Day 5 Wed Oct 15th

This is the day we head to SF with a stop at Chez Panisse for lunch. The original plan was to stay in Napa for the morning, but since Copia is closed and we don't want to do another winery, we go to Plan B. We really want to see those redwoods. So, in not the most efficient planning of a trip, we head to Muir Woods. Even if it's a short visit, we really want to do it. And boy, was it worthwhile! The parking lot was very full, but a ranger told us a spot opened in the first lot and moved a barrier to let us in. We were amazed and in awe of such giant beauty. There aren't really words to describe the serenity of a cool, dark forest; you just feel at peace while you're surrounded. Photos don't capture the proportion of it all. We walked through until dh said it was time to go. It was hard to leave. Next time, we will definitely get to Armstrong.

We give up our great parking spot and make another person happy. On to Chez Panisse. I've been reading about Alice Waters for thirty years or more and this is a dream come true. Since I love good food and cooking, she has been an inspiration - and so ahead of her time. We go over the bridge towards Berkely and something's not right. We don't know where we are, but we know we're headed wrong. We get off the highway and can't find a soul to ask except a truck driver who doesn't speak English.

Gotta help dh - be back shortly.

Hi CPG,
Hope your husband is doing better.
Enjoying your trip report, brings back fond memories of our trips to CA and the wine country. Our favorite is the Mendocino area...something for next time!
But again, my thoughts are with you during these trying times and sending you my prayers for your husband's successful surgery

Hi owlwoman! Thanks for the kind words - it's slow going, but today was better than yesterday!

Day 5 continued

We are in some kind of industrial area. After consulting the map which unfortunately doesn't have enough detail, we decide to get back on the road going in the direction we came from. We call the restaurant and explain the situation and what exits we are passing and the woman tells us we should turn around. We don't know where we are, but we just know that that can't be. After awhile, we see signs for Berkeley and she gives us directions. We finally find the restaurant, but of course, there's no parking spots anywhere. We leave the car in a supermarket lot. We are less than a half hour late and the restaurant is very welcoming and sympathetic. We decide this ordeal calls for wine and we order a half bottle of sancerre - a very good move. Actually, we are in the cafe (the restaurant is open for dinner only). We order a plate of olives and then I start with the Wild Boar Farm tomato and herb salad and dh starts with roasted tomato and carrot soup. All is delicious and tastes fresh from the garden as one would expect from Alice Waters. We then share a pizza and the hand-cut rosemary pasta with Laughing Stock Farm pork ragu - the pizza is very good and the pasta sensational. We share a chocolate - hazelnut ice cream with bittersweet chocolate sauce and candied hazelnuts (not as rich as it sounds) - sublime!

This lunch was truly memorable and lives up to the restaurant's reputation.

We get incorrect directions again from the same woman and then she explains that she's dyslexic!

We drive over the Bay Bridge and easily get to our hotel, Campton Place. We drop off the luggage and park in the Sutton - Stockton garage - very simple. We check in, get an upgrade and it is on a low floor. It's interesting when you look at a hotel on it's website and see a picture as if the hotel is the only building in the vicinity. In reality, the hotel faces the Grand Hyatt and every room facing the front is facing a room at the Hyatt. The hotel is extremely accommodating and allows us to view two different rooms and choose. We pick a room on a high floor facing the back. It is very nice and immaculate, but geared for business travelers with little storage space for clothing.

We walk to Saks (I have a cosmetic emergency) and pass the Nike store where mostly young women are lined up to register for Sunday's marathon. There's a great energy in the Union Square area and the square is filled with tents for the race. The saleswoman in Saks is my new best friend because she tells me about a Friends and Family event starting on Friday. We walk around USq and stop into Cole Haan and I buy a pair of shoes - everything is on sale in connection with a charity event.

We later walk to our first dinner in SF at Boulevard. It's a very pleasant walk through the financial district - the streets seem pretty clean and some of the buildings are quite striking. We love the restaurant - it's attractive and has a great vibe - our waiter is a former NYer (upstate) and we talk about the positive aspects of living in the SF area. We learn that he was at Cyrus the same night as us (does he have a trust fund?). He makes some recommendations and I have the lamb t-bone and dh has striped bass. The entire meal - each course - was excellent. We have the exact same wine as we did with lunch. We take a taxi back (my ankle has been holding up well, but I'm not pushing it in heels). We are welcomed back by name at the hotel.

