Because I have close friends and family members living in the bay area, I try to go back as often as I can. A goes at least once a quarter for work so that works out really well for me!
It turns out that I could have gone a day earlier because the meeting that was scheduled for Friday was actually cancelled (although I didn’t know that until last minute). I ended up staying an extra day though because of yet another snowstorm in Boston.
Saturday morning I had a dentist appointment (bleh) so we couldn’t meet A’s friend until lunchtime. Unfortunately for me, the right side of my mouth was numb all throughout the meal, even though the numbness was supposed to go away within one hour (yeah right). We went to this Hong Kong restaurant in Sunnyvale, a place that my mom used to frequent. I haven’t been there for years so I was worried that quality may have gone down, but it was still as good as I remembered.
Afterwards, we took A’s friend to the Caltrain station and headed over to explore the Winchester Mystery House. I’ve known about it since I was a little kid, but for some reason or another, I’ve never been. It was an interesting tour – goofy staircases, doors that lead to nowhere, etc. Mrs. Winchester was definitely a strange woman, but the house itself wasn’t spooky in any way.
We drove to SF for dinner with another one of A’s friends. A started to fall asleep while we were stuck in traffic so I took control of the steering wheel – in SF! So scary… The steakhouse we went to was unimpressive, especially in comparison to House of Prime Rib. We ordered “Italian dumplings” as an appetizer, but they were neither dumplings or Italian.
The next day, we drove back to San Francisco for lunch with my best friends. We went to the Exploratorium after because it was free that day (Groundhog’s Day). It was really crowded, of course. It’s normally around $30 so we can imagine that normally people wouldn’t have to wait to see the individual exhibits. I thought the museum was more meant for kids, but it was interesting enough for grown-ups as well.
Ate dinner with my family and then I drove home. My mom was leading the way and she is normally a fast driver, but that night, she drove so slow (too slow) for me. We were going an average of 50 mph. A had driven 100 mph going to SF earlier…
Monday was still a work day, even though I was thousands of miles away from Boston, but we still managed to cram in a little fun. I went over to Google for lunch and then A took me to their new visitor center (not open to the public though, so you would still need an employee to take you in). It was not very interesting – mostly bare. I think they made the move recently, so maybe they’ll add more to it at some point in the future? There was a ball pit in the center of the room that we went into briefly. I don’t think I’ve ever gone into a ball pit before so that was fun, at least.
At this point, I have hit up most of the tourist places in the bay area. I wonder what we could do the next time we go back (beyond visiting friends and family). If I had moved back to CA after graduating college, what would my weekends be like there?
A Liu Adventure 