sunday, may 31st, 2010.

 

happy memorial day. ah, waking to another morning of, yet again, the sound of rain hitting the windows. the boys and i spend about two hours starring out the window, drinking cup after cup of coffee, wondering WHEN or if it will EVER clear up, and trying to figure our the plans for the day. FORTUNATELY, just before we are about to make pot number three, the sun manages to peak it's head through the clouds. we decide to top off the morning by giving our bodies another salt boost of bloodys and mexican food, followed by a visit to the beach..

love you guys dearly, thanks for all the laughter and memories that i'll forever have. 

xoxo, 

simon

 

sunday, may 30, 2010.

mt rainier. ahh, let's talk about how i really don't think that mountains actually exist in seattle. no, seriously- i have come to believe that there is a curse on me that no matter what time of year i visit they will not show their face. either way, i put aside the fact that it was yet again raining, and we were about to go on a day hike to mount rainier... christine and christian were are 'live mapquest'- since reception isn't really attainable when are you are that high up...

          

and again, another adventure was born.   'christine falls' was our first stop, and for good measure it brought much laughter to all after seeing christine actually fall due to the slick cement.

onwards we went... and soon discovered the infamous 'chrstine falls water fall'--many photos were snapped, and from there we headed into the lush woods to explore what else rainier had to offer... the boyscout of christian's childhood always comes out when nature is involved, so he became my own personal tour guide, explaining the different furs, barks, and even how to start a fire. yes, i can say that i felt a kin to nature even before our hike began...

and now i'll leave you with a few photos that were captured throughout the five hours we spent wandering around... 

 

so many wonderful memories with such incredible friends, thank you.

                                      xoxo, 

                                   simon

saturday may 29th, 2010.

waking to the sound of rain trickling against the roof, and a cloudy haze off in the distance, which i'd latter learn were mountains, reminded me i was in seattle. the thing about seattle is it could rain for ten minutes, four hours, or three days straight, but no matter what the case people always say 'it's going to clear up soon'... 

with that thought in mind, we hit the local coffee shop, which is where i met my favorite barista to date, SHELBY. she's the most un-happy worker who on that particular day got scorched by a hot pot of coffee on her arm, she cursed a few times, and went along with her usual unpleasant diminar at the register. i of course found humor in the situation and tried to cheer her up, which only seemed to make matter worse. oh, shelbs.

onwards it was to fill up on bloodies and breakfast at oddfellows to allow us to enjoy the day with what was planned for us by our tour guide, nick. 

we opted for the bus as our means of transportation, which led us to hogwarts--- actually the university campus of seattle. we wandered around, trying to imagine going to college in such a prestine atmosphere of moutnains, lush greens, and rain... lot's and lots of rain.


glassworks park was our next stop, which was filled with gorgeous views of the seattle skyline, and some very interesting hipsters-wanna-bes. of course this kept us entertained for a bit, until we all made the executive decsion that it was time to head home, we were about to have a cookout in lieu of nick's belated birthday celebration.

burgers, pasta salad, good tunes, and brews were all a part of an end to another great day created by my hosts; nick and chris. the friends they have met through their new life out in seattle are people you immideatley can connect with. the laughter and stories that are always shared in the air is something i always miss from the two of them, and this is why i've decided to always make it a point to be around the ones that fill you up.

until tommorow,

xoxo. 

 simon

friday may 28th, 2010.

following a nine hour work day on a saturday, i have begun yet another chaotic rush of planes, trains and automobiles---to seattle. the flight is a simple four and half hours. typically i've always arrived twenty to thirty minutes early, the pilot always tells us it's because of tail winds, i'm beginning to think if they screw up they get a thirty minute lea-way, thus making them look better when they arrive 'eary'.

so upon arrive early, i'm scooped up by my hosts'- nick and chris in their new means of transportation.... ZIPCAR. what, you ask is a zipcar? only the best invention ever to those who have no need to own a car, but may need one from time to time. yes, mere city folk. basically, you get the wheels when you want them, and literally pay as you go, while they pay for the gas, and insurance through a card you recieve by signing up. you can reserve a car via phone or online, and the just another bonus of having an iphone, there is an app that actually serves as the 'key' to unlock the car. (if you don't have an iphone, you can use the card they send you in the mail that will allow you to unlock it as well)--- the price is the best part, it can range from per hour, or day and typically you can find a zip car within blocks of where you live.just genuis.

now that i've promoted zipcar onwards with what seattle brought to my life for the next three nights...

after a quick stop to the apartment nick and chris recently moved into-- a more spacious one bedroom with a view of the city skyline; we were off to 'linda's bar' for drinks to meet friends--christian and christine. after exchanging hugs, it was picking up from where we last left off with laughter and memories of high school trouble we used to get ourselves into. minutes turned into hours, and before we knew it, the bar was closing and it was time to take the foot train home to rest our heads...


of course there were chips n' salsa to end the night, and nick thorughally enjoyed his gift from me- a head massager. sadly it was not the one from trembley's jeep, yes that one was laid to rest the night he totalled it, however this would be the replacement, 10 years later.

until the morning....
xoxo,
simon

monday march 23rd 2010.

