san francisco

Lee was in Nico's year at Pearson (Year 6) and Allison was their first year. After some negotiation, it was decided that Nico & Philip would visit Allison & Lee for lunch on Sunday.And so that was what we did. This morning Philip and I, after posting messages & reading and eating a light breakfast in the room, got in the car and drove south to Menlo Park to Lee & Allison's for lunch. Though it was a grey and blustery day in South San Francisco (and the clouds were settled very happily over San Francisco proper) it was a bright, warm/hot, sunny day in Menlo Park, and we sat on Lee & Allison's back patio under an umbrella and ate sandwiches & strawberries and talked. We relived some old times, and got caught up, and talked a little shop and a little politics, and a little parenthood. It was more than worth the trip. (For those of you who have just left Pearson, you can see people again, and it can be the way it was for a little while ... it's doesn't have to be over.)

On the way back from Menlo Park we decided to go into the city along the Pacific coast. So, using the map and a little daring and common sense, we found our way to the sea (of course by the time we got there we found ourselves under a cloud). The weather cleared up as we got further and further into the city and eventually we found ourselves at a point overlooking the Pacific and Marin County, just south of where we were yesterday when we were at the Presidio. We got out of the car and walked along this point, taking lots of video & digital stills, shooting the Golden Gate Bridge from a different angle, shooting gulls on a rock (postcard for Garry), taking shots of the sailboats out on the water and the cliffs that signposts warned the unwary about. Then we proceeded downtown to walk around some of the real tourist spots, like Ghirardelli Square and Fisherman's Wharf. At the latter, at Pier 39, we overlooked a set of docks that had been set up for the use of a colony of California sea lions. Of course we thought of Garry yet again and took some shots of the three sea lions who were on those docks. Then we found a different seafood restaurant and had our dinner. All in all, a very good day!

victoria	ashland	san francisco
los angeles	new mexico	denver
chicago	washington	new york city
boston	quebec city	montreal
toronto	barrie	miami
nassau	map	home

Sunday - Day Three On Friday, when we got in, Nico found an email waiting for her. It was from an old friend, Lee, who lives in Menlo Park, Ca., together with another old friend, Allison, and their son Maxwell.
	Lee was in Nico's year at Pearson (Year 6) and Allison was their first year. After some negotiation, it was decided that Nico & Philip would visit Allison & Lee for lunch on Sunday.And so that was what we did. This morning Philip and I, after posting messages & reading and eating a light breakfast in the room, got in the car and drove south to Menlo Park to Lee & Allison's for lunch. Though it was a grey and blustery day in South San Francisco (and the clouds were settled very happily over San Francisco proper) it was a bright, warm/hot, sunny day in Menlo Park, and we sat on Lee & Allison's back patio under an umbrella and ate sandwiches & strawberries and talked. We relived some old times, and got caught up, and talked a little shop and a little politics, and a little parenthood. It was more than worth the trip. (For those of you who have just left Pearson, you can see people again, and it can be the way it was for a little while ... it's doesn't have to be over.) On the way back from Menlo Park we decided to go into the city along the Pacific coast. So, using the map and a little daring and common sense, we found our way to the sea (of course by the time we got there we found ourselves under a cloud). The weather cleared up as we got further and further into the city and eventually we found ourselves at a point overlooking the Pacific and Marin County, just south of where we were yesterday when we were at the Presidio. We got out of the car and walked along this point, taking lots of video & digital stills, shooting the Golden Gate Bridge from a different angle, shooting gulls on a rock (postcard for Garry), taking shots of the sailboats out on the water and the cliffs that signposts warned the unwary about. Then we proceeded downtown to walk around some of the real tourist spots, like Ghirardelli Square and Fisherman's Wharf. At the latter, at Pier 39, we overlooked a set of docks that had been set up for the use of a colony of California sea lions. Of course we thought of Garry yet again and took some shots of the three sea lions who were on those docks. Then we found a different seafood restaurant and had our dinner. All in all, a very good day!
Well, tomorrow we have to get up pretty early to prepare for our 6 1/2 hour drive to LA. We are not looking forward to learning a whole new set of municipal driving rules (it took us the weekend to understand all the overhelpful Frisco signs - they give so much kind information that they just confuse me. For instance, you'll have a posted sign, and then you'll have words written on the road, and then you'll have a different sign, and by the time you've decoded all that you've forgotten what it was you were planning to do), but when you're doing a road trip, what else do you expect?

Sunday - Day Three