Tommy and Tammy’s bay area (and other) adventures

Life Dating & Relationships
1

A continuation of the tommy thread:

wildlife-museum.org/

Went to Lindsay Wildlife Museum today. I think I went there last bout 8 years ago? They had a live Puma and a live Bobcat then. Unfortunately those two creatures have passed on and are now stuffed and on display (at least the Puma was). Today they had a small fox that was found abandoned some years ago and now lives permanently at the display. He was deemed to be too close to humans to be safely released.

The privately funded tiny institute is laudable in the care of injured animals found by people in the bay area. Most of the animals (notably birds) were brought there injured and sick and nursed back to health. They have owls and eagles that have been there since 1994, etc.

The thing is the birds are tied by a strap to a stand and placed in the open above peoples heads. They have little ability to move during open hours. I sure hope that at night they are allowed an enclosure that has space for them to fly a bit and enjoy much more freedom then being tied to a post on a very short strap. Think less then six inches.

The place is very very small and really most fun for small children only. But at least the 8.5/person goes to support the animals there and the efforts they make to rescue sick and injured animals.

Stuffed animals for sale there as well.

(uhm. the one on the right is the stuffed animal )

2

The SF Auto Show starts tomorrow. Went to the Pre Opening event tonight. Drinkable champagne was provided. Didn’t get a chance to get the name. Possibly Spanish. A few tables with simple fruit and celery available as well as a ham/turkey/roast beef stalls.

Displays were nice as usual. The show seems a wee bit smaller this year then some of the ones in the past. I’d been going every year for at least ten years.

I liked the Jaguar F-type. SEXY BEAST it is. 92,000 dollars and up is a bit stiff though. OF course not as stiff as the Lambos and Ferarris and Bentleys and Rollers of course, but still a handsome amount of cash for a tiny car.

The Academy of Art College put out a magnificent display of its collection of antique and priceless cars again. And this time they provided decent red and white wine and beer as well. For free.

Rarely, Maserati had all its cars unlocked for the unwashed masses to sit in. Whereas all the other exotics were locked up but viewable to a select crowd. Regretably I was not selected :frowning:

It was fun to hang out there for 2 hours, munch on food and drink free drinks for an hour and browse the cars with my wife for an hour.

She liked the Jag F type best but would settle for a Fiat Cinquecento ! Whew.

Me? I don’t know what I like as usual. I like all the super cars.

3

Pics?

Any classics? If you spot the Impala, take a few pics for me.

4

[quote=“Icon”]Pics?

Any classics? If you spot the Impala, take a few pics for me.[/quote]

I didn’t take any this year. Took a ton of pics last year and posted quite a few on here but nobody really paid attention to the car show stuff then either :slight_smile:

Didn’t see an Impala.

I do like the new little Buick strangely enough. It looks nice and Audi like.

I think i may rent one when we go down to LA to visit Universal Studios. Don’t think i want to put that many miles in a short time on my own car. Because of possible mechanical issues far from home.

5

Hope you guys had a good thanksgiving. Mine was pretty good . I am happy she took to American food well. I was afraid she would not sample the food as food has been an issue for her. She’s been reluctant to eat anything that was not Indonesian style. Other then french fries from Burger King. That she likes.

In fact potato has been her staple food as shes not much into meat. Potatos rather then rice, noodles rather then rice.

I was afraid that she would be all gloom and doom and be bored, not finding anything palatable to eat. Turned out she tried everything and found it all good, got seconds even. So that was an improvement. I do want her to become accustomed to American food.

My sister in law is an awesome cook. Her turkey really is juicy and awesome. Very much NOT like Boston Markets turkey that is both too dry and overly salty.

Her Chocolate Mousse and Pumpkin pie were both outstanding as well.

TOok an hour each way to drive down to San Jose and back. But we were against traffic there and back so it was nice to not be stuck.

So the day went very well on her first Thanksgiving in the USA.

6

Sandwhiched amongst other tony little restaurants the Troy Greek restaurant offers a simple Greek meal that won’t bust the bank. ITs one of my fav corners of Berkeley. The areas right near College and Ashby.
Several nice cafes and nice reasonable restaurants. Cept for one Italian one that is always packed and set me back 70 dollars once (4 people shared a 240 dollar meal).

yelp.com/biz/trattoria-la-siciliana-berkeley. That was not quite worth that sort of money. But other restaurants there are.

