First of 2011 Update

It's been a while, but I'll do my best to make a update that is both detailed but not exhaustive. First, Happy New Year! I am excited to see what 2011 holds for the Oates'.

Let's take a journey back to October of last year. Michael and I went to San
Francisco for his birthday and to visit Jamie and Qas. I talked about the first part of the trip, but didn't ever update on the second half. On Sunday, Michael rented a SUV and we all went to the Napa and Sonoma area to view the lovely countryside and do some wine tasting. It was rainy while we were there, which was a treat for me since I'd never seen the area like that. We ended the afternoon with going to the Patz & Hall Tasting Room, which has our favorite wines.

That night we stayed in Yountville, and ate at one of Thomas Keller's restaurants, Ad Hoc. You can take a look at the Web site . It was amazing! The menu that night had one choice (as many do these days), and it was veal. If you know me, you know I don't eat veal, so the chef made me a filet with sides that had no veal stock or fat in them. Delicious! And concerned! After dinner we walked through the town and look at the other famous Thomas Keller restaurants and saw Michael Chiarello's restaurant, Napa Style. Lovely town, and I'd like to visit there again to go to French Laundry.

The next morning (early!) Qas took the ferry back to San Francisco, and Jamie, Michael and I took the SUV back to the city by way of Highway 1. Lovely as always. We stopped off at Muir Woods so Michael could see the redwoods before we went back and had a dinner of pho at Jamie and Qas' favorite pho place. I have to say, it was some of the best I've had.

On our last day there, we woke up and went with Jamie to work to drop our luggage off. We shopped around the Ferry Building and the Financial District, deciding on a few last items before getting on the BART to SFO. It was a fabulous trip, and I hope we get to go sometime in 2011 or 2012.


The holidays were fabulously relaxed this past year. Jamie came in for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, so it was nice to spend time with her for a while. The rest of the family are all doing well, and it's nice to see that another 2009 and 2010 aren't happening again. Those were tough years for us all.

Stay Tuned for the New Year's Eve and Birthday post!