Patrick and Lauren Wedding in San Diego - September 2018

At Patrick and Lauren's wedding

We were thrilled to hear that Patrick and Lauren were engaged, and even more thrilled that they included us in the occasion!

Ceremony

It was an easy flight to San Diego - 50 mins in the air and we were on the coast.  We had bought a late afternoon flight so landed by 4:30 and were at the Indigo Hotel in Del Mar by 5:30pm.  We both needed a shower - then walked the 15 minutes to dinner at Sbicca, just the two of us.  We sat upstairs and outside - gorgeous temperature.  We ordered several shared plates including tacos, meatballs, shishito peppers and brussel sprouts.  The food was good, but not excellent.  We finished a bit early so walked down to the beach before walking back up and meeting the wedding party at Il Fornio.  We chatted with Patrick's parents and sister before going over to Enoteca Del Fornio where we had a few glasses of wine.  It was there that we chatted with Diego (Patrick's former roommate), John and Terry (Keith knew them from St Vincent's), and Chris (in Patrick's High School class).  It was good to chat with them all.

View on hike in Torrey Pines

The next morning, we had breakfast in the restaurant at the hotel before embarking on a 2.5 hour walk to and through Torrey Pines - ending up on the Beach and Razor Point trails.  It was a beautiful walk along the beach and then through the park - and helped burn off some of the wine from the night before.  Lunch was just a couple of granola bars.  We showered, dressed, and walked the 15 minutes over to the wedding, stopping by Starbucks for an iced tea and L'Auberge to take a picture at the bar by the outdoor fireplace where a colleague of Keith's had her first date with her now husband.  The wedding was at the Del Mar Powerhouse on the beach.  They advertised that the bar was open before the wedding ceremony - a stroke of genius that we did not think of for our own wedding!  We carefully arranged ourselves on the back row - so we could take pictures w/o interrupting but also so we could be first at the bar after the ceremony was over.  In true Patrick and Lauren fashion, the ceremony was casual but very sweet - their friend who officiated was terrific and their vows beautiful - complete with a couple of laughs.  The food was delicious and the dancing and music a blast as we both cut a rug on the dance floor.  There was an after-party at Jimmy-Os - we stopped by for a few minutes but it was proof we are too old - because it was too loud!

Gang at the wedding

On Sunday morning, we had breakfast again at the hotel restaurant and did another hike in Torrey Pines - this time on the Parry Grove and Guy Fleming trails.  We showered back at the room and checked out before storing our luggage and walking out for a sushi lunch at Shimbashi, back at Del Mar Plaza.  On the way home, we were thrilled to bump into Patrick and Lauren who were grabbing a burrito lunch alone.  We chatted for 10 minutes and then they walked us back to the hotel - it was great to get at least a little bit of time alone with them during the weekend!  Sadly, we were then off to the airport after 48 hours in SoCal - but the trip did remind us that we would love to live there some day!

Torrey Pines Hike

NYC for Alex Feinberg Bar Mitzvah - Sept 2018

Fun photo booth at the party!

The last time we were in New York City, we had dinner with Kim/Tom and Mark/Alicia.  Over dinner, Mark mentioned that the four of us would be invited to their son Alex's Bar Mitzvah.  So a year and four months later, we were attending our very first one!

We were both on the road the week before the event: Shawna in Minneapolis and Keith in Vegas.  So, we both arrived in NYC on the Thursday night separately - Shawna checking into the AC Marriott Times Square in the late evening, with Keith crawling in to bed at 1:30am.  The hotel was pretty cool - the bed super comfortable, the room and bathroom spacious, and the lobby airy.  We did both manage to get up on the Friday for a workout: Shawna to the hotel gym and Keith to do a live Jennifer Jacobs 80s ride at the Peloton Studio.  The rest of Friday we both worked: Shawna in the room and Keith in the lobby of the hotel.  The day did include one celebrity sighting: Katie Couric passed through the lobby.  Keith was well behaved and did not run up to her to say he saw her on the tarmac at the airport in the Galapagos!  We wrapped up our work day at about 4pm and managed to squeeze in a power nap - which helped set Keith up for a later night than otherwise!

Slate - Bar Mitzvah Party

After receiving text updates from Kim and Tom who were also staying in the same hotel, we showered and headed up to the rooftop bar at our hotel for a few drinks before dinner.  We were a bit earlier than the cool crowd so were able to get a prime table and chatted before heading to dinner at Cosme.  The style is contemporaneous Mexican - it was very flavorful with quite a few veggie options for Kim.  Of course, the veggie items were very flavorful so we "helped" Kim out!  The food was served as shared plates, with the best being the duck with tortillas.  We were able to make it through three bottles of Albarino over dinner, and then made the "wise" decision to have a final glass of wine back on the hotel rooftop before bed.

Feinbergs

On Saturday morning, Keith did a quick run to Starbucks for caffeine and breakfast before we met Kim and Tom in the lobby at 8:45.  The first stop was Tom's office to grab his jacket, then a store to get Alex a card, and then over to Temple Shaaray Tefila for the 2 hour service.  We had never been to temple before so it was really interesting - and the rabbi and cantor were fantastic.  We skipped the Kiddush luncheon and instead went next door to Calexico for a Mexican lunch.  We all decided a nap was in order before going to Central Park for a walk.  We walked the bridle path for a softer surface and stumbled upon our old favorite singer Guitar Man.  We listened to him a bit: it appears that his songs and stories are roughly the same as 20 years ago - though age seems to have motivated him to wear a shirt now!  After the walk, we were back at the hotel to change for the evening's festivities at Slate.  The event started in the lower level with appetizers and drinks, then moved upstairs for the dancing and dinner.  Just like Mark and Alica's wedding, Keith was unaware that the appetizers were not the main dinner!  The evening was pretty cool - and Alex and his friends danced the night away. We got silly trying on all of the party favors that lit up! We wrapped up the evening with a drink on the rooftop bar at our hotel again.

