Rowan Up-Date

Lots of you are probably wondering what has happened to Rowan. She hasn't been in any photos in a while and doesn't seem to be mentioned. No, I haven't been keeping her in a bag in the closet.

She has been down in Los Angeles since Jan. 10 working with a couple of her colleagues in vision research (I mean this is a sabbatical, and one is supposed to do some work while being away for 6 months!) We keep up with each other via skype (see

photo)every day so it is almost like being together, except she doesn't get to partake of the food feast I've been on for the last 12 days (that is why she weighs 20 lbs less tan me!) She spent her first week in Glendale with good friend Kristina Tarczy-Hornoch (say that fast 3 times) who is a pediatric ophthalmologist at USC. She works at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the Dohney Eye Institute. Rowan has had the pleasure of observing more eye surgeries in the operating room with Kristina. Sometimes they are in there for over 7 hours. Row says it is amazing to see a child's eye turn

surgically fixed right in front of her eyes. It blows away all those pictures in the books you learn from in school. Luckily it hasn't been all work for her. She and Kristina did have a wonderful hike above the hills of Glendale that

provided beautiful views of the valley (see photo at bottom of post). One whacky footnote is that Kristina just happened to marry one of my old AIDS Ride buddies, JP (whom I hadn't seen in years). It's a miracle how they met in LA and are now married and have a baby on the way. Congratulations! It really is a small world! Rowan is now working with Sue Cotter at the Southern California College of Optometry, planning research collaberations between Kristina, Sue and Rowan's lab in Indiana.

Stay tuned for more updates from Rowan's end of the state soon.

San Francisco

I left Sausalito on January 16 for San Francisco to stay with my dear friends Nina & Kim (see photo). The drive into SF across the Golden Gate Bridge never gets old. This is one of the reasons people leave their hearts here.

Nina & Kim have a flat on Grove Street, right on the panhandle of Golden Gate Park in the Haight/Ashbury district of SF. It is just wonderful to be in San Francisco and walk this neighborhood. Nina is 2 blocks from Golden Gate Park, so we walk even if it's raining. A little water falling from the sky can't keep us from the beauty and diversity of this neighborhood.

The girls got a dinner party together here in The City with a bunch of our old work mates from UC Berkeley. What a blast catching up on old times! Whew! What a party! We had drinks at Nina & Kim's place first and then ventured out to a Moroccan belly dancing restaurant called El Mansour on Clement St. I will let the photos speak for themselves with just a little narrative from me.

This was the perfect place to be taken for dinner. Definitely getting me ready for our trip to

India. Takes one right out of their own comfort zone for food and culture. Loved it! The first thing they did for us was bring us all a towel and then a huge bowl and a pot of hot water arrived at the table. The hot water was poured over our hands to wash them. The reason they do this is everything they bring you is eaten with your hands. Finally! It's OK to eat with my hands!!! :o)

The food started to arrive. Plate after plate. Lentils, couscous, marinated vegetables were first. Then came more vegetables for the salad course. Bread is handed out and you just dig in with your hands!

Then, the most FABULOUS appetizer arrived called Bastela Du Chef, a crispy pastry filled with

chicken, almonds and assorted spices. All covered in powdered sugar. HEAVEN! (see photo here)........Then, came the rabbit kabob, Cicken with lemons and olives, chicken with honey and prunes, lamb with honey and almonds, lamb with eggplants and couscous with vegetables. Ugh! I think this has turned into another food blog!

Thank goodness the music started so we could take a breath between our courses. Suddenly, we were graced with the presence of the most beautiful belly dancer. If you have never seen one. You should. Graceful, elegant, sensual, mystical, beautiful. Here are some photos.

It was such a pleasure to sit and take in all of this culture. The dancing was just magnificent! I couldn't wait to get up and tip this very talented woman. And, of course she wanted me to try and dance 'the belly'. How can one resist when asked by such a beautiful woman with all of your friends egging you on! Oh dear! (Paula, I couldn't resist putting you in here too!) What a night.

More Food!

