Jetta's New Style

Jetta had a new haircut recently.  Her stylist calls it the naked cut.  She has usually had the traditional Schnauzer cut with eyebrows, beard & furry legs.  Steve thinks she would be cuter with eyebrows.  She definitely looks better without the beard.  The close cut shows her fine & delicate form.

 

This is a photo from San Francisco, earlier in April.  We sometimes call her Boo Boo.

Oregon & California: Days 8-11

On day 8 (Thursday April 10, 2014) Jordan & Nancy left Modesto, CA for San Francisco, while Rusty & Steve were spending their last full day in Portland, OR.  We got up early, because Nancy was afraid we might not find a space in long term parking at the BART Station.  We left Modesto at 6:30AM.  There were lots of parking spaces available when we reached the Dublin/Pleasanton BART Station at 8AM.  We made it to the Metro Hotel in San Francisco before 10AM.  We left our bags behind the front desk.  The desk clerk suggested Eddie's Cafe for breakfast.  We walked there quickly.

Nancy at Eddie's Cafe

Eddie's was colorful.  I think we've eaten there before.  But the food was not very good.  We walked a short distance to the building where we shared an apartment from 1989 to 1991.  We walked around Alamo Square, just a block away.  There were many Korean tourists taking pictures.  We continued on Divisadero Street to California Heights, then walked to Fillmore Street, the main shopping area.  Nancy did 3 thrift stores.  Jordan had a wonderful lunch in Japantown while Nancy drank wine.  We returned to the hotel & checked into our room.  We had been out walking for 6 hours.

Jordan & Nancy's old apartment building on McAllister Street near Alamo Square.

Alamo Square

Pacific Heights

 

Fillmore Street

Japantown

That evening we walked to the Castro.  We met Nancy's friends Arthur & Mario at the Midnight Sun. The place had finally been remodeled after nearly 30 years.  We all walked across the street to a Japanese restaurant for dinner.  It was good, though not as good as Japantown.  Nancy was disappointed by the Crunch & Munch.  Jordan & Nancy went back to the hotel immediately after dinner.  We were exhausted.

On Friday morning (Day 9) Jordan got up early to take pictures of his old neighborhood near the hotel.  It was cool & quite foggy.  When he returned, Nancy was having coffee at Peet's.  There was breakfast from the deli at Falletti Foods.  Then we walked through the Upper Haight (Haight Ashbury) to Golden Gate Park.  We saw Modern Nature: Georgia O'Keeffe and Lake George at the de Young Museum.  We had planned to see the exhibit with Jordan's friend Tom.  But Tom had the flu.

Jordan's old house in the Lower Haight (Haight Filmore)

Nancy on Haight Street in the Upper Haight (Haight Ashbury)

The Music Concourse at Golden Gate Park.

Jordan outside the de Young Museum.

After the de Young Museum, we walked outside the park to Irving Street where we had lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant called Yummy Yummy & it was.  We walked back to Golden Gate Park & toured the San Francisco Botanical Garden for more than 2 hours.  It was incredibly beautiful in the full flower of spring.  We walked back to Irving Street, caught the N Judah train & went back to the hotel.  We had dinner that night at 2 different Mexican restaurants, because we didn't agree on style.  Nancy went to a nice place called The Little Chihuahua.  Jordan went to cheap place called Estrella Taqueria.  Both of us were quite satisfied.

Arthur L Menzies Garden of Native California Plants

 South African Collection

Moon-Viewing Garden

Chilean Collection at the San Francisco Botanical Garden

On Saturday (Day 10) we walked to the Castro & had breakfast at Cafe Flore.  It has been on the corner of Market & Noe Streets for decades.  We got the subway train from Castro Street to Montgomery Street.  We walked along mostly deserted streets through the Financial District & Jackson Square to Telegraph Hill.  Coit Tower was closed for renovation, most unfortunately.  We walked down into North Beach & had lunch at a small cafe on Columbus Avenue.  We walked through Chinatown & bought pork buns (which Nancy detested) from a bakery.  We climbed Nob Hill, where Nancy walked the labyrinth at Grace Cathedral.  Then we walked down to Polk Street.  By that time I was quite tired & had blisters on my toes on BOTH feet.  We did not linger in the Polk, except for a stop at yet another thrift store.  We walked through Civic Center to the subway station at Van Ness Avenue & took the N Judah to Duboce Park, which got us very near the hotel.

Jordan worked in this building on Sansome Street in the Financial District.

Transamerica Pyramid

Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill

Chinatown

Nancy walking the labyrinth at Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill.

 City Hall at Civic Center

Jordan's friend Bill drove into the city from Mare Island.  We met him at La Mediterranee on Noe Street for dinner.  Nancy had the best moussaka of her entire life.  She is prone to hyperbole.  We walked around the Castro for a short while after dinner.  Castro Street was all dug up for new sewer pipes & (hopefully) new sidewalks.  Nancy suggested dancing lol. We returned to the Metro Hotel by our accustomed route down Noe Street, across Duboce Park, down Carmelita & Scott Streets, across Haight Street & up Page Street to Divisadero Street.  We have stayed there many times.  We like it mostly because of the location.

On Sunday April 13 (Day 11) Jordan & Nancy had breakfast at Chow on Church Street.  It was good.  We walked back to the hotel, collected our baggage, walked to the Muni stop at Duboce Street & rode to Civic Center Station, where we transferred to BART, which took us in opposite directions within 10 minutes.  Jordan had lunch at SFO, then flew to Seattle.  He arrived at 4, then took light rail home.  Steve was there.  Rusty had gone to St Louis because his mother had a stroke.

Here are more photos from Oregon & California.

Oregon & California: Days 5-7

On the morning of day 5 (Monday April 7, 2014) it was cool & foggy in Eureka.  We got up fairly early.  Rusty & Steve had the breakfast provided by the Best Western Plus Bayshore Inn, which was not much of a plus.  They left Jordan at the Amtrak bus stop on the corner of 6th & C Streets at 8AM.  Then they drove north, back to Oregon.  They spent one night at Terwilliger Hot Springs, then another 3 nights in Portland, OR.  That is their story to tell, if they choose to tell it.  Jordan had breakfast at Denny's, then wandered around Old Town Eureka.

Old Town Eureka & the Eureka Marina

Jordan boarded the Amtrak bus at 11AM.  The bus stopped in 12 small towns & cities between Eureka & Martinez, CA.  Many of them were charming & interesting to see.  The bus passed through mountains, valleys, forests & farmland along the US 101.  It was a beautiful journey.  At Petaluma, the bus turned east & skirted the northern shores of San Francisco Bay.  The City of San Francisco was tiny across the water.  Jordan arrived at the Amtrak station in Martinez at 6PM, boarded the train at 6:40 & arrived in Modesto, CA at 8PM.  Nancy met him at the station & took him to her house.

Nancy worked on Tuesday April 8.  Her son Drew took Jordan on a walking tour of Downtown Modesto.  We had lunch at a restaurant that served Chinese & Japanese food.  Drew is a comedian & actor.  You can see his work on YouTube.  It was hot & sunny in Modesto at 87F/30.6C.  We spent the afternoon in the house.  Jordan & Nancy had dinner at Damian's, a nice Mexican restaurant.  Jordan had a good burrito, his favorite Mexican food. 

Nancy's house in Modesto.

Houses in Nancy's neighborhood.

McHenry Mansion in Downtown Modesto.

Bus Station in Downtown Modesto.

On Wednesday April 9, it was 85F/29.4C in Modesto.  Nancy took Jordan on a driving tour of the city.  We had lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant downtown, cruised the finer residential neighborhoods, drove by Nancy's workplace & shopped in a huge Mexican supermarket called Mi Pueblo Food Center.  Modesto has a population of 200,000.  30% are Mexican.  Nancy made fish tacos for dinner.  Later that evening, we met Nancy's friend Miguel at the Tiki Cocktail Lounge, one of 3 gay bars in Modesto.  We walked there from Nancy's house in the warm night air.  Miguel gave us a ride home.

Here are more photos from Oregon & California. 

Oregon & California: Day 4

On day 4 of our trip (Sunday April 5) Jordan got up early to walk around Crescent City & take pictures.  Steve & Rusty were out late the night before.  We had breakfast at Denny's.

Crescent City, CA

We continued down US Route 101 for about 15 minutes until we decided to stop at the lovely beach at False Klamath Cove in the Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park.  After about 30 minutes on the beach, Rusty needed to find a restroom.  He left Jordan & Steve on the beach for nearly an hour before he returned.  He had gone back to Crescent City, when he might have continued a short distance south to Klamath.  Steve was quite worried.

False Klamath Cove, Smith Creek

The next stop was Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.  We diverted from US 101 to the Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway, which ran along Prairie Creek through a large redwood forest.  We stopped for a short hike on the Little Creek Trail, then a much longer hike on the Cathedral Trees Trail.  We saw many large redwoods & other forest plants.  Many of the understory plants also grow in Washington.

Little Creek Trail, Redwood Sorrel (Oxalis oregana)

 Jordan & Rusty

Prairie Creek

Cathedral Trees Trail, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Trillium (our favorite flower).

We had a nice lunch at the Big Blue Cafe in Arcata.  It was located on Arcata Plaza, a town square surrounded by many shops & restaurants.  Some of the buildings dated back 100 years or more.

Arcata Plaza

Arcata, CA

We continued south on US 101 to Humboldt Redwoods State Park, where we diverted to the Avenue of the Giants.  This was an older section of the US 101 that had been rebuilt a short distance away.  It was dark & narrow with huge redwoods growing right up against the asphalt.  We stopped at Founder's Grove.  It was so densely shaded that very little grew in the understory, mostly just redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana) which also grows in Washington, although in a different form.  It was impossible to take pictures late in the afternoon with such low light.  We felt satisfied that we had seen enough redwoods. 

We returned to Eureka, checked into our hotel & had dinner at Marie Calendar's right next door.  We did not tour the city, but walked a short distance to a small park where the Elk River entered Humboldt Bay.  It was pretty there.

Here are more photos from Oregon & California.