Entertaining the guest

Two weekends ago we had a special guest staying with us. She was a woman who was E’s first boss when he was pursuing a career in higher education. She stayed with us for five days and got a Bay Area tour. Friday we took her to see the pre-Broadway run of “Lestat” in San Francisco.

Saturday morning we were back in SF to visit two museums. The first was Legion of Honor to see a photography exhibit called “After the Ruins, 1906 and 2006: Rephotographing the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire”. It consisted of side-by-side pictures of the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake and a picture of the same location 99 years later. Then we hustled over to new de Young Museum to see “Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh”. It was an interesting exhibit of a female ruler of Egypt. Hatshepsut ruled over 3,000 years ago. After becoming Queen, she declared herself to be King. The subsequent male ruler tried to have all evidence of her reign destroyed and purged. That evening we had dinner at a fancy restaurant in Palo Alto called Spago. The dinner was excellent. We had Champagne, appetizers, main dish and two bottles of Merlot, dessert, and Port. The fun and games started when the waiter spilled two glasses of Port on me in a series of goofy moves.
Sunday was an educational and inspirational day in Berkeley. We attended a lecture by South African Constitutional Court Justice Albie Sachs and urban architect Vanessa September. Afterwards, a group of ten of us went out for a fun meal at Zax Tavern. We ate, drank, laughed and had a great time.

Monday, we traveled south to Mission San Juan Bautista. We toured the Mission and the charming town. We ate lunch at an outdoor restaurant. Finally on Tuesday we put an exhausted friend on a plane back to Washington DC.
Fun fact: The three of us easily consumed over 12 bottles Merlot wine during the five days.