I just know that I'm going to love this city.

End of Day 5

Thanks for the reminder of Chez Panisse. I can still see in my mind's eye our last meal there and that was 4 or 5 years ago! Can't wait to hear about it.

CP,
I'm glad you enjoyed the Campton Place as I enjoyed my stay there ages ago back in 94.

Day 6 – Thursday Oct 16th – a very long day that starts with very bad news.

We have a full day planned including driving through Golden Gate Park and we talk to the concierge about logistics. We have a lunch reservation at Cliff House and not sure how it will fit in. Her recommendation is to skip the lunch, stay and eat in the park and visit Cliff house for the view later – makes perfect sense.

We have breakfast in a lovely room off the lobby with service to match. While there, DH gets a call from the bank that he deals with at work and learns that one of the bank’s officers (who he has dealt with for more than 20 years) is the mother of one of the young men who plunged off Highway 1 last Friday night. In the almost 30 years that I know him, I have never seen him that shaken. I heard about the accident on the news last Saturday, but never mentioned it to him because we were driving on Highway 1 and he has a bit of a fear of heights. He goes over to the concierge to ask if they know any details and in that day’s Chronicle, there is an article and they give it to us. We read it and feel sick. DH tells me that he has probably met the banker three or four times, but they speak at least once a month concerning investments. In more than twenty years, there is a relationship and he has learned about her children. This son went to Harvard, worked awhile and then decided to go to graduate school. Last year, just she and her son drove cross country together to Stanford. He was to graduate with an MBA this May. He and the two other young men were on their way to a Stanford business school retreat. The article said that he was the driver. I don’t believe that there were any witnesses.

This is a good place to take a break.

How can anyone comprehend a tragedy such as this? My heart breaks for this woman.

Oh Centralparkgirl, I and I am sure most of us here in the SF/BayArea are so aware of that terrible accident. Tragic!

Faina just posted in the Lounge about a coworker who was rearended by a felon trying to escape the PD. Her mother who was in the car was killed and Faina's coworker and her husband are in the ICU with serious injuries. This couple have a little child.

Being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

>> Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. <<

Exactly!

LoveItaly - I saw Faina's post earlier today - it's tragic that things like this happen to the nicest people - and all too frequently.

I remember hearing about it on the news, such a tragic loss.

Our start is a delayed with the bad news and eventually, we walk one block to get the car from the garage (it only costs $24.50). We cancel lunch at Cliff House.

We drive over to Coit Tower and park easily. We walk around checking out the view from different spots and take pictures. Then we enter and view the murals. I love them!!! I especially love examining the ones that have lots of details – they are a treasure! I wish the little gift shop had a book on the murals (I should check Barnes and Noble) because I would love to read more about them. We take the elevator up and the operator is friendly and humorous.
This view is amazing! We walk around – more photos. I would love to look at the murals again, but it’s getting late.

We drive over to GGPark and park in the garage under the Academy of Science. We take one look at the long line waiting to go in the museum and we make a decision. We will do other things today and come back to the museum tomorrow when they first open. So we head over to the Japanese Tea Garden and the serenity there does us good after the morning’s dismal news. I really like those stone blocks that make a walkway across some of the water (I love that you can see the moss growing between these stones). We walk all over. It is a gorgeous day, very sunny and we finally come to the drum bridge. I don’t know what possessed us, but we both climb over it (my orthopedist would kill me!). We become hungry and unfortunately the tea house doesn’t serve lunch.

We decide to eat in the De Young café and it is a good choice. It’s so well organized. We order salad and pasta and Thomas Kemper drinks (who is he?). It is brought by a waiter to our table.
The huge glass water dispensers are impressive – two with lemon slices, one with cucumber and the other I forget – so California.

We then walk over to the Victorian Conservatory of Flowers – the sun is very strong. We walk through the conservatory – very few flowers – and extremely hot and humid. From here we retrieve the car and drive around the park stopping at several places to look and take photos – the lake, the buffalo paddock, etc.

We leave the park and head to Cliff House. We’re able to park and walk around. The view is stunning. South of Cliff House, we can see many surfers in the ocean. It is a very beautiful setting and we drive a bit south. There are tents set up for the participants of a walk in GGPark on Saturday.

While we drive back toward downtown, dh calls the banker at her home. They talk about her son, not the accident. She tells dh that she is grateful for the time she had with him. The call leaves him very shaken again.

