Chasing the Game - to Houston!

We arrived in Houston this morning, early, and it was cold, for our very short two day adventure chasing DC United.  This is the first time for both of us spending more than one overnight stay in the city, and we are fortunate to be hosted by Jodi and Matt for our whirlwind trip!  Matt and Jodi drove up to the pick up area shortly after a brief exchange of text messages, and they turned the heater on full blast for us.  It was a short drive to their community, which is really quite impressive.  I am really impressed with their home, and with how the rooms are laid out - quilting for Jodi, war room for Matt, and a pool table for all!  Our room was very comfortably laid out, too, and Wayne settled in for a bit of a nap.

Jodi and Matt gave us a lazy morning to relax and then told us about the Rodeo Houston event for the evening.  Jodi fixed up a great lasagna (I can never get mine without liquid pouring out!) for lunch and we headed out.  Of course, their cat got out and gave Matt quite a hard time in corralling him - until Jodi came out with treats.  Works every time!

We went to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo this afternoon and evening.  It was amazing to see all of the livestock inside, and to observe the sheer number of people.  We got to go by the baby pens, and saw most recent birth dates and expected birth dates of different calfs, lots and lots of bunnies, and different bulls.  The bunnies and calfs were absolutely adorable.  I went on a mission to find Kate a pink cowgirl hat, and managed to do so.  I made sure this time to put it on my head in order to be sure that it would fit on Kate’s (unlike the German walking hat, which was far too small).  She is just growing and growing. 

Then we walked the concession stands outside in search of dinner.  Two gigantic tents filled with the smell of roasting beef hit me immediately, and I really had to focus in order to pin down a non red meat alternative.  Wound up with bbq chicken, which was great, but why oh why am I in Texas not able to eat meat and potatoes when at a Rodeo!  Curse my class on treating people with chemical dependencies!  I need a Meataholic Anonymous meeting, stat! 

Then it was in to our seats in the stadium for the main show.  We saw stage 2 of the BP Super Series which involved tie down roping (not a favorite event to watch!), bareback riding, team roping, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling (scary!), barrel racing and bull riding.  All are definitely very athletic events that I definitely do not possess the talent to accomplish.

Mixed in with this were three other events - a covered wagon race; something akin to a 4H event where the high school aged children herd in a cow, which is then raised for a year and sold, giving the kids scholarship money; and my absolute favorite event of the night:  Mutton busting!  5 & 6 year old children were placed bareback onto a sheet, and had to ride it across the pen.  The sheep are so slippery that a number of the kids fell off before the pen was even opened!                

One young boy rode exceptionally well, and made it all the way across the pen.  As if by direction, all the other sheep then ran out and circled the boy and his sheep, and then returned back to the far side.  You couldn’t ask for a better indicator of who the sheep thought should win!

After that, it was back to home base for a good night’s rest.

On our way home

2

February 4, 2013

Ok, I have to absolutely wax rhapsodic today about the TSA Pre-Check.  We were signed up for this when we did the Global Entry application a little over a year ago.  We found out that with GOES, we sail through customs with the greatest of ease as we return to the US.  And other countries (ones that we would like to visit) are branching into the program as well.  Woo hoo!  Well, the TSA Pre-Check makes domestic travel a little bit of heaven as well.  If you make it through the program, there is a little icon on your ticket clearing you for entering the airport.  We sailed right through in San Francisco and Los Angeles - no taking of of your shoes, no separating out your computer and/or CPAP, no pulling out of liquids.  It was absolutely great!  I would tell everyone to sign up - even though it takes time to get through the process, it is so worth it.

We had a series of cascading flight delays today - both in San Francisco and in Los Angeles.  In San Francisco, our plane was having a problem with the solanoids that required restarting, and in Los Angeles, our connecting aircraft was late in arriving in the terminal, so we boarded a half an hour late.  We did leave the terminal in LA to have lunch in the newly reopened modern building, where the wait staff used to dress in Jetsons-like attire.  The food was decent, and it was nice to have a break in the flight schedule.

We touched down in HI at a quarter after 10 pm, and had to wait incredibly long in order to get my one checked bag - I wound up checking my clothing as we bought enough electronics at MacWorld to justify another carry-on.  And, with my foot, it was much easier not having to carry around a bloated bag of clothing!

The kitties were waiting for us by the door when we arrived.  Mr. Keo took his typical spot on my shoulder, and started purring!  Music to our ears, a year after we brought him back into the house, he was purring again.  I think he finally feels safe. 

Have a great week, everyone!

Happy anniversary, Ivan and Sue!

The morning started up at our now favorite breakfast place in the area, The Brown Couch Cafe.  I think that if we are in town, even San Fran side, in the future, this place merits a special trip to come out for breakfast!

