The night I mastered chopsticks

SF is bursting with restaurants of all types! Our first night in town, my friend and I went to the sushi bar just around the corner from our hotel. I am happy to report that this was the first time I have had relative success in using chopsticks!! My friend is from Japan, and is a natural with chopsticks. So she was able to provide me with some very helpful advice about chopsticks technique...not to mention some really great sushi choices!



Yakitori - another Japanese specialty - is meat of all types barbecued on skewers. We ordered Kaori's favorite to share...chicken liver! I learned it is good to be open to try new foods. Yakitori chicken liver is quite delicious.



And a few more pictures unrelated to Japanese food! We also went to the SF aquarium while exploring the city on Sunday. Below...enjoying the touch and feel starfish pool at the end of the tour.



The SF aquarium has these very cool tunnels that you walk through, allowing you to watch the fish swim all around you. I was particularly impressed by the massive school of fish pictured below.



And here's a video of the school of fish. You have to turn your head to the left since the video is on its side.

Cable Cars

At the cable car turnaround just outside of our hotel.



En route to Fisherman's Wharf...the view from the cable car while going down one of the many steep hills in San Francisco.



Sunset view of the Golden Gate Bridge. No fog tonight!

A foggy day in San Francisco

One of the nicest perks of a grad student's life is the opportunity to visit fun cities under the premise of "professional development". I am currently in San Francisco attending the annual meeting of The Gerontological Society of America. Today, my friend Kaori and I took the day off from the conference and enjoyed exploring the city. We even had personal tour guides! My sister-in-law's sister and her husband live in San Jose, and they came up to SF for the afternoon to show us around. It's been years since I last saw Connie!


The historic cable cars of San Francisco.


That famous steep and twisted San Francisco street...Lombard Street. The hills of SF are very steep indeed! The hill leading up to my apartment in MA is practically flat in comparison!


Our view of the Golden Gate Bridge. The fog was so thick that you couldn't even see the top of the towers when driving across the bridge.


The painted Victorian homes of SF. For my generation, this image is forever connected with the TV sitcom, Full House.


Fisherman's Wharf at night and the lounging sea lions (sort of hard to see in the picture, but they are the dark lumps on the pilings.

She's Married!

This past weekend my dear (former) Boston roommate was married. It was a beautiful ceremony on a beautiful autumn day. I am very excited dreaming about a beautiful ceremony on a beautiful spring day!! Is it soon May?!!? :)

Rockport and the North Shore

On Saturday I took my parents on a tour of the North Shore region of Massachussetts. The North Shore is truly stereotypical New England filled with quaint seaside villages. Our destination was Rockport located on the tip of Cape Ann.

Motif #1 -- the red building seen below -- is said to be the "most photographed building in all the world". I am skeptical...since I would think there are some other much more impressive buildings scattered around this great big world! But it does make for a nice picture!!






I took this picture on another trip to the North Shore. It's a favorite of mine and I thought I would share it with you. Every now and then you take a photo when the lighting just so happens to be perfect for a great picture. For me, it really is all about luck :)

JKF Presidential Library

My parents and I also toured the John F. Kennedy library during their visit to Boston. The library is located beside my university right on the harbor. A beautiful day to enjoy a beautiful view of the Boston skyine. The library is really well done and is worth a stop for anyone making a trip to Boston. It provides a great overview of some of the major events that went on in the US during the 1960's. The library is a great tribute to a strong leader.






Mom and Dad with JFK's boat in the background.

Exloring Enemy Territory

My parents visited me in Boston this past weekend, and a tour of Fenway Park was a "must see" on my father's list of things to do. Although Fenway is the home of the Boston Red Sox...the fact that New York Yankee Mickey Mantle did play in this stadium redeemed it in my father's eyes :)



The Green Monstor Seats (above the green wall in the above picture)...a sure way to walk away with a homerun ball in your possession...that is if you don't get knocked out by a baseball!!



The view of the stadium from the press box...a stop on our tour.