Happy 15th Birthday, Noe!!!

Yesterday(ish) was Noe's 15th Birthday!! We found her in our backyard on the early morning of September 3rd. When we took her to the vet that evening (we waited to see if her Mama Cat would come back for her), they estimated that she was about five days old.

Fifteen years with our sweet, fluffy Noe!!

Today's 12-mile Training Walk

Today's route

It was a beautiful day for a walk, and we passed several quintessential San Francisco monuments!

We met at the Transit Café in the Presidio at 7:00. It was a cool morning, maybe mid-60s, but already humid. Within the hour, the sun had come out and it was quite warm.

We walked through Crissy Field, along the Marina, past Fort Mason, and then took Lombard Street all the way UP to Coit Tower. After coming down the Greenwich Stairs, we went along the Embarcadero to our rest stop at the Ferry Building. From there, we walked along Market Street, crossed through North Beach, and made our way to Broadway. It was a long, steep climb UP Broadway, then we took it all the way back to the Presidio.

We finished right around 11:30, and enjoyed a picnic lunch at Off the Grid. Great way to spend the morning with a wonderful group of friends!


The Golden Gate Bridge at 7:00am


Walking in Crissy Field towards Downtown


Coit Tower at the top of Telegraph Hill


The Ferry Building, with the Bay Bridge peeking out from behind


The Transamerica Pyramid


Walking UP Broadway


Off the Grid in the Presidio


What a great group of friends to share 12-miles with!


Walkmeter Stats


Fitbit stats - fitbit seems to have cheated me on the mileage a bit! ;)

Tulips

We had Chris and Armistead over for breakfast the other day. They brought this gorgeous bouquet of tulips with them. So pretty!!

Channeling my Inner Lucy VanPelt

Breakfast with the Family!!

Breakfast with my family at Rudy's Can't Fail!

Surprise of the Day!!!

What an amazing surprise: I was walking out of my hair salon, where I just had my hair cut and colored. As I walked down Market, no more than 50 feet, I heard someone say, "Trina Chow!". Lo and Behold: there was Mike Amador, who is in town from New York! He and I go back over 30 years (color guard). What are the chances that we'd both be here visiting at the same place, at the same time?! Such a terrific surprise!

Painting Again!!!

I'm in SF, Dean is back from teaching in Italy, and the stars aligned.... Today, I painted for the first time in three months!!

It felt soooo good to be back at it! Ahhhhh....

I'm continuing to work on the Cal Train/Girl with the Pink Umbrella painting. Now that I look back on the last painting post, I see that I've only painted twice over the last six months! Shame on me.

Today, I focused mostly on the left side of the painting and the figures. I really like how the figures are starting to shape up. I especially like how the girl with the umbrella is looking. I like the detail on her trench coat. :)

It's getting there, but there's still more work to do. Luckily, I'll be back in SF at the end of September for the Immediate Impact Walk, so already set up another painting session with Dean!

La Taqueria

First stop of this visit in SF: La Taqueria on Mission.

Because there is no real Mexican Food in Seattle.

You know a place is good when there's still a line over 15 people deep at 2:30 on a Wednesday.

Taking the bus to the airport

We literally live across the street from the Transit Center in Bellevue, and I'm embarrassed to say that we haven't tried taking the bus to the airport yet.... Until today!!

Gina used to take it frequently, and Spencer took it to and from when he came to visit, so I've heard how easy it is.

I checked the schedule the morning and saw that it would only take about 48 minutes door-to-door. We usually drive and park at the airport, or take an Uber. At this time of day, it would probably take 25-30 min to drive, so an extra 18 minutes seems reasonable. Plus, the bus is only $2.50/person, whereas an Uber (or taxi) would be about $60.

The ride was very smooth and easy, and we even arrived a few minutes early.

Will definitely do this again in the future, especially if we're not traveling with much luggage.

Today's 6.5 Mile Walk

I needed to bring something over to Reeves and Paula's house today, and decided to make a nice walk of it, instead of driving.

They also live in Bellevue, about 3 miles away. They live off of the Bellevue "Lake to Lake Trail" which made for a really nice walk. It was a nice change to be able to get off the city roads that we would usually take to drive to their house.

It was good and challenging, too. Towards their house, there were about 3 fairly long flights of stairs. My Fitbit says that I got in 71 flights of stairs from the walk. Not bad! :)

Space Needle, Chihuly Gardens and EMP Museum

Yesterday was David and Miguel's last full day visiting us in Seattle.

We had a very full day! Gina joined us, and we took the bus from Bellevue Downtown.

First stop: Crumpets at The Crumpet Shop in Pike Place. So yummy!!

After breakfast, we walked to the Monorail Station in Westlake and took the Monorail to Seattle Center. The monorail was built for the 1962 World's Fair, and is a really fun and convenient way to get there.

As soon as we walked off the Monorail, we were greeted by the Dark Lord of the Sith, and a very friendly Stormtrooper. It was a photo opp waiting to happen. :)





We went to the top of the Space Needle for about 45 minutes. It was a pretty nice day - not nearly as smokey as it had been over the weekend. We were even able to see a tiny bit of Mt. Rainier peeking through. Miguel entered his and David's name into their guestbook.







After our Space Needle Space Needle visit, we went to the Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibit. It was the first time for David, Miguel and Gina, so a really nice treat for all! Again, so many photo opportunities - I didn't take any (since I had been several times) but the other three got some really nice photos.

We had a very nice lunch at the Cafe of the Chihuly Gardens, then headed over to the EMP Museum. David, and especially Miguel, are huge Star Wars fans, so I wanted to make sure that we got to see the Star Wars Costume Exhibit while they were here.

We spent plenty of time at the Star Wars Exhibit and gift shop, then visited the Fantasy Exhibit before heading back home in the late afternoon.

Woodinville Whiskey Co. Tour and Tasting Room

Smoke is in the Air

Smoke from the Washington and Oregon wildfires have brought a thick layer of haze to the Seattle area. You know it's bad when your weather app simply states "Smoke" as the forecast. Blech.

Drinks, Dinner and Werewof!!

Drinks at The Littles' House, Dinner at Lot 3, then a few rounds of One Night Ultimate Werewolf!!