Thanksgiving in San Francisco

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving Day!! We hope everyone had a wonderful, safe holiday. We have so much to be thankful for this year and celebrated our good fortune with a trip to San Francisco and Sonoma County. San Francisco and the wine country is a destination I've been dying to see for years. We left Wednesday night from Phoenix with free upgrades to 1st class thanks to Jason's incessant travel and US Airways points. On Thanksgiving morning we had breakfast at a cafe in Union Square called Mason's Cafe and went to Presidio Park. Presidio is a former army base and connects to Crissy Field where you can catch great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. After a little more wandering around the surrounding neighborhoods, we got our Thanksgiving meal at First Crush...it was delicious!!

Presidio Park:


View of Golden Gate Bridge from Crissy Field


Presidio Neighborhood Park


Camera fun in Union Square on Thanksgiving Day


On Friday, thanks to a deal from my brother Richard, we got a rental car and drove across the Golden Gate bridge and into Sonoma County to see the wine country. We had heard that Napa is a little more commercial, but Sonoma has a smaller atmosphere that features more family owned wineries. We absolutely found that to be true. We had a wine tasting at the Jacuzzi winery, which is owned by the Jacuzzi family, the same family who invented the Jacuzzi tub, among other things. The second winery we went to was Larson Family Winery; we loved it so much we shipped 6 bottles to our house. That night we met a friend I knew in New York, Meredith, who now lives in San Francisco. We hadn't seen each other in about 9 years! We had some Chinese at a local restaurant in her neighborhood and a couple of drinks before calling it a night.





Saturday we walked A LOT...thank goodness I had my comfortable shoes! We started walking through Union Square, saw the Christmas tree, went through Chinatown and ate at Sotto Mare in the Italian neighborhood of North Beach. From there we walked to and UP Lombard Street, the famous windy, VERY steep street.

The windy top of Lombard Street


There were a lot of hilly streets to walk up and down




We had a piece of chocolate in Ghirardelli's original shop, got lost for a bit, wandered through the financial district and finally found our hotel...exhausted! Later that night we again met my friend Meredith for a drink, and then Jason and I had a nice dinner at a French restaurant called L'Ardoise in the Castro District. Probably the best meal of the weekend for me, and a great way to end our trip.

Reunited with Meredith


Overall, we really liked San Francisco. The architecture, varied neighborhoods and people add a lot of flavor to the city, and the restaurants are all excellent (at least the ones we tried). If you visit, we recommend Presidio Park and the surrounding neighborhood, Chrissy Field and walking up Lombard Street. Definitely get a meal at L'Ardoise and take a walk through Chinatown to see the live toads and giant fish for sale. Avoid Fisherman's Wharf area and be prepared to be harassed by San Francisco's homeless population. I think we still prefer the east coast cities of Boston, D.C. etc..., but will settle for the west coast version:) Wine Country is an absolute must and I recommend anyone to take that trip in their lifetime...what a romantic and relaxing way to pass time while surrounded by gorgeous countryside.

Here is a slide show of some more pictures of the trip...


Jason is back on the road again on Tuesday to of all places, California. He'll be in Sunnyvale and then Los Angeles until Friday. Full work of week for me; I also need to finish knitting a baby cap for an expecting co-worker and I'll probably write holiday cards and wrap gifts...can't wait for the next holiday!

XOXO

Update on Maddie

This has been a slower week, so I gathered some different pictures of Maddie we took recently for all those Maddie fans out there. Overall, Maddie is still her same old talkative, social self. She is getting a little more anxious in her old age; we can't leave her alone for more than 2 days or she starts tearing the house up. Luckily, we've got some friends out here who check on her when we're gone. Here is a picture of her in her Clemson bandanna, ready for the game.

I found her one day recently snuggled up with my pajamas on the bed. I can't leave anything on the bed or she'll settle in for a nap.

Her 1st favorite napping spot, Jason's lap

And, my favorite picture, Maddie sneaking into a snack bag of Quavers (crisps Jason brought home from England for me). She can't resist a cheese flavored snack!

Jason was in Delaware this week Sunday - Thursday. I was busy with enrollment; lots of panicked emails / calls / visits from students trying to get into classes. We didn't do much this weekend; I had to work Saturday morning at Discover NAU, talking with prospective students and parents, so we just had dinner Friday night at a pizza place down the street. Saturday we went to a going away party for a woman Jason works with. While we were walking to the party, I snapped this picture of Jason with the mountain in the background. You can see the snow that is already settling in the peaks.