We drive over to Nob Hill and park in front of the entrance to Grace Cathedral (I wish I was this lucky with parking spots in NYC). We are not Christian, but we always visit churches when we travel to see the art and architecture. There are three other people in the cathedral and the choir is practicing. We feel like they are putting on a concert for us – a nice background while we walk around and browse; also another serene place at a sad moment. We look for some of the contemporary stained glass windows and can’t find them. The lady at the information desk is kind enough to help us. The small chapel with Keith Haring’s work is quite interesting – with an AID’s quilt too – and this seems so forward thinking for a church –and it exudes compassion.

I call Hertz about keeping the car another day (our quote was for a week and we were returning it early). We can keep the car another day without additional cost. Our original plan was to get a Muni pass, but driving around has been quite simple (up until now).

We drive back to Union Square and park the car. It’s been a long day and we need some sustenance – and then we see Teuscher’s – how convenient – we buy a few treats and head back to Campton Place. The hotel mentioned that they have a car and driver available sometimes and it is when we’re ready to leave for dinner. A very nice gentleman drives us to Kokkari – in a Jaguar!!!

Dinner – Kokkari is very lively and the meal is good. We share some appetizers and I have a whole grilled fish whose name I never heard of – very good. We end with a kokkari sundae which neither of us needed, but we finished it all.

End of Day

Centralparkgirl - (((Hugs))) to you and your dh. I am so sorry to read of the latest news but glad that the last report has him at least feeling a little better. Bless you both.

Your trip, outside of the tragic news of dh's co-workers son. So sad.

Your trip report is fabulous. While you were on "my" coast - I was on "your" coast. :-) NY was very kind to dd and I - and even Carmel's car service was okay in picking us up from JFK :))

Hello Centralparkgirl, I just finished reading your last post. Your style of writing is charming and I felt like I was back in SF enjoying the time with you.

Again I am so sorry about your DH's friend's son..I can't even imagine the heartbreak that family is going through.

And Centralparkgirl, I hope your husband is doing better, he has been on my mind. My prayers and good wishes are again with you and him.

Day 7 – Friday October 17th

We start our day with another nice breakfast at Campton Place. We get the car from the garage and today’s cost is $14.50 – don’t know how they calculated it, but it’s okay with us.
We drive back to Golden Gate Park, now a little familiar with the streets, and park on the road behind the Academy of Science. Once again there is a line, but not too bad. My advice for those planning to visit, is that you should buy tickets online, print them and then just walk in at 9:30 or if you’re a local, consider becoming a member.

When we enter, we head straight to the planetarium and get tickets for the 11:30 show. We check out the albino alligator (pretty cool) and then head to the aquarium. There is plenty to see and the exhibits are wonderful. In a short time, it is mobbed with visitors (why aren’t all the kids in school?). It is so crowded and I’m glad we started early. We head back to the main floor and visit the African Hall – animals diorama style like the MoNH in NY but smaller. I’m told the animals are from the original museum and quite old. I always like these exhibits – pleasant memories of going to NH as a child and later with my own kids.

It’s now time for the planetarium show (I think it’s about 30 minutes in length). A gentleman tells the audience about the old planetarium and how technology has changed – interesting. The all digital show is enjoyable and comfortable (nice to be sitting for a bit, but I think dh is starting to doze).

We exit and we’re beginning to get hungry. The line into the café makes the line at Taylor’s Refresher look short. Neither of us want to get on that line. We notice a sign for a restaurant called the Moss Room and ask the hostess if there are openings. She can seat us at 1:30 and we take it.

We decide to go up to the Living Roof. There is a docent up there (they’re all over actually wearing a bit of orange) and we talk to her. She explains what we are looking at, how it was built, what’s under the plants, what the glass openings do, etc. Without that explanation, I know I would not have appreciated the design.

When we leave the roof, there is an employee giving out tickets for a 3D film called ‘Bugs.’ It is not listed in the brochure yet and we get tix for a performance prior to lunch. This is a 26 minute film that was delightful. It is not a children’s film although they will like it too. The film is narrated by the unforgettable voice of Judi Dench.

We go back to the Moss Room hostess and someone escorts us downstairs in a huge freight-type elevator. Three people in a huge elevator seems to contradict the museum’s message to conserve energy. The restaurant is attractive, with nice service and more than decent food. This option is way too expensive for families, imo, and I wonder if you can byo lunch and eat it in the café and avoid the long lines.

