Eric's Birthday

We got back into Vancouver on Eric's 15th birthday. We headed out for the best Chinese food ever. It was a combination of a superb waiter and the best tasting Chinese I have ever had. It was an incredible meal. The waiter told us outright what was good, bad, and best on the menu. And he was right. He even gave us a free appetizer of shrimp dumplings that was heavenly. At the end he brought a free dessert for Eric with a candle of course, without any fanfare or scene, just "Have a happy birthday." It was at PF Changs, which I always thought was overrated even though I never ate there. I'm a believer.

We stayed in Vancouver a few days, went hiking up to a waterfall, and drove out to the coast with Grandma, Grandpa, and Eric. It was decent weather. Not sunny, not cold. I got to show Patricia where they filmed the movies Goonies and Kindergarden Cop, but the best part was the forest and beach. We hiked a short trail and played on the beach and just relaxed.

We also went to my favorite Moroccan restaurant where you sit on little poufs on the floor, eat with your hands and watch the belly dancer perform.

The most exciting part was to come later. Up the mountain. In the snow. In the middle of summer.

Napa Valley

We couldn't go to San Franciso without running up to Napa Valley, so we found one of the tour companies and booked a trip for about $80 a person for the day. We met the bus a block from our hotel at Union Square at 8 am. It was one of those big tour buses of course. For the price we could not expect anything else. It included lunch and 4-5 winery stops and included the wine tasting fees. A pretty good deal we thought. Until we got on the bus.

The rows of cramped seat with questionably clean fabric were missing. We were surprised to see a real party bus with long curving black leather seats that ran along the windows, fresh fruit and veggie trays, croissants and rolls, wow! And there were only a few couples. It was a classy and comfortable ride. We stopped at wineries in Napa and Sonoma, had a delicious lunch with an addictive pasta salad, grilled chicken sandwiches, and mixed greens.

We had to be careful because we were tasting so many wines, like 6-10 at each winery. We dumped some out after tasting and drank lots of others. I even finished some of Patrícia's that I particularly liked. On the trip home, we were feeling just fine.

We Got Married!

I put on my new brown suit with the tie she gave me for my birthday. She was elegant and gorgeous in her custom made dress. And we were off, catching a bus to the steps of City Hall. We were by far the best dressed people on the bus.

Translation in hand we dutifully took our number and waited our turn to get a marriage license. Our ceremony was scheduled only half an hour later so we were tense. The SF City Hall marriages are strictly BYOW (Bring Your Own Witness(minimum one)). My friend Steven agreed to do the honors and showed up on time--one less worry. They called our number and the clerk took the translation and checked her online database. She was frowning so much I started to get worried. Patrícia reassured me that she was one of those perpetual frowners. Everything was fine. Wheeeeew!

We met the pleasant diminutive judge, everyone showed ID and signed the license, and then we waited our turn. When it was time, we followed the cute little judge upstairs to the rotunda. The location was fabulous--look at the pictures. Steven did a great job with the pictures and was very patient and cooperative with my instructions. (He is a chef, I was once a professional photographer). We had to wait a bit to get some of the pictures because the other people getting married wouldn't get out of our way. The nerve!

Apparently Marilyn Monroe got married to Joe Dimaggio there too. That's cool. We took the bus back to the hotel for a while and then had a great Italian dinner in a romantic restaurant. The Italian waiter was really funny and very Italian.

Later we met Steven and his girlfriend on the 39th floor of the Hyatt for a few drinks and a stunning view of the setting sun over the SF skyline.

I am so happy that this beautiful, fiesty, intelligent, woman who makes me laugh so much, actually married me. She married me!