Sunday, September 21, 2008

The Palace, The Pied Piper, and The Empress.

...and that was only Friday night while Jackie's parents were visiting. We had a great time and we were sad to see them go so quickly. We were wine'd, dine'd and spoiled. It was tough times from tuesday 09/09 to tuesday 09/16.
Back to the friday night of extravagance, Jackie and I met her parents after work in the city of San Fran for some drinks at the Palace Hotel bar. It was a beautiful and nostalgic place that reminded me of where old Hollywood hung out. The biggest attraction there was the huge Maxwell Parish painting on the wall called "The Pied Piper"(pictured above). The beautiful colors and life-like faces were great to admire with a nice whiskey. Mrs. McClure said the faces of the kids were made up of an ex-girlfriend.

After feeling a lil saucy we walked through China town to get to dinner. We ate at the Empress of China. There was a reason we were brought to this nice high-rise elegant Chinese cuisine. Besides having a nice view and good food, this is where Mr. McClure received a fortune cookie which he would never forget. "Your business will amount to vast proportions." He kept this fortune in his wallet since 1984 and his business did just that. I was anxious through our great dinner to see what fortune I would receive. I was not disappointed when I read it aloud. "You are the pioneer and leader." Not sure what that applies to but only time will tell. Needless to say, I will keep it for awhile.

We had many great nights such as that one even at home. Her mother, the professional cook, made sure we had a gourmet meal every night we came home. From pan seared tuna to french onion soup, we had better meals than most restaurants can dream of. We also got to go to the infamous Fog City Diner & Vesuvio Cafe. For some random pictures you can go to my flickr set.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Escape from Alcatraz

I am glad you are reading this. Yes, I am alive and still in CA. Sorry for the long wait but survival comes first then self loathing on the Internet.

This past weekend was pretty fun. Not only having day off this past Monday, Jackie and I had 2 visitors from home. Meghan and Anthony swung by for the weekend (2 friends of Jackie's from college).

We had the privilege of visiting The Rock. Not the wrestler, not the one that goes around the earth but the one Clint Eastwood & Sean Connery escape from. Yes, Alcatraz.

I took some photos with my iPhone to share and they came out better than I ever thought. You can see them here. You will also see some other randoms like the Vaillancourt fountain.


(Shout out to my Aunt Lynn, I probably wouldn't of done this again if I wasn't called out. Hopefully it keeps coming. Next hopeful post, "Temporary at the Permanente".)

update: I received Anthony's vacation gallery. Mind you the San Fran pics are at the bottom of it.