My Birthday with Tran and Dirt Bikes!

Yeah yeah, It's my Birthday. :)

39 but in actuality 40 if you think about it. You are born on zero so when you turn 1, you are actually beginning your 2nd year. And why isn't the 9 months in the womb counted?
We are so afraid to grow old.

Me.
I can't wait to be 40. I've looked forward to my 40's my whole life. Ask my friends from when I was in my 20's I would always say, the 40's are the best. It's when you know who you are, what you really want and don't want, have the courage to pursue your dreams and the ability to do it financially.

And I'm doing just that. This year birthday celebration was riding dirt bikes on the track.

Meet Fuzzy

Tran was nice enough to fly in from Memphis for my birthday week and so far he's been a constant source of entertainment....but after the 20th Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder song I told Tran....no more, can't listen to one more queenie song. He also loves to sing to these songs. Off key. My neighbors must be wondering about me.

Took him to Trader Joe's for some shopping. I put him in charge of the cart and every time I turned around to drop something in it he wasn't there. I actually dropped some yogurt into a woman's cart next to me. So I said, get back here! Tran's defense is that he sends his "boys" to the store to do this kind of stuff, he just pays. So I explained.
The cart follows the person doing the shopping.

We did return for a second visit because I forgot a couple ingredients, so consumed with keeping track of Tran like a toddler that might wander off.

This time he was right behind me the whole time, we were a hell of a team! In and out of TJ's full of people at rush hour in less than 10 minutes.

I decided to have some almond butter on my toast but after inspection found that the oil had pooled at the top and since Tran was bored as evidenced by his staring at himself in the mirror for a little over an hour I decided to put him to work.....mixing it back. After about 5 minutes of pounding he quipped "Are you looking for manufacturing consistency because I'm working this peanut butter like it was a young hot stud"

Hit the Hayes Valley and Haight for some shopping. Tran wanted 3 things:

Messenger bag: CHECK











I've been taking him to the San Francisco host spots. Tadich grill for a perfect Gin martini.


Custom T Shirt that says Gay Pimp: CHECK

Double wide belt: didn't have the belt buckle.

After a great cocktail called the Galapagos (oh which Tran had two) with 3 brandied cherries in the bottom at Absinthe we hit the shops. I found the cutest pink T shirt of Jerry (from the cartoon Tom & Jerry) in glitter.

Also took him to the Haight and stopped off for a great hot chocolate.
The best was a orange and red fringed hoochie mama salsa outfit that shows more skin than covers it. (no photo available)

Coming home that afternoon we took the elevator up and to Tran's chagrin there was a cutie coming up with us. He was carrying a semi-freddies baguette and Tran had the perfect pick up line.

"That's a long piece of bread you got there". The boy actually looked like he blushed. Tran is so alpha he converts straight men.

Now you Bay Area residents know all about the Fastrak system to get through the toll plaza's. It's a responder that will tally's your fee to cross any bridge going to the city. The lanes go between the posts and usually those of us with the pass slow to 25 mph but still barrel on through. Now the cougar does have a 4" play in the steering either way so it's a bit of a challenge. On Tran's first drive through the toll plaza he shut his eyes....later he termed it "Aim and hope for the best".

Took him to Symphony in the Park at Dolores on a hot and sunny day in San Francisco. Now Tran wanting to impress my friends started quoting death rate statistics on Memphis TN. Some East Bayer's wouldn't be shown up and argued that West Oakland topped the death per capita charts. Here's the Wiki answer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_rate

Oakland 30 Memphis 19. And the winner is Detroit at 46.

July 17th! Happy Birthday. We started it at Bourbon and Branch where you are not allowed to take photos. hehe That's an 18 year old cask strenght Bourbon Tran is sipping there.

Then Leo caught up with us and we wandered over to Cortez for some bubbly.

Hunger struck next...Colibri Mexican bistro.

That's our driver...drinking. :)

Oh Leo you are so handsome!












Of course the obligatory Irish Coffee at The BV as known by locals and Buena Vista as known by tourists wearing "San Francisco" sweaters and shorts.

