Love Happens

Jerry and I had some fun adventures in San Francisco this weekend. We stayed at the Warwick Hotel on Geary,(this is the bed we slept in) just a couple of blocks from Union Square. I love Union Square.

Saturday we saw "Jersey Boys" at the Curran Theatre directly across the street from our hotel. Talk about convenient. Jerry did good. It was a great show about the Four Seasons, how they got started, got famous, and all the trials and tribulations they went through. Those boys did not have an easy time. Of course, since Jerry is a Jersey boy himself and he also had his beginnings singing on the street corners just like they did, it was extra special for us. Having him embellish the details of that lifestyle, back east, back then, really enriches my understanding. I appreciate him and his roots so much. The Four Seasons songs were some of my favorites when I was young so it was great hearing them songs performed live, in a play about their lives. It's always nice to feel like you've touched someone a little closer.

Sunday was the Carnival Parade on Mission. This years theme was Love Happens. It was cold all day but we hung in there for the whole parade and eat garlic fries afterwards at the street faire. Even ran into some Chico friends too. We were exhausted when we made it back to our hotel room and napped for a good two hours or more before dinner. We found the perfect food at "The King of Thai Noodle" right on the same block. And for a mere $23. we feasted on Soup, Spring Rolls, Pad Thai and Thai Iced Tea.
Later we headed out to Aunt Charlie's on Taylor and Turk for the "Hot Boxxx Girl" drag show. Problem was though, the paper had it wrong and the shows are on Friday and Saturday nights only. Darn. I was really disappointed as we saw one of these shows a few years back and they are great. I encourage everyone to check out Aunt Charlie's if you are in San Francisco but beware, this is a dive bar in a seedy neighborhood. The folks inside are very sweet though.

We ended up at Borders on Union Square and I bought a book called "Against the Stream, A Buddhist Manual For Spiritual Revolutionaries" by Noah Levine which I fell asleep with. I'd do a review of it on this blog when I'm finished.

Sunday morning we had coffee and french pastries in Union Square. These are two of the four cool hearts at each of the four corners of the square. I thought they went along with the Carnival theme.

I really enjoy The San Francisco Art Exchange, on Geary within those same two blocks from our hotel to Union Square. They had a great show called "The Last Mile", photography of Steve McQueen, taken by this wife Barbara McQueen. Also, an Alberto Vargas retrospective...remember the Vargas Girls in the old playboy magazines? My favorite is "Girl With Yellow Bird". He painted it in 1922, the year of my mother's birth. I planned on uploading this picture to show you but they've corrupted the file or something so I can't

We packed up our room and headed for the Haight. Jerry always needs a good hour plus fix at Amoeba Music when we are in the city, looking at used CDs while I check out various little shops on Haight Street. We bought some Burningman clothes at Goodwill for 50%. I found a beautiful ankle length, wool/Alpaca/mohair blend coast from Yugoslavia for $9. Just what I was looking for to keep me warmth on those cold playa nights.

We eat pizza--OK, is this unusual or what--pesto pizza with slices of potato? So strange I had to try it and it worked surprisingly OK, not great but not bad either. I also indulged in a double ice cream cone (chocolate fudge brownie on top, coffee on bottom) from Ben and Jerry's right on the corner of Haight and Ashbury before we headed home for our grandson's sixth birthday party. Happy Birthday sweetheart.