Sunday we just bummed around the house. Not much planned for next week; trying to stay warm, and pumped to put the Christmas tree up next weekend:)

Leaving on a Jet Plane

The Thursday night before Halloween, Jason was finished with the London leg of his trip, safely in Boston, and I was on a red-eye flight to Greenville, SC. Being a red-eye expert now (not sure if that's a good thing) I was able to sleep the entire flight from Phoenix. I met mum and dad at the airport and after a couple cups of coffee I was ready to roll. We hung out around the house and Friday night we went to Spartanburg to watch Tim's game at USC-Upstate. The picture above is the Bailey - Hemmer fan section and here is a picture with me and the soccer stud himself...

and an action shot...

After the game Richard and I went to Clemson and met up with Cheryl, Lashan, Stacy and Malay. Here is a picture with Cheryl and Lashan...

and another with me and Richard...

Saturday morning we tailgated for the Clemson vs. Coastal Carolina Homecoming game. I got to meet Evan, our friends Bryan and Bethany's son..he was a pumpkin for Halloween...can't you see how thrilled he is about the costume??

With Maria and Leslie I watched the Tiger Walk from inside the West End Zone, got to greet my former students as they came in, and got lunch upstairs with Cheech, Lawson and some other former co-workers. Here is Cheech in what may be the most disturbing mask ever...

Clemson won resoundingly and I was able to catch up with my former students some more after the game. Here is one more of Leslie, Maria and I...

Saturday night Tim met Richard and I at my parents house and we spent time together over dinner. I was up the next morning and back on a flight to Phoenix. As always, it was a too short trip, but so great to see my family, friends, and former students who I miss dearly!

Jason came home on Tuesday; it's been nice having him home this week. He's off again on Sunday to Delaware for training, and will be back on Thursday.

I (Jason) got to see the Pats beat the Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium during my trip to London. It was quite a unique experience to be able to see my favorite team play overseas. About 90% of the fans were European, but there was definitely a sizable contingent from New England. The work meetings I attended while in London were successful as well. Here are a couple pics from Wembley.



From London, I flew to Boston for a medical conference. While there, I was able to spend some time with my parents, brother, sister-in-law and niece, Emelie (see pics below).





I was also able to meet up with a few friends from WPI. The conference was a great learning experience from a professional standpoint, and it was nice being able to catch up with friends and family.

This weekend we've been laying low; we went out for Thai food last night and met up with a couple of work friends. Today some people came over to watch football and we're now watching Clemson vs. Florida State. Writing the blog while watching helps me stay calm - ha - Go Tigers!! We're also tracking the NAU game vs. Ole Miss -- right now Lumberjacks are hanging in there -- Go Jacks!!

XOXO

Let the Travels Begin...

I dropped Jason at the PHX airport Saturday evening and got a call this morning that he landed safe and sound in London. I am watching the Patriot vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers game that is taking place at Wembley stadium in London. Jason was able to score a ticket last week, so I'm scouring the crowds trying to get a glimpse of him. We went down to Phoenix on Friday night, went out to this great wood-fire pizza place called "The Parlor" and Saturday I had a little shopping spree at IKEA...Jason managed to survive that part of the trip!
It was really nice to "get down off the mountain" and do something different before Jason took off for 11 days of travel. The only negative part of the trip was my near collision with an Elk on Hwy 17 yesterday, about 30 miles out of Flagstaff. If you have never seen an Elk, they are like deer on steroids...kinda like this...


It was dark by that point in my trip and I was in the left hand lane. On the left shoulder I saw a giant Elk walking out from the woods. Luckily, I didn't hit it, but did nearly have a heart attack and drove about 50 mph for the rest of the trip.
I am off for S.C. on Thursday night to see Tim's game on Friday and visit Clemson on Saturday. It will be a short, whirlwind trip, but I am so EXCITED to see everyone!! I'll post pictures when I get back.
Helen & Maddie XOXO

Jack - O - Lanterns and Aspen Trees

Boo!! Jason and I are enjoying a night of good football with GA Tech leading VA Tech and the Alabama / USC game...complete with cool beers and homemade wings, so I thought now would be a good time to catch you all up. Last weekend Jason and I went to Josh and Mary Hampton Lovekamp's house for a 1st birthday celebration for their twins, Will and Kate. Will and Kate were born prematurely and spent their first 10 months of life on oxygen, so to see them stuffing cake in their face was quite a joy! We also visited the Fall Festival in Flagstaff, enjoyed some hot chocolate, a walk in the woods, and visited with some friends we ran in to. Here is a picture of us before we left...

We also bought and carved our pumpkins on Sunday night (Maddie even made one:)) They came out surprisingly well; Jason's was the scary one, mine the scared one, and Maddie's the guard cat. They are now outside our front door. It gets so cold here at night that they are withstanding the wilting process. Here is a picture of Jason and I with our final creations...