Now this hat I bought myself for my birthday deserves to be explained. It's a 100 year old San Francisco naval officers hat and elicited an amazing amount of responses. Most drunk people want to pet it like it's a fluffy poodle but our favorite was the cute guitar carrying 20 something that was nearly giddy with appreciation "nice hat". :)

Now let's talk music. Tran brought his laptop with his terabyte of music. I've been perusing and let me tell you that my wish to have new music for my Eastern Europe tour was more than answered. I had to go out and buy an external hard drive. I've been sifting through his large diva black woman songs to his country music collection and let me tell you, he has variety.

Some great ones that you really must listen too are:

David Allen Coe: You never even called me by my name

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCFVOMDH2ds&feature=related

and

Dynamite Hack: Boyz in the Hood

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4882756770145200542

You will laugh hysterically. And that's pretty much what I've been doing since he landed.

And then he left, after 7 days of non stop fun....

....but came back again a week later for my baby shower!

Tran goofing off in my elevator with the hand truck helping me load up baby boy with all the food and goodies for my baby shower.











And for those of you who missed my baby shower here are the photos.
http://picasaweb.google.com/nancy.girouard/BabyShower#


So in phoenix if you recall we went to Pizzeria Bianco, 3rd best pizzeria in the US...so Tran found that Delfina was the 2nd best. Took him there for a great lunch.

Between Tran's visits I decided I was ready to graduate to a bigger bike, similar to the one I'm riding on my Eastern Europe trip this Fall. So I found a BMW F650, '97 with only 5K miles!!!

