Three great days. Canoeing down the Russian River with Justin + Jane, complete with lamb- and chorizo- filled pasties by Anne, white nectarines soaked in Beaujolais and sugar (Anne, Connie, and someone named Thomas Keller (???)), dolmas with pine nuts and currants, wine and tomatoes with basil. The swimming was nice, although the water shallow, a theme for the weekend. The Russian River was a little overrun, and many of the non-private banks very blah (ugly rocks and no shade), but we found a nice lunch nook, and overall it's a great workout experience. Jane thought we should have been drinking beverages in the boat, which I recommend for anyone doing this in the future, but it could take longer to get down the river that way. Another thing is to put more than two people in each canoe, but they don't put enough raised seats in for this, probably because they want to rent more boats.
Then two days in Tahoe with Henry and Laura. They don't have websites, although I suppose I can put in a link that will say something about Henry. Heh heh. Oh, and Emma, their dog. Brilliant little cabin. How blue is that lake? Very blue. I don't think anything happened that wasn't very nice. Even reading the LA Times in the morning was great. Especially because I just finished Anne's ricotta-stuffed French toast, on homemade bread (sort of sweet, I forget the exact name), with lemon juice and blueberries. Plus bacon and eggs and roasted tomatoes. Kicking back and talking the night before. Unfortunately we got in sort of late due to canoes taking longer than expected on the river trip above. Swims in the lake. Coldstone, mmm. Moonlight hike. Anne introduced me to a delicacy of her youth, lamb patties with mint jelly. Mint jelly certainly is an acquired taste. I am not there yet. But if you can get past the idea you are eating toothpaste, it is quite good in trace quantities on the lamb. Oh and sauteed chard. The next morning we just ate Denny's, but it was a nice feast after an 8 am swim in the frigid if clear lake. The temperatures felt about like what I remember the SF Bay feeling like when training for my Alcatraz swim last year pre-wetsuit. About 55 degrees, which gave my non-suited friend hypothermia during the Alcatraz swim. As for the lake, we got out when we started feeling dizzy and I started to feel shooting pain in my muscles and brain.
Tonight, Chris and Justin's band play the Rite Spot.
I have an essay to edit and post, stories to link to and several things waiting to be written. Of course, I also have loads of work to return to tomorrow, a web application to test and launch, and dinner to make! So expect updates soon. But not too soon.
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