AE513: A great extended weekend

This past weekend was Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend and Karl and I were fortunate enough to have a very good friend visit us - Erin McNary! Erin and I were both in the same Ph.D. program at IU and became very close during that time. We traveled to New Zealand and Germany together and figured out that we are basically long-lost sisters because we act so much alike.

She flew in on Friday night so we had a full three-day schedule for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. On Saturday she and I went into San Francisco to use some spa gift certificates that she brought along (Thanks, Erin!) and I got a haircut while she got a massage. Then we went to the Saint Mary's men's basketball game that night and witnessed a crushing of Pepperdine. (Seriously, the score was 98-49!) I have seven of the basketball players in my Jan Term class right now, so at any given moment during the game I had as many as five students on the court. It definitely makes it more fun to watch when you know the players personally. Saint Mary's is currently ranked #22 in the country in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, so I must admit it is pretty fun to be on a college campus with such a good team. I experienced some of that when I was at IU for my undergradate degree, but as we all know, that program has taken an unfortunate nosedive in recent years. I know they are going to be back on top of the national scene after a few years under Coach Crean, though, and I am looking very forward to that.

ANYWAYS, back to my story of Erin's visit. After the game Karl and I took her to the Pyramid Alehouse in Berkeley for some dinner, and then it was back home to rest up for Sunday. We got up bright and early Sunday morning to head out for Sonoma, where we visited a total of four wineries (I'll updated the Wine Duo blog with info on those wineries later tonight). It was a gorgeous day...60+ degrees outside and the wineries weren't too crowded at all. We finished off the evening with some Zachary's Pizza and it was gooooood (I just ate the last leftover piece).

On Sunday we all slept in and then took off for San Francisco, where Erin and I shopped while Karl patiently walked from store to store and sale to sale with us. Every store was having MAJOR sales and it really showed me just how much our economy is hurting. When Banana Republic offers 30% off all non-sale items you know something is up...and when I was able to buy a pair of $80 pants at BR for $18, that's another sign the stores are HURTING.

We finished off the SF day with a walk up to the Coit Tower to check out the amazing views of the Bay and the city, and along the way we spotted a celebrity - Leslie Mann - who is in movies such as Knocked Up, The 40 Year Old Virgin, and Big Daddy. She was strolling along the street with her husband. Normally in these situations I would go up to the person and try to get a picture with them or an autograph, but they looked like they were trying to stay incognito so I left them alone and thought they might just enjoy having a "non-celebrity life" day. At any rate, she looked exactly like she does on TV and she looked like she was enjoying her day in SF.

Below are a few pictures from the weekend. I will try to post all of them on my Snapfish album later this week!