Don't be afraid. It's only food. REALLY good food! I learned not to be afraid of so much of it years ago. I mean
I do have a German mother who grew up on a farm and made everything from scratch my entire life! When you make mashed potatoes, you ALWAYS use real butter and 1/2 & 1/2. When you make a piece of meat, you make enough for the family and then some extra for, well, breakfast and maybe lunch the next day!
I will now share with you the rest of my eating adventures during my stay with Charles. There was the cheese and lamb steak dinner. Yum! Did I say yum? YUM! YUM! YUM! 5 kids of cheese (drippy, gooey, french and fabulous) and there were 3 steaks for 2 of us which made for a KILLER lamb sandwich the next day. Oh, and mom, we did have broccoli too. We've got to have SOMETHING to scrub the fat out of our arteries! :o)

One of my other favorite meals was a three courser. Cheese (of course) then a fantastic plate of luscious, tender, melt-in-your-mouth chicken livers (they were so delicious, I almost passed out!) Then came the grass fed pork chops, sauteed king mushrooms in garlic & ginger, and sauteed kale with onions and garlic. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to really make sure I am still alive and not in heaven. I'm thinking maybe Charles and I should take up that 250 miles a week on the bike again. RIGHT NOW!

Then, there was the steamed mussels, crab cakes and salmon dinner too! UGH! I swear I don't weigh 250 pounds........... YET! Thank goodness for the walking we do to shop for all of this food. We have to lose an ounce here and there some how. :o) I just really can't get enough sea food.

The grand finale of

meals was a doozy! Thank goodness Kevin came over to help us with this one. Again, there was

the cheese! We then fell into the ginormous side-or-beef steaks, sauteed mushroom, grilled onions and mashed potatoes (yes mom, I used the real

butter and 1/2 & 1/2!). Oh, and lets not forget the salad. Got to scrub those arteries. I must say that the thing makes me happiest in my life (besides Rowan) is the magic that takes place while cooking good food, with good friends and eating it while drinking good wine over good conversation. Cheers!

Food Fest #1

It's about time I catch everyone up on what has been going into my tummy for the last 8 days. There is no problem with variety here. Of course sea food is at the top of my list because of the freshness and availability. But then there is also grass fed beef, pork and more grass fed beef and pork. Oh, and let's not forget all of that cheese! And, of course a lot of that great wine we brought home from the wine country.

My first tale will be of the seafood shopping spree Charles and I went on in San Francisco. We went to a Chinese market district on Clement Street to search out fresh crabs, clams and oysters. It nearly brings me to tears when I see this much wonderful sea food in one place. Just can't find this in the mid-west.

Absolutely everything is brought out of the water alive in front of your eyes. Getting home without having a crab attaching itself to one of your fingers or your pant leg isn't easy. We made our selections and drove back across the Golden Gate Bridge to get the pots boiling. Of course we start our seafood feast with oysters. Yum!! That

salty sweet hunk of wonderfulness sliding down your throat is a gift from heaven. Who needs to swim in the ocean when you can eat it instead! Our next chore is to try and separate the crabs as they have now latched on to each other for dear life. Somehow they know that if they grab on to each other, it will be harder to get them in that pot of boiling water. Pretty smart for a delicious little crustacean! Charles risked

the fingers on his right hand to do this. Finally, he decided to just drop the lowest one into the pot, and of course it only took 5 seconds for the other one to be free of his friend. Each crab was a whopping 3 pounds each. And, we still have to eat steamed clams first! Ugh! This is just a little sample of what it is like to dine with Charles. We learned to eat like this back when we were doing the AIDS rides and cycling over 250 miles a week (that was over 8 years ago). Lets hope we can survive it now. Maybe I just won't use as much melted butter for that crab :o)

I will catch you all up on our next food fest in my next blog.

Muir Woods National Monument

One of the things I am enjoying so much about this visit to the Bay Area, is being able to take the time to do so many of the touristy type things one never has the time to do when actually living and working here. Taking a stroll through Muir Woods is one of those things I'm glad we took the time to do. If you are a tree lover, this is the place for you. This is one of the most ancient coastal redwood forests in California. Many of the trees here are over 600 years old. The tallest trees here rise 252 feet into

the air and the widest tree is 14 feet across. The smell of the air is so alive and the undergrowth of mosses, ferns, redwood sorrel, and wildflowers like trillium, clintonia, and redwood violet grace the forest floor and make for a fairy tale type landscape. You can imagine the little Hobbits and Gnomes chasing fairies between the trees. There is something profoundly spiritual that touches you when you walk through this forest. If you are ever in Marin county, do this!

