I love this photo of Paul and me. I had no idea my sister was taking it as we walked down the dock at South Beach Harbor in San Francisco on Sunday morning. I get a very warm and loving feeling whenever I look at it.

Paul and I had a fabulous weekend in San Francisco. It started Friday afternoon around 3 when I got home from work and Paul already had the car  packed, including our bikes on the rack on the back of the car. He left my suitcase, opened on our bed, waiting for me to toss in the weekend’s essentials. I packed in about 10 minutes and we were outta there.

We drove up the coast and stopped in Pescadero at our usual pit stop, Arcangeli’s Market, where we purchased a bottle of local wine, artisanal goat cheese and Arcangeli’s signature artichoke bread. It was still warm. This is something we have been doing since we first met and the ritual of the routine always gives me a sense of comfort. I’m brimming with love for this man. He’s sooo romantic.

We arrived at South Beach Harbor at about 6, opened up the boat, noshed on our goodies and took a moonlit bike ride up the Embarcadero along the waterfront to the Ferry Plaza Building. It was so peaceful and relaxing. Paul and I love  boating, sailing, harbors, seaports and anything to do with water. We were in our element.

It was Fleet Week in San Francisco and the waterfront was loaded with sailors, in their pegged legged pants and white cupped caps. Paul couldn’t help but feel supreme pride in his son, Sam, who is currently in Naval basic training. I’m sure he imagined seeing him in uniform. I couldn’t help but feel that Paul’s nautical influence has rubbed off on his son, who was a seasoned sailor at a very young age.

The Blue Angels were in town so we biked over to North Beach to watch the show, which also included appearances by the Royal Canadian Snow Birds and the Stealth Bomber. The rest of the weekend was taken up with dinner with friends, lunch at  Ferry Plaza Seafood and quiet, romantic evenings alone. As I mentioned before, we are not going to have any trouble adjusting to an empty nest.

When Paul and I weren’t sailing in Marina del Rey or biking along Venice Beach, we were savoring seafood at some of the best restaurants in town– most notably, one aptly named Killer Shrimp.

Our waitperson told us that they simmer the shrimp in a special seasoning for ten hours. We could smell it from the harbor. It’s killer. Trust me. I was so enamored of this delectable brew, that I Googled the recipe and found the “unofficial version” at Epicurious. Here it is.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons dried rosemary
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 3 ounces tomato paste
• 8 ounces clam juice
• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 pounds peeled shrimp, with tails
• French bread for dipping.

Partially break up the rosemary, thyme, and fennel seed with fingers. Place all ingredients, except wine and shrimp, in a large pot.
Simmer for about 30 minutes and add wine. Continue to simmer for a total cooking time of no more than 2 hours. Just before serving, add raw shrimp. Simmer until shrimp is done, stirring, about 2 minutes.  Serve. Each bowl should contain a serving of shrimp and a lot of broth, which should almost completely cover the shrimp.

A trip to L.A. is not complete without a stroll along Venice Beach, also known as Muscle Beach, where scores of body builders train daily with the dream of becoming the next Jack Lalanne or Arnold Schwarzenegger. There are also trapeze artists, jugglers, clowns, unicyclists and much more. And you can buy just about anything you want there. It’s one stop shopping.

In short, it is a veritable freak show. Our friend who lives in Venice Beach told us that it is the largest tourist attraction in California. Even bigger than Disneyland, if you can believe that. There is definitely a lot to see.

On the day we were in town, we happened by a group of entertaining break dancers, although their shtick was a bit dated with stale racist jokes reminiscent of a 70′s SNL Eddie Murphy routine. I considered putting a tip in the jar, but I didn’t want to be referred to as “the honky white lady.”  I’m glad we stuck around in time to see this guy jump over a human chain of people. Watch.

Paul and I were in Southern California on a business/mostly pleasure trip for the past five days. We stayed on his brother’s sail boat in the Marina del Rey harbor and it was absolutely the most relaxing and wonderful respite from a busy, hectic blended family life.

Paul and I both love the ocean, marinas and sailing and on this vacation we got to experience all three. The whole time we were gone I couldn’t help but think, “This is how we do it! If we didn’t have this time alone, we would never survive.”

Paul took some of the kids with him last week to visit his sister who lives in Grass Valley. Her deck was filled with bird nests with little, teeny baby birds looking for their mamas.

Eva's plane as it taxies away from the gate on its way to Newark, NJ and then to Madrid, Spain.

