Back to the Bay, Part Three

I. We Have Dim Sum with Nancy Pelosi

Kimberly had dim sum on Wednesday scheduled with her long-time friend Lisa. I invited myself along (with an OK from Lisa & Kimberly) because I wanted dim sum. (And I like Lisa, she's a smart nerd.) So we went out to Yank Sing in the Embarcadero in San Francisco.

The dim sum was great, even with the unfortunate absence of baked BBQ Pork Buns (which are apparently a weekend-only luxury), and part way through the meal, Kimberly says, "That's Nancy Pelosi at the next table". I would never have recognized her out of the blue, because I'm partially face-blind, but sure enough!

This was super-star brush-with-celebrity for me, because I think Pelosi is perhaps the most influential woman in the country, and right up there with our presidents as one of the most influential politicians. And here she was, literally one table over from us, eating BBQ Pork Buns of her own (not baked).

We also noted the security. At least three of them, burly men and women, with ear pieces. And one presumes guns, though we did not see them. Because that's what the Republicans have brought out country too, with their insane demonization of liberalism.

We let Madame Speaker Pelosi and what we presume were a gaggle of grandkids eat their Dim Sum in peace, despite being starstruck. We did our best not to stare or gawk. I'm not sure anyone else in the restaurant noticed, as they were off in a nook. Eventually they headed out.

The Dim Sum was improved by the brush with greatness.

II. I Manage to Get Lost Before I Wander a Block

I left Kimberly & Lisa to finish up with brunch, so that they could have some time together without having to worry about me, and I decided that I had enough time to head out to Golden Gate Park, which I'd regretted not visiting last time I was in town.

But, I managed to get turned around and ended up at the waterfront instead. A happy accident! I enjoyed seeing out to the Bay Bridge and Yerba Buena Island. I wandered the waterfront and then came back up Market and noticed an old bit of public art that I'd never seen before, with pipes dumping green water into a little square pool that you could walk around. (Maybe I'd seen it before and the water wasn't as green and so not as notable? I dunno.) It was cool.

Eventually I made it to Muni, to take the N-Judah out to the Park.

III. I Step on Nancy Pelosi

While riding I decided to take the bus almost to the far side of the Park, and then walk back visiting some of my regular stops.

So, it was Spreckles Lake, Lloyd Lake, Stow Lake, up and down Strawberry Hill (and its wonderful views), the Music Concourse, and eventually a somber walk through the National AIDS Memorial Grove.

What used to be Middle Drive East in the Park was renamed Nancy Pelosi Drive about a decade ago, during her first era as Speaker. It runs right alongside the National AIDS Memorial Grove So I encountered her a second time during the day.

The AIDS Grove often makes me aware of how badly and purposefully Reagan betrayed the gay community. It's personified and made so real because I always see aging men there, older ever year, mourning friends and lovers now decades gone. This year it had a new feeling too, as I considered how Trump had similarly betrayed hundreds of thousands of Americans by politicizing public health. Still, Reagan's directed betrayal of a vulnerable group was so, so, so much worse.

It's a very San Francisco Park, I love visiting it.

IV. I Game Again

It was a double-header day, as Kimberly and I had dinner plans with Katherine & Michael. Michael was unfortunately attending a late meeting, but Katherine, Kimberly, and I got to eat at Angeline's: our yearly Louisiana meal. Shrimp Po-boy for me, of course.

Then we went over to their house and Michael was free by then, so we played another game of Cascadia, which Michael had introduced me to on Monday. Still loved it! Kimberly enjoyed it too! So it's gone on my definitely buy list.

V. I Wander Berkeley

Today was Thanksgiving, but our dinner reservations weren't until 2.30pm, so I decided to wander Berkeley during the morning.

So much of it was so similar. I'm shocked how little went out of business on Telegraph, though the block adjacent to campus saw a lot of turn-over, as usual. The campus, of course, is unchanging. And then Shattuck seemed to have had little turn-over, but every few blocks there was another building either coming down or being emptied to come down, so a _lot_ of businesses are gone. (There was also one notably missing store, Fantastic Comics, which used to be Rory's Comic Relief, but I already knew they'd moved out to MLK a few blocks northside.)

VI. We Continue the Gourmet Food Gluttony

Finally, Thanksgiving Dinner. We had reservations out at Trader Vic's for their Thanksgiving buffet, along with Julia and Peni, two more of our Berkeley-side friends.

We had a good meal, and I reflected upon the fact that we were willing to eat a buffet again, after three years of COVID. Mind you, we masked whenever we went into the buffet room, and sanitized whenever we emerged.

Trader Vic's was kind of administratively wonky this year. They kept calling and calling to confirm our reservation. Then they sent Kimberly a long list of rules, like they'd give away our table if we weren't there within five minutes of our reservation, and we had a two-hour seating limit. It all had the whiff of desperation, as it seemed like the type of rules that you started frantically making because you're losing money and you're trying to stop the hemorrhaging. And they weren't anywhere close to full when we got there at 2.30. (Maybe a bit moreso when we left toward 5, in direct violation of their two-hour rule.)

I'd had some concerns that the buffet might reflect that same desperation. But, it was just as good as ever. Pretty much identical to last time we were there, presumably in 2019. Good Thanksgiving food. Good seafood. Pretty much all the exact same dishes as last time. His Lordship's was better the couple of years we went there because they had more variety (especially in the deserts!), but Trader Vic's is good.

We'll see if they're still around in two years, when we're tentatively thinking about being in the Bay Area for Thanksgiving again.

And I think that _ends_ our gourmet gluttony. After two days of it, we'll probably eat somewhat lighter tomorrow, because on Saturday we fly.