<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQ6Is-m_E3sa6ywNhxJOpbTvBtDlJz4Ik5LK3BhyOZW7uLo4d_pd3JI_bHlWyl0J_z-YC7Reo5CVEvAtaYKgtMcUDKsm_jcGYa8PvsLeGWW_MybXzLrv9PfgeClTy9iYfakO7UrUaDmih/s1600-h/baby"></a> <div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8CZK6fI19qSCaRp0jSYer2xmg9EUZxbiBYqAEmiZJVdWME69H1G_y4DJQECrvZx2padFxC74GMTgeSSKR2nA9U4pXk8dlqzMH0sUyiSr8V_gqbzCyIY1KECrUim9WovCdvZyVxKBYwRBw/s1600-h/P7190006.JPG"></a> Yeah yeah, It's my Birthday. :) 39 but in actuality 40 if you think about it. You are born on zero so when you turn 1, you are actually beginning your 2nd year. And why isn't the 9 months in the womb counted? We are so afraid to grow old. Me. I can't wait to be 40. I've looked forward to my 40's my whole life. Ask my friends from when I was in my 20's I would always say, the 40's are the best. It's when you know who you are, what you really want and don't want, have the courage to pursue your dreams and the ability financially. And I'm doing just that. This year birthday celebration was riding dirt bikes on the track. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BaWuJNT2S6Q6rEOE12PJfdzugEzebnZc14amD_BpJ5FLnhh5s_qbpNhQh9mpMlI_bWytTyPIKy7NSV332eFwJwEXX54t2d_P3nEedIdhTvk2Zor9TDg4ZZKIhGWlKOqmVHxrlSAHasiA/s1600-h/P7170020.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359966221217195586" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BaWuJNT2S6Q6rEOE12PJfdzugEzebnZc14amD_BpJ5FLnhh5s_qbpNhQh9mpMlI_bWytTyPIKy7NSV332eFwJwEXX54t2d_P3nEedIdhTvk2Zor9TDg4ZZKIhGWlKOqmVHxrlSAHasiA/s320/P7170020.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div>Meet Fuzzy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJkQil6cS4XpSrKRp-t228wbg8Kj6i9fM0o0eT73XIDzdpGA1c9YmkeTaqTY3XXJh9ACRWG_wPd7wlGYlnKJMZbZriTzORYXr2lg0erR-gotgHX5ve_HpSpRLCtFPkbZSwInP5JdkO4Hx/s1600-h/P7170009.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359966214664059666" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJkQil6cS4XpSrKRp-t228wbg8Kj6i9fM0o0eT73XIDzdpGA1c9YmkeTaqTY3XXJh9ACRWG_wPd7wlGYlnKJMZbZriTzORYXr2lg0erR-gotgHX5ve_HpSpRLCtFPkbZSwInP5JdkO4Hx/s320/P7170009.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div> <div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibObGAurfXdVw0sLDepGHS5t8ZfOuRW7CBi4aA83yrOEOEDXWmTGyBXTgfPPB4go9Tl2FUXFIis4ddsJQI9G0BEo0a3LuyDtEn3l1EqeA05IfMiye7sLVMyhFtuninsEycXmCR35j3PtbI/s1600-h/P7170008.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359966218049414866" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibObGAurfXdVw0sLDepGHS5t8ZfOuRW7CBi4aA83yrOEOEDXWmTGyBXTgfPPB4go9Tl2FUXFIis4ddsJQI9G0BEo0a3LuyDtEn3l1EqeA05IfMiye7sLVMyhFtuninsEycXmCR35j3PtbI/s320/P7170008.JPG" border="0" /></a></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div>Tran was nice enough to fly in from Memphis for my birthday week and so far he's been a constant source of entertainment....but after the 20th Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder song I told Tran....no more, can't listen to one more queenie song. He also loves to sing to these songs. Off key. My neighbors must be wondering about me. </div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div>Took him to Trader Joe's for some shopping. I put him in charge of the cart and every time I turned around to drop something in it he wasn't there. I actually dropped some yogurt into a woman's cart next to me. So I said, get back here! Tran's defense is that he sends <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG9hE904FAz17sT2RHURLd7E5T8PsR0VKfdyWwB8qHjM21kcXseq8ky6BAP7Q5UMXtBhXC2lyt9o7g4uuJqIhgnVNKEMwarN2vkmaap8szW-qf3HVBIagH_G-RMcQtJe-Z20BMveqH6_zu/s1600-h/P7160002.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359966206105983106" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG9hE904FAz17sT2RHURLd7E5T8PsR0VKfdyWwB8qHjM21kcXseq8ky6BAP7Q5UMXtBhXC2lyt9o7g4uuJqIhgnVNKEMwarN2vkmaap8szW-qf3HVBIagH_G-RMcQtJe-Z20BMveqH6_zu/s320/P7160002.JPG" border="0" /></a>his "boys" to the store to do this kind of stuff, he just pays. So I explained. The cart follows the person doing the shopping. </div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div>We did return for a second visit because I forgot a couple ingredients, so consumed with keeping track of Tran like a toddler that might wander off.</div> <div> </div> <div>This time he was right behind me the whole time, we were a hell of a team! In and out of TJ's full of people at rush hour in less than 10 minutes.