San Francisco - The Weekend...

Friday morning came way too early, and there was simply no way to avoid it. Not being able to counteract the effects of the rising sun, I got out of bed, walked into the kitchen and, once again, came face to face with my nemesis, that modern scourge of coffeedom, the Impressa coffee maker:

It mocks me no more...

During past visits, this coffee maker all but laughed at me. It sensed the trepidation which can only be the result of dealing with a Bunn coffee maker for so long; pour the water, press one button, and you're golden. The Impressa, however, starts out with a "maintenance" step, and then the selection of "product" and "size". It does brew a good cup of coffee, though. I just wish it wasn't so involved. I've gotten to the point where I've got it figured out, though, so life was good.

Not only does the deck as Casa de la Chris have an amazing view, you're also likely to see more than a few deer in a day, or even wild turkey:

The view from the deck at Chris' house...

Deer along the hillside, within view of the house...

A wild turkey along the road up to the house...

As nice as the views and wildlife are, breakfast was the name of the game this morning. Lafayette has this little place called "Millie's" and it is, by every measure, a great breakfast joint. I thought we'd be headed that way (they've got some crazy pancakes), but Chris wanted to head over to Berkeley, to Bette's Ocean View Diner:

One of only two pictures I took at Bette's...

Now, I don't mean to split hairs, but this really does need to be mentioned: If your goal is to enjoy your late Friday morning breakfast while taking in a wonderful ocean view, it may surprise you to learn that Bette's Ocean View Diner is not the place for you. I'm not entirely sure where the diner got its name, but a quick scan of your surroundings will tell you it didn't come from the ocean. And I am, of course, assuming that there is, or has been, someone name Bette involved.

I'm normally a big fan of taking pictures of huge breakfasts (hey, it is the most important meal of the day). Somehow, though, I only managed to get the shot above, and a photo of an old Seeburg jukebox near the cash register:

Truth be told, when breakfast showed up, it was pretty overwhelming. I was a little misty-eyed over the whole affair. It was a lot of food. I know Chris took a picture of, at least, part of his breakfast; some banana pancake souffle monstrosity that sat a full four or five inches off his plate, and I don't recall if Kandice finished her breakfast, although I suspect not.

We decided to walk off breakfast a bit, and head over to a pasta and cheese shop not far from Bette's.  Now, I like a nice cheese as much as the next guy, and this store certainly didn't disappoint. Well, maybe it did a little. Chris brought me a sample of some goat's milk & coconut nut milk cheese that was, frankly, one of the most vile things I've ever tasted. I countered the lingering aftertaste with a smoked-gouda-something that was really nice.

These people really like their cheese:

Some of the selection of cheeses we found in Berkeley...

Some of the selection of cheeses we found in Berkeley...

Chris and Kandice cheese shopping...

We made our way back to Lafayette, as the Friday night gig started a bit early. Again, the gig was at a wine-only establishment but, thankfully, this one had chairs to sit on:

The set-up at Auburn James in Danville, California. I played the Martin, Chris played the Taylor...

The gig ended early; 8:30pm. We packed up the gear but left it there, as Friday night was the celebration for Chris' birthday. I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of any photos from Friday night, but I know I didn't take any.

Saturday promised to be a low-key, relaxing weekend day. the gigs for this trip were over ( at least for me), and we just wanted to decompress a little from the birthday revelry of the night before. Kandice whipped up some pretty wicked omelets and, paired with some hash browns and some coffee, it was a good start to the day.

Around mid-afternoon, I got a call from another friend in the Bay Area. Peter is is a native Aussie, but gained his US citizenship last year. Pete is the embodiment of the "American dream". He came here with little, and is now wildly successful. And, if the opportunity presents itself, we like to get together and catch up over a Guinness or two at O'Reilly's in North Beach:

O'Reilly's Irish Pub in North Beach...

Peter enjoying his Guinness at O'Reilly's...

Chris and Peter at O'Reilly's...

After the obligatory catching up, Peter had to excuse himself and get to another commitment. Chris and I decided to cruise around the city a bit, primarily up to the Palace Of Fine Arts. In movies, or even from a distance, the immensity can't be appreciated. You have to get right up on it; in it, to really understand how big this is:

San Francisco's Palace Of Fine Arts...

Chris had an early gig the next day, so we didn't want to stay out late. We found our way back across the Bay Bridge, stopped by the grocery store, and picked up some rather stupidly thick New York Strips:

Oh. My. God.

Chris had his way with these steaks on the grille, cooked up some rice and carrots, and we had dinner. This was yet another meal of which I didn't get any pictures. I didn't want to waste time taking pictures while the steak you see on the right, above, was perfectly cooked and sitting on a plate in front of me.

Sunday was a relaxing day all around. Chris had an early gig for a birthday party so, before that, we meandered down to The Peasant And The Pear in Danville for brunch. The P&P's Bloody Mary was simply too damn tempting to pass up:

This was a REALLY good Bloody Mary...

As much as I like breakfast, I couldn't pass up something called "The Rodzilla". It's a burger named for the owner, Rodney Worth, and it was simply one of the finest burgers I've ever had:

The Rodzilla...

After brunch, and after the gig, it was nothing more than a nice, lazy day lounging around the house. We'd be leaving for the airport by 7:00pm for my 9:30pm flight back to San Diego. I figure, if I play my cards right, it won't be another year before I get back here...