Sorry to have taken so long to write -- my roomie took her computer away with her for the weekend...

Thanks to a recommendation from Steve, on Friday we had a DELICIOUS lunch at Scoma's on Pier 47. I had the delight of ordering Roasted Whole Cracked Dungeness Crab, which for the unintiated, is a bowl with an assortment of crab parts (still in the shell) soaked in garlic, butter, and olive oil. YUM. They serve it with shell-crackers and a long thin fork, but there is no possible way to eat it politely, and so in no time I was so covered in garlic, butter and olive oil that I could not pick up my drink for the duration of the meal for fear of sling-shooting it out of my greasy hands. But the great thing about lobsters and crabs is that they make a meal not just a meal but a *process*, and so at the end of it you feel like you've really accomplished something.

I've also had some great wines: St. Francis, Kendall Jackson (a House family favorite), and Ironstone Chardonnays, as well as 2-Buck-Chuck -- a particular type of Merlot sold at Trader Joe's out here. It's produced by Charles Shaw, who had such a prolific vineyard year that he can afford to sell a really delicious Merlot at 2 bucks a pop (hence the nickname). It may be the only time in my early life where I could go buy a whole case.

The great thing about having Chad here for a long time was that he wanted to really see San Francisco, so see it we did. In addition to the things I've already listed, we went back to the wharf area to get a Ghiradelli sundae, explored the exploratorium (excellent good fun for all 5 senses), got to know Noe Valley pretty intimately, saw Finding Nemo at last ("Mine! Mine! Mine? Mine!") as well as Pirates of the Caribbean (quite funny, actually!), bought Skecher's rollerskates (4 wheelers, baby -- on sale for the ridiculously low price of 2 pairs for $35) and SKATED through much of Golden Gate Park (hard work -- but worth it) where we experienced the rose gardens and the lakes and ponds, checked out some italian food at North Beach (where the Jazz festival is coming up this Wednesday through the weekend) and walked through Chinatown, watched "Hero" on dvd with Leslie (unbelievably gorgeous cinematography, with a style and storyline not unlike Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon -- rent it if you can, it's an escape unlike any other) after walking around her neighborhood a bit, saw Chad's friend play in a band in Berkeley, and basically did a lot of walking, talking, eating, and exploring.

After he left, I also went to the 25th annual Garlic Festival in Gilroy -- the most delicious day you'll spend anywhere, at least until the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin festival -- where we sampled everything from pasta to kettle corn to ice cream -- that's right, ice cream -- flavored with Garlic!! Gilroy is south of S.F. so it was a whopping 104 degrees. We started sagging pretty quickly, though the occasional fruit smoothie and bowl of shaved ice resurrected us every now and then. They had great t-shirts, mostly along the lines of "eat, drink and stink," but we all wanted to save our cash for food, and it was well worth it. (Steve and Mom -- you need to time a visit for the festival next year. It's your kind of shindig.) The cool bonus to going to the festival was that Vida Long, one of my Wes teammates and good friends and a native Washington Stater, happened to be driving up from a visit to L.A., so she met us there and then followed us home. I got to spend most of this morning walking around Haight street with her -- perhaps one of the last key areas in San Fran that I haven't visited yet -- wacky, fun shops. I didn't buy anything -- buying's for people who have jobs! -- but I certainly know where to go to shop from now on.

In small world news: while waiting for the other half of our party to show up at Finding Nemo, I ran into none other than Bear Witherspoon, an old friend from Rumsey (grade school). The last time I saw was in EIGHTH GRADE, and to his credit, he recognized me and came over to talk to me. I'm hoping to have a meal with him some time this week...

It's been a really fun July, but now that I'm on my own again, this week and all of August is all business. I have some great leads, and I hope to have some interviews lined up by the end of this week. Take care!