We finished eating quickly in order to head for the MacWorld lecture series - this one on using the iPad with Autism Spectrum disease.  A lot of interesting concepts, with a doctor/educator who is very familiar with the Mac.  I can see the need for a lot of repetition when working with these kids, although the constant sounds coming for reassurance might be a little irritating unless you were prepared for it.  God bless those teachers who work with special populations.

From there, it was one more lap around the exhibit floor, looking for the perfectly irreverent skin for my MacBook Air for law school.  Alas, no Air skins, but they gave me the site, and let me know I could use my own designs if I so desired.  So, that’s in the pocket and getting ready for future use.

From there Wayne went to a noon lecture, and I headed to a noon AA meeting in the tenderloin district.  It was a pretty sketchy neighborhood, long lines outside of the soup kitchens, a lot of hustling, and, again, marijuana.  I’m sure there was other stuff too.  As I made my way up Ellis Street, I wondered if the place would be open for the meeting, but I didn’t need to worry.  There, in the midst of barred doors and windows was an open door with a painted triangle in a circle over it.  Turns out it was an AA clubhouse.  This particular meeting was an open reading, gay and lesbian community.  The people inside the meeting were pretty direct, and they were dealing with a lot of things besides alcoholism - there were folks on heavy psychotropic meds, meth addicts, cocaine addicts, convicts, and just regular people too.  A resounding theme (we discussed the first step in the readings and following conversations) was multiple addictions, and coming to the meetings to just talk to avoid going crazy, and to deal with one addiction at a time.  People had lost partners to drugs, AIDS, and other diseases; many had turned to crime to support their habits, but they all said that coming to the meetings and talking helped to save them.  And, they counted their sobriety not by last day of alcohol, but by last day of the most recent addiction they stopped feeding.  Humbling.

From there it was sandwich lunches (very nice sandwiches, though), and a trip back to Oakland for a wee nap before heading out with Ivan and Sue to dinner for their anniversary.  Ivan managed to secure reservations to Zero Zero at 5:45 thanks to a persistent concierge, and we met up, shared pasta, pizza and story.  They are such cool people - Sue is back in school getting certified as a trainer, and Ivan is still running his software business - the one thing he couldn’t quite let go when he retired and sold his business.  They are getting ready to permanently relocate to Florida, and putting their Atlanta house on the market.  So if any of you are in the market....we are planning a trip to their house in Florida before I start law school in August.

I was really glad we got to see them and spend some time together - I always enjoy our travels together. 

Tomorrow we fly home, deep sigh.  This has been a totally relaxing and pleasant trip, and I wish it could go just a little bit longer!

MacWorld Day 2

We started the morning off pretty much the same way we did yesterday, breakfast at the Brown Couch.  It was just so very, very good.                                                                

Lox, cream cheese, bagel and a smoothie.  The wifi was up and working, and we started planning the day. 

From breakfast, we went back to the Apple Store.  Somewhere during the course of the day yesterday, we decided that when we get home, we will be upgrading to the newest iMac 27” rather than getting a Mac Mini and separate screen.  The video processor on the iMac is separate and so much better than on the Mini, so we are opting to go with the solution that gives us the best opportunity to maximize what we really want to process.  And that’s photo and video.  We are waiting for the next iteration of MacBook Airs to come out before I get a new one for school - hopefully, retina screens will be out this time, but it will be good to start fresh.  Wayne will get my current Air (I replaced the SSD for a larger version, and upgraded the RAM), and I’ll take the new one to my cubicle at the law library.  So, at the Apple Store, we purchased a cable to let us continue to use our HDMI setup in the den (hooked up to the living room TV) with better processing and graphics.

From there, back to the show.  We walked the floor again, returning to Adonit (Mom, Dad, Pam, Scott, I have goodies for you) and Juce.  They have a new case for the iPads that allows you to swivel the iPad without having to rotate the case.  Totally nice!

We went back to the Cupola again, and once again split salad (this time an interesting calamari/arugula/lemon peel combo) and a pizza. Buffalo mozzarella and I have a love/love relationship.  And I’m starting one with Drake 1500 IPA.  And making the pizza in a wood fired oven certainly doesn’t hurt.

After lunch, we returned to the show, and attended two lectures, one on home network management (again, a review), and one on traveling with electronics.  I did get a good tip from that lecture - an app called hotel tonight.  If you are traveling, and you get somewhere you will be for that evening, it comes up with a list of hotels at reduced rates in your area, as long as it is 2 pm or later.  The rates for SF were ridiculously low, even for hotels near the Moscone Center.  My only problem would be having to do that every night, and possibly move rooms every night.  But for a spur of the moment let’s go somewhere tonight app, it was great.

