The first day, I laid in the shade by the pool and read a book. It was a heartbreaking story. Of course, I can't remember the name of it right now, but the author is the one who wrote The Kite Runner. Being alone, I was able to cry and cry and savor the moments of such extreme sadness in the book. For anyone who likes to read, you should appreciate being able to do that. It just doesn't ever happen when you have 4 kids. After I read I took the train downtown, walked around, bought a Lychee-Almond Slushie with Boba. I had never had Boba before. They're large tapioca balls that they put in the Slushie, then you suck them up with a giant straw and chew on them while you drink. The first 5 were interesting, the next 5 tolerable, the last 30 I threw away. Definitely an acquired taste. Here's a link if you want to learn something new. http://lollicupboulder.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5&Itemid=6
Anyway, I then went to Japantown. There are only three left in the US. I found a cute, tiny shop with two little, 
old Japanese ladies selling Japanese treats. As a talked to them I mentioned I had four kids. "What!! You married? We thought you be college student from the university!" Thanks, ladies, I needed that. ---About the treats. They look quite strange. They're round gelatinous balls , about 3 inches wide, made of glutinous rice, with sweet red bean paste inside. At first bite, I didn't like it, but it grew on me. I left a tiny bit for Scot to try -- didn't like it either. The next day we went back together. I wanted to buy a package to bring back for the kids. We ate most of it. That's why you don't see a cute pic of my blue gelatin globs with beans. Here's me with one of the ladies.
old Japanese ladies selling Japanese treats. As a talked to them I mentioned I had four kids. "What!! You married? We thought you be college student from the university!" Thanks, ladies, I needed that. ---About the treats. They look quite strange. They're round gelatinous balls , about 3 inches wide, made of glutinous rice, with sweet red bean paste inside. At first bite, I didn't like it, but it grew on me. I left a tiny bit for Scot to try -- didn't like it either. The next day we went back together. I wanted to buy a package to bring back for the kids. We ate most of it. That's why you don't see a cute pic of my blue gelatin globs with beans. Here's me with one of the ladies. One evening we had a fantastic dinner at an Indian buffet. Scot went to training with a couple of Indians, and they recommended this buffet. It was fantastic! I took a pic of the giant bowl of Gulab Jamun to make 
my kids jealous. Definitely, the best Gulab I've ever eaten. FYI, when Ch. was barely 2, he would always cry, "Yo quiero Jamun" (I want Jamun). I know, my kids are weird. He should have been yelling I want cookie!, or something normal like that.
my kids jealous. Definitely, the best Gulab I've ever eaten. FYI, when Ch. was barely 2, he would always cry, "Yo quiero Jamun" (I want Jamun). I know, my kids are weird. He should have been yelling I want cookie!, or something normal like that.We spent all day Saturday in San Francisco. We couldn't decide if we wanted to go in the car or take public transp. We decided on the car. Great decision! We had so much fun driving up and down the hills. That morning we went to the farmer's market. Rows and rows of incredible fruit (they handed out samples), organic veggies, homemade cheeses, pastries. Honestly, I had the thought that everyone's idea of heaven would be really different, and this place would be mine.
That evening, we went to San Fran's Japantown. I don't like the setup as much as in San Jose, but we ate a great sushi and ramen seafood soup there. Then for dessert, crepes and hazlenut gelato. Not very Japanese, but the tourists probably don't get that excited about the red bean balls.
On Sunday, we drove back into SF and watched, quite literally, the fog roll over the mountains. I've always read of rolling fog, but had never seen it. It was hot, sunny, and beautiful on the drive down until we hit SF---cold, windy, foggy. 
The weather itself was an experience to me. We drove all around the Presidio, tried to stop in Little Italy, but there was NO parking. 
We were getting desperate because we needed to eat before we got to the airport. I told Scot to just drive, park anywhere there was a space, and we'd walk to find something to eat. We ended up going to a Thai restaurant that was great. For an appetizer, we ordered a delicious calamari salad. The calamari was large and tender. As we were eating our salad and savoring the quiet moments of eating without children, I had a realization. There was one yummy calamari left on the plate. Scot said, "You eat it." That seems like something small, but I realized that's how my whole marriage is. Scot may sometimes be gruff or short, but he's always willing to do anything to make me happy. He takes the kids to give me a break, he always does the dishes with me, he's my sous chef in the kitchen. That's really what makes a good marriage - two people who each want the other to eat the last calamari.
The weather itself was an experience to me. We drove all around the Presidio, tried to stop in Little Italy, but there was NO parking. 
We were getting desperate because we needed to eat before we got to the airport. I told Scot to just drive, park anywhere there was a space, and we'd walk to find something to eat. We ended up going to a Thai restaurant that was great. For an appetizer, we ordered a delicious calamari salad. The calamari was large and tender. As we were eating our salad and savoring the quiet moments of eating without children, I had a realization. There was one yummy calamari left on the plate. Scot said, "You eat it." That seems like something small, but I realized that's how my whole marriage is. Scot may sometimes be gruff or short, but he's always willing to do anything to make me happy. He takes the kids to give me a break, he always does the dishes with me, he's my sous chef in the kitchen. That's really what makes a good marriage - two people who each want the other to eat the last calamari.
2 comments:
Don't you love having parents vacation? We try to plan one every year. The trip sounded like a lot of fun. Food creeped me out but you know me. Excited to see ya'll next week
Hey-Like your blog! Your trip sounded awesome--you give such great detail, it makes me feel like I was right there with you. I'm going to try out your fun recipies. Talk to ya later!
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