Monday was walk2werk Monday!  It was very foggy when I woke up, and I think I probably should have chosen a different route because of that because my walk to Balboa Park BART was super foggy and drizzly.  I headed off from my house and up the Pemberton Steps and then up to Midtown Terrace west of Twin Peaks.  I think I've figured out why this neighborhood remains a little sleepy and out of the way.  This is the weather there much of the time:

 

 

My destination was Sunnyside Playground which has seen quite a bit of improvement in the last couple of years.  I'm not sure which bond issue financed it but it looks fantastic:

 

 

I got a couple more pics of cute houses as I made my way from Mangels to Colon and then down to Ocean for donuts at Whole Foods:

 

 

I headed home for lunch and Mr. Poe had almost finished getting the house sorted.  I managed to not make a terrible mess while he was gone but I'm afraid I just don't have the eye for domestic perfection that he does.  After work I headed over for my spin class but the instructor was sick and they didn't have a sub so class was canceled.  They let us into the spin studio so I put on some headphones and spun for an hour.  It's harder to organize a spin workout than you'd think.  I got a great workout but I didn't feel like I was really challenged in the way that am when there's an instructor.  After class I did a little shopping on my way home because Mr. Poe's birthday is coming up and I'm still working on what I'm gonna get him.  After, I headed home for dinner and then went to bed early.  It's so good to have Mr. Poe back.  Finally, all is well in the world.

Sunday was the annual Different Spokes club picnic out to China Camp.  I couldn't be gone the whole day because of the dogs so I planned to turn around a little early and not go to the picnic.  Here's all the glamour at Peet's before we headed off:

The ride was a bit of a disaster.  I realized far too late that I didn't really know where we were going and where we were supposed to stop for snack.  Fuck!  I got three people plus me hopelessly lost on the way to the Larkspur Ferry terminal and we ended up sending them to San Rafael through San Anselmo because at least we knew that route and weren't gonna screw it up.  After we sent the riders in the correct direction of the picnic, William and I headed to the new park in San Anselmo to check it out.  George Lucas paid for either all or most of it so there's an Indiana Jones and a Yoda sculpture in the fountain.  I approve:

I headed home and got cleaned up.  I had to head into the Castro as we'd run out of Diet Coke (the horror) but luckily I ran into a bunch of people I knew so that was nice.  I headed home and had dinner and then went and collected Mr. Poe from the airport.  Hooray!  We headed home and I slept the best since he'd left ten days earlier.  I'm so happy to have him home as are the dogs. 

Bike Mileage:

Today	46.4
Week to date	126.8
Month to date	373.1
Year to date	5,276.9
To Goal	2,723.1
Over (Under) plan	783.7
YTD Mileage vs Last Year	127.7
Rolling Year	6,521.8
Since Inception 10/1/07	45,744.6

Friday I came into work on Muni early and went to the gym.  I headed back mid day for spin class which was pretty low on drama thankfully.  After work I headed over to Pastel to get my hair cut and then I headed home to deal with the dogs.

 

Saturday I led a short Different Spokes ride out to San Bruno Mountain.  I didn't want to be gone too long because the dogs get pretty unmanageable with Mr. Poe out of of town so I chose San Bruno Mountain which is maybe a three hour round trip with a good amount of climbing.  My friends David and Terry showed up and we had a really good day.  We rode through Golden Gate Park where I noticed that Stow Lake was drained.  I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be concrete on the bottom so, gross:

 

 

We headed down to the coast and down to Daly City where we stopped for snack.  David went to the Happy Donut on East Market where they fill donuts with Bavarian Cream to order which is kind of amazing.  Then we headed up to the top of San Bruno Mountain where we stopped for pics:

 

 

We headed home on Geneva where I can't believe I'd overlooked the funicular on this building.  I think it's been around for a while.  Fabulous:

 

 

David and Terry:

 

 

We headed home and I got cleaned up.  The dogs and I had dinner and then we all went to bed.

 

Bike Mileage:

Today 27.1 Week to date 80.4 Month to date 326.7 Year to date 5,230.5 To Goal 2,769.5 Over (Under) plan 759.3 YTD Mileage vs Last Year 81.3 Rolling Year 6,475.4 Since Inception 10/1/07 45,698.2

Thursday I got up early came down Market and went to the gym before work.  I headed home for lunch where the dogs were still on strike over the absence of Mr. Poe this week.  Question:  How did they join SEIU?  Also, where do they keep getting the protest placards?  It makes no sense.  After work I went for a great ride.  I headed out down Pacific and stopped at the Gold Coast for some pics.  This house that goes with this super fantastic staircase is set back a bit.  I love it.  The drama!