Eva left on Friday for a month long Spanish immersion program in Spain. She flew alone from San Francisco to Newark, NJ to Madrid, Spain. Did I mention she went alone? She turned 15, yesterday, the day she arrived in Madrid.

Her father and I had made the decision sereral months ago to send her to Spain this summer because of her increasing love of the culture and language. She has expressed an interest in spending a year abroad her junior year of highschool as a foreign exchange student. We thought a summer month long visit would give her an excellent taste of what to expect in order for her to decide if this is something she really wants and is ready for.

Jared, her dad, Sophia and Cheryl and I took her to the airport on Friday. There were lots of tears. I think I did pretty well considering my extreme anxiety leading up to the big departure. Only Jared and I could take Eva to the gate, so Sophia and Cheryl had to make their tearful goodbyes at security. (Harried travelors have no sympathy for weepy teenagers who are in their way.)

Once at the gate, Jared went over the map of the Newark airport with Eva so she could see how she was to catch her connecting flight. Fortunately it was only three gates away. We reviewed the final check list. Passport, camera, Dramamine, cell phone, money, gum. Check. Then it was time to board. The moment of truth for any parent is the time when you set your child free.  I can now  tell you from my own personal experience… you are never fully prepared.  I watched, clutched with masked anxiety, as my brave, tearful daughter walked down the boarding hallway. Alone. I couldn’t believe that I was letting her do this. (She would later meet up with her tour group in Spain.)

I told Jared I couldn’t leave the terminal until her plane took off. I wanted to see it taxi away from the gate so I could compose myself. And you know what? It really did me good. I needed the closure and the time to collect my thoughts. I likened the feeling to stories I’ve read about astronauts who recall the sense of peace they experience just before takeoff when they surrender to a higher power and know that from now on, their destiny is out of their hands.  I’m not a religious person, so you would never hear me utter the words, “It’s in god’s hands. ” But I do know, it is no longer in my hands. It’s in Eva’s. This is Eva’s experience. Her life. Words cannot fully express the emotions I felt as I watched my daughter’s plane taxi away from the gate. Fear. Apprehension. Anxiety. Sadness. And gratitude. Thankful to my ex for making this all happen.

Later, as I was coming off my philosophical parental high, Eva texted me from her connecting flight to Madrid to tell me she discovered three other kids on her flight to Madrid who were part of her tour group. One was from California and, get this, she had tons of movies, including Justin Beiber’s,  ”Never Say Never!!” Awesome.

That’s when I knew my daughter was going to be OK.

After Paul and visited an abandoned gold mine on our anniversary trip to gold country a few weeks ago, it really got me thinking about bullion. And I don’t mean the kind you mix in hot water to make soup. I mean gold bullion. I couldn’t help but wonder, where do you buy gold bullion? They don’t exactly sell it in stores. I really had no idea.  So I did some research and I found out you can actually buy bullion online at many reputable places and in doing so, you are making a solid investment that is safe, secure and has historically always increased in value. If you have a 401K you might want to consider a gold IRA.  Investors are actually placing physical gold in IRA’s. I read that if you purchased gold bullion in the early ’70′s and held onto it you could sell it today for over half a million dollars. I also wish I had  bought stock in Microsoft, but you get my drift. There’s just something very solid and tangible about holding on to a weighty, gold brick.

Paul and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary this past weekend. In remarriage years, five years often feels more like 10, and in our case, sometimes 20. We’ve covered a lot of ground in five years and I feel that our bond is getting stronger every day.

It was a no kid weekend so we headed off alone to visit California’s Gold Country. I have never been and was pleasantly surprised. We actually toured an abandoned gold mine. Very fun.

Although the weather was quite rainy and cold, we still managed to get outside occassionally to explore. I even turned my husband into a newt

Sophia and I are off for a four day weekend to Philadelphia to visit my oldest sister, Nina and to look at Drexel University, one of the schools Sophia has been accepted to. Last weekend she and her dad visited Lewis and Clark in Portland and Sophia reported that she liked it very much. Since Portland is on our coast, and since Lewis and Clark offered her a HUGE scholarship, we are all leaning toward that one. However, I want Sophia to make an informed decision, plus I need an excuse to see my sister and eat Philly cheese steaks and drink WAWA coffee. It should be a lot of fun. We are both looking forward to it. I’ll take some video and lots of photos and post them as we go.