matt and i walked over to tom's house early to begin the morning with a quick breakfast---bagels, coffee, and lots of maps. tom must have been up hours before us printing off mass amounts of directions while drinking an entire pot of coffee himself, because he welcomed us by explaining we were already late. today was the drive up to sonoma valley---- with our first stop at---the geyser. 

riding shotgun, matt was named offical map reader, or offical teller of wrong turn-er. a few of tom's housemates had told him about the geyser the night prior, and tom was so amped up on seeing the one of a kind beauty, that after many wrong turns, bathroom stops, and more coffee breaks we finally found it.

greated by nellie, approximately 89 and working the front desk, informed us that today was our lucky day. not only was the geyser going off about every half hour, but there were baby goats to see, along with llamas and an informative movie on geysers. somehow we finalged our way through with the mention of our AAA discount and before we knew it, there it was right before our eyes--- the geyser.  yes, it was already in full action, spitting off it's fuel, as it continued to do about every 5-7 minutes for the remainder of the time we spent there. we made our way around the grounds in about 8 minutes, and realized where we were--- a tourist trap.

making the trip worth it, there were numerous videos and photo shoots, so by the time we had seen the geyser go off more than enough times, we came to the conclusion it was actually nellie pressing a button, and fogetting how many times she was really doing it--- all in all, it was the perfect way to begin our adventure in wine country. naturally the next stop was a much needed glass of wine. destination-unknown. it was in matt's hands as to where the map or  directions would lead us ...

 

our first stop actually was dry creek, in dry creek valley. we spent a good amount of time asking the most peculiar questions we could come up with, and of course frusterating the woman who was just trying to sell us her wine. the best question of the day came from matt, inquiring about charles shaw, and their vineyard, which led us to believe it was probably our time to move on to the next vineyard...                                                                 

i'm still  unsure of the name of the vineyard, but the way we stumbled upon the place is still just pure luck. the wine was red, endless and free. yes, it was a little spot we were calling our heaven for the day... espcially after we discovered the river connected to the vineyard itself. after filling up our glasses to the brims, we planted it down by the rapids for the remainder of the afternoon. atm began, and we met charlamay on set...  it was quite possibly one of the more serene moments i've had in awhile. 

the way we were enticed to our next and final vineyard of the day was by their false adveristing of oven roasted pizza- after only having breakfast and numerous glasses of wine we were ready for some lunch. once inside we learned there was no food to be served, just wine--- so without further ado, matt and i continued our wine tasting, while our driver took an afternoon break. however coming to the realization that i had a redeye flight to catch yet that night, we made the decision that it was time to get some lunch or by that time it was dinner and head home--still in hopes of attending triva night for a few hours before 'atm' spring break would come to an end.

talking char-la-may-- and jumping around as if no one was watching.

the drive back to san francisco was bittersweet. memories of the past four days and nights i had spent were going through my head like a movie reel. i hadn't had laughter tears roll down my cheeks in weeks like i did within those few days i spent with matt and tom. the time with them was more than i had imagined, in fact it was another trip that i will never forget. i hate goodbye, because i always get choked up, however i still  think tom has said it best when it comes to our goodbyes---which is, "this is to everything," just as simple and complex as that...so, with that, thank you both, and...

here's to everything that happend on spring break 2010...

xoxo, simon

sunday march 20th, 2010.

while visiting a future priest- deacon at the time, there is no doubt that you will be attending church on sunday. the exciting part of this is that mass is enjoyable not only because i know the person saying the homily, but that we get to show up an hour earlier than everyone else. this means lots of time to kill. who can say they visited haight ashbury before taking communion? well i can. matt, his 'rockstar' shoes, and i were mysteriously choosen to bring up the gifts-- now this is a great surprise to tom, who somehow managed to keep just a mere grin on his face the entire time. when mass had ended, i was informed by the boys that on sundays it's also dollar days at the racetracks--- WHAT. oh yeah. you better believe that we did all the san francisco touristy things in under an hour and headed straight towards the tracks. 

 

we found the 'full house' scene and had a mini photo shoot, where i was warned that if you picked the 'state' flowers they were somehow linked to the police and they would come arrest you. yes, gullable was also written all over my forehead. from there we drove down the windiest road in the world, and made our way to brunch for some more bloody marys. next stop, the tracks. 

now, this would be my first ever experience at the race tracks, and quite possibly not the last. while the boys were trying to make some $, i was distracted by the most unique, and rare breeds of people... yes it was dollar days-- hot dogs and beers. i was read the racers, and basically bet on them by name, there were some facts i absorbed that day about horse racing- the main one being---it's pure luck of the draw. all in all, i lost everything. in fact, the only person who one a mere $2.40 was tom.

our next place we found ourselves exploring - the park. we stumbled upon the most ginormous kites we had ever seen. i learned the fun fact that it was the place were they filmed the movie 'the kite runner'--- i also learned how many bridges existed in san fran-- of course there were a few jumps that had to take place in order for the experience to be worth remembering.

sadly, the day was coming to an end, and we had yet to have the perfect drink. so, heading back to the jesuit community, we came up with the genius idea of having a picnic up in the moutains to watch the sunset--- i don't know where the pear idea came from, but it somehow got turned into the idea of a pear martini--- which was really in all reality, sludge juice. the spot we came upon was indescribeable, the sunset was out of a movie, and the day itself was in my mind--- the perfect day.

 

xoxo,

simon