 

 

A few more super fantastic mansions:

 

 

I continued on Pacific to Presidio to Jackson.  This fabulous home is on Jackson and Locust:

 

 

I continued on Jackson to Arguello to Cabrillo to Funston and into Golden Gate Park at the Rose Garden.  The roses looked gorgeous and I was kind of surprised because we haven't had much of a summer:

 

 

The De Young from the Rose Garden:

 

 

I headed over to Stow Lake and got a few pics of the Chinese Pavilion:

 

 

I headed over to MLK to La Playa to Irving to The Great Highway to Taravel to Merced to Hernandez to Laguna Honda to Portola to Corbett and home.  We all had dinner and then we went to bed.  Three more days til Mr. Poe comes home.  Can't wait.

 

Bike Mileage:

Today 25.9 Week to date 53.3 Month to date 299.6 Year to date 5,203.4 To Goal 2,796.6 Over (Under) plan 776.0 YTD Mileage vs Last Year 54.2 Rolling Year 6,488.3 Since Inception 10/1/07 45,671.1

I worked from home on Tuesday.  I was waiting on Fedex and I thought a day with me home might calm the dogs down a little.  Predictably, I was still in my pajamas come dinner which I wasn't really hungry for since I'd been eating all day.  Argh.  No exercise and tons of junk food.  This is why I'm trying to avoid working from home. 

 

Wednesday I slept in a bit.  Night 5 of nobody sleeping because of Mr. Poe's absence.  Not to worry, it's only a couple of more nights and at least I haven't resorted to barricading myself in my study and instructing Mimi to lay down a withering crossfire like I usually do.  I came down Market into work and then headed home for lunch.  After work I went for a nice ride.  I headed off 2nd to Townsend where I had to yell at some asshole driver who was on the verge of mowing me down.  It funny--  my voice seems to go down several octaves when I'm yelling at cars.  I guess I can indeed butch it up as needed.  I continued on Townsend to 17th to Florida where I saw this interesting block of buildings.  I love how the older stuff in the foreground (which looks 1870's to me and are probably some of the older buildings in the city) contrasts against the modern stuff going up behind it:

 

 

I continued on to Florida to 20th to Alabama to 25th to Lilac.  I love Lilac Alley.  It's got such a fantastic range of murals that range from very composed formal murals to crazy graffiti stuff.  The overall effect is vibrant, fluid and electric.  Have a look:

 

 

I continued on Lilac to 26th to Valencia to Tiffany to 29th to San Jose to Monterey into Santa Clara to Portola to Claremont to Dewey to Laguna Honda into 7th to Judah to 9th and into Golden Gate Park.  I headed over to the Music Concourse and then came out of the park at 8th to Lake to Arguello to Clay to Presidio to Post to Laguna to Market to 17th to Ord and home for dinner.  After dinner I got cleaned up and then managed to go to bed early. 

 

Bike Mileage:

Today 27.4 Week to date 27.4 Month to date 273.7 Year to date 5,177.5 To Goal 2,822.5 Over (Under) plan 772.0 YTD Mileage vs Last Year 28.3 Rolling Year 6,469.4 Since Inception 10/1/07 45,645.2

Monday was walk2werk Monday.  I was pretty beat from all the hiking the day before but I'd been looking forward to walking to work and had a great time.  I walked through Noe Valley and up into Diamond Heights and the Glen Park and Sunnyside before getting donuts and getting on Balboa Park BART.  It was pretty foggy and wet so I didn't get a lot of great pics but I took some. 

 

This is Walter Haas Playground in Diamond Heights.  I remember a very long time ago when they were taking it from a green space to the beautiful park that's there now.  It looks fantastic:

 

 

This is pretty Glen Park.  Parts of Glen Park are so tucked away that you'd never find it unless you were looking.  So pretty:

 

 

I didn't think gorgeous Sunnyside Conservatory would be open and I was surprised when it was.  It's been redone for a couple of years now and the new stuff is growing in beautifully:

 

 

Then I headed over to poor beleaguered City College which is facing closure after losing it's accreditation this month.  They've appointed a special administrator with extraordinary powers who's supposed to clean up the mess.  I don't have high hopes.  The special administrator doesn't have to authority to modify labor contracts and the faculty doesn't seem to have grasped the gravity of the situation.  The last time a California community college got their accreditation yanked it was in Compton and the college was eventually folded into another one.  I wonder if they'll find any takers for that.  They're still keeping up the sports fields but the campus looked shabby and they clearly haven't done an acceptable amount of maintenance in a very long time:

 

 

I headed over to Whole Foods and then I got on BART and went to work.  I headed home for lunch and then took a spinning class after work that totally kicked my ass.  After I went home and went to bed.  I was beat.

