Vacation 2010

I've been on the west coast-in San Francisco and Portland Oregon- for the past nine days. While in SF I visited with old and new friends and enjoyed their hospitality, kindness and generosity. The hustle and bustle of SF felt very familiar - not unlike NYC.
The first two days of my stay in SF were surprisingly cold with temperatures in the 50's and below. By the third day, temperatures were in the 80s and the day before I left SF for Portland, the temperature went up to 99! I joked that Lita Taracido and I, two Puerto Ricans, had brought tropical temperatures from the east coast. A long cold spell had broken and we all enjoyed the sun.
My friend, Mary Risley, whom I first met on an Amtrak train a few years ago, took me to her friends' swimming pool on Santa Margarita Street in Marin County where we splashed around and took a break from the oppressive heat of the day. Mary also introduced me to the Presidio and Chrissy field from which there is a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. We also visited a terrific farmers' market in Half Moon Bay where I saw the greenest greens and sampled the sweetest melons I've every tasted. Oh, and there were the tastiest peaches from a stand run by Latinos. I visited Mary's Tante Marie cooking school and saw students and teachers at work. We had dinner at A16, a lovely and popular upscale restaurant owned and run by one of Mary's former students. Mary was generous with her time and hospitality. I had a lovely time!
My dear friend Joe Schubert showed Lita and me around Golden Gate Park where we visited the Academy of Sciences, the planetarium, the aquarium and the Japanese Tea Garden. Earlier, we had visited the Impressionist Exhibition at the De Young Museum with friends of Lita's with whom we also visited in Sausalito. The shops at the Ferry Building were fun to walk through, and the Farmers' Market was full of culinary delights.
Tomorrow is my last day in Portland.I will be writing more about the Oregon part of the trip after I return to NYC. My former Harvard Law School suite-mate, Meg Nightingale, and her husband Ted have been wonderful hosts! Portland is a lovely city, and Oceanside - on OR's Pacific Coast- is spectacular. Stay tuned!