On Sunday, we met Kim and Tom for a walk again - this time down the west side - starting at Hudson Yards and finishing at World Trade Center.  We saw the fountains at WTC and then went into the new Westfield Mall and transportation hub to take the subway back to the hotel. Our last stop on the weekend agenda was to meet Carmen at Demarchlier on the upper east side. It was a good lunch and fun to catch up - then we took a cab - first to Penn Station for Shawna to train up to Hartford, then Keith went to Newark for a flight back to Vegas.

Walk along West Side

Point Reyes - Labor Day Weekend - Sept 2018

Happy Campers

For this Labor Day weekend, we rented a house in the Point Reyes area with Rakesh and Simran.  Simran had been eyeing this house that she wanted to try so we booked it.  It was a very relaxing weekend filled with walks, biking, and lots of eating!

Marshall, CA

We both arrived in San Fran (on separate flights) on Thursday night with Shawna arriving first in time to have dinner with Rakesh, Simran and Ria. Simran made hamburgers which shrunk quite a bit and looked lost on the bun and while we made fun of them, they were still tasty!  Keith arrived shortly before bed so he said his quick hellos and then we all went to sleep.

Ranch at Straus House

On Friday, we took care of a few calls in the morning and then drove off in separate cars, stopping first to rent a bike for Keith.  We stopped in Petaluma to have lunch at Della Fattoria - we had been to their farm to table dinner a few times.  The restaurant is lovely and the food was really good - we ordered a bunch of salads and appetizers that we all shared with a bottle of wine.

Della Fattoria

After lunch, we bought a few food items in town for the house and then went wine tasting in Sebastopol.  First stop was Merry Edwards which is Shawna's favorite Sauvignon Blanc (she bought two bottles for the house) - Keith unfortunately had to do a call so he missed this tasting.  Second stop was Emeritus which has a nice modern tasting room and a yummy Rose and Pinot Noir - Simran joined their wine club so we could get a few bottles of the Rose which is limited to wine club owners only.

Merry Edwards Winery

On our way to the house, we stopped at Bohemian Creamery and did the 'speed' tasting of all of their cheeses - we settled on three to buy for the house.  We then drove to the house (Straus Home Ranch) which is located in Marshall on a farm across the road from the bay.  It is owned by the owners of Straus Family Creamery which sells dairy products in CA.  The house was beautiful with four bedrooms upstairs and two living rooms, a dining room and a fabulous kitchen downstairs.  After getting settled in, we drove into Point Reyes Station to fuel up on groceries for the weekend.  We then had dinner at Nick's Cove, a great restaurant very close to the house, located on the bay and known for their drinks.  We shared a few appetizers for the table and then Keith and Shawna shared the scallops for an entree.  All of the food was very good.

Straus Home Ranch

After breakfast on Saturday, the boys went for a bike ride into Point Reyes Station while the girls went for a hike at the Tomales Bay Trail and then went into town to walk around and grab a coffee.  We met back at the house in time for Ria and Simran's parents as well as Stacie and her boys (Luca and Mateo) to join us for the day.  We had lunch at the house outside with salads, cheese and bread followed by a tour of the farm given by one of the owners.  We went inside the barn which had been renovated for events and then walked into the field to see (and attempt to pet) the cows.  We were all shocked that Simran's mom was in the pasture with us, given her affinity for cleanliness!

Lunch at the House

That afternoon, we relaxed and then cooked dinner - steak with mushrooms, grilled veggies, mashed potatoes and homemade peach and berry pie (courtesy of Stacie).  Everything was delicious.  With the wine flowing, we took the opportunity to take some funny selfies!  After dinner, Stacie and her family as well as Simran's parents drove back to San Fran.

Silly Selfies

Dinner at the House

After breakfast on Sunday, the boys went for another bike ride - this time much longer.  The girls drove out to Dillon Beach and walked along the beach for over an hour.  Unfortunately, on the way back, they got stuck in Tomales as they were having their Founder's Day Parade and would not let any cars through.  So they made lemonade out of lemons and parked the car, watched the parade and got some food at the food stalls - tacos, chili and meatball sandwich.  There was no cell reception (which was a challenge all weekend) so Shawna had to 'steal' wifi from a cafe to send a note to the boys to let them know to have lunch on their own back at the house.  The parade finally ended and the girls met the boys back at home.

Dillon Beach

The girls then drove back into Point Reyes Station to walk around, check out the shops and to pick up Ria's friend, Etta, who stayed with us Sunday night.  We also stopped and bought some oysters at The Marshall Store.  Ria and Etta challenged Rakesh and Keith to a balloon and water gun fight - despite all of their planning, Ria and Etta were defeated!  That evening, we had oysters for an appetizer - Shawna tried them for the first time in a very long time and enjoyed them - much to her surprise.  Rakesh also made a pasta with sausage and veggies - very yummy.  After dinner, we played Taboo - Shawna won.

Oysters - Yum!

Monday was a bit lazier.  After breakfast and lounging around in the morning, we drove out to Bodega Bay, walked along the beach and had lunch at the Fishetarian Fish Market - we shared the clam chowder and fish tacos.  We returned back to the house for a nap before we packed up and drove back to San Fran.  That evening, Simran's mom made us chicken biryani which was amazing!

Beach at Bodega Bay

On Tuesday, Keith had a meeting in Menlo Park so Shawna worked from the house and then we both met up at the airport that evening to fly home.