Sunday I went hiking with Daniel and Miss Smith out to Muir Woods.  We took the Dipsea Trail out to Stinson Beach for lunch and then came back on the Ben Johnson trail.  It was glorious weather and we had a fantastic day.  We had just enough fog to make the forests mysterious and enchanted looking.  I loved it.  I'd never gone hiking out there and I can't wait to go back.  Loved it:

 

 

I headed home and the dogs had made it known that I'd been gone way too long.  Let's never discuss it again.  By the time I got all cleaned up and had dinner it was bed time.  It had been a long, fantastic day.

Neither the dogs nor I can sleep well without Mr. Poe so we had a restless night Friday and were up well before dawn on Saturday.  I puttered around the house and then took the dogs for a walk.  I headed home and got ready for the monthly Different Spokes jersey ride out to Tiburon.  We had a much larger group than we've had in a while and everybody had a great time.  We rode right into Tiburon and then rode around Paradise before lunch at Cafe Del Soul.  We stopped at the top of Camino Alto so riders could catch their breath and everybody else started talking to a guy who was riding in the opposite direction and who had stopped.  I was distracted by a couple of pedestrians who were walking dogs.  The dogs snubbed me and I turned around and the other riders were still talking to the guy that had ridden up and they were talking about the owner of the house at the top of the hill.  The guy named a name but I hadn't heard of the guy before and he was all 'I can't believe you've never heard of him he's the father of blah-blah-blah music'.  It was while I was explaining to him not to worry about me because I was an idiot that I realized that the guy I was talking to was also Robin Williams.  I can't believe how long it took me to recognize him.  I felt like such an idiot.  Which is something one gets used to when they're me.

 

Here's the gang werkin' it at the Golden Gate Bridge on our way out:

 

 

I headed home and hung out with Brendan.  And Mimi totally got into his lap.  Here's the proof:

 

 

I tried to go to bed early but I could not.  I can't sleep without Mr. Poe in the house.

 

Bike Mileage:

Today 47.2 Week to date 61.6 Month to date 246.3 Year to date 5,150.1 To Goal 2,849.9 Over (Under) plan 832.3 YTD Mileage vs Last Year 125.8 Rolling Year 10,174.4 Since Inception 10/1/07 45,617.8

Thursday I came into work down Market and headed home for lunch to meet our house guest Brendan who showed up mid day.  I headed home up Market after work for dinner. 

 

Friday I got up early and took Mr. Poe to the airport.  He's in Hawaii for a week so be prepared for a full week of bitching from those who've been 'left behind'.  I didn't have enough time to make it to the gym before work but I did have enough time to walk to work down Market so I did that.  Not the most super fantastic experience.  Market is pretty rough in the morning with assorted pockets of homeless and sundry sketchy individuals.  But it was still more fun than Muni so I'm not gonna bitch.  I headed to my spinning class mid day where the guy is back to his crazy high school bullshit ways.  He actually turned the music off to yell at me this time.  Evidently I wasn't at an 8.  Working on perfecting my eye roll.  After work I took Muni into Cole Valley and then went for a fantastic walk over Forest Hill and then Twin Peaks.

 

I started off walking into Golden Gate Park and I headed over to the Koret Playground and the lovely Sharon Art Studio which is in a fantastic Romanesque revival building in the park:

 

 

There's also a carousel which is very pretty:

 

 

From there I headed up to 8th avenue and pretty Windsor Park:

 

 

Then up into Forest Hill which had so many gorgeous homes:

 

 

This is the view looking down the Pacheco Steps:

 

 

This is the view from the other side looking back at the stairs I'd come down.  So swanky:

 

 

Then I headed up to Midtown Terrace.  It's a fantastic midcentury that seems to be getting in better condition as real estate prices in the area tick up.  I'm hoping that this neighborhood doesn't fall victim to runaway additions ruining the scale of the neighborhood.  Because right now it's complete perfection:

 

 

I headed home and met up with Brendan.  We had dinner and then I went to bed early.  It had been a long day.

Tuesday I was feeling pretty ragged after a very active weekend and a crazy hard spin class on Monday night.  I came into work on Muni and then went to the dentist over lunch.  I went and hung out with Mr. Chris and Miss Smith after work and then headed home and went to bed.  Wednesday I came in on Muni again and then was collected by Mr. Poe after work.  We headed over to Stone Korean Kitchen in the Embarcadero and met Mr. Chris for dinner which was fucking fantastic.  I really like Korean food and was really happy with theirs.  Here's a link to their site.  After dinner we said goodbye to Mr. Chris and headed over to the Asian Art Museum for a reception.  It was super swanky with tons of food and wine.  I was way too stuffed to eat anything but Mr. Poe managed a couple of plates.  The special exhibition was Larry Ellison's private collection and it's lovely and very personal but I don't know that it's a must see.  After we wandered around the galleries and I took some pics:

 

.

 

This is made entirely of cocktail umbrellas.  It's unbelievably fabulous:

 

 

We headed home and went to bed.