We came back from Cali, Cali

I'm slowly relaxing my hands from the permanently gripped-on-the-steering-wheel position they've been in for the past ten days or so, and feeling pretty lucky to live in humane and utterly easy-going Portland.

Which is not to imply that we had anything less than a stellar vacation. (Well, the squid- and pizza-induced food poisonings were not lifetime highs...) Otherwise, though, it was a great trip and we got to see lots of our great friends who, for some reason, don't live here.

Photos are still to come, but I thought I'd run down a few highlights while they're still fresh in my mind.


Chihuly at the deYoung - While the deYoung's collection wasn't too impressive, its Golden Gate Park setting and 9th-story observation deck were lovely. The Chihuly exhibit started out fairly modestly, but built to a spectacular, immersive display of glass in all colors, shapes and sizes.

 

Barbary Coast Trail - We love a good self-guided walking tour (yes, we're geeks when it comes to travel, too), and this one did not disappoint. Within about four miles, you see Chinatown, Coit Tower (great WPA murals and fantastic, though foggy, views), the cafes and Beat hangouts of North Beach and the Embarcadero. We took a slight detour to the Ferry Building for a delicious lunch.



Disneyland - This was a big surprise for both of us. Neither of us had ever been, and we definitely wanted to go once, but we honestly expected to find ourselves trapped in an overly commercialized, hellishly crowded and overpriced nightmare. Instead, we found D-land to be surprisingly compact, freakishly un-crowded, and pretty darned charming. In fact, I think we had a magical day.

More to come!