Quality Time Weekend!

The past weekend was awesome!  On Saturday, SMS and I headed to San Jose after a delicious ramen lunch at Orenchi ramen.  SMS had gotten recommendations from two separate people so Saturday was the day to check it out.  It was delicious!  We both got the house special, which is a tonkotsu-broth ramen with slightly thicker, curly noodles.  My favorite part was the depth of flavor in the broth and the perfectly soft-boiled egg.  I've had a few better bowls in Japan but this place really held up against our previous ramen experiences.  SMS was also a fan.

Robot-san, v. 2

 After feeling slightly swollen after so much salty broth goodness, we hopped into the car for downtown San Jose.  We went to The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Diego where our admission + IMAX movie was free with active duty id.  Yeah!  The museum was cute but definitely geared towards kids and exposing them to mini-projects and experiments in the STEM fields.  That didn't stop us from trying out the robot station though!  After SMS' adventures in robot building at home, we wanted to check out how the museum curated the experience.

Going to the museum was also nice because SMS thought we were going to the art museum, which is usually more my speed.  So I got to accumulate awesome wife karma for thinking of a fun destination.  After the museum, we went to the San Pedro Market Square.  We decided to walk since the day was gorgeous and I decided to get lost and over-extend our walk by quite a bit.  Oops.

Part of San Pedro Market Square

Once we finally arrived, I loved the place! It's two large buildings with multiple sections with many different restaurant/stationary food trucks/food court-type options.  We got coffees and dessert and it was really a treat.  There's a huge picnic table area between the two buildings and the whole place and vibe were just delightful.

We love brunch!

Beautiful friends!

On Sunday, SMS had a conference to go to while I went into the city to have brunch with Brady and Rosa.  We went to the Mission Beach Cafe at Rosa's friend's suggestion and it was wonderful.  Brady got the French Toast for us all to share, I got the egg sandwich and Rosa got the winner dish of classic Egg Benedict.  There are several Bennies on the menu and I will definitely go with one next time I go.  The egg sandwich was good but messy, plus it was on a biscuit which made it slightly too heavy for my tastes.  I still ate it though!  The French Toast was also good, but it's hard to beat my Mom's so that's that.

"A Sunday Afternoon in Dolores Park" by Daniel Doherty '09

The Women's Center

 Afterwards, we walked around the Mission District.  We went to Delores Mission Park and then went to look at a few murals.  First, we walked to the Women's Center on 18th St and then we walked through Clarion Alley.  The last time I had been was in 2010-ish and it's amazing how the murals have changed to reflect activism against rent increase and the "Evils of Tech."  It's awesome to see how dynamic art can be and reflect current issues and controversies.

Clarion Alley

Then we dropped Rosa off and went to the de Young Museum.  We really wanted to see the Turner exhibit and it was really awesome.  I was worried it would be crowded and while it was, I was still able to feel like I saw the paintings in an intentional, measured way rather than feel jostled and rushed.

Brady in front of one of my faves

My favorites were the two Roman paintings of ancient Rome and modern Rome that are paired paintings but currently held by two different institutions so often not displayed together; the "Blue Rigi, Sunrise" which is a watercolor with razor-sharp lines, an amazing technical feat; the "Snow Storm- Steam-Boat Off a Harbor's Mouth" a action-filled swirl of stormy sea; and "Peace- Burial at Sea" which has amazing reflections off the water's surface.

After the museum, we headed home where Brady packed up and the three of us went out to dinner. We went back to San Pedro Market Square (yeah!) where we had Mexican food to mark Brady's last dinner in California, at least for a little while.  We dropped her off at the airport and while it was sad, it was such an awesome visit and she's off to do such great things that I felt really lucky to have had this time with my favorite sister!

[Edited to add: The weekend was a three day fest thanks to Labor Day!  SMS and I headed out to Castle Rock Park and did a lot of climbing.  Well, SMS climbed a lot and I belayed quite a bit- the routes were hard!  Afterwards, we went for a hike which was really beautiful.  Then we went to a local deli for lunch.  It was a great day!]