For dinner, we headed down to the ferry pier, and the Slanted Door, to meet up with Eileen again.  We got there a little early and had some time to walk around before she arrived fresh from the breaking down/packing up/moving of her offices.  The Slanted Door is Vietnamese fusion, and it was also excellent.  I don’t think that we have had a single bad meal here on this trip, and I cannot remember a trip (with the exception of our Rhine River Cruise) where this has happened before.  Really, this is a restaurant worth looking up if you are in town.

After a very leisurely dinner, we walked with Eileen to the BART, and then broke off to go to Cirque du Mac - an invitation event only where the entertainment is provided by those lecturing at the event.  Who would have known that a bunch of Mac geeks would get together once a year to have a jam session with a bunch of other geeks.  The spread was nice, the music was nowhere near as loud as Little Feat last night, and we had fun.  We left after about two hours to head home, and as we walked towards Market and Montgomery, there was an accident where one of the little green carts was hit by a white Audi SUV or station wagon type vehicle.  After someone looked to see if the green cart driver was ok, the driver of the Audi (who never got out of the car) peeled out of the intersection.  Guess that when they go over the security footage of that intersection, and trace the license plate, the owner of the white car can look forward to some criminal charges.  I guess hit and run is better than an accident coupled with a DUI.

We BARTed home again, and the streets were absolutely rocking - as soon as we were out of the station, the odor of marijuana was everywhere, and a girl lit up a blunt right in front of us.  There was quite a ruckus on the street, too, with two tall drunk men getting into it while their also drunk friends struggled to keep them apart.  It was a good thing that our hotel was very near by.

Sleep well all.

On to MacWorld/iWorld

Wayne woke up earlier than I, as typically so, and was searching for spots for breakfast nearby.  we wound up deciding on the Brown Couch Cafe.  Located a scant 2 blocks from the Clarion, we could see it from our room, and it was absolutely filled with people on Thursday morning.  We trekked over, and had a most fabulous breakfast served by the proprietress, a lovely lady. They don’t have a website, just a facebook page, linked above.  They describe themselves as:  “Located on the cozy corner of 14th and Webster in downtown Oakland, Brown Couch is the place for all your cafe needs; strong Coffee, fresh smoothies, amazing wraps and breakfast all day! Open Monday to Friday 7am-5pm, Saturday 8am-5pm and Sunday 9am-2pm.”  I have to agree. With art on the walls, live performances, and just really nice people, how could you not want to have breakfast (or any meal) here? We will be back.

Then it was off to BART to San Francisco.  The system isn’t as user friendly as one would like.  We didn’t realize there was another level to go down to to get back to San Fran until I looked a little harder.  Once we figured that out, it was easy breezy.

We arrived at the Merchant Street stop, and headed in to Westfield Mall, where I got my iPhone and iPad “armored,” and we went to lunch at Cupola, an Italian restaurant on the fourth level under the dome.  We had the Caesar salad and split a margherita plus pizza (buffalo mozzarella, yum!), and I was introduced to Drake 1500 IPA.  Another score for lunch!  Then it was off to the Moscone.

Wayne went up to a series on camping/disasters with your iDevices, and I went on to the show floor.  Oh. My. God.  I was in Apple piggie heaven.  And I shopped.  Really shopped.  Like my little Apple self depended upon it. Cannot tell you how much fun it was, even though it was crowded like nobody’s business!  Wayne eventually came down to see the floor, and we did a little more shopping.  Two very happy apple bunnies!  We went to a final lecture for the day, securing/locking down your iPhone.  Nothing new for me, but good to know that the precautions I take are the right ones, and that I am not paranoid, everyone is simply out to get me.

A call came in from Eileen (very close high school girlfriend, who is now a patent attorney in San Francisco), and we finalized plans to meet at Thursday Night Life at Academy of Science in Golden Gate Park, which opened at 6 pm.  After a trolley ride to Patagonia and then walking down to the water, we got to Golden Gate park a bit before she did, and waited in the cold line for nearly an hour before getting in.

Poor Eileen was stuck in traffic, but arrived as we were snacking, so we finally linked up and visited the aquarium.  For such a small facility, not too shabby.  we tried to get into the tropical jungle area, but that was closed off, so we wandered a little bit, and then Eileen took us (with Siri giving bad directions quite a ways) to our next stop...MacWorld Jam, where Little Feet was playing.  It was overwhelmingly loud, and despite liking Little Feat, we left fairly quickly, BARTing it back to Oakland.

Everything in the Westfield was closing, so we decided just to head back to the room (Wayne suggested a vegetarian restaurant, guess my reaction).  When we got in, we decided to investigate the Ethiopian restaurant, Sheba.  They actually make their living producing vegetarian food for Whole Foods locally, and you can order some of their products online as well.  I had the ahi, Wayne the veggie plate, and we split some hummus to start with.  It was FABULOUS - so much spicier than I remember Ethiopian food being.  I even ate my spinach, which is an accomplishment.  So, if you are in San Fran, make the trip to Oakland to eat at Sheba.

Night all!