She had the greek salad, which is certainly different to her usual caesar’s salad (which she still liked better). But I thought it was a pretty decent salad for 7.25. I had my usual Chicken Souvlaki entre. I tend to find one thing I like at a place and then basically keep ordering that item. So when I go to a restaurant I would always order that one item. Its very tasty and well worth the 10.95. Bearing in mind that a big mac meal at Micky D will cost you near 8 bucks already. This was real food. The greek coffee and greek tea are also different and yet quite good. The coffee was basically espresso but somehow the taste is a bit different.

Downtown SF was a madhouse she said. IT was basically impossible to shop she declared. Absolute hordes of people at the malls. IT was pandemonium.

AFter it all died down I was happy to find her two jackets at a quarter of their normal price to placate her inner shopping maniac.

Black Friday is a total Nuthouse of shopping in the USA. Some retailers make near all their annual sales at this time of the year . Thanksgiving and Christmas.

troygreek.com/berkeleyC/menu.html

7

CAn i just butt in my own thread to yak a wee bit bout the autoshow again? I had another free ticket and the show ends today so i went there again, by myself this time. GOt there at 7pm , one hour before it closed.

I do think the F type Jag is really the right size two seater. And truly nice looking, both coupe and convertible versions.

I managed to sit in the Maseratis there. I was amazed that they actually had an awesome Maserati Ghibli four door for only 65,000 I say only because that is only A6 money. Which is pretty incredible.

I think FIat must have completed the planned move of Maserati from Ferrari to their Alfa Romeo division.

I can’t imagine Ferrari making it and charging 65,000.

But of course, more my price range is the 22,000 dollar Dodge Dart. Which is apparently based on an Alfa. But only loosely based. The engine is US made and the tranny is Korean.

This is how they bring the cost down. 22,000 for a car nowadays in America is on the cheap side.

A travelling salesman stopped by at work again. I had bought a 50 dollar coupon to The Peppermill before and recently used that and also a similar one to the Silver LEgacy.

Bought another one for the Peppermill. Think will go up there and enjoy two days/nites .

Its a great deal. For 50 bucks you get back 100 dollars to use at the hotel. Plus two tickets to their SPA. Which normally would cost 22 bucks. And you pay only 35/nite for a room. Versus normal sale priced at bout 70/nite.

THey have a really nice solarium. That has a large indoor , heated pool and saunas. Bery comfy. Maybe I will take the train up to REno in the winter and enjoy it in the cold.

Will make sure to make the fingerprint session on WEdnesday for the wife to continue with the green card app.

Next will be the interview. Some lucky folks get selected to NOT need an interview. Maybe we will be one of those. IN this continuing saga.

(note: this posting is nowhere as exciting and intriguing as you know who’s post on his morning in Merry England, but oh well . IT is slightly better then watching paint dry I think? Maybe not)

8

Enoteca Molinari

enoteca-molinari.com/

College avenue near Rockridge Bart has a number of tony restaurants. Many open for years that I have not yet set foot in. Some have come and gone before I had even been there. Alas, rather a creature of habit I am, i rarely venture into the unknown.

However, every now and then I feel like taking a different turn and trying a new place.

Was actually heading for filippos on College near Ashby for a bite tonight but found the place closed. Don’t know why. This was the bigger of two filippos. The original and smaller one is in the Rockridge area.

Since this was closed ( i really only go there a few times a year) I thought why not hit up the original one in Rockridge. Well parked one street too early. And saw this very small and tony Italian restaurant. Seems to have only one chef , one waitress , and a half dozen people there. Took a look at the menu outside. PRices were on the high side for entre but fair for others.

Decided to give it a try, because it seems very italian.

And it was. VERY italian. Chef was Italian. Seems the waitress is his American wife? I think? This combo has been seen before. Foreign chef with American wife , opening up a small and tony restaurant.

Theres another in Berkeley that i also like that has the same combo.

Now this place is more on the elegant side, although small. I thought it had just opened, that was how neat everything was. WAs told they have been in business over three years. Which was a good sign as that means it must be good, or it would have closed down.

Next door was a restaurant double the size that also seemed elegant and was packed.

We selected this one. The menu was very limited but that means they are highly specialized. And the food is likely to be very fresh, having such a small menu. Which actually seems to be in vogue for quaint yet avant garde places like this one.

Enjoyed a simple salad each (7 apiece) and split a sole entree (17 dollars) and a side of pasta (8 dollars).

Boy was it good though. Very small portions but delicious salad and fish and pasta. All good and washed down with an Americano for me and a Camomile tea for her.

45 bucks plus service coming out around 55 bucks. Can’t say its cheap because that isn’t but it was elegant, very high quality food that was truly delicious!

