So as I mentioned earlier, I finally got the keys to my apartment on Friday evening, a week after arriving in Cali. My apartment seems to be pretty good. I've now slept there for 4 nights and wake-up feeling like I don't want to get out of bed. If you know me well, you know that I have difficulty sleeping, let alone sleeping in a bed. And I just don't want to leave the comfort and warmth of my bed in this apartment. I think that says something. I must find out what kind of mattress it is before leaving...
On Friday evening after getting the keys to my apartment and lugging my three 50lb. bags up to my apartment, my dad and I went for dinner at a Thai restaurant. My favorite restaurant in Montreal was a Thai restaurant and so I compare all others to that one. Our food was good, and the company was great. :-) It's so nice to be able to spend time with my dad like this. It's almost like living in the same city with him. But when we lived in the same city, we never saw each other. So I think if we're ever in the same area again, I will make sure to see my dad more often.
After dinner, we went back to my apartment so my dad could see it and inspect everything. Upon trying to leave my apartment for dinner, I couldn't lock either of the locks on my door. There's a handle lock, but if you turn the handle really hard, it just pops the lock. Thus making it ineffective. There's also a deadbolt, but it seemed like the bolt and the hole just weren't aligned appropriately. So when my dad came back to my apartment, he looked at it for me and informed me it wasn't the door that was misaligned but my head. All you had to do was push the door back a little and the deadbolt slid right in. Hahaha!! It was definitely a blond moment for me. I'm glad that I didn't call maintenance or anything. :-)
My dad was checking out my cable TV, as he has been missing his since being in Cali for the last two months. And if you know my dad, you know that TV is the automatic way to put my dad to sleep. So he fell asleep on my couch and ended up staying the first night with me in my apartment. It was nice. It somehow made the apartment feel more like home. Meanwhile, I was unpacking those three very large suitcases and putting everything away. I'm a really organized person and generally hate chaos, especially in my apartment. I may collect lots of crap, but it all has a very specific place to go and is organized.
On Saturday morning, both my dad and I woke up pretty early so we got an early start. We went to breakfast and my dad helped me shop at Target for some items that I needed for my apartment. We then headed over to visit my stepmom's sister (I guess that makes her my step-aunt?). But then, I had to get ready to visit my gay boyfriend in SF...
The party at Mikey and Brett's was so much fun. I met some of their friends and hung out at their apartment. And let me just add that there would be a fantastic view from their multiple balconies on the three nice days out of the entire year in San Francisco. However, on Saturday night, you could not see much... not even their orange cat who slipped out of their apartment and tried to run away. Unfortunately because I had to get back at a some what decent hour, never mind the 45 minute drive back to my apartment, I didn't consume much alcohol with my drinking buddy. However, we will rectify that very soon. I laughed so much with all of the boys and had a great time. I can't wait to have many repeats of Saturday night. Oh, and it was Brett's birthday. I brought him some beer called, "Dead Guy Ale." I thought it would be funny because he's so old, he's practically dead (not really, just in gay man years). ;-) But Brett actually really likes that beer. And I did too... I may have consumed half of what I brought him. Oh well. ;-)
Sunday was an amazing day. There's no other way to say it. My dad came over to my apartment at 7am. (I know, sacrilege on the weekend. But what can you do??) We went to Philz Coffee for coffee and breakfast.... yum!!! Seriously, this coffee is un-freakin-believable!! It's to-die-for!! Anyways, afterward, we hit the road for a 2 hour road trip south to Monterey Bay. The drive was pretty fantastic. There was sunshine and blue skies for part of the way, fog and cloudiness, mountains, farm land with cabbage, strawberries, and artichokes, and the ocean. So we got to see a little bit of everything. We arrived in Monterey Bay and spent some time walking around Fisherman's Wharf. I also took a pic of my dad as Forest Gump. See below.
Then my friend from high school, Jeremy, and his family met up with us to tour the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It is a cool aquarium, but the Baltimore National Aquarium still ranks number one in my mind. However, the one notable exhibit was the jellyfish. I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E! I never knew so many kinds of jellyfish existed. Moreover, I didn't realize there were practically microscopic jellyfish. And the lighting they used was phenomenal. This was definitely my favorite part.
Once we finished, both my dad and I were really hungry. Jeremy and his family had already left to have lunch so that left just me and my dad to figure out what we were going to do. My dad suggested that we drive to Half Moon Bay for lunch. I asked how far it is, and he said it's like 45 minutes. Mind you, every time I drive north from Palo Alto going towards the airport or the city, I see the signs for Half Moon Bay. And it look us 2 hours south to get to Monterey Bay from Palo Alto. However, I just assumed that maybe the signs I saw were to go towards Half Moon Bay but it wasn't necessarily located close to the signs. Well, three hours later, we finally find our destination. Hmph. I was about to gnaw off my own arm. Then we went entered the restaurant, we were informed that they weren't seating for dinner for another 30 minutes. What?!? As a side note, the reason why we ate at this restaurant is because my dad remembered eating there back in the 70s. The 70s, people! What restaurant do you know lasts for over 30 years?!?! I might have been committed for murder had that restaurant not still existed. But luckily my dad's life was spared on Sunday because they let us order appetizers while we waited for our table.
However, despite my hunger pains and practically wasting away, the three-hour drive was awesome. Apparently, we selected the scenic route which goes along the coast of California. For most of the drive, we were in sunshine and saw cloudless blue skies. We could see tons of cyclists, surfers, boogie boarders, and kites. It was quite the spectacle!
Back to the restaurant... Let me tell you... it was totally worth the wait. We had some of the best seafood ever - seafood chowder, crab cakes, salmon filet with mango and avocado salsa. Yum!! So good. We were even going to spring for dessert because all of the other food was so good but realized that we just couldn't fit one more ounce of food in our bellies. The restaurant is called Miramar Beach Restaurant, and it's just wonderful. If you're ever in the area, this is a must-try. Here are some pictures from dinner...
So there you have it. My wonderful weekend with my daddy. :-) He decided to stay one more weekend and go sightseeing with me in San Francisco. Plus, I think we're going to have dinner with my in-laws on Friday. Another fun-filled weekend with the fam!
P.S. I did some major retail therapy this week at the Stanford Shopping center. And I feel so much better! ;-)
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