San Diego photos...

I was able to upload a couple of photos from my stroll along the San Diego waterfront. This is probably the absolute best time of day to appreciate San Diego...if a coastal fog hasn't rolled in. But in this case, the fog was safely off shore for the evening.

Glamour in San Diego...

Yes, I do live the life of luxury. The Doubletree in San Diego left VOSS water and chocolates next to my bed. Of course, I can't take the VOSS home to Jeff...because asses want to blow up planes with liquids masquerading as my backwash.

Anyhow...San Diego. A really pleasant evening here. I took a very nice stroll along the harbor and took some beautiful boat pictures (I hope). I'll try and get those posted tomorrow.

On scientific fronts, I did estimate that there are more flip flops per capita in San Diego than in any other major U.S. city. Granted, my research was limited to the bar at On the Border where I ate.

DAMN. Business travel is SO glamorous! But I do have my VOSS :)

So, my overheard quote of the day comes courtesy of a guy along the harborfront chatting up a woman. The only line I heard as I was passing by was "I just back from four years in Mexico," which would be sexy coming from a blonde, carefree surfer. Unfortunately, this guy looked like he was probably hiding out from drug enforcement officials.

A little bit of Michigan in SF...

Last night, I made a recipe that Jeff's mother had given me from one of Muskegon's famous hometown restaurants: the US 31 Bar-B-Q. This is a sweet-tomatoey pulled pork BBQ with tangy bits of relish. Served on a fluffy white hamburger bun, these little guys are mmmm...mmm...good. I paired the savory BBQ with a slightly-spicy chick pea salad made with lemons and mint from our garden. (Both Jeff and Chris went back for seconds...so I know I did an OK job :)

And no, the photos below are NOT our retro-diner-style kitchen. I took these two summers ago in Muskegon.

Well...I stepped in poop...

There are three types of people that I would vote off the planet without hesitation. No, these are not the stupid people, because frankly, they mean well. And its not the evil people, because we're already after them anyway.

No, its the rude people. Because they just don't care. These are the folks who:

1. Leave dog poop on the sidewalk
2. Spit chewing gum on the sidewalk
3. Throw trash on the ground.

Yep, these are the folks that irritate me each and every day. The ones that just don't care if they ruin my day by making me SLIP ON DOG DOO AND LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT. (Yes, it was a slimy pile!)

HATE THEM!!!

The stupid are just funny. Like the Starbucks barrista I overheard today telling his coworker, "I have already lost three fingernails today." What would we do without life's court jesters?

Degrees of insanity...

Who is crazier: the man who MANUFACTURES a Claude Monet finger puppet, or the man who BUYS a Claude Monet finger puppet?

Wrapped in a blanket of fog...

No story to tell...just a really wonderful night to sleep. The summer fog dampens all the city white noise and creates this cozy feeling. Not to mention some magical views of the neighborhoods below.

Distracted by pretty colors...

One of Matthew's projects while he was with us this summer was to build me a new computer...complete with a big ole screen for editing photos. Well, this thing is awesome, and a big bright screen has just made me appreciate pictures with color.

Anyhow, that is just my excuse for posting a couple of the pics I took in the Marin Headlands the other weekend. Matt, Jeff and I went adventuring on the cliffs above the Pt. Bonita lighthouse.

The organic hot dog conundrum...

Today is an amazing day in San Francisco--a perfect day made even better by the Tuesday farmers' market at the Ferry Building. I was tempted by the smells of Prather Ranch's open grill, and decided to try their organic, sustainable, humane hot dogs. Yes, they were quite good...and guilt-free?

I bought a few summer items for dinner this week, including some BEAUTIFUL heirloom tomatoes and a couple of summer squash.

And then I topped off the lunch hour with a smooth latte from Blue Bottle Coffee.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[FYI, I failed to report the OPPOSITE of guilt-free dishes. It was reported to me that a join in Oakland called Spettro serves up a peanut butter, bacon, and cheddar pizza.]

Matthew departs, Benjamin arrives, and the return of poop...

We bid farewell this morning to Matthew, who returns to Michigan to un-pack, re-pack, and drive to Michigan Tech later this week to begin his freshman year. We really had a fun time with Matt in the house this summer, and it has been hard adjusting to the silence!!

But as we were driving back to our empty nest, we received a call from my Mom telling me that my brother was a proud papa. Cliff and Jody gave birth to Benjamin Michael Coe last night. I'm THRILLED for my brother, and can't wait to meet my first nephew.

As a send off to Matt, here are a few pictures from yesterday's road trip to Pinnacles National Monument. Pinnacles has two sides--East and West--which are not connected by roads. In February, Jeff and I visited Pinnacles East, so we decided to try Pinnacles West with Matt.

