A Educational Adventure

  At the end of August I somewhat reluctantly embarked on a solo adventure. I had signed up for continuing education class for a week in San Fransisco. Originally I was hoping that Jo and Pepper could come down and join me for at least part of it, but due to the busy house project, that could not happen. So my excitement about the class was a bit dampened by the sadness of being away from my husband and little girl (first time away from Pepper for more than a work day). I missed her and Jo so much but with Facetime I was able to be part of bedtime and give her "kisses" each night. That made it a bit easier to be away.

The city was fascinating. I stayed right in the heart of downtown, very near to a lot of great shopping and restaurants. I spent part of each evening walking around, watching people, and looking for places to eat. Thankfully I found a good Indian restaurant on day two and returned there a number of times. 
Here are some things that I noticed about the city, good and bad:
 1. I love the sound of many accents and languages, so much variety in the crowds of people I passed each day.
2. I do not like the vast numbers of homeless people that are roaming the streets. It makes me sad that they do not have family or friends to take care of them.
3. I do not like the smells of the city. Sewer scents wafting up grates, ammonia scents from people peeing wherever they have the urge, and strong body odors when passing most crowds.
4. I like the energy of the city. It never slows down; lights, honking, people exercising at 10:30 at night, clubs lit up on week nights.
5. I do not like being asked for money over and over, by very sad looking people that are likely going to use the money for drugs and alcohol. I am a skeptic so often do not give them money, but then I feel guilty.
6. I love the Indian food. (Walla Walla is lacking this.)
7. The bottom line is that I became very tired of passing hundreds of people each day, staring right at them, and having them avoid eye contact. To me the city quickly feels impersonal. And lonely.

Give me sweet, friendly Walla Walla any day. The people here are golden!

Where I spent 12 hours each day.

The Palace Hotel is by far the nicest place I have ever stayed, and probably will ever stay for the rest of my life (thank you CME fund). It was beautiful! This hotel is a historic landmark in San Fransisco, originally built in the 1800s and then rebuilt after an earthquake, opened again in 1909. It has an amazing lobby and dining area with an entire ceiling of glass letting light in, even on the grey days. I was lucky enough to get a breakfast coupon for the extensive breakfast buffet, which I took advantage of each day at first break (8:15 am). Yep, class started at 6:30 am and continued most days until 6:30 pm. My room was on the 6th floor so at each break I would hike the stairs to my room and back down to keep from getting drowsy during class. There was also a great exercise room that I used in the evenings.

The beauty was impossible to capture on my iphone.

Flowers for me every day!

 It was different to have my birthday away from Jo and my Walla Walla family. Thankfully, Joy came to my rescue and made my birthday one to remember. It worked out that the class schedule on August 28 was lighter than all the other days. So Joy drove from Angwin to the city (1.5 hours I think) and spent the afternoon/evening with me. We shopped and ate at my new favorite Indian restaurant (I ate there 3 times), and then enjoyed cheesecake before she had to head home. She made my day. I am so lucky to have her as a sister!

Shopping at Union Square

Hearts on each corner of Union Square

Steep hills (walking, walking)

On my last day in San Fransisco I again had a short class day. And once again I was blessed with a visitor. Sarah Takahashi drove from Lodi (1.5 hours I think) to spend the afternoon with me. We had a great time! After doing a little bit of shopping we decided to walk to a pizza place that a friend of hers had recommended. It did not seem very far on our map app, but after 30 minutes of walking we found we were still not close (Sarah and I should never be trusted with ANY map). Since Sarah runs lots of marathons and I would like to run lots of marathons, we were not going to give up. We walked and walked and walked, which made our feet sore but gave us great time to catch up. Finally, we arrived at the restaurant and were rewarded nicely. It was yummy!

Also a little windy (felt like winter).

 It was so nice to connect with a friend that I have not seen for so long. Sarah always makes me laugh. Such a great quality! It brought back memories of all the fun we had in college. Thanks Sarah for risking the crazy traffic to see me.