</div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div>I decided to have some almond butter on my toast but after inspection found that the oil had pooled at the top and since Tran was bored as evidenced by his staring at himself in the mirror for a little over an hour I decided to put him to work.....mixing it back. After about 5 minutes of pounding he quipped "Are you looking for manufacturing consistency because I'm working this peanut butter like it was a young hot stud" <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7I0slQdNr3jOg1urBBLbEt9uQI1Y1HmJhngprBTaFzq_ZWd45XtuD6-N5vPkBfVXek0vhbJtY0vKzjuQcNo-QyK-9I6SgLH_EmUiutXa77dN-tepU-FlIMVxshI2ttpkJEKXCsh4NstQE/s1600-h/P7180002.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362035273215530626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7I0slQdNr3jOg1urBBLbEt9uQI1Y1HmJhngprBTaFzq_ZWd45XtuD6-N5vPkBfVXek0vhbJtY0vKzjuQcNo-QyK-9I6SgLH_EmUiutXa77dN-tepU-FlIMVxshI2ttpkJEKXCsh4NstQE/s320/P7180002.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div>Hit the Hayes Valley and Haight for some shopping. Tran wanted 3 things: Messenger bag Double wide belt Custom T Shirt </div> <div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbYFoYXsW8YaYew5Y4I28MMWr3S2et8QuaL9zXPjsVrw9dP0-btZqAyb6vglk9dWVXx78w365i66Xo95p9LOclaZ-6ZOsEx68KQ4YIRyV7tEo-gkQK6vyI-fG_5lfnU5P0EAdcKQhPsAdB/s1600-h/P7180008.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362035279006737922" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbYFoYXsW8YaYew5Y4I28MMWr3S2et8QuaL9zXPjsVrw9dP0-btZqAyb6vglk9dWVXx78w365i66Xo95p9LOclaZ-6ZOsEx68KQ4YIRyV7tEo-gkQK6vyI-fG_5lfnU5P0EAdcKQhPsAdB/s320/P7180008.JPG" border="0" /></a>After a great cocktail called the Galapagos (oh which Tran had two) with 3 brandied cherries in the bottom at Absinthe we hit the shops. I found the cutest pink T shirt of Jerry (from the cartoon Tom & Jerry) in glitter. </div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362035293952201234" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZj5p0yDXRD7uoDlTHonM0CKlRxTLwCTIfGi9Ze8L54CbtwUsI2NkQtVQczQmezhNOdjX9osIZMx8u9D214BejzHxmxBZNR_2wHbMVJTpzCVEKm34x4A4uZpGmYSgRZjyKCRALxqAa73H/s320/P7180012.JPG" border="0" /></div> <div>Also took him to the Haight and stopped off for a great hot chocolate. The best was a orange and red fringed hoochie mama salsa outfit that shows more skin than covers it. (no photo available) </div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div>Coming home that afternoon we took the elevator up and to Tran's chagrin there was a cutie coming up with us. He was carrying a semi-freddies baguette and Tran had the perfect pick up line. "That's a long piece of bread you got there". The boy actually looked like he blushed. Tran is so alpha he converts straight men.</div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div>Now you Bay Area residents know all about the Fastrak system to get throught the toll plaza's. It's a responder that will tally's your fee to cross any bridge going to the city. The lanes go between the posts and usually those of us with the pass slow to 40 mph but still barrel on through. Now the cougar does have a 4" play in the steering either way so it's a bit of a challenge. On Tran's first drive through the toll plaza he shut his eyes....later he termed it "Aim and hope for the best".</div> <p>Took him to Symphony in the Park at Dolores on a hot and sunny day in San Francisco. Now Tran wanting to impress my friends started quoting death rate statistics on Memphis TN. Some East Bayer's wouldn't be shown up and argued that West Oakland topped the death per capita charts. Here's the Wiki answer:</p> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_rate">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_rate</a></p> <p>Oakland 30 Memphis 19. And the winner is Detroit at 46.</p> <p></p> <p>July 17th! Happy Birthday. We started it at Bourbon and Branch where you are not allowed to take photos. hehe That's an 18 year old cask strenght Bourbon Tran is sipping there. </p> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg59Ke3P-zaPrMaGB_SSNx1koNvfk-_POnLQ9Y1wUGLUOVZ1DGQSG5u8uuM9mdc5KIkmmDEbIBCjxdPr_51l0HyTLEgwSanI3l3diJV1FRKVFXwaBJWYfHVS4XkFoH5YKIv2dLA8LMPGcq8/s1600-h/P7180014.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362035297528719250" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg59Ke3P-zaPrMaGB_SSNx1koNvfk-_POnLQ9Y1wUGLUOVZ1DGQSG5u8uuM9mdc5KIkmmDEbIBCjxdPr_51l0HyTLEgwSanI3l3diJV1FRKVFXwaBJWYfHVS4XkFoH5YKIv2dLA8LMPGcq8/s320/P7180014.JPG" border="0" /></a></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>Then Leo caught up with us and we wandered over to Cortez for some bubbly.