As you might expect, Pinnacles is strikingly difference between rainy winter to sun-beaten summer. We took plenty of water for our lower-90s hike. Our hike took us along the Balcony Cliffs for some sweeping vistas of the park, and then plunged down into the Balcony Caves. The caves were short, but a nice cool break from the heat. Along the hike, we ran across many piles of dried animal scat...since it hasn't rained in these parts since April.

Art Linkletter is alive...

I had my fastest business trip today: down to and back from LAX before lunch! Other than not being able to carry my precious latte (aka, the sweet nectar of the gods) onto the plane with me, the new carry-on restrictions had no impact on me...and the lines were nice and short. I had a perfectly uneventful trip, complete with a celebrity sighting...although he had to be pointed out to me. Yes, Mr. Art Linkletter was at LAX this morning. He looked...old...but quite honestly, both my manager and I thought that he was no longer alive...so kudos to Art.

No photos from this LA trip...so here is one from our flight home from Europe. I believe this is the ice breaking up in the North Atlantic nearing Greenland. Very cool shot.

Angry tree...

Well, I was PLANNING to work on some photos this evening, but I got distracted playing with iTunes and this whole new computer setup that Matt created for me.

So...I'll just leave you with a 'what the...' moment. I believe this is probably an evil Stanford mascot, or something. From the Marin Headlands this weekend.

Attack of the one-shoe crazy woman...

There is a reason that I haven't replaced my eight year old car...because there are too many stupid people. Case in point...

This evening, Jeff, Matthew and I were returning to the City from a leisurely afternoon hike in the Marin Headlands. We had just come off the Golden Gate Bridge, full of hope and happiness, when a crazy b**** merged her white Mustang into the side of my car.

We were moving slowly...BUT SHE MERGED INTO MY CAR. So, we pull over and out pops this crazed looking woman with one shoe on. She did very little other than hobble around the cars. As her passenger and I exchanged information...Helen declared that 'this calls for a cigarette'.

We finished our business, and Helen's daughter-in-law offered to drive, to which a defiant Helen cried 'the hell you will' and stumbled off on her one shoe to get back in the car.

This brought back memories of the crazy woman who totaled my PARKED car in college.

I can play that game...

Well James and Curt seem to have started a motivation game...and it cracks me up. So, here's my motivational addition. Personally, I think it is less motivational than gross.

A post for Laura...

Laura, my friend and first office mate from FIFTEEN YEARS AGO dropped me an email from out of the blue. So, I wanted to make her laugh with a funny story of the little blue pig on skis on my desk. (Its funny to ME!)

You see, kind-hearted Laura brought me this piggy bank on returning from a ski trip out west. We were working in Bethesda, MD at the time...sharing a tiny office with no windows. (Laura and dear friend Ashish used to draw windows on our white board to pretend we had windows...sigh.) I think we shared a 286 computer between us.

Anyhow...nice pig huh? Laura bought me the pig, because I constantly needed change to buy sodas. Yeah. Good story. Well, it turned out that Laura was fond of my easy-access coins as well :)

NICELY DONE INDEED.

Anyhow, I always chuckle when I see the pig. Fond memories of a simpler time. [Hi, Laura!]

Bacon bits...

Today began and ended with my favorite meat. (I know that at least ONE of my readers will agree.) I began my day with my usual weekend morning photo drive into a new part of town. Along the way...I discovered Bacon Street. For the record, I did NOT see any restaurants on Bacon Street.

To close the day, Jeff, Matthew, and I visited one of our favorite dinner spots--Lime--which always pleases with their mini burgers and mini fish tacos. Well tonight, there was a first-time special: mini BLTs. And they were spectacular.

YUM!

Tragic loss of sauerkraut...

Apparently, I missed the story of the year. As reported by seasoned field reporter Bobgirrl, the Bay Area had a moderate quake yesterday evening...just a 4.4 centered up in Sonoma County. Both Jeff and Matthew noticed the quake, but I was working downstairs and felt nothing.

Little did I know! I arrived at work this morning, and saw a note from my Mom who had heard about the earthquake in Virginia and was curious if we had felt it.

Well, rest assured, the City is still standing. The only report of damage that I have seen was in the Chronicle this morning quoting a manager at a Safeway in Sonoma: "The only thing to break in the store...was a jar of sauerkraut."

[Kim...THAT supply isn't in our earthquake kit!!]

Missing Venice...

I really just love this photo of two kids we were walking next to in Venice. They could have been in Omaha for all they cared. At the same time, their parents were three steps ahead, heads craning upward to take in the buildings they were passing. So funny to watch.

And this made me stop and think about MY memories of Venice. Particularly the quiet scenes at night, which have become a regular touchstone for my photo shows and blog entries.

Fish and chips...

I'm frightened by salmon that hangs all day in a vending machine next to the Fritos. Yes, I'm sure that its fine from a health/safety perspective...but how pleasing can room-temperature fish be?