When we finish, we go back to the main level and at this point, there is a long line to enter the rain forest exhibit. The staff is very good at crowd control, not letting people in until people exit certain exhibits. On the other hand, waiting for many exhibits is not fun. My advice is to head to a popular exhibit that you’re interested in when you first enter. Leave the African Hall for later as well as the small open exhibits on the main level. They are the least crowded as compared to the aquarium, the roof and the rain forest. Also, pick up your tix for shows when you arrive. You can ask for a later performance and plan your time.

We browse some exhibits on the main floor – the carbon one is very interesting (you will forever feel guilty about buying water in a plastic bottle); we go through the gift shop and walk outside to see the Maya Linn sculpture. We can’t find it and the reason is that it is not on the ground. We have to look up to see it!

We don’t want to wait on any more lines and we head back to the car where we find a parking ticket!!! Being a NYer, I am ready to take a photo of the parking sign (that we read 12 times) and fight the ticket. But then I read it and realize we were parked longer than the allowed 4 hours. My argument with SF is that you create a world class museum that one could easily spend 6 or more hours in, but the parking is only for 4 hours – lol! It’s all part of the vacation.

We drive over to the Legion of Honor and park. There’s a sign, ‘Holocaust Memorial’ and we want to see what it is. It is a sculpture by George Segal that is very dramatic and moving. Our visit to the museum is not too long, but we view the Rodins, some European paintings and furniture. It is an exquisite building and we’re glad we got here. The views outside are very nice too.

Next stop – Alamo Square – we park and walk around and take lots of pictures of the Painted Ladies (I can’t imagine living there and having your house constantly photographed).

One last stop to make before returning the car and having what I will always refer to as my mini breakdown in SF.

MomDDtravel - I can feel those hugs all the way here!! Thank you so much. I'm glad you and dd had a good visit. I have to laugh about Carmel. When I called and complained from JFK, I left them a msg on their VM. I didn't expect to hear from them, but they called when we were in Napa and were very apologetic. They said they would send us a $10 coupon. We did use them to get home (a very nice driver this time) and I actually went through my mail and used it on the spot!

LoveItaly - Keep the good wishes coming! Today hasn't been great for him. On a lighter note, a friend of ours donated blood today for the upcoming surgery. Since it's Halloween, he told the blood bank that dh is a vampire! I don't know if they found it funny or not, but I laughed.

CP,
Have a good weekend and hope DH is doing better. Don't forget the Giants/Cowboys on Sunday at 4pm. :)

hey andrew! Excellent suggestion. I'm thinking if he's up to it, we'll go downstairs and watch the first runners go by (we live near the 18 mile mark) in the Marathon. You and steelygirl have a great weekend!

LoveItaly said it well. I feel like I'm on the trip with you. Thank you for the great trip report. I hope things progress well with your husband and that the upcoming surgery is successful so you can get to planning the next great getaway together.

Andrew - how could any of us forget that game?? sigh.... I know you are going to KILL my cowboys!!

I've been enjoying your report too, centralparkgirl and am sorry to hear about your husband's health.

You also could buy a membership to the Natural History museum in NYC and then use your membership card from there to get into the Academy of Science.

The only exclusion is that you cannot use your membership for another museum within 90 miles of your "home" museum. So if you bought a membership for Natural History you could not then use it for the science museum in Queens.

http://www.astc.org/sciencecenters/find_scicenter.htm

Toucan2 - I'm with you. We were thinking about going back to SF next fall and heading south and I think reading andrew8's trip report sealed the deal!

MomDDTravel - you're in southern Ca, right? So what's with the Cowboys?

5alive - thanks for the post. You have actually inspired me to rejoin NH. We were members for years (Bronx Zoo too) and stopped going when our boys got older and didn't want to go with us anymore. I pass the museum at least once a week and just live crosstown, but haven't gone in years.

My question to you is where on the link that you provided does it say that you can use the membership at other museums around the country?

