The Top of Nob Hill

I have been missing from Blogger world for awhile now........it's amazing how much more I get done when I limit my computer usage! Surprise, surprise!

Taking a break from chin whisker conversations, as much fun as those are, I wanted to update about a whirlwind of a trip I took with Scot last week. I got an email from him the Thursday morning before letting me know that he and I would be leaving early Sunday morning for a business trip to San Francisco.......my mom was already scheduled to fly in on Saturday (thank you very much frequent flier miles) and I had better get busy.

Get busy?? Yes. This was one of those convention type events for the pipeline industry and there were about 2 events scheduled per day. Unfortunately, I live my life as a "soccer mom" and don't have the quantity of grown up clothes that would be required for a trip such as this so I was forced into a marathon shopping spree. I would rather sit and stare at a blank wall than go shopping for hours on end so I was not excited about this.......especially since I needed a dress for a black tie affair and was regretting my decision to eat this last year.

After a crazy 48 hours, most of which I don't remember with any clarity, I was packed and ready to go. By the time we got to the airport, I was very much excited about having a week with my husband in a city I have never been to before. One of my dearest friends was going to be going as well......her husband works with mine........so that was an added bonus for sure!

We arrived early enough on Sunday to have the whole day to ourselves. We stayed at The Fairmont which is pretty much at the top of Nob Hill. That means walking TO anywhere was fine......it was walking BACK that made up feel like your heart was going to explode out of your chest. We spent Sunday down at Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 with a gazillion sea lions hanging out, stumbling upon a chocolate festival in Ghiradelli's Square, taking an obligatory shot of Lombard Street, and walking 14 blocks to an amazing restaurant my brother recommended. We got to sit at the Chef's counter and watch all the cooking take place. I HIGHLY recommend this restaurant.....it was called A16.

The nice thing about going on trips like this one is the opportunity to do things I wouldn't normally get to do. We took a fun tour through Napa that included a lunch in one of the wine cellars. I don't like wine.......I have really, really tried because Scot loves it. I just honestly have not had many that don't cause a full body spasm when I taste it.

Monday night was a welcoming cocktail hour and that's where I learned that "Smart Casual" doesn't really mean any one thing. Being a very international crowd there were women in full out sparkly cocktail dresses down to khakis and a top. The week was going to be so intense, my husband, who can pack for 2 weeks in China in a carry-on, had to create a spreadsheet to make sure he had all the clothes he needed.

Tuesday we got to hang out by ourselves. We went to a wonderful cafe near the hotel for lunch where Carmen Policy ended up sitting right next to us. I had NO idea who this dude was, Scot knew immediately. Apparently he was the President of the 49ers back in the day when the Cowboys and 49ers were swapping Super Bowl victories. He ended up buying our lunch and spending quite a bit of time talking football with Scot. My sweet husband was in heaven.....a real treat for him.

Then we walked up and down some killer hills to work off that wonderful lunch.

Wednesday Janah and I went on the Alcatraz tour. Scot and Janah's husband had meetings all morning so they didn't get to go. I happened to be married to a history buff who feels the need to read every single sign when we go to museums so I figured we shaved about 3 hours off the tour by not having him there. It was honestly one of my favorite things about the week. The audio tour is really great and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting.

Thursday night was one of my favorite evenings of the week. CAT sponsored the night by renting out the AT&T ballpark where the Giants play. We got to eat on the field, hang out in the batting cages, and enjoy a live band with fireworks. It was really amazing and I felt very fancy that night!!

Friday morning was the brunch and fashion show for the wives. I was working really hard at talking my friend, Janah, out of going. It wasn't until her husband sweetly informed me that she had been looking forward to the fashion show that I went back to the outfit drawing board and attempted to channel my deep down hidden "ladies that lunch" self. It was a nice morning - the brunch took place in an art gallery and the space was wonderful. The models were crazy skinny and scowled the whole time........poor things! Someone give them a brownie!

Janah and I took no less than about 15 pictures of ourselves and just could not get a great shot.....we finally resigned ourselves to the fact that it was less likely the picture taker person (I think everyone there had a chance to snap a shot at us), it was the subjects in the picture. Bad outfits for photo taking, wrong lighting, 2 foot difference in our height......pick any excuse! This was the best out of them all!

The best part of the fashion show was when it ended, they extended an invitation for us to try on the fashions ourselves. Girl, I'm from Texas where we eat Mexican food at LEAST once a week. I couldn't get back on that bus fast enough......no thank you.......I did NOT need that kind of torture!

That afternoon I drug Scot back down to the Wharf for one more bread bowl of clam chowder. I am not lying when I tell you that I tried on my formal dress for that night before we went....just to make sure I had not eaten my way out of it!! Praise God it still fit so off we went! Pure heaven!!

Friday night was the formal black tie event to finish the week. The best part? Seeing Scot in a tux for the first time since the day I married him. He looked F-I-N-E.......my heart skipped all kinds of beats!

Every single picture I have of the week I took with my phone since I was under the impression that my camera wasn't working.....until we got home and Scot pushed one button on it and all of a sudden it was working again! Anyways, we don't have any really good pictures of us that night, but we sure had a great time. There was a great band and we danced for hours.....I have never seen Scot dance for as long as he did that night. It was so much fun!

We had to catch a shuttle at 4:00 a.m. Saturday morning so suffice it to say we got about a two hour nap before heading back to Houston.

It was a wonderful trip and a true blessing all the way around. I left swearing off make-up and more than one outfit change a day......that was a little intense!

I loved getting some time alone with Scot and I definitely fell in love with San Francisco.

The length of this post astounds even me so for any of you who have stuck with it and aren't even related to me, I appreciate you!