Another one trying to (unsuccessfully) get Maddie in the shot...

Jason hard at work...

We also toasted the pumpkin seeds and had a yummy snack all week!

This week was NAU's career and graduate school fair on Wednesday and the interview day on Thursday. It was a lot of smiling, talking, shaking hands and other fun career duties. Here is a picture of my friends Sonia, Lisa and myself nearing the end of the LONG day.

This weekend we were up early to watch Clemson BEAT Wake Forest and then took a drive around to the North side of the San Francisco peaks to get some photos of the changing leaves. In fall the Aspen trees change to a brilliant yellow-gold color. It was an oddly warm day and the trees were beautiful!


On a side note, Jason and I are really proud of my youngest brother, Tim. He is loving USC Upstate and having a great season in his first year in Div. I competition. He scored his first career, and the team's first conference play goal just over a week ago. Here is a shot of the man in action!


No other big plans this weekend; just relaxing and enjoying lots of good sleep and football. Next Friday we are going down to Phoenix for a fun night with a couple of friends, shopping on Saturday, and Jason flies out to London Saturday night. I'll be home alone until Thursday night when I fly out of Phoenix on a red-eye to visit South Carolina! Go Trojans and Tigers!
XOXO

Busy Busy Busy

Sorry this post is so late, but things have been pretty busy here in Flagstaff!! Work is keeping me really busy right now so I've been slacking on the blog:(

We had a great time this past weekend; Friday night we made homemade margarita pizza and watched one of our Netflix movies we've had for months - haha. Clemson football vs. Maryland was on Saturday morning at our friend Eric's house, so we were up early to catch the 9am kickoff. On Saturday night I went out with some girlfriends for dinner and to watch a band downtown and Jason stayed in for some alone time with his guitars and loud music,

On Sunday it was a rainy, windy day so we watched a lot of football and cooked. Sunday night was the season finale of Entourage, and was one of the best episodes of the year.

We're just working away this week and don't have too much planned for this weekend. Hopefully the weather cooperates and we can go to the Fall Festival and get my pumpkins!

If you are interested in a good fall recipe, tonight we made stuffed acorn squash. Here's the recipe; it was SO good

2 acorn squash
1/4 pound sausage, seasoned if you can find it
1/8 cup diced onion
1/8 cup diced celery
1/8 cup diced carrot
1/3 cup homemade whole wheat bread crumbs or brown rice
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 TBSP Oregano
2 small cubes of butter
Splash of white wine
Salt & Pepper

Cut the top off the squash and scoop out the seeds. Cut off a little of the bottom if needed to place in a baking dish. Place one small cube of butter in each squash and set aside.
Brown sausage, and remove from pan, leave remaining juices. Add the onions, celery and carrots and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until tender.
Add a splash of white wine, cooked sausage, salt, pepper, and oregano and cook through. Remove from eat and add the rice or breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese. Stuff mixture into squash and replace its top. Bake at 400 degrees for about 1 hour.
YUMMO!

I promise pictures after this weekend!
XOXO

Fall, Football, & Lots of Zucchini

I finally found the battery charger for the camera and took some pictures of my fall decorations. I didn't get too out of control, but below is a picture of my mantel, table, and front step. There is already a chill in the air, and at night it has been getting down into the 30's, so in Flagstaff it is really starting to feel like fall. I noticed today a lot of the leaves were starting to change color.







This weekend Jason and I went to dinner Friday night at a new Greek restaurant in town called Taverna. The food was pretty good, and they dance and light food on fire, so that was different. On Saturday I watched my friend Heather's two kids for a couple of hours in the morning. In the afternoon we listened to the Clemson game on ESPN Radio (all we could get!) and then went to watch NAU play University of Montana. Both my football teams lost that day, but at least Tim's soccer team won at Presbyterian College; USC Upstate was the only one who came through for us that day! Luckily, I have worked it out to be able to go visit S.C. Oct. 30-Nov. 1 to watch Tim play at USC and catch a Clemson football game. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone.

On Sunday Jason went biking with his friend David, ended up with a flat tire, and had to take his bike into the shop. We had about 7 zucchini from a co-worker of mine whose vegetable garden is still producing like crazy, so we did a lot of cooking on Sunday also. Here is a picture of the zucchini pile, and this wasn't even all of it!


We made two loaves of pineapple zucchini bread (sounds weird, but is surprisingly delicious) and a zucchini au gratin for dinner. Here is a picture of the zucchini bread.


Nothing out of the ordinary is planned for this week, but next weekend we're going to a Fall Harvest Festival in town to drink beer and pick pumpkins. The plan is to turn them into jack-o-lanterns for our front step.