Friday continued

We leave Alamo Square and I drive to Lombard St. The crooked part is amazing and I drive down it. No problem. I would love to park, but there are no spots. We circle and eventually dh gets out and takes some photos. Here’s where the story gets murky. DH and I can’t agree on what streets we were on and where I had my breakdown. I think we might have been on Leavenworth and I needed to make a right and then continue and make a right onto Mason where the car rental is (back near Union Square). I’m driving on Leavenworth (maybe) and when I start to make a right, I realize I can’t see where this street goes – it feels like it’s going to be a vertical drop. I start repeating over and over that I can’t do it. I pull back onto Leavenworth (to the probable delight of the cars behind me) and continue to the next street. The exact same thing happens again – that cross street heading east is so steep that I am freaked out. DH says that I was just able to drive down Lombard Street, but it is not the same to me. I tell him that I will drive miles if necessary until I can make a right that isn’t like Mt. Everest – the next block is a street we were on before – it has tracks on it and there is one lane only heading east and it is a little lower than the tracks next to it – this I can do. So, where were we???? It is very important for me to know because I want to mark my map and when we return for another visit, I’ll be sure to stay clear of those streets!!!!! I’m driving since I’m 17 and never had a panic like that.

We return the car near Union Square. It’s been a long day and we take a rest before dinner.
Dinner is at Rose Pistola on Columbus. And Mr. Jaguar is available again (I could get used to this!) to give us a lift to North Beach. We go early and walk around the neighborhood for awhile. Unfortunately a shop with great Italian ceramics (like those from Deruta) is closed. North Beach is already lively and it’s still early. We have dinner starting with bellinis and share an octopus appetizer and the wonderful sizzling skillet of mussels. Chianti, pasta and a mushroom pizza are next – a little dessert – and a cab back to the hotel.

I wish we had a lot more time to explore SF!

End of Day 7

Hello Centralparkgirl, the Italian Cermaic shop you mentioned is:

http://www.biordi.com/main.php

They have lovely merchandise but it is not inexpensive.

But even if one doesn't plan on buying anything it is an interesting shop to visit.

I sure hope your husband is feeling better and that he can enjoy watching the game tomorrow!

Hi LoveItaly - Yes, that's the shop. They actually had catalogs outside their front door and they are extremely expensive. I think the weak dollar and the shipping from Italy has really raised the prices. I carried back a decorative bowl from Florence last year. I sure regret not buying a lot 25 years ago when it was cheap!

Biordi has always been very expensive - even when the dollar was stronger.

Stu Dudley

Stu is right Centralparkgirl, Biordi's sure has always been expensive. I would think that anyone that goes to Italy probably does not shop at Biordi's. Having said that I do have a beautiful Italian table lamp from Biordi's. It wasn't wired so it was on sale. My husband wired it..I love that lamp! We found the perfect silk shade for it. My daughter and son-in-law gave me a beautiful container with a lid when they returned from their honeymoon in SF. It was a "thank you" for their wedding. It is priceless.

When (not IF but WHEN) you two are able to return to California if you get down to Santa Barbara here is a lovely store that cells Italian cermaics. For your viewing pleasure..

http://www.italianpottery.com/

Great website - molto grazie!

Did you watch the marathon CP?

Hi andrew - yes. I had to push him out the door. We only watched the first women go by and then the first men. It's really exciting seeing it live. There were many handicapped participants and amputees passing by on special vehicles and they are amazing - so truly inspiring - I felt very emotional just watching them.

So, I understand it's 14 - 7.

21-7 CP :)

I'm so glad you and DH saw some of the race.

Centralparkgirl - it is a strange thing...but I "grew" up on the Cowboys when they were the glory team - Landry etc..it stuck and I have loved them for 30 years... through good and bad...and obviously mostly bad for a while now. :-(

Dawn,
You still have a lot of football left as you have 8 games to play plus I think Romo will be back after the bye week.

awwhhh Andrew - as always you are so kind. I think just have to write off yet another season. But I am still a loyal fan... maybe next year? :-)

Well, I got so worried about your DH that I know I missed parts of your wonderful TR!

I will re-read but please how are things going?

DH and I have spent most of our vacations seeing Italy and France so NYC and SF were our first choices when we started on our U.S. wish list. We love them both!

Many thoughts to the health gods!

TDudette - I thank you for your support and good wishes. This weekend was tough because he's so uncomfortable. I think today is a bit better. The catastrophe of the day has already occurred - a friend was supposed to donate blood for him this morning and has a cold and 'forgot' to tell me. So, I've been scrambling to find another donor. Tomorrow is the last day they will accept it. Fortunately, the son of friends of ours is able and happy to do it.

Like you, I've gone to Europe many times (1st trip at age 19 with a backpack) and have only traveled the east coast plus Arizona. Hopefully, we will visit ds in New Mexico in the spring and go back to Ca in the fall - so much to see!

