oh, and Miss Letty has a special song for us on WA2K this morning.
We love you Miss Letty.
Thank you, seaglass. You and Mame look wonderful. I've been following along ascertaining who is going to be at the Yacht club. Is Gerogeob1 attending?
Yes - on my way therre in a few minutes. Wish yiou were coming Letty. Cheers!
George just dropped off Cyclo, his SO and myself off at the BART station, it was a great get-together, lovely view of the Bay, the GG Bridge, etc, great food and conversation.
Fantastic!
Nice to see Sinbad's with more a2kers in it. Looks like you got a good table - and it's more crowded than when the last batch of us were there. I enjoyed the photos.
Just arrived home a few minutes ago. I'll have to download the pictures, and compose a quick summary of the second San Francisco gathering with many thanks to georgeob for hosting us at the beautiful St Francis Yacht Club with fantastic views of Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, and Angel Island - with many sail boats and ship activity to keep us entertained with discussions about the "navy" and other experiences of by-gone days. Everybody had a great time.
Yes Miss Letty Georgeob1 was there. He hosted the luncheon and proved to be a gracious and generous host.
George is witty, well informed and quite the raconteur.
We had an incredible view of the Bay and we had the opportunity to watch a sailboat race.
Francis and Calamity Jane made a late entrance due to their flight being late, Cyclo and his lady love were there (my fellow Texans). Roxanne, Mame, MA and myself and lastly, but not leastly, our organizer, planner and master host CI.
Thank you for a very successful A2K gathering CI.
Sglass
Sounds excellent!
.... and perhaps we'll get to see a few pics, too. :wink:
I just got home! Would you believe it - I had another 2 hours delay
on my way back. Scratch Alaska Airlines for the future! I officially spent
more time at the airport than in SFO, but it was so worth it meeting Mame, Seaglass, Roxanne, George, Francis, Merry Andrew, cicerone, Cyclo and his lovely bride.
We shared lots of laughter together and I felt I've known everyone
for ages already. What a pleasant meeting!
A special thank you to georgeob1 for organizing the brunch and
being such a generous host. That was very nice of you!
I'm too tired for now, will chime in tomorrow...
It WAS exhausting. As the only Irish Republican - moderate and utterly reasonable - present, and surrounded as I was by a group of aggressive Democrats, Orange & Latvian Bostonians, Berkleyites, Canadians, Frenchmen, and misplaced Bavarian San Diegans, it was a hard go with a tough crowd. Very little quarter given, (especially by the Southern California contingent -- I hope Calamity IS tired).
Actually, a very convivial group. In an odd way everyone was both recognizable from their A2K personas, and yet uniquely surprising in person.
Thanks to all for a memorable day.
lurking and waiting for more news and pics!
I still hope to see/meet one time
georgeob1 wrote:...the only Irish Republican - moderate and utterly reasonable ...
... in some distant future perhaps.
Though I've some profound aversion against navy staff officers, even get online allergenic. But besides that ...
THE SECOND SAN FRANCISCO A2K GATHERING
August 26, 2007, Sunday
The day started out overcast, but by late afternoon, the sun came out., and it added some warmth to a typical cool San Francisco climate. Mame told us it felt like Vancouver.
Before going on with the chatter, a special thank you to georgeob for hosting a great brunch at the yacht club.
I learned early on for the first time yesterday that one does not bad-mouth a friend unintentionally, so what follows are spoken with deliberate aplomb with fact and fiction mixed in. You'll have to separate one from the other.
Our table arrange was an upside down "i" with the dot accommodating eight out of the ten attendees. Working counter-clockwise from georgeob are the cast of characters at this international gathering of chatters. Calamity Jane (CJ) is a tough German fraulein who intimidates a timid guy like me, and I would never call her some of the things I describe some a2kers on occasion. However, I was safe, because georgeob sat between me and CJ, and georgeob said things