Fish Out of Water

Musings and observations about life from an East Coast native now living on the Left Coast in the California State Capitol since 2004. This fish has made her home in Madison, WI (7 years); Portland, OR (2 years); Las Vegas, NV (7 months); Middlebury, VT (3 summers); Marne-la-Vallee, a small town east of Paris, France (6 months); Middletown, CT (3 years); and Marshfield, MA, the fish's coastal hometown 40 miles south of Boston (17 years).

Name:
Location: Sacramento, California, United States

3.11.2024

Travel Catch-Up: Friend Visit + Family Birthday

February 23-25: Las Cruces, NM

My good friend, L, splits her time between Sac (where we met at the now-closed Capital Athletic Club) and New Mexico. I've heard so much about her "other life" and was honored to be welcomed into her home in Las Cruces for a quick weekend visit. We had a lovely time together as she showed me around the area. Lots of quality time to chat in addition to a yoga class and a movie (Madame Web -- not awful but not recommended). I'm so glad she felt comfortable hosting me and sharing this part of her world!


March 1-3: Austin, TX

The following weekend, Mr. E and I headed to Austin for an early birthday celebration for C and me. This is the year that C enters the "double digits" as he turned 10 years old! We had a relaxing family evening on Friday, starting with Happy Hour oysters with C at Shore and then our usual DIY dinner at the house, followed by a game of Clue, which C had learned earlier this year during a visit to Great Uncle J. 

On Saturday morning, C and J were up and out early for his academic competition followed by a soccer game. B and M headed out to a birthday party, and Mr. E and I took advantage of the lovely weather to walk down to Shore to try out their breakfast offerings. Yummy tacos, Americanos, and an indulgent coffee cake muffin. Then we met up with the rest of the family in the early afternoon at C's soccer game. A couple of hours for everyone to relax in the afternoon before B's sister K came over with takeout from Eurasia for our joint birthday dinner. Once M's sitter E arrived, the rest of us headed to the Bass Concert Hall to see the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. It's been several years since Mr. E and I saw the troupe at the Modavi Center in Davis, and they were just as amazing and impressive and awe-inspiring as we remembered! C managed to make it to the second intermission before snoozing on J's shoulder.

I was up in time on Sunday morning to say goodbye to C as he and B headed to Top Golf for a meet-up with a friend. Mr. E and I had some breakfast at the house and then said our goodbyes to J and M prior to our late-morning return flight to Sac. Despite a bit of delay, we were home by the early afternoon and spent the rest of the day doing laundry, grocery shopping, and kitty snuggling. A quick but fun family birthday trip!

3.10.2024

Travel Catch-Up: San Francisco Weekend (lots of pictures!)

February 16-19: Sea Lions, Ghosts, Fashion, Candy, Puzzles

I took Amtrak to San Francisco on Friday 2/16 to meet up with my cousin A, who was flying in from a Denver to take advantage of the President's Day holiday long weekend for a girls' get-together. From the drop-off point near Salesforce Tower in downtown SF, I caught the street car on Market Street to travel along the Embarcadero towards our hotel, Holiday Inn & Suites Fisherman's Wharf. The hotel was in a great location, just two blocks from the waterfront, and I was greeted by a colorful sea lion at the main entrance.

A and I had rooms next to each other, and despite some delays with her flight, she arrived at the hotel about 30 minutes after I had settled in. Our first outing was to get a late lunch at Boudin, where she enjoyed the clam chowder in a bread bowl and I procured my traditional mini sourdough turtle. Then we strolled along the Embarcadero towards Pier 39 for our first glimpse of the iconic sea lions. The group was relatively small but still entertaining.

Since the weather was clear that evening, we decided to take a chance on seeing if there were any spots for the historic ghost tour that we had originally booked for Saturday evening but had cancelled based on the rainy forecast. We were in luck! No problem at all to secure our spots, so later in the evening we walked towards the meet-up location near the TransAmerica Tower, passing through North Beach along the way and getting a lovely evening view of the Coit Tower.


Our guide for the tour was very enthusiastic and entertaining, and we learned a lot about the history of San Francisco as we strolled through the neighborhood. Based on how our sensory equipment responded, we think we may have had an encounter on Hotaling Street!



The tour ended in Chinatown. A picked up a special ice cream treat to snack on and I got some the V8 vege roll from Sushi on North Beach (some of the best sushi I've ever had!) as we walked back to the hotel to relax for the rest of the night.




On Saturday morning, after breakfast at the hotel, we took a Lyft to the deYoung Museum to see two current exhibitions: Fashioning San Francisco and Lee Mingwei: Rituals of Care. The fashion exhibition was full of creative and innovative looks from the 20th and 21st centuries and really showed off the museum's amazing collection.








I especially liked being able to see the details and intricacy of some of the decorative accents, pleating, and draping, not to mention the fabulous shoes, including oa pair of "palm tree" stilettos.