Wine Country - Napa and Sonoma

I couldn't leave the Bay Area without a visit to the wine country. Charles, Kevin and I chose the most beautiful of sunny days last week to take the short drive north from Marin to Napa and Sonoma. Our first stop was the French Chateau winery of Domaine Carneros/Tattinger, in the heart of the Carneros region

of Napa county (Yountville). They are famous for their sparkling

wines, so it was a perfect way to start the day. We ate on a tasty

selection of perfectly matched cheeses, fruit and toasts while sipping our selection of outstanding sparkling wines. We then traveled west to Sonoma county to check out a few much smaller boutique wineries. Our next stop was Loxton Cellars near the Kenwood region. When we arrived, we were the only ones there (a much different experience than at Domaine Carneros).

This provided for a very intimate learning experience with the owner/winemaker Chris Loxton,

an Australian brought up on a Shiraz vineyard in South Australia. Chris' focus is mainly ultra-premium Syrah and Zinfandel wines in a very limited production. What a treat to taste (and buy) some of the best wine I have ever had and to be able to spend an hour talking and learning about how Chris makes his wine. The tasting room was right in the small garage where the wine barrels sit, so we were able to walk around among his future offerings.

Our next stop was next door to Wellington Vineyards where we tasted more Zinfandel and other reds. We couldn't get out of there without purchasing more wine too :o). Our last two stops were also in the Kenwood region - Muscardini Cellars, a double gold award winning winery and Ty Caton Vineyards. We thank our dear friend Charles for being the designated driver for our wine country adventure. Next time, the driving is on me!

Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

I decided right away that a trip to the new Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park was number one on my list of things to see in San Francisco on this trip. It just
re-opened in 2009 after the 1989 Loma Prietta earthquake made the old structure unstable. What an amazing piece of architecture. It is a platinum level, LEEDS certified green building, that incorporates every green building technology available. It's a 400,000 square foot structure that houses an aquarium, a planetarium a natural history museum and a 4-story rainforest all under one roof. I will share many photos of what we saw inside out outside the building starting with the AMAZING rain forest and aquarium.

I have been going to the Academy of Sciences since I was a child and I must say, that I've never experienced such variety of species, and beautiful architectural design in one place. The butterflies and tropical birds and frogs and plant life in the rainforest dome are really something to see. Everything just flies, hops and crawls around you in the same space. Something they would never allow when I was a kid. I will now include a bunch of photos, as they will speak more than my words can.

The glass tunnel for the fish was just fantastic. These were HUGE amazonian fish. Bigger than

a pick-up truck!

They have added huge glass walls to view tropical fish, just like in the aquarium down in Monterey.

The reptiles and frogs are my favorite. So much personality, in a twisted, prehistoric kind of slimy way. Just fascinating! I remember chasing lizards and snakes down the river where I grew up here in California. I now know this is the kind of place I will volunteer to work after I retire.

This is by far the biggest sea bass I have ever seen in my life. Not sure if I will ever eat one again. Imagine these giants being extinct from our oceans! Reminds me of my second grade teacher :o)....and she was my favorite teacher in my life!

The roof of the Academy's new building

uses soil as insulation Architect Renzo Piano achieved this in his design for the Living Roof. Not only does the green rooftop canopy visually connect the building to the park landscape, but it also provides significant gains in heating and cooling efficiency. The six inches of soil substrate on the roof act as natural insulation, and every year will keep approximately 3.6 million gallons of rainwater from becoming stormwater. Surrounding the Living Roof is a large glass canopy with a decorative band of 60,000 photovoltaic cells. These solar panels will generate approximately 213,000 kilowatt-hours of energy per year and provide up to 10% of the Academy's electricity need. The use of solar power will prevent the release of 405,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emission into the air. f you have a chance in your lifetime, go see this place.

You wont regret it. More tomorrow............