los angeles to san francisco - packing it all in, as usual

I arrived in LA on Friday evening, May 31, and enjoyed dinner with Vince and the kids (Sarah was out studying).  The next day I headed out for an early lunch at Din Tai Fung with Debbie and Judy.  DEE-LISH-US!!  We hung out for a bit and then I headed over to Irene's house and enjoyed dinner with Irene and Joe.  That evening, I got to spend time with Sarah and Esther, a friend I haven't seen in a while.  Esther was also an architecture major at Cal, but unlike Sarah and me, she is still working in the field.  Sunday morning I met Kim, my "big" from Emory, for breakfast before helping my friend John move from one house to another in Huntington Beach.  In the afternoon, I got together with my cousin Queenie for a cup of tea and a chance to catch up before heading north to Valencia for dinner with Debbie and a night's lodging before heading north to the Bay area.

debbie and judy at din tai fung

kim and me after breakfast

me and queenie and our cups of tea

I drove up to the Bay Area Monday morning, and enjoyed dinner with my parents at a new Shanghai dumpling place down the street from their house.  Tuesday I drove up to Oakland and had lunch in my old stomping grounds, Oakland Chinatown, with an Emory classmate before dropping her off at the airport to head back to her rotation in Portland.  Wednesday I headed up to Tahoe for a couple nights, staying with Lisa again.  On my way I stopped in Folsom for lunch with Pearl.

me with my emory classmate angela in oakland chinatown

pearl and me after lunch

As usual, my brief time in Tahoe was full of adventure.  Soon after I arrived, I entered my first stand-up paddle race on a borrowed board and was quite happy not to finish in last place, especially since it had been over 2.5 years since the last time I'd paddled.  My host Lisa and her boyfriend Dean also raced for the first time and got 2nd and 1st in their respective divisions!

race starting line

I got a couple of peaceful morning paddles in, heading out Lisa's back door onto the dock and dropping her board into the water there.  I also managed to catch up with my good friend Danielle, who was expecting her first child at the time (he should have arrived by now, I haven't heard), drop by my old office to say hi, and head down to Minden to visit Marissa and Leigh Wayne at the ranch and help them prep for a ranch party that Saturday (also squeezed in a short horseback ride on Tango).

danielle and me in her back yard

emerald bay pt office dog, moose

tango-back view

peaceful morning paddle

 On the way back to Cupertino, I spent a night in Walnut Creek, catching up with Libby and family.

libby and me

One last day spent in Cupertino, then my parents drove me up to San Francisco on June 9 to stay with our family friends Trudy and Steve in Dolores Heights, sandwiched between Noe Valley and the Castro.  Parking is an issue here, so my car is staying in Cupertino while I commute via the MUNI streetcar or BART.

My mother, Trudy, and I walked up Corona Heights to work up an appetite for a mouthwatering Peruvian dinner at Limon.  They feature rotisserie chicken and scrumptious ceviche, in addition to a blue corn juice with a delightful flavor.

mama and trudy walking up the stairs to corona heights

inca blu "exotic peruvian juice"

I am comfortably accommodated in the basement floor of a pre-1906 Victorian house with my own bedroom and bathroom and a short trip up the steps to the rest of the house.  It's a short walk to the MUNI stop and an even shorter walk from the Embarcadero Station to the clinic...