More SF… and More!
Week 9 of 52
Aloha all:
We’re baaaaaacckkkkk…. Yes, we know you just heard from us a few days ago, but it is Sunday so it’s time for another update. We just finished Week 9 of our year-long adventure and it was another action-packed week.
Max, S, Rod
There are always too many people to see when we go back to San Francisco. We never get them all in and this trip was no exception. But Sharene did get to see a couple she hadn’t seen in many years and it was such a treat to spend some time with them at their amazing Victorian, built in the 1880s. Max and Rod have been together for over 47 years and bought this house together in 1964! Max and Rod treated Sharene (and a few friends) to a fantastic dinner at a small but elegant Chinese restaurant on Hayes called ABACUS… we highly recommend it.
One of the reasons Sharene got to hang out with these two very cool guys, was that they had two very cool women staying in their very cool studio. The two women were Maxine and Maya, friends of ours from Switzerland who were kind enough to schedule their holiday at the same time as Cathy’s birthday week! Sharene played tour guide with Maxine and Maya—it wasn’t hard to impress them since the sun was shining and SF looked liked the world-class city it is.
Maxine and Maya
They started out at Twin Peaks, then hit the SF Museum of Modern Art, the Embarcadero, the Golden Gate Bridge and Park (of course!), Ocean Beach, and a place not to be missed on anyone’s visit and the highlight of Maya’s stay… the Sports Basement! (The old commissary at the Presidio has been turned into a sort of Costco for all clothes related to sports.) Who knew? So Maxine and Sharene went and had coffee while Maya was amazed at the difference in prices between SF and Switzerland for shoes and running ‘costumes’ as she calls them.
SF is known for its great restaurants, but Maxine is a European Julia Child and had an urge to cook dinner on her last night… so off to Whole Foods in the Haight we went and then on to Cathy’s flat in Cole Valley where Maxine managed to have deep, meaningful conversations with Cathy and Sharene while she cooked up a delicious creamy cheese and pasta dish. We offered to take her out, but she was right, it was more fun hanging out and cooking a meal together; when we look back on our European visits, those times were the most fun for us as well.
Harrison was happy to have Sharene come back last Wednesday, but then he flew to Spokane on Friday to attend the Sweet Adelines Pacific Northwest Competition. This is the women’s version of Barbershop Quartet; he wasn’t disappointed watching these amazing women perform. It was sort of like attending American Idol for the Barbershop Quartet genre. And the winner was his favorite: FRENZY. No website but they do have a Frenzy Quartet FaceBook Page for anyone interested.
We ended the week by going to Sammamish (a picturesque suburb east of Seattle) and having dinner at the home of Jeanne, a friend and former client. Jeanne owns a beautiful Maui condo at Kihei Akahi, just four doors down from ours. She loves to cook and has fed us on many occasions on Maui. This time, we got to see the fabulous Northwest home she shares with partner George (whom we have heard about for years and years) and their cat Handsome Hanson.
George and Jeanne
Their house and garden (which they designed and built) overlooks Lake Sammamish. After some maitais by the fire (a new trend in the Pacific NW?) we sat down to a beautiful dinner topped off with fresh, homemade blackberry pie. Between her home, her cooking, and her seamless entertaining skills, she’s a tough act to follow, that’s for sure.
Fun we had, but by 10:30 we said our aloha goodbyes and headed back to West Seattle. Sammamish seems a long way away, but we were home in 30 minutes! Without traffic, this area is a dream.
The skies are a little gray today, but there are lots of walkers and runners out along the Alki Avenue promenade in front of the condo; it’s great to see them. Yesterday, we watched a group of 50 or so walkers go by with their dogs all wearing scarves with red dots, and a sign asking for donations to help the pets who have suffered in the tsunami.
So as we end Week 9, we are once again thankful for all we have and for the dear friends we are having the opportunity to spend time and laugh with. In another three weeks we will have left Seattle so we have lots to do between now and then.
Have a great week and we’ll check in on Sunday April 10!
A hui hou,
Sharene & Harrison