Category Archives: trip

Planning Ahead

I will be going to a conference in a few weeks. I don’t have time right now to do anything about it since there are so many other things going on in the next week/weekend, but I do need to start planning.

I have my paper written, but it could probably use some editing. Then there is the actual itinerary. I will be in Portland for four days, but only going to the conference for two of those days. I need to see about the car rental, and find out when my plane lands, and figure out how to get from the airport to the hotel. I scheduled it all several months ago, and have now forgotten everything.

However, I was looking at the conference schedule, and on one of the days I was excited to find that there is an entire panel dedicated to Romanian literature. I am not very familiar with the authors being discussed, but I have heard of them, and am quite curious to see how they will be presented and have been studied in academia.

There are actually numerous panels I would like to see so I need to sort all of that out as well.

Then I have to figure out where the giant bookstore is, because that is pretty much what I have planned for all of Saturday with maybe a quick lunch break.

As you can tell, I am very excited. But I do wish this could have been in November instead.

Cambria

The drive to Cambria was a little longer than I remember it, but once I got here, it was totally worth the drive. Most darling little inn!

There is a paper towel dispenser outside the door. Interesting…
Sitting on the lovely patio after the long drive… and started grading…
I am getting all sorts of classy here…. I knew I forgot something!
My favorite part is the weather…. it might not be boot season in LA yet, but it is here!
Went for a little walk down Main Street. From what I remember this place has amazing pastries… I will be coming back in the morning before leaving….
I went to this store that used to be a rubber ducky store. They had hundreds of different toy ducks, so of course I was looking forward to getting some for the kids. The store closed, and in their place there is a wine shop with dozens of cute wine accessories. I saw this… I had to get it!
They also have a nice section for sitting which I will keep in mind for next time.
Went to about half a dozen little antique shops. Found way too many things I liked. You have no idea how much will power I exerted today. No idea…
Self portrait of my hair, outside of one such antique store.
Cute little sidewalk cafe.
Street view…
Another antique shop. I looked through the book sections of each one. I am still on the hunt for a nice version of Chaucer’s complete works. No luck, but I found a few other things, including the one below. I also found a beautiful set of children’s stories. I would have loved to buy it for the kids, but it was the kind of set where you really need to buy all of them otherwise it would be ruined. And the complete set was several hundred… oh well….
Not the best picture, but they had interesting art inside.
Cute place.
Another little sidewalk cafe.
I would have liked to go inside the museum, but they were closed.
Another antique store with some very interesting things…
Then off to dinner at the Black Cat…
Their menu has a bit of history…
Salmon for dinner…
And amazingness for dessert….
Now time to finish all that grading… I wonder if my little patio has a light…

Logistics

I am currently trying to piece everything together. It is slow, but coming along. There are a lot of pieces to this puzzle that somehow need to fit together and it takes a lot of planning. I think I have found a solution to one part, and then I realize it doesn’t work with another part. The logistics of everything are very confusing.

I think my upcoming trip next weekend will help me clear my head and figure everything out. I remember the first time I ever went to San Francisco. The first night I spent there. I stayed in an old Victorian style house converted into a hotel, much like the one that Tanya had her wedding in. It was lovely, but adjacent to railroad tracks or something. The entire thing shook all through the night. I was terrified.

The very next day I moved to the Holiday Inn that overlooked the giant pyramid like building. I still don’t know what that building is, but I love it. Maybe this time I will go there and find out.

It was late August, but very cold. I wanted to go swimming on the roof top. I did, but only for a little bit. These things I am sure happened. The rest, having been there so many times over the years, are blurred. I remember things, but I don’t know which trip it was. Sometimes I superimpose the memories, and they all drift into each other. It is like a panorama that encapsulates all of my visits, not distinguishing between years and times.

The only other time I have definite memories of was for Tanya’s wedding. It was beautiful. And it was a very busy week. We split our time between Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco. Busy, busy week.

I remember grocery shopping at Piedmont’s. And getting coffee at the Whole Foods down the street. Peet’s at every corner.

Book stores and whimsical shops. Beautiful architecture, and plenty of things to discover. I can’t wait.