Despite the overcast skies, we decided to go up to the observation tower and were able to get a pretty decent (though grey) panoramic view of the city landscape.




We took a break in the cafe for an Americano and some trail mix, though we had to sit on the floor of the entryway since no tables were available (the rain had of course caused the outdoor area to be closed, which accounts for more than half of the seating). Then we got in line for the curator's talk with artist Lee Mingwei, which was a fascinating conversation about his work, his life, and his creative inspiration.

We had enjoyed some of his installation pieces earlier, including Sonic Blossom, and I definitely want to return to the museum with Mr. E so that he can experience these immersive works of art and reflection. 

Due to the rainy weather, we decided to take a Lyft back to the hotel, but unfortunately, the driver apparently thought he was on a race course, and the ride was rather unpleasant as both A and I started to feel a bit carsick due to the fast speeds, quick braking, and rapid turns. Ugh. No tip for you! We both agreed that we needed to lie down a bit after that journey, so we agreed to meet up in the early evening to decide on our next plans. We ended up having an early dinner at a nearby Japanese restaurant and then browsing at Ghirardelli Square, where I bought some cards and a cat puzzle and paused for a non-dairy hot cocoa at the Ghirardelli store and then wrapped up for the evening.

Sunday morning was unexpectedly beautiful, clear, and sunny! So after breakfast, we took the street car to the Ferry Building and walked back along the Embarcadero, stopping to read the placards about the history of the ports and taking a pause for beverages and people-watching at Pier 39, where we were greeted by several of the colorful sea lions in their corral.






The skies were starting to cloud over, but we managed to take a ride on the SkyStar Wheel (thanks to Groupon tickets!) without getting too much rain. The view out to the Bay and back towards the city was still impressive, despite the overcast skies.






We made a stop at It's Sugar (the biggest location I've ever seen!) for candy provisions and then got takeout poke to eat back at the hotel for lunch.



Our evening activity was a twilight cruise on the Bay. The weather was definitely not ideal, but we still enjoyed being out on the water for about an hour and seeing the city skyline.

A decided to get crab chowder from Boudin for takeout, and I managed to find some snacks at CVS to tide me over for the evening. We finished up the night by doing one of my new cat puzzles on the chaise lounge in my hotel room!

On Monday morning, we decided to continue our puzzle them and try our luck at an escape room. So after breakfast, we secured a booking of the Gold Rush at The Escape Game with just the two of us. A had done escape rooms a couple of times in the past, but this was my first attempt, and it was such a blast! We finished and solved the game with just over four minutes to spare. Phew! Then back to the hotel to pack up and check out as we headed off to our respective departures, me to the Amtrak bus pick-up for my return rail trip to Sac and A to Union Station for the train to SFO and her return flight to Denver.

Great weekend! Excellent mix of activities with just enough planning to allow for flexibility and spontaneity to accommodate the weather and our moods.

2.05.2024

Captain Jack Day

It was exactly 3 years ago today that we said goodbye to our beloved tiger stripey boy cat, Captain Jack, the Pirate Prince of Q Street. We still miss him!



One of the first pictures of him when he joined our household at 8-months old, and one of the last pictures of him as he was fading from this life at 12 years old. Too soon...

1.31.2024

Travel Catch-Up: NYC for Class + Shows

January (6) 7-15

For my first class in the NYUSPS MSTI Program, I was able to take advantage of a new offering for an intensive J-term course that combined one week of in-person sessions in New York City on the NYU campus with two weeks of virtual pre- and post- work to complete a full-credit elective that would typically be taught over 14 weeks of a regular semester. Definitely a very compressed format! But it was great to have the opportunity to connect in-person with eight other MSTI students, one professor, and three program staff as a way to kick off my participation in this program.

I stayed at the Sheraton Tribeca, which was about a 12-minute walk from my classroom in the Paulson Center. Since I wanted to have some time to settle in and get familiar with the neighborhood, I took a red-eye direct flight on Saturday 1/6 and arrived in Newark around 8am on Sunday 1/7. The trip to NYC was less than 30 minutes at that time of day, and I had paid for the room to be reserved beginning on Saturday evening so that I could access it when I arrived rather than needing to wait until Sunday afternoon. 

The room was on the 22nd floor, overlooking the Hudson River and the New Jersey skyline, and had access to the Executive Lounge on the 21st floor. The lounge area included an outdoor terrace overlooking the skyline, including the Empire State Building, although the weather wasn't really welcoming enough to spend time in that area.

I grabbed a few items from the lounge for breakfast later and then took a nap for a couple of hours. My room was pretty spacious, with a larger living area as well as a small dining area along with a mini-fridge, which was very helpful to plan meals for the week.


Once I got up, I unpacked, worked out, and admired the snow falling outside the window!


