This is Trisha - remember me???
So much has happened on our trip and in the world. So working backwards more highlights and observations.
Seattle with our friends the Eisenbergs was so much fun. The highlight was the locks where we watched the salmon swimming upstream back to spawn and die. This was very hard work for these fish. They would propel forward and be pushed back. It would take many tries. People were cheering when they made it. Who would think you could watch salmon swim for 20 minutes. But we did!
We watched the Obama convention speech in Seattle in our hotel bar. There were 3 African Americans watching next to us. There were times when we could see they had tears in their eyes. It was a moment. And we held our breath that he would do well. We weren't disappointed.
And just how does the a hurricane threaten poor New Orleans the opening day of the Republican convention to bring back all those disastrous memories of our esteemed President's handling or rather non handling of that event and the choice of a VP candidate that no one ever heard of and whom they tout as having foreign policy experience because Alaska is close to Russia and she's head of the Alaska National Guard turn into a positive for the Republicans. Life at times just does not seem fair. I am officially bitter about this especially since I thought the Democratic Convention was perfect. Oh so wrong was I. I must stop. This does me no good. Don't even ask Russell about it. He's crazier than me.
Portland was even better than Seattle since more friends joined us for David Weiss's wedding. We had a fun, crazy dinner Friday night at a wonderful restaurant called Veritable Quandary. I highly recommend it. I also recommend having my friends !
The wedding was one of the best we've attended mainly because David and Tory's heartfelt emotions moved us all. It also helped that the vineyard setting, high on a hill was beautiful and the band had us dancing and singing all night long. And thank you to the young man on the bus ride back to Portland who shared his vodka with Rachel and I. Cheers!
Surprises - the drive from the Oregon-California border thru Mt. Shasta - Wow - and the drive aross the mountains from Chico, CA to the northern Californian coast and even better the drive from Ft Bragg to Mendocino and down the Pacific Coast to Napa! We live in a beautiful country.
Napa - fun, fun, fun. Great food, wine, scenery. And we saw the Mustards Restaurant, Rochester folk, that caused the Rochester Mustards to change its name.
San Francisco is our favorite city. And after this visit, we remembered why. We have done all the touristy things there except one - walk across the Golden Gate Bridge which we did on a sunny, warm day. Sailboats and windsurfers galore out on the bay, many others joining us on the walk - a memorable experience.
Then it was off to Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. More awesome scenery. I loved the sequoias and redwoods and not finally know the difference between the 2. Sequoias red, huge trunks, tall- redwoods not red, thin trunks, very tall.
At this point we had been sightseeing since Glacier National Pk and had mostly cool weather. We looked at each other and decided to change course and head to Palm Desert where we have been a number of times. We needed a vacation from the vacation - hot weather - it was 95` - and a pool for me and a golf course for Russell. Perfect! (Note to the Merciers- Chapellis is as good as ever and they are opening a 2nd restaurant very close to the hotel we stayed.)
We then moved onto La Jolla to another pool where my wonderful friend Linda Lipson, who was visiting her son Leslie, spent over 4 hours with me at the pool just chatting away. We also had Shabbat dinner on Friday night at her son's house with their 3 adorable children and a most delicious meal cooked by Leslie's wife Adina. And Gordon, it was sinful you were not here. So much to talk about- Sarah, McCain as Teflon, the Obermann-Matthews melt, will they catch Dexter this season? the best news ever that In Treatment is back- Will House take kind pills or will Russell throw something at the screen he has begun so to hate that show so much, will Russell lock himself in the bathroom as I watch my beloved Gray's - we need you. I miss you and Russell in litagation lawyer mode discussing politics.
Tomorrow we move to another great pool and more 95 weather - 95` is perfect pool weather to me - in Scottsdale where we will visit his Uncle who lives there and be joined by 2 of his brothers from NY and cousins from Detroit and LA. We are all going to a baseball game Monday night. Another great experience to add to our memories.
And in closing, I just watched SNL with Tina Fey playing Sarah Palin opening with another of my favorite people - Hillary - can't stand that woman. Now that was funny!!! Tina deserves some kind of award because she nailed it.
BFN. Taught to me by Linda Kirschen. (I forgot to mention the Jelly Belly factory - you haven't lived until you've seen hundreds of thousands of jelly beans rolling down the conveyor belt. You just haven't.)
Oh - and Russell's outrage at being in San Francisco when there was an earthquake that he didn't feel - the unfairness of it all! To understand, you need to know this is a person who watches the weather channel as recreational TV. As you can imagine, I've seen a lot of the weather channel this week.
And now I really mean, BFN.
