We had time for breakfast in SF. I wanted to visit the Castro and I suggested the Sausage Factory for breakfast. Mark was curious about how the food tastes…all he remembered from our last visit was being a little too hung over to enjoy the food. Unfortuantely, the Sausage Factory was closed when we got to the Castro. Still, I enjoyed walking around and checking out the shops, cafes and dogs. Such doggie mecca! I remember two cute doggies dolled up in knit sweaters labeled with “DOG”. Too cute.
We passed this plot of land on our last walk in the Castro. I remember the ground was torn up and it looked depressing. Now community members transformed it into this vibrant and quirky garden. Good job you guys!
We grabbed breakfast burritos from La Tortilla. So yummy - I had mine with chorizo and sauteed mushrooms. It just hits the spot after a night of decadent food and drinks. Plus - it was a cheap meal 
But gas was not cheap in SF. I took this picture a few weekends ago and I’m sure this station is clocking at $4/gallon for unleaded by now.
We headed to Oakland to visit Betina and Hans and family. Here’s their beautiful baby boy: Nathaniel Jun-Jie Protzel. He was born on Feb. 15. Nate was a little sick on our visit…he was throwing up all morning. Betina and Hans are clearly tired…but glowing. They have a wonderful family. Hans’ parents and siblings came up for a visit, so he was able to take his wife out on a date the night before. It’s really neat to see them balance family, work and being a couple.
OK - Mom and Dad and family - I’m finally hold a baby - happy now? Yeah, my tummy got all squirmy - babies do that to females, I suppose. I imagined having a kid of my own - but then I can’t get past the whole baby growing up business. And I was a brat when I was younger. So another baby me? Turning into todler and then a teenager who thinks she knows what she’s doing? God help us all.
Plus, my graveyard shifts are not conducive to raising a baby. Unlike some folks who get the baby cravings, I know better. I know need to find a job that will allow me to spend time with the kid so that she doesn’t get a complex about her mom not being home enough. As parents, we need to take care of our debts so that we could get a home and start saving for college tutitions. Just because we’re married doesn’t mean we have to jump on the baby wagon right away.
Someday - we’ll have a baby. A human one.
[from http://www.alde.com/anime/pocky1.html]
We stopped in Oakland’s Chinatown for souvenirs. I checked the Castro for possible souvenirs - but for some reason, I don’t think my co-workers would dig portable vibrators or molding kit to create jellied body parts…Chinatown is user friendly. And I found cute items for everyone. I introduced my newsroom to Pocky. A majority of folks loved. Pocky makes everything better. I had strawberry and chocolate Pocky. Oh so yummy.
In Chinatown, I also filled up on one more craving - boba tea….oh yeah! I remember when it became a craze in Berkeley. I couldn’t get enough of chewing on those tapicoa balls. And all the yummy flavors - from watermelon to tarro root and points in between. One guy at the computer lab went on a month-long diet of boba tea…for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He’s a model now. So maybe he knew what he was doing.
A photog at work said you could get boba tea in Kansas City. He wasn’t sure about Lawrence, even though it seems possible being such a food mecca for all types of cuisine.
In Chinatown, I had the Thai Tea boba. It was so sweet it would probably hurt most folks’ teeth…but I dig sweet when it comes to Boba. And the balls were chewy and they did a fantastic job soaking up the tea syrup. Oh so yummy.
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