</p> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQtSIMPHoJzd8fH0GRsVXbo1_Wc0jOGXveBq5GRFG6A8yNG5Al4ShkNCL_Cc9spKIIUEXr4eq_XaGgqQaTf0RzTiAtyWXSJ0X8hj6EfxXzLTMjUyOMN7gcDKAHK3rF8pexJsuCrb_uImC/s1600-h/P7180021.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362035768809390722" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQtSIMPHoJzd8fH0GRsVXbo1_Wc0jOGXveBq5GRFG6A8yNG5Al4ShkNCL_Cc9spKIIUEXr4eq_XaGgqQaTf0RzTiAtyWXSJ0X8hj6EfxXzLTMjUyOMN7gcDKAHK3rF8pexJsuCrb_uImC/s320/P7180021.JPG" border="0" /></a></p> <div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZj5p0yDXRD7uoDlTHonM0CKlRxTLwCTIfGi9Ze8L54CbtwUsI2NkQtVQczQmezhNOdjX9osIZMx8u9D214BejzHxmxBZNR_2wHbMVJTpzCVEKm34x4A4uZpGmYSgRZjyKCRALxqAa73H/s1600-h/P7180012.JPG"></a></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div>Hunger struck next...Colibri Mexican bistro.</div> <div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqDfjyMmqpWbA9Al2EvTLK55LnOr0pznzTYzYFR3yi4iGFbINpJ7c1OPCQcWAJtt2rfTTiPZtxzMejHDCS5eSOH1rvU6Sj9n7z0pXOE_ridySCOdP-9mQ6fWHrHU0kIurUCW3jqis1TBQ/s1600-h/P7180026.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362035783417293506" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZqDfjyMmqpWbA9Al2EvTLK55LnOr0pznzTYzYFR3yi4iGFbINpJ7c1OPCQcWAJtt2rfTTiPZtxzMejHDCS5eSOH1rvU6Sj9n7z0pXOE_ridySCOdP-9mQ6fWHrHU0kIurUCW3jqis1TBQ/s320/P7180026.JPG" border="0" /></a></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div>That's our driver...drinking. :)</div> <div></div> <div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzaabKnhvkIgk97cNL-K1U7z9WFuWUIm9pxdt-McF_PXlz5dkfgayiK8T_TQeDOsSYID9wgTGWqypO5vmx2e7kCPK8pwwPM96syK5FZuzR7ptUs1OMkcTFVqJNCBq0uyZLNls7mGqlQ9CM/s1600-h/P7180024.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362035772321056450" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzaabKnhvkIgk97cNL-K1U7z9WFuWUIm9pxdt-McF_PXlz5dkfgayiK8T_TQeDOsSYID9wgTGWqypO5vmx2e7kCPK8pwwPM96syK5FZuzR7ptUs1OMkcTFVqJNCBq0uyZLNls7mGqlQ9CM/s320/P7180024.JPG" border="0" /></a></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div>I've been taking him to the San Francisco host spots. Tadich grill for a perfect Gin martini.</div> <div> </div> <div>Had a great dinner at Cece's for my birthday where we fought over the medium rare tri tip and laughed for a long time.</div> <div></div> <div>Of course the obligatory Irish Coffee at The BV as known by locals and Buena Vista as known by tourists wearing "San Francisco" sweaters and shorts. </div> <div> </div> <div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_BXojNtFWlgCnFJCEShyphenhyphenCY5kluRN_ds4RA94qS2DpNoObMKD1EgFMiyVpK1CZnD0hdmdlQDtMizfhlRno6KE1q7ytNsdfZ25tuJJckveFfVkYehuFUWtCbkzjNNeJCMNwLI9jnElg9DdS/s1600-h/P7220012.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362035794026627314" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_BXojNtFWlgCnFJCEShyphenhyphenCY5kluRN_ds4RA94qS2DpNoObMKD1EgFMiyVpK1CZnD0hdmdlQDtMizfhlRno6KE1q7ytNsdfZ25tuJJckveFfVkYehuFUWtCbkzjNNeJCMNwLI9jnElg9DdS/s320/P7220012.JPG" border="0" /></a></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div>Now this hat I bought myself for my birthday deserves to be explained. It's a 200 year old San Francisco naval officers hat and elicited an amazing amount of responses. Most drunk people want to pet it like it's a fluffy poodle but our favorite was the cute guitar carrying 20 something that was nearly giddy with appreciation "nice hat". :)</div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div></div> <div>Now let's talk music. Tran brought his laptop with his terabyte of music. I've been parusing and let me tell you that my wish to have new music for my Eastern Europe tour was more than answered. I had to go out and buy an external hard drive. I've been sifting through his large diva black woman songs to his country music collection and let me tell you, he has variety.</div> <div> </div> <div>Some great ones that you really must listen too are:</div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div>David Allen Coe: You never even called me by my name</div> <div> </div> <div>and</div> <div> </div> <div>Dynamite Hack: Boyz in the Hood</div> <div> </div> <div></div> <div> </div> <div>You will laugh hysterically. And that's pretty much what I've been doing since he landed. </div> <div></div> <div>And then he left, after 7 days of non stop fun....</div> <div></div> <div>....but came back again a week later for my baby shower!</div> <div></div></div>








Next stop Prague Sept 14th!

Motorcycle Diaries Yosemite May 09

Here begins the next big Special Agent Nancy trip...Eastern Europe this fall for 5 weeks. Now if you haven't subscribed to my blog yet, you might want to so that when I take a dive into a puddle of mud, you won't miss the fun.

Well actually to tell the story best, we must roll back the time to Spring 08. I decided on Eastern Europe and I wanted to see as much territory and the most remote, less toured places I could find. I found that in Cambodia, getting lost in little villages was an experience not to be missed.

So do I do planes, trains or automobiles? Well truthfully, none.

I decided to start riding motorcycles again. I had one 20 years ago for a few years and had not ridden since but it was time to try something new. I also had to find other crazy people like me to do it with. It's a long story but in a nutshell I found Hilary over the internet. Photo below.

She is from the Bay Area (I learned that after about 30 emails) but lives in Prague.

Here is her website.http://www.motorbikeventures.com/

We decided on a plan. 9 countries in 3 weeks. 1/3 off road 2/3 paved. 4 riders, dual sport bikes and enough whisky to dull the pain.

If you've not seen long way round or long way down, rent them. Hysterical and it will give you an idea of what we are up to.

Fast forward to May 09. Hilary visited the Bay Area and we finally met. We rented bikes (I a Honda Shadow 600 and her a Harley Sportster) and did a test ride to Yosemite.

Yes, we are smiling under our helmets.

Rode through the hell of the lower valley in some pretty awful heat. Here is a photo of us finally arriving on the 140.

Our last and final stop for gas and water. We are 20 minutes away. See those dark rain clouds in the background....oh yeah, good times ahead....

Of course, we got lost trying to find "The Bug" where we were staying for the night.

Riding a dirt/gravel road on a heavy cruiser is not fun....

Finally made it to the hostel after asking some really surprised boys walking along side that dirt rode where it was, we dropped all our gear and headed to the restaurant. It's a great place with cool bug sculptures all over.

Video of the hostel at 5:40 am

Woke up at 6am to get ready....gearing up, hungry. Cafe didn't open till 7am

But it was worth it. We felt like we had the park to ourselves....hardly anyone on the road!

Stopped off at the river running alongside route 140


Did a nice little loop in the main park

Drove through some great rock tunnels on the way through Tioga pass, newly opened.

Saw this gorgeous waterfall, well there are many in Yosemite and looking at that reminded me of how the sweat trickling down my body felt the day before but not nearly as refreshing.

Made it up to 8,000 feet and started to worry about black ice. Check out the snow drifts!

Found this gorgeous mirror lake, reminded me of the mirror lake I saw in New Zealand this past Fall.

Now I love finding stuff like this! Check out the signs on either side of the truck. Fantastic!

"No parking between these signs"

The Sportster 883 may have some power but it's got a little itsy bitsy gas tank and halfway through Tioga Hilary's low gas light goes on....and we see this.

But Hooray, just after that was a gas station. We were so relieved!

...and check out the price!

Hit a bird at 80mph right about here.


It sure was fun climbing boulders in full gear to get to this spot.


Finally after going through most of Tioga pass, all the way to May lake decided to turn around and find someplace to eat. Super hungry!

Found this cool little cafe called "Big Oak Cafe" which judging by all the signs in the restaurant should have been called" Big Sign Cafe"

and


And in closing I'll just say that Eastern Europe trip is a full speed ahead and I leave you with a photo of a lovely little water hole near our hostel...