West Coast Roadtrip, Jul-11-2011

On Monday, I went in to work at Apple Cupertino. Most of that, I can't talk about, so this will be a short entry. But I think I can mention that Apple offers a very nice motorcoach service for commuters from San Francisco, with comfortable chairs and WiFi networking. Unfortunately, the nearest stop was over a mile from Potrero Hill, so I had a long walk and no breakfast but a bagel form Whole Foods.
One detail of the ride down the peninsula particularly struck me: San Francisco had been foggy and damp, but somewhere around San Bruno, the weather changed dramatically to cloudless blue sky.

Lori, I believe, spent most of the day doing laundry. It was rather a boring day, but I think it actually helped us a great deal to have a low-key day in the middle of a great many days of excitement.

Jeff and Laura and Charlotte joined us for dinner at Goat Hill Pizza in Potrero Hill.


Monday night is their pizza variety night, when instead of making you the pizzas you specifically order, servers wander among the tables bearing trays of pizza from which you may sample what you like. I wrote down a list of the varieties we encountered, but I can't clearly remember which varieties I tried, or what they were like. I do remember that I liked the light, crisp, crust.
Pesto and roasted garlic
Bacon, tomato, roasted garlic, garlic cream sauce
Sundried tomato, feta, artichoke
Tomato basil
Ground beef and green onion
Artichoke and garlic
Goat cheese, pesto, tomato
Meat lover's
Pepperoni, black olive, mushroom
Chicken
Chicken pesto pineapple



This is also a good time to mention the lovely views of the city from Potrero Hill. This is the view from the top of the block of Eric and Patricia's House:


The house itself doesn't have such good views, because other buildings get in the way. But they have mounted a mirror in one hallway so that it reflects the view from a high window. It's an excellent touch of interior design.

West Coast Roadtrip, Jul-12-2011

On Tuesday, I went down to Apple again. I got a t-shirt that says, "I visited the Apple campus, and that's all I'm allowed to say."

Lori and Laura got together; they went shopping and indulged in tea at the Crown and Crumpet Tea Room. I hope that Lori can chronicle her tea, because our notes say "all exemplary" with out much detail.

We joined Laura and Jeff again for dinner. Laura suggested Picante, a Mexican restaurant with a focus on fresh, local food.


I had the chorizo y papas and a manchamanteles taco. I'd never heard of manchamanteles before; the menu described it as "'tablecloth stainer' chicken in a red mole". It surprised me by being fairly bland and flavorless.


Lori chose flavorful enchiladas with mole sauce, and had her first sample of jamaica agua fresca. ("Jamaica" in this context means hibiscus flowers.) The jamaica was essentially an iced tea made from hibiscus flowers, reasonably tasty but not a rare delight.