Hi, Centralparkgirl,
sorry things are still rough on your husband.

Here is a link to how the passport program works:

http://www.astc.org/members/passlist_about.htm

Before you join, you may also want to confirm with Natural History that they are still participating in the program.

Incidentally, some art museums do a similar exchange but usually only for the step-up memberships.

Hope DH is doing better CP

Day 8 Saturday, October 18

Upon leaving Campton Place, we once again passed the Nike store. Their windows on Stockton were covered with thousands of names of the runners in tomorrow’s marathon. There were women posing for pictures while pointing to their names. Many others were searching for theirs.
Such happy faces!

I had some reservations about going to the greenmarket at the Ferry Building. I thought it would be torture to see such great produce and not really be able to buy much (at home I tend to overbuy.). I was pleasantly mistaken. We walked to the Ferry Bldg and before I knew it, I was tasting butter nut crunch and talking to the person who made it. When we saw throngs of people lined up to buy breakfast, we regretted having breakfast at the hotel. Again, it was a gorgeous sunny day. We walked along the water passing the Spider sculpture continuing on to Rincon Park with the Cupid’s Bow sculpture. We walked back and walked through the market in earnest. It was so interesting to recognize the names of some farms from menus in restaurants where we had eaten in the past week. It was a nice connection. At some point, a young man offered me a taste of some kind of fruit and when I tasted it, it was Wow!!! What is that? It was an Asian pear called shinko. I spoke to the woman who owns the farm and she helped me pick out some and educated me about the storage, etc. When I told her I was from NY and had never tasted these, she said she wanted to give me a gift and gave me a shin li pear to take home. This lady was so nice! The four pears probably weighed about 4 lbs and dh gave me the look! I wish I could have bought more – the breads and cheeses looked especially tempting. You all are so lucky to have such a fabulous market in the heart of SF. We then went through the building and the shops were very nice – purchased some Scharffenberger bars with nibs and meyer lemon preserves for ds.

From the Ferry Bldg, we walked over to Tadich Grill – got a table right away – very good chowder and we shared some manila clams and calamari. This is an interesting restaurant and I’m sure it has quite a history – glad we went.
We walked back to USq and I made a little stop to check out the Friends and Family sale at Saks.

Dinner on our last night was at Gary Danko. We took the cable car there and that was a unique experience. The star was the man who collected the money. He acted as a tour guide, pointing out sights along the way, yelling at people who were attempting to get on while we were at capacity; he was quite the performer and made the ride even more fun. Since we got to the area early, we walked for a few minutes around Fisherman’s Wharf (kind of what I expected). Why are people so attracted when there are so many great things to see in SF?

At Gary Danko, we sat at the bar awhile between two guys celebrating a birthday and another man on SF on business. We all chatted and they made recommendations from the menu. The dinner was wonderful and it was a great choice for our last SF dinner.

We cabbed back to the hotel and women were still taking photos in front of the Nike window.
There was a letter from management under our door apologizing for any inconvenience before the race started and offering ear plugs. Since the race was beginning at 7am, they were expecting officials on loud speakers at 6. Since our room faced the back, we heard nothing.

Sunday Oct 19th

After breakfast, we walked over to Bristol Farms to pick up a few things to munch on for lunch while waiting in the airport. That’s a great shop with endless selections. Women are still taking photos in front of the Nike store only this time, they are wrapped in mylar because they’ve finished the race. It’s time to leave and we head to the airport, sad to go but determined to come back soon and visit all the enchantment by the bay!


Some reasons I knew I was in SF and not NY:

Public bathrooms were very clean – everywhere!

I was driven to dinner in a Jaguar as opposed to a dirty cab with a driver who has his pungent dinner on his lap.

You can’t go 5 minutes without being on a hilltop.

Water, water everywhere…………in NY, there are days I forget I’m on an island.

3.5% was added to my food bill for SF Healthcare (Rose Pistola)!!!!

Just a thank you to all of you who post terrific info and answer every question – this board absolutely helped make our trip so wonderful – my sincerest thanks.

Hi andrew8 - this has been a week from hell. dh is being admitted to the hospital again today. I can only pray that this time next Friday, the surgery is done, successful, with no complications and my best friend is finally on the mend.

I'm sorry about the news of DH CP. My wife and I are here for you if you need anything. Sending prayers your way.