My first destination was to figure out the walk route and timing to the Paulson Center, and I discovered some lovely quieter streets with pavers and a surprising number of high-end luxury stores (Tiffany, Esprit, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, etc.). When I got to the building, I noticed signs for NYU Athletics and was thrilled to learn about the pool available as part of the facilities in that location! Of course, I hadn't brought any swim gear with me since I knew the hotel didn't have a pool, but thanks to Amazon, I was able to place an order for the basics (swimsuit, swim cap, goggles) and got them delivered to the hotel by Wednesday night.

I found a bagel shop nearby to grab some lunch (an "egg cup" that was literally a paper cup of scrambled eggs mixed with tomatoes, cheese, spinach, and avocado). Then I picked up some provisions for the week at the Gourmet Garage location just a handful of blocks from the hotel. After I unloaded my groceries in the room, I decided to make a visit to the Tenement Museum for a late afternoon guided tour. Then back to the hotel in time for the evening Happy Hour in the Executive Lounge followed by dinner in my room (sushi from the local market) before turning in early to catch up on some sleep.

On Monday morning, I was provided with a beautiful sunrise over the river as I worked out.



I had breakfast in the lounge and then headed to my first day of class. During the lunch break, I was able to get my NYU student ID and still have time to walk back to the hotel for lunch (poke from the spot in the next block). I took advantage again of the evening refreshments in the lounge while I worked on my homework before returning to my room for yoga, dinner, and bed. For the remainder of the week, I grabbed snacks from the lounge to take with me to class for lunch and found a quiet spot to study and work during the break.

On Wednesday evening, I treated myself to a ticket for Six: The Musical, which Mr. E and I had first seen last year during my birthday weekend in San Francisco (and we're going when it comes to tour in Sacramento as well). Trying to fit in time for my homework was a bit challenging this day, but it was well worth seeing the show again! I also made time for a lunch meet-up on Thursday with L, an MSTI alum who had been very helpful in offering her insights into the program as I was considering my options late last year.

Once my Amazon delivery arrived on Wednesday night, I was able to swim laps in the Paulson Center pool on both Thursday and Friday mornings. Yay!

During the lunch break on Friday, I returned to the hotel to check out of my room and check into the suite that Mr. E had reserved for the weekend. Although the suite was ready for me to unpack and settle in, I discovered that it unfortunately didn't have any physical barrier between the bedroom and living area, which is what we'd been counting on. Uh oh... Luckily, I was able to reserve another regular room on the same floor, and the Front Desk manager provided us with breakfast vouchers for the next three days to compensate for the inconvenience.

My class wrapped up on Friday afternoon with a group field trip to RiseNY, an engaging multimedia museum and virtual ride over the city. Mr. E flew in that evening to join me for the holiday long weekend (and to celebrate our anniversary, which was on 1/11), and J and C also came from Austin for some NYC adventures.

On Saturday morning, Mr. E and I enjoyed breakfast in the hotel restaurant, Henrietta, and then walked to the One World Observatory and lucked out with beautiful sunny weather and clear skies to admire the 360-degree panoramic views.







We then met up with J and C for the matinee of Hell's Kitchen, as our cousin's daughter S was part of the cast. A-maz-ing. We were so lucky to see the show during its final weekend off-Broadway at the Public Theatre near the NYU campus, as it gave us such an intimate experience of the performance, including a show-stopping solo that wraps up Act I. Wow. We didn't know whether to applaud or cry or just sit in silence to honor the moment! In the evening, Mr. E and I decided to head to the Empire State Building and braved the windy conditions to walk around 3/4 of the outdoor observation deck. Then dinner and bedtime (in our separate rooms).

Our Sunday morning destination was the Met, as I really wanted to see the Women Dressing Women exhibition. Thanks to my NYU student ID, I was eligible for a discounted ticket, which was a nice perk. I had brought my swim stuff with me to the museum so that I go to the afternoon lap swim in the Paulson Pool and had just enough time to grab a snack before we needed to grab a Lyft and get to our matinee of How to Dance in Ohio. We met up at the theatre with J and C and also our cousins D and G who live in New Jersey and came into the city for the performance. The four of them went out to dinner afterwards, and Mr. E and I found a nearby diner for our meal.

Our flight on Monday was at a reasonable time, so I grabbed breakfast again in the hotel restaurant before we headed back to the airport. We took advantage of Mr. E's United Lounge annual membership to spend our hour+ wait time doing some work and enjoying the food and beverage offerings. Unfortunately, our connection through SFO ended up being nearly three hours delayed, which was so frustrating because by then we could have gotten home sooner by car! But the lounge membership certainly came in handy again, given the unexpected wait time. And luckily, S was able to make a second visit to the kitties that afternoon since we didn't get home until later in the evening.

Louis XIV and Marlene greeted us with the usual purrs and meows. It was a wonderful trip and a great experience to begin my time with NYU, but I was VERY glad to be home!!!