Nice things to do
Feb. 18th, 2008 06:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
philenaIn light of my having acquired what the rest of the world knows and takes for granted as "weekends," Daniel and I have been re-discovering what it is like to have multiple days off--regularly! For a while this was restricted to such amusing pastimes as keeping up with the laundry and the Sunday NYTimes. But recently we have been branching out a bit. Last weekend was our fourth anniversary, and Daniel took me to a petrified forest park near Santa Rosa, where a few million years ago a volcano exploded, knocked down the forest, and blanketed everything in ash. Over the ensuing few thousand millennia, each organic molecule of the fallen trees was replaced by silica and quartz, resulting in tree-rocks, all lying in the same orientation, because the blast knocked them all over in the same direction. Tree-rocks! It's really cool: you're walking in a pretty forest on a pretty forest path, and come across a fallen log, which looks just like every other fallen log--I mean, it's a forest! What else would it be? But then you touch it, and it's a rock! But it's a log! But it's a rock! It's really wild. This little forest was not particularly dramatic, largely because there were only a dozen or two well-preserved petrified trees, but I'm very eager to see more. Daniel tells me that there's a national park of the stuff, so we're going to have to get over there to check it out at some point.
After that, we went to Napa, where we went strolling in the local state park and had a picnic lunch, after which he took me wine-tasting, and that was very pleasant, but not too interesting to write about, so I'll skip ahead. On the way out of the Napa valley we stopped at Jack London state park. It was getting dark and the park was closing in half an hour, so we didn't actually look at the nature-y part of it, but we did peruse the museum of London's effects, which I was more interested in at the moment, seeing as how I've been getting very into Jack London recently. Particularly entertaining was the display of all his various rejection letters--some of them a polite dismissal, some of them a form post-card, and some of them rather insulting. We finished up the day with a yummy dinner in the staple Chinese restaurant of Daniel's childhood before driving home--but the celebrations were not over yet! The next morning we went on a Chicago alumni club-organized tour of the local Scharffen Berger chocolate factory in Berkeley. The factory made a strong name for itself and then sold out to Hershey's, which was smart enough to realize that an independent chocolate store is not going to retain its clientele by plastering NOW A HERSHEY'S SUBSIDIARY over its products, however great product placement it might be for Hershey's itself. So the only sign of that acquisition is the tasteful notice in small lettering that Scharffen Berger chocolate is an "Artisian Confections Company," which is the blanket name that is given to all of Hershey's high-class branches. The tour was very interesting, and I learned tons about the making of chocolate itself, and we even got a great meal in the attached restaurant afterward. The restaurant's food was fairly normal/good, but the desserts were magnificent! I was particularly entranced with a chocolate pot de creme that was seasoned with rosemary, which sounds a bit strange, but worked beautifully. I would say this is the perfect place to take one's parents, but I can only speak in theoretical terms because after spending three nights stuck in the O'Hare Hilton (two on the way out and one on the way back) the last time they came out to see me, my parents have vowed never to fly ever again. So no rosemary pot de creme for them.
Since I know there are a few UofC alumni who read this, let me take this opportunity to encourage you folks to participate in the alumni club-sponsored events. The prices are pretty good and the events are great fun, and the pool of participants really need some fresh blood infused. Except for one party of the 25-30 person group, we were the only people under 40--or even under 50, I might go so far as to say. Certainly the two gentlemen sitting near us at the restaurant were distinctly members of the old guard. I was taught in my tour-guide training that my dorm, Burton-Judson, was originally a law school dorm, way back in the day, which is why there is so little gothic carving: those frills were too girly, it was thought, and since only boys are going to be law-school students, they won't need the frills. But these gentlemen talked to us about our UofC days, and remarked, "Oh, Burton Judson is an undergraduate dorm now, is it?" Or, "Well, that was back before the war, of course--and I don't mean Vietnam." So in conclusion, chocolate!
Then this weekend--which was not two days, but three! Three glorious days! More than half the fingers on one hand! Three!--we spent a good bit of time lounging, Daniel did tons of grading, and I did some housecleaning, but because there were three (three!) days, that still left time to go to a concert on Sunday and to spend the afternoon on Clement St. in San Francisco today. Clement is really a great place. We went to a tea shop on Sixth Avenue and Clement called Aroma Tea Shop. This place is amazing--in part because of the tea tastings. You can't just walk in and look around--no no, they make you sit down in front of what can only be described as a tea bar and serve you little muglet after little muglet of the various teas, describing the different uses and benefits and production methods of each tea, and stopping every so often to ask you what else you would like to taste. "Do you like fragrant, smokey, sweet, earthy?" they'll ask, and when you respond, they pick out a kind of tea that embodies one of those characteristics and make a cup for you to taste. If you express the slightest interest in one of the teas you see they'll grab it and make it for you. If you happen to mention in passing to a friend that that tea over there has kind of a funny sounding name, they'll grab it and make it for you. Daniel and I knew coming in exactly what we wanted (because an aunt who lives in the area gave it out as gifts this Christmas) and still ended up tasting eight different varieties (that we remember) before we purposefully stood up and announced that we were ready to buy. The other group who was tasting with us was still going strong when we left. It should be mentioned that the various teas are extremely expensive (something like $25-$40 on average for a little four-ounce package, but one spoonful alone of the leaves will brew several pots' worth. And they are amazing.), but if any of my SF-area companions are interested in trying this place out, Daniel and I would love to show it to you. And sit down with you during a tasting so you don't get lonely. Maybe we'll mention a fews teas that are worth trying, if you're at a loss amidst all the choices. It's for your own good, you understand. (And I'll mention right now that you can't leave without trying the Blue People Oolong. It is a truly magnificent tea, all the more remarkable because apparently the leaves have been fermented with mint and licorice, two flavors I abhor.)