Was pleased that herself actually enjoyed it quite and finished every morsel. She seems to take to elegant and higher priced establishments readily. :slight_smile: Well don’t we all ?

9

Is this a blog? Can/should I start my own?

10

Tommy, this is… . Tommy, this… . I mean, Tommy, this… I don’t understand this Tommy.

For you to redeem yourself you have to put back that silly yet lovely Korean hotty you had as Avatar. Or any of her clones.

11

A travel photoblog? With dating adventures? Sure. :popcorn:

12

Well its a THREAD, not a FORUM. And I don’t see why you cant have your own thread.

GOt the fingerprinting done today. Next step is the Interview. We may luck out and not have to have an interview. Apparently many do not need that.

After the interview then its a few weeks to get the actual green card, then its good for two years. After that will be the ten year green card , which one can apply for after being married for two years.

And actually that may be a good idea. Why not have a FORUM called BLOGS ? And everyone who wants to can have their blog there?

13

[quote=“tommy525”]Well its a THREAD, not a FORUM. And I don’t see why you cant have your own thread.

GOt the fingerprinting done today. Next step is the Interview. We may luck out and not have to have an interview. Apparently many do not need that.

After the interview then its a few weeks to get the actual green card, then its good for two years. After that will be the ten year green card , which one can apply for after being married for two years.

And actually that may be a good idea. Why not have a FORUM called BLOGS ? And everyone who wants to can have their blog there?[/quote]

Tommy, show us the Korean girl.

14

[quote=“jesus80”][quote=“tommy525”]Well its a THREAD, not a FORUM. And I don’t see why you cant have your own thread.

GOt the fingerprinting done today. Next step is the Interview. We may luck out and not have to have an interview. Apparently many do not need that.

After the interview then its a few weeks to get the actual green card, then its good for two years. After that will be the ten year green card , which one can apply for after being married for two years.

And actually that may be a good idea. Why not have a FORUM called BLOGS ? And everyone who wants to can have their blog there?[/quote]

Tommy, show us the Korean girl.[/quote]

Eh, you were not here for he big bruhaha where Tommy expressed his right to show off Korean and Japanese beauties, and I contested the right to have beefy guys in my avatar… and all hell broke loose!

You missed my lovely avatar:

Current state is we all go PG rated…

15

I think I actually saw it before, and it’s one of the reasons because I used to think you were gay.

16

really? (at icon) I don’t recall anyone complaining bout “my” korean girl ? :slight_smile:

17

Oh, but I got plenty of complaints about Jared Padalecki. :laughing:

18

Well you do get more “explicitly suggestive” with your avatars icon , I am much more “innocent” :stuck_out_tongue:

19

Oh, no, you didn’t!!!

20

Well the zoo wasn’t like that. Open mouthed. Went to SF Zoo yesterday. It was 14 for residents (my license still shows my SF address) but for her i had to pay 17 dollars regular entrance fee. They were strict bout that.

The good thing is that the money goes to pay for the upkeep of the zoo. And thats a good thing.

SF zoo does NOT hold a candle to Taipei Zoo, which I believe is still about 60nt?? For 2 bucks that is an awesome bargain.

SF Zoo no longer has any elephants after the ones they had died.

They have joined the brigade (probably a good thing) against having elephants in zoos . Because they really need a big area to roam and are too smart animals to be held in small places.

No Rhino either, and no Lions (after the ones they had died).

But the animals they had certainly looked well cared for and had reasonable spaces to roam in.

There is a small steam train to ride now for 4 bucks each. We were the only ones on it and the engineer ran two loops for us. Each loop being bout five mins. Good fun. They have one at Tilden Park too in the Berkeley hills that’s also fun (two bucks there) but is not actually a steam train. More like a diesel train that mimics a steam train. This one is full on steam powered said the engineer. But not coal fired like a real steam train. Probably some sort of kerosene or diesel boiling water?

Had a fun thought which i shared with my wife. The last time i was there at the zoo was with my then first wife when we came to SF for our honeymoon eons ago.

It was 12 for residents then and i remember she got in for 12 also. So 2 bucks rise in so many years really is reasonable.

But anyhow, its still a nice few hours if anyone visiting SF wants to shoot over to the zoo.

Take the L-Taraval streetcar from Market street straight to the final destination of the streetcar, the SF ZOO.

And SF Zoo is priced normally for USA. San Diego zoo is something like 30 to 35 bucks IIRC and the Oakland zoo is around 16/person. I’d not been to the Oakland Zoo yet, but hear its pretty nice.

REsidents with kids buy an approximately 100/year family membership so they can take their kids there as often as they want.