lamb stew craving in me.

Sunday Hilary, Frances (Hilary's housemate) and I went out to the harvest festival at Rockport. So cute, so quaint and so damn cold. We wandered around town. I got a mug with polar bears for Hilary and she got the matching bib for Giada. Francis was the responsible one, not indulging in retail therapy. The description of the festival described music and fun, yet with the blowing wind and chill, there wasn't much outdoor merriment.

Monday I departed the 35 degree weather in Boston for 85 degree heat in Austin. Meeting baby Giada was just wonderful. She is so cute and she just loved my cell phone. I only got worried on the 2nd day when I realized she had inadvertantly unlocked the phone and placed a call to Marc at 5 am. Thankfully it didn't wake him up, but she did get some phone restriction.

Tuesday we ventured off to Lake Travis. Adam & Rose have joined this club at a dock where they can rent a boat for cheap rather than owning it. Very nice service. We got a pontoon boat and an innertube and were off. Rose made some amazing tuna salad sandwiches and yummy fruit salad that we chowed down on prior to going tubing. I was first and about choked on water laughing so hard while getting dragged about. Next up Adam wanted to go with baby Giada. He decided to do the standard inner tube, but got in, got the baby and promptly flipped. Thankfully there was no harm aside from some tears from Giada.

On another note, this trip to Austin was one of the best. Both mornings I took a walk around Town Lake... got in some exercise and enjoyed the scenery. Adam and Rose live in the cutest neighborhood. Adam talks about how it is in transition. Most of the cottages were built in the early 1900's. It sounds like they were starting to fall down until 10-20 years ago when they were getting purchased as low cost houses. People started to fix them up, remodel and in some cases, totally redo. It feels like a Burningman settlement. While there is a theme to the structures, the variations feel like an artist working on a concept - a bit like Monet and his haystacks. I look forward to returning.

Back to San Francisco on Wednesday and then out to Oakley to be with Marc and meet his friends visiting England. Lucky me, I got included in the annual bowling trip. I am a little embarassed that I won the tournament - I think they were just being gentlemen... or maybe it was my game's improvement with each drink. Eather way, they were gracious with my victory.

Friday my cold took me out - I was on the couch most of the day, marveling at how being sick drops my IQ significantly. While I did check emails for work, I did my best to not respond, as only 1 piston was firing. Today, I'm still in the famous pink pj's, my head feels like it will soon explode while my nose is exploding. I hope I recover soon. I'm lazy and not going to proof read this entry, please excuse all flubs.