San Francisco Days

Our days in the Bay Area (and beyond) were filled with films, festivals, food- lots and lots of it, friends, and fun! I swear we both gained a good 5 pounds each.

We started off our time celebrating my birthday with (carrot) cake, of course. Then visited friends, did some shopping, re-packed some gear, etc. After all, our next trip takes us from Newry, Ireland, latitude 52 (like Juno, Alaska) to Lankawi, Malaysia, latitude 2 (the equator is 0)! Can you say bikinis and Parkas!

The highlights;
-Brian flew into Phoenix, picked up the van and drove back to the Bay Area via Yosemite. He drove all night and arrived at 9:30am the next morning to surprise his mother, who was in the park for a day. He met her at the Awanehee hotel for brunch. She was floored as she thought he was in Mexico.
-A quick trip up to Tahoe ensued, where we sipped champagne directly on the lake. No, we didn't win big, or anything at all. Oh, well, next time!
-Another one was a Giants (day) game. Giants lost due to sloppy infield play.
-We also managed to get in a couple of movies - The Hangover (hilarious) and Star Trek (of course - great).
-We took a walk on the beach (Fort Funston in San Francisco). I know, we know, can't get enough of the beach and just love this one.
-Summer Sailstice, A huge sail experience event held at Treasure Island, on the longest day of the year, in our yacht club parking lot. Lots of people, sailboats, rides, treasure hunts, fun bands, good BBQ, and strong drinks, as Brian and I were the yacht club bartenders!
-For Father's day, I treated my Dad (and Mom & Brian) to a trip to the newly re-done Cal Academy of Science in Golden Gate Park. And what a treat it was, for everyone! Fishes, and Penguins and living rooftops oh my!
-We rounded out our time back in California with a quick trip up to Napa, getting the grand tour of our friend’s new house.
-On our last evening we dined in SF or should I say feasted, for what one would call, the last supper. Oh, and another 5 pound gain!

Sorry if we didn’t get to see you in SF as we were there for just a couple of weeks and we did have to pack for our next trip.

Yours Truly - the FAT Kat ~ Meow
Enjoy the pictures and blog at you later. Off to Ireland we go!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/katnbrian/sets/72157620551359921/

You Say it's your Birthday...

Dun an una una.... Yes, today is the all kitties birthday (my kitty girls Morta & Bella celebrate on this day too)! Meow! and in true kitty style I'll be having tuna and cake, but not neccassarily together or in that order :)

How old am I, you ask? Is that in human years or kitty years? Well, lets see. In kitty years, I take my age and divide by 9 (lives that is)! So, I'll be 4 ish. Oooo, that multiply not divide. Okay so in human years I am 39 or 3x3 which is 9 and 3 is my lucky number and it is the year 2009, and I was born on the 9th day in June (which is a 6 but it's 3+3 so it's still okay)....

Meow!

La Paz, Part II

So Brian and I find ourselves back in La Paz, again. Not to fret, as we really like the city. It is colorful city with its long bay front walkway (malecon). Many aquatic sculptures are on display along the beach. La Paz has many good restaurants but they have the best fish taco carts in all of Mexico. A fun fact, La Paz (LP), just celebrated is 474th anniversary as a city. Wow! That is older than the first settlement in the USA. That would be Jamestown in 1608. As long as we are talking history, La Paz was settled by Cortes in 1535 but by 1570 it had become a resting port for the British pirates who preyed on the Spanish galleons returning from Manila. The galleons would sail due east for the Philippines and hit the California coast. Then they would turn south for Acapulco and when they sailed past Cabo San Lucas the Brits would raid them.

That was then and this is now. Settling in, our standard routine became going to the pool, drinking margaritas & evening cocktails, and catching a current movie. Well, it was 101 degrees out, not much else you could do. Life was good and the movies are cheap! We saw Angels and Demons for a total of $12 US including popcorn, drink, hotdog, a 2 cheese crepe, and a bag of cashews. However, it wasn't going to last forever and we needed to find our next gig. To the Internet, batman!

Cruising through (he, he, just a little cruising pun) the net, and numerous crew finder lists, we come upon some interesting stuff. In the end we decided to go with a 3 month gig from Northern Ireland, Latitude 52N, to Malaysia, Latitude 2.3N.

We tentatively leave out of SF, June 21st! Yes, we're back!

Meow & the Man

Books I've read so far....

Just so everyone knows, I am not a book reader. I have read more books in 8 months, than I have in the last 20 years total. I prefer the trashy magazines that I can complete in a couple of hours by the pool. My attention span is just not that long people - Meow! So, this is a huge accomplishment for me, and I am quite proud. Not to mention, I'm kinda into it!

Here's the Kat's List:

American Wife by Curtis Steinfield - This is a lose fictional story about Laura Bush. It was okay. I just couldn't get over the visual imagery and love story with W (Bush). I know, it's fiction.

The Grass Dancer by Susan Power - This is a disjointed story with no real plot or climax based on the Native American Lore. Each chapter and story is good, but the author doesn't really pull it all together for the reader in the end. At least for me, it felt unresolved, but it had great promise.

Fatal Tide by Iris Johansen - Great adventure on the sea involving dolphins and sunken treasure, oh my! Highly Recommended

Special Circumstances by Sheldon Siegel - Great murder mystery, lawyer book, set in San Francisco. Highly Recommended

Playing for Pizza by John Grisham - Easy, fun read set in Italy about American football, and I liked it! Recommended

The Purfect Murder by Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown (this is the author's cat- no joke) - This is a fun, good read. It's murder mystery where the animals have dialog. Anything with talking cats, I'm gonna love. Anyhow, this is part of a series of murder mysteries. The latest one out. Recommended

Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell - This was a fun, well written, easy read. It was like a magazine, trashy, and juicy with rich characters. Recommended

Hot by Julia Harper- this was labeled a "Modern Romance" but I didn't realize it until I got to the sex scene parts. Anyhow, really enjoyable bank robbery, cat and mouse type read. Highly Recommended

Boomsday by Christopher Buckley - This is a political satire, very witty, and funny about baby boomers coming to retirement age. This is a must Read! Highly recommended!

Cat on the Scent by Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown - Another in the series, this one early than the last one, but my favorite out of the two so far. The cats have more dialog, and the murder mystery is better. Highly recommended!

Body Movers: 2 Bodies for the Price of 1 by Stephanie Bond - Actually, I am just in the middle of this one now but I am really liking it. You might have to wait for the final judgement however, until I am back on a boat with no tv :)! Still out for review

Count 'em - that's 11 books! OMG, and you thought kitties couldn't read! ~MEOW

State closing Parks!

Did you hear, the state government decided to close all the state parks in the bay area, and others state wide?

I signed, did you?

Sign the petition:http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/save-california-state-parks-from-closure