A week and a half later

A week and half later, I'm resisting the urge to make this a glorified slide show of my trip which bores the neighbors. Part of the reason I run is to see some of the sights in other cities and, of course, indulge in food. I'm always up to try new things, hence we visited the Japanese Gardens at my wife's request and had tea. Not as exotic as I thought it would be but nonetheless relaxing a few hours after the race. Allegedly, tea is relaxing to the soul and I was asked to take a 'serious picture, contemplating the world'.



It's difficult to 'seriously contemplate the world' when you grew-up on Tom and Jerry cartoons, but I gave it a shot, yet still envisioned an enraged cat chasing a clever mouse.






"Focus on the architecture, instead." Here is some Japanese structure. The simple mind thought, "It's red. I like red. It's tall."











Afterwards, I learned a lesson. While in Haight Asbury we were sucked into, no, make it lured into a very cool shoe store with unique shoes posing in the store front window. They actually posed like models. Don't asked questions, it happened this way. I tried on a pair of very cool shoes to learn that a size 8 was too small, instead purchased a size nine that fit comfortably. A week later they seem to be a size too big. Lesson learned: don't buy shoes six hours after running a marathon as your feet are still swollen.


Who knew San Francisco was so cold? Prior to the ballgame, we made an emergency purchase of fleece at The North Face store. People in the stands inquired as to whether we ran the race. My hobbling up and down the stairs like an old man was a sure give-away-- well, our official Chicago and San Francisco Marathon jackets also provided a clue as well.

Tuesday, my sister and nieces arrived at the hotel to go sight-seeing in Sausalito where we stopped for lunch then visited the Childrens' Museum. Perhaps not a good idea for a grown man stuck in a cartoon world as it brought the little kid out of me and captured me in it's web.






Carmel By The Sea provided an opportunity to run in the ocean with my nieces who each expressed great joy when challenging the crashing waves. I absolutely love this picture as it captures the simple joy of being down at the beach. Why can't everyday be like this?

While staying at my sister's house in San Jose, we went to The Mountain Winery for a dinner out on the patio then a show performed by Bill Maher. Fortunately for all of you, I forgot my camera and had to hijack a photo from their site. This place was amazing and one of the highlights of our trip! Overlooking the valley and fine dining before the concert with excellent wine, OUT OF BOTTLE AND NOT A BOX, is the way to live! Do all Californians live this way? If so, count me in!

The concert venue was amazing as a stage was created in what appeared to be an old family chapel. As fans of Bill Maher who performed for two hours, this was an unexpected bonus to our trip!

To show my appreciation to my sister and brother-in-law, the day before our departure, I made them one of Uncle Bob's famous, homemade Italian dinners which included "Uncle Bob's Famous Meatballs"! Now if you get served this dinner, you know you did something special to deserve this!