Oh, Valenciiiiiaaaaa....

I thought a lot about that Decemberists' song while strolling down Valencia Street with Patricia. I was on the hunt for The Curiosity Shoppe, a cool store I'd read about on Design*Sponge. The owners contribute regularly to Design*Sponge's DIY page. After reading their blog I've become a huge fan. Since Justine's place is nearby, I had a chance to see the store in the flesh.

The shop is small, but full of fun and funky treasures, like a small taco-shaped bag (painted and designed like a taco with shredded lettuce and meat), a bird and cage stamp set, colorfully painted vintage telephones and plates decorated with hotplate coils. I loved seeing the shop and chatting with Derek, whose other half, Lauren, is also the other half of the Shoppe team.

There are a ton of great-looking shops and eateries on Valencia, and I regret that we couldn't see more of them. Every time I come to the City there are new places to see and experience-I'm glad to have had the chance to catch some of it while I could.

Chinatown

This morning Justine, Patricia and I went to Chinatown for dim sum and foot massages. We hit City View right before they opened and sat eating well into the lunch hour. They have a wide variety of choices, all tasty. Afterward we walked up the street to this foot massage place Justine wanted to take us to.

After deciding on the hour-long session, we sat in recliners where the masseuses (masseurs? massagers?) brought plastic tubs filled with hot water and herbs to soak our feet. I did think it was funny that they lined the tubs with plastic bags, so instead of feeling the bumps at the bottom of the tubs for an additional massage effect, all I did was move the plastic bag around.

We soaked, then a masseuse started in on our feet. At times the pressure was uncomfortable, but eventually relaxing. I had the only male masseuse (the large room had about seven chairs, six of which were full), who was a bit goofy, but cute and smiled a lot. I tried to breathe deeply and relax as much as possible. I loved the cacophony of sounds that bounced around the room as the masseuses worked - slap! slap! slap! slap!

As we walked out, the soles of my feet continued to tingle!

Look-Missing Snake

Walked around with Justine today. It was sunny, but breezy, and I enjoyed getting my blood pumping with the wind blowing by. We got some gelato at this cool chocolatier place, grabbed a chai and browsed some. I loved Just Awesome, a game shop that recently opened up. I got Bananagrams for Justine, Patricia and me to play.

I was a bit disturbed to see a "Missing Snake" sign posted. If you found a snake at 27th and Sanchez, would you take the time to see if it had these corresponding marks in order to return it to its owner? No. I would freak out, scream, grab something big to hit it with and then call the cops. Welcome to San Francisco.

Later on we went to Happy Hour at The Front Porch, sitting in rocking chairs eating fried okra and plantains and drinking sangria. That turned into a yummy dinner of fried chicken with garlic mashed potatoes for me and a black cod po' boy sandwich for Justine. A well-rounded first evening in SF!

Pack Animal

I arrived in San Francisco today from Seattle. I've left my husband and two children behind to join friends for some female bonding time before an event at Stanford University. In 2006 my husband, older daughter and I were here for a Knight Fellowship he received, and this year the fellowship is holding a reunion for former fellows. We are happy to see our classmates again and connect with other fellows. And since I was pregnant when we left Palo Alto, it will be a chance to introduce old friends to the newest member of our family. I feel so fortunate to have a couple of days to spend with two Fellow friends, Justine and Patricia, before my husband arrives with our two girls.

Deciding to come early was a bit of a dilemma for me. I am the primary caregiver to our young children, so arranging childcare would be a logistical dilemma. Plus, other than a funeral in which I was out of town for 48 hours, I haven't traveled alone since before the the birth of my oldest daughter: nine years.

I consider myself a pack animal. I'm still close to my birth pack (my mother, three brothers). I feel more at ease when my own pack (husband, two kids) is together. I might complain about how little space there is, how everyone wants or needs my attention, or how much of my energy is needed to keep the pack together, but without them, I feel aimless. So the idea of traveling solo, however many times I've gotten fed up enough to fantasize about it, hardly becomes realized.

But with the encouragement of my husband and the graciousness of my friend Justine, who is putting me up for these two nights, I'm enabled to stretch out on my own.