Oh! And we're going skiing next weekend!
Oh! And I got into Cornell and Santa Cruz also. And Cornell is offering me lots of money. And Santa Cruz is offering me less. And I still don't know what Berkeley is offering me, but I'm going to an open house on March 10-11 for Berkeley and March 5-7 for Cornell--and Cornell is offering me so much money that they're even paying my travel expenses!
After that, we went to Napa, where we went strolling in the local state park and had a picnic lunch, after which he took me wine-tasting, and that was very pleasant, but not too interesting to write about, so I'll skip ahead. On the way out of the Napa valley we stopped at Jack London state park. It was getting dark and the park was closing in half an hour, so we didn't actually look at the nature-y part of it, but we did peruse the museum of London's effects, which I was more interested in at the moment, seeing as how I've been getting very into Jack London recently. Particularly entertaining was the display of all his various rejection letters--some of them a polite dismissal, some of them a form post-card, and some of them rather insulting. We finished up the day with a yummy dinner in the staple Chinese restaurant of Daniel's childhood before driving home--but the celebrations were not over yet! The next morning we went on a Chicago alumni club-organized tour of the local Scharffen Berger chocolate factory in Berkeley. The factory made a strong name for itself and then sold out to Hershey's, which was smart enough to realize that an independent chocolate store is not going to retain its clientele by plastering NOW A HERSHEY'S SUBSIDIARY over its products, however great product placement it might be for Hershey's itself. So the only sign of that acquisition is the tasteful notice in small lettering that Scharffen Berger chocolate is an "Artisian Confections Company," which is the blanket name that is given to all of Hershey's high-class branches. The tour was very interesting, and I learned tons about the making of chocolate itself, and we even got a great meal in the attached restaurant afterward. The restaurant's food was fairly normal/good, but the desserts were magnificent! I was particularly entranced with a chocolate pot de creme that was seasoned with rosemary, which sounds a bit strange, but worked beautifully. I would say this is the perfect place to take one's parents, but I can only speak in theoretical terms because after spending three nights stuck in the O'Hare Hilton (two on the way out and one on the way back) the last time they came out to see me, my parents have vowed never to fly ever again. So no rosemary pot de creme for them.
Since I know there are a few UofC alumni who read this, let me take this opportunity to encourage you folks to participate in the alumni club-sponsored events. The prices are pretty good and the events are great fun, and the pool of participants really need some fresh blood infused. Except for one party of the 25-30 person group, we were the only people under 40--or even under 50, I might go so far as to say. Certainly the two gentlemen sitting near us at the restaurant were distinctly members of the old guard. I was taught in my tour-guide training that my dorm, Burton-Judson, was originally a law school dorm, way back in the day, which is why there is so little gothic carving: those frills were too girly, it was thought, and since only boys are going to be law-school students, they won't need the frills. But these gentlemen talked to us about our UofC days, and remarked, "Oh, Burton Judson is an undergraduate dorm now, is it?" Or, "Well, that was back before the war, of course--and I don't mean Vietnam." So in conclusion, chocolate!
Then this weekend--which was not two days, but three! Three glorious days! More than half the fingers on one hand! Three!--we spent a good bit of time lounging, Daniel did tons of grading, and I did some housecleaning, but because there were three (three!) days, that still left time to go to a concert on Sunday and to spend the afternoon on Clement St. in San Francisco today. Clement is really a great place. We went to a tea shop on Sixth Avenue and Clement called Aroma Tea Shop. This place is amazing--in part because of the tea tastings. You can't just walk in and look around--no no, they make you sit down in front of what can only be described as a tea bar and serve you little muglet after little muglet of the various teas, describing the different uses and benefits and production methods of each tea, and stopping every so often to ask you what else you would like to taste. "Do you like fragrant, smokey, sweet, earthy?" they'll ask, and when you respond, they pick out a kind of tea that embodies one of those characteristics and make a cup for you to taste. If you express the slightest interest in one of the teas you see they'll grab it and make it for you. If you happen to mention in passing to a friend that that tea over there has kind of a funny sounding name, they'll grab it and make it for you. Daniel and I knew coming in exactly what we wanted (because an aunt who lives in the area gave it out as gifts this Christmas) and still ended up tasting eight different varieties (that we remember) before we purposefully stood up and announced that we were ready to buy. The other group who was tasting with us was still going strong when we left. It should be mentioned that the various teas are extremely expensive (something like $25-$40 on average for a little four-ounce package, but one spoonful alone of the leaves will brew several pots' worth. And they are amazing.), but if any of my SF-area companions are interested in trying this place out, Daniel and I would love to show it to you. And sit down with you during a tasting so you don't get lonely. Maybe we'll mention a fews teas that are worth trying, if you're at a loss amidst all the choices. It's for your own good, you understand. (And I'll mention right now that you can't leave without trying the Blue People Oolong. It is a truly magnificent tea, all the more remarkable because apparently the leaves have been fermented with mint and licorice, two flavors I abhor.)
Oh! And we're going skiing next weekend!
Oh! And I got into Cornell and Santa Cruz also. And Cornell is offering me lots of money. And Santa Cruz is offering me less. And I still don't know what Berkeley is offering me, but I'm going to an open house on March 10-11 for Berkeley and March 5-7 for Cornell--and Cornell is offering me so much money that they're even paying my travel expenses!
no subject
Date: 2008-02-20 03:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-20 03:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-20 05:37 am (UTC)