Scummy and Scummetta

Dave made a spur-of-the-moment trek out to San Francisco for the weekend. I believe it was something like 2 hours between the purchase of tickets and boarding of plane!

We had a great time together. He arrived Friday night, and I immediately took him for the ultimate San Francisco experience: 16th and Mission. When you consider that Taqueria Pancho Villa is there, it makes up for the general neighborhood atmosphere.


Saturday morning I regulated and dragged Dave to CrossFit, where he represented extremely well for a first-timer, especially having to swing a kettlebell for the first time. After checking out crooked Lombard Street, Coit Tower and murals, and some general city touring, we then watched the Penguins stink up Detroit ice before heading out to dinner in Haight-Ashbury. The night was complete only after meeting Cascio and Carla for drinks back in my neighborhood. Consensus: "The Alaska Experiment" is a great show.

Sunday, Dave ran across the Golden Gate Bridge and back on an incredibly beautiful day. (Saturday had a been a stinker, weather-wise.) We headed out to Union Street to replenish his wardrobe and then met Otis and his cousin Tim for frisbee golf in Golden Gate Park. Dave started off like a prodigy, but wound up losing focus--and his disc once in a while. I turned in a really crappy performance, as usual. We rounded out the day's athletics with some Wiffleball, and Dave took Tim to the fences a few times. Otis tested out a new, funky sidearm pitch--his spring training, if you will, for August's Royal Chelsea.

Dave and I then headed off in the car over the Golden Gate Bridge and up to the Marin Headlands as the fog rolled in. The fog formation was approaching a 9 out of 10 in coolness factor. Dave was pretty floored by the sheer phenomenon of it all. We then got burgers, fries, onion rings, and shakes at Taylor's Automatic Refresher in the Ferry Building and stumbled home with full bellies and passed out.

I drove him to the airport at 515 this morning. Sadness to see him go--but we had a GREAT time together.

Bay to Breakers

The past weekend was full of fun and partying. Otis' high school friends Seki and Mitchell (last names, as guys will do) were in town, and Elle and I accompanied them in evening activities. Friday night to the Mission for tacos and burritos at Pancho Villa and beer stops along the way back. Saturday, I set a PR for the deadlift--225 lbs!--no boy help there. Very proud. And very sore. But a good sore. Saturday night we went to the Giants game and watched a rather boring loss to the White Sox. After 3-4 days of incredibly warm temperatures (reaching the 90s in San Francisco proper--an absurdity, truly), the weather cooled off and we appropriately froze our butts off in the last few innings.
Sunday was the Bay to Breakers race, a 14K run from the San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. There are people who actually run the whole thing, including professionals competing for something like $10K. But most San Franciscans wake up early to tie on both their costumes and a six pack. By 8:30AM, half the city is 1.5 sheets to the wind and dressed up in crazy--but creative--costumes. People push floats along the course, and others line up along the route and then hop into the procession. Most revelers don't make it past the entrance to Golden Gate Park, but it was a blast. People went all out with full on--or full OFF, as the case may be--costumes. Group costumes are most common. Robots, the Chinese-Tibetan Ping Pong Alliance, vikings, the Bluth Frozen Banana Stand complete with Blue Man Tobias, LOTS of naked man-parts...

Otis concocted our group costume: the Texas Mormon Compound. Elle, Otis, Seki, Mitchell, and I wore some of the most hideous $4.49 dresses from Goodwill: "We are a modest people." Sheehy dressed as Our Husband and led us around with the Book of Mormon raised high (or, "The Divinci Code," if you looked closely). Elle and I attempted the distinctive compound hairdo. Our group got great responses from the crowd, including a policeman who told us, "I'm into polygamy" and gave us some hairstyling tips. We were thrilled when we came across a Texas CPS officer--she started grilling us about our children and the Compound. We deferred to Our Husband.




By 4PM, we were partied out, and Seki and Sheehy were passed out in Otis' and Elle's apartment. A fun weekend all around.

In an appropriate light

George has expressed his dissatisfaction with a previous photograph of the California Golf Club, in particular the lack of evidence of his handiwork. So, here, for your perusal, are some shots of the 12th and 3rd holes with the bunker and greens complexes he built and shaped. Ooh la la! The course is truly beautiful.