5-22-13

 

 

  Just back from a beautiful week-end in San Francisco.  My son Joel "walked," i.e., got his Ph.D. ceremonially in computer science from Berkeley.  He had already received it officially, and is working for Google in San Francisco.  We had a terrific time, planned in great detail by Joel's wife Sarah: her whole immediate family was there, parents Phil and Jan Zakowski, brother Daniel and wife Jackie, sister Esther and fiance Sean.  We had lunch Saturday with Joel's good friend Matt and his family at a Thai place in Oakland, afternoon hanging out on the Embarcadero and visiting the Lincoln Brigade monument, also Google San Francisco where Jan and I rode the slide and we all checked out spectacular views and the dining facilities, and had our pictures taken in a wonderful old fashioned photo booth that made a strip of snapshots. 

That evening, dinner at Dosa in the Mission, the next day, brunch at Joel and Sarah's, then we walked up the hill to the university, AKA Cal, spent 2 hours plus in the sun seeing everyone graduate-- Joel and friends getting their Ph.D.'s.  Then dinner at a Tibetan place in Berkeley, hanging out at Joel and Sarah's, people leaving for various destinations:  some back to take their final Veterinarian exams  (update:  Esther graduated first in her class!), others to Washington or Seattle.

Andy and I at leisure Monday, Yerba Buena Gardens followed by the San Francisco Museum of Modern art, then got together with Joel and Sarah, a lovely sunny hour in Dolores Park with the teens and lovers and beggars, dinner at Joel's favorite west coast pizza, Delfino's, Andy got pastry at Tartine.  The next morning, breakfast as Joel's guests at Google.  Food food food, and lots of dry cool west coast sun.

Then a turbulent plane trip home over tornado alley.  Whew.