john and hiroe: January 2006

Japan Center 12/31/05

Or our way back to Berkeley for dinner, we stopped a Japan Center. We had heard that Japan town was not very safe and only 10% of the residents are Japanese. But we had to stop to check it out. When we first went in we were amazed that it felt like Japan, the scenery and the people. Until we realized most of the people were Korean.

Hiroe was very happy to find her pencil caps here.

And she was even happier to find the Japanese book store.

California driving 12/31/05

When driving around in California, there are always entertaining sights... like this van we saw in Golden Gate Park. My guess is it's been slept in every night since 1968.

And then there are restaurants with interesting menus. We guessed they meant to say they served the dish "Shabu Shabu." But that is just a guess. Or maybe it's the type of music they play.

de Young Museum 12/31/05

After the Legion of Honor, we went to the de Young Museum. It 's a controversial musem in the Bay Area mostly because people think it's ugly. And it was expensive to build. At any rate, it had a nice view at the top. And some nice pieces on display. We didn't have much time there as the museum was almost closed, and we were really hungry.

Legion of Honor Museum 12/31/05

On Saturday morning we went to the Legion of Honor Museum near Golden Gate park. The museum was nice, but it was even nicer to bening enjoying the sunny warmer weather again.

Monterey Bay Aquarium 12/30/05

On Friday we were able to make it to the Monterey Bay aquarium. There was so much to see and do. Hiroe had a wet jacket sleeve for most of the day for some reason.

I was able to take this cool picture of a Mediterranean Jellyfish. I think it's worthy of being a postcard. Let me know if you want to buy one. I need to justify my cool camera by making some money with the pictures.

Unfortunately, while at the aquarium we received a call that the owners of the house we were staying at were coming home. So we had to head back to Berkeley. I tried to take this picture of the marina as we were leaving, but Hiroe really wanted to be in the picture. I couldn't pass up the opportunity since most of the time she wants to be out of the photograph.

Ghirardelli 12/29/05

In the afternoon we visited Ghirardelli. What a wonderful place... mostly because of the free samples. And the white chocolate hot chocolate with marshmallows was fabulous. Again, too many families, though. It must have been family week in San Francisco. And we didn't bring Soba.

Yes, Hiroe is in the picture...

Muir Woods 12/29/05 Morning

On Thursday morning, we decided to go to Muir Woods. It is a forest filled with extremely old redwood trees. Tall, wide, and so calming. It's usually very quiet there, but it seemed like it was famliy day. We took one of the longer walks to avoid the people. Occassionally we'd pass someone who looked very tired. They'd ask us how much farther to the parking lot. We thought about saying they were hours and hours from the cars. But that would be mean.

Berkeley 12/28/05

On Wednesday our plan was to head to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We didn't make it there, but did spend time in Berkeley. We ate at a fabulous Indian restaurant. Across from the restaurant is this interesting little cafe.

Here Hiroe is enjoying the shade of a tree on the University of California Berkeley campus. A very nice place to study.

More campus.

We then decided to drive Skyline Boulevard along the mountain top to the east of the bay. A very beautiful drive.

I could live on this street. Two guys asked what we were taking a picture of. I said the street. They said, "Why?" I guess if you see it everyday it's nothing special.

Fisherman's Warf evening 12/27/05

After returning from Alcatraz, we headed back to fisherman's warf. First off, the people are very entertaining. Like the guy below, he had many glowing and flashing things for sale. And he seemed to be having fun.

And the shops are lively too. Lots of expensive junk.

But the bread. The sourdough bread. Fantastic. We had fresh sourdough bread every morning for breakfast.

Clam chowder in a bread bowl...

More of the fisherman's warf market...

Alcatraz 12/27/05

On Tuesday evening we took a cruise to Alcatraz. It was very cloudy, but it never rained. It actually was a beautiful evening. And very educational too. We even took a night tour of the Alcatraz hospital. The guide carried a lantern since there were only a few lights.

SF MOMA morning 12/27/05

On Tuesday morning we went to San Francisco MOMA. Very enjoyable. Our observations included how well organized the museum is, and how easy it is to find your way around. Quite different from the Metropolitan museum.