A week in California (and Nevada)

Last week I was in Sacramento for work. Despite the long shifts it was actually a good time - dinner every night with coworkers, including lots of sushi and a fantastic Italian meal to finish out the week. On Friday I had some time to actually explore the city during daylight hours, and walked my way from Capitol Park to Old Sacramento, and back to Midtown and some cool little shops. I found a used copy of a CD I've been hunting for at least two years, history-geeked out over the old time-y buildings in Old Sacramento, and raced around trying to refill my meter every couple of hours before it expired. (I was always too late, but managed to avoid a ticket nonetheless.)


Soon Uyen arrived and it was off to Tahoe for Maudie's birthday weekend. I adored Tahoe. It was a perfect (for me) mix of campy "rustic" shops, restaurants, and hotels, swanky spas and boutiques, casinos that are, mmm, a notch or two below their Vegas counterparts ... and, in the background, this magnificent natural beauty everywhere. It was the type of place that made me feel nostalgic for childhood family vacations, despite the fact that I'd never been there on a family vacation. We made the most of our time in Tahoe: swimming, being pampered in spas, gambling (I won!), working out (a little), eating (a lot), watching girly movies, and just hanging out in our palatial suite at the Timber Lodge enjoying the scenery and the company. I hope Maudie has a birthday in Tahoe every year, and I hope I'm lucky enough to be invited. At the very least, another big blowout in 2017!


On Sunday evening, Uyen and I returned to San Francisco by way of Napa. We had a fantastic dinner at Ad Hoc in Yountville. As if the food weren't enough, we had a couple of celebrity sightings: Thomas Keller (chef and owner extraordinaire) was sitting at a table when we first arrived, and later Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal came in for a late dinner. I hope they enjoyed the meal as much as we did - I love letting the chef decide what I'm going to eat.


Monday I flew back home in the late afternoon, but beforehand I was able to squeeze in a nice walk down to the beach and the Presidio. Technically I wasn't supposed to be near the beach, as a sign indicated when I got down far enough. I had forgotten about the recent oil spill, and cleanup efforts were underway. But, not being an abider, I walked a little further anyway. I'm glad I did, because I got a great (if slightly hazy) view of the Golden Gate Bridge. After returning to U's apartment via Geary Street, she was kind enough to shuttle me to the airport. Is it wrong that I'm already trying to figure out when I can make my next trip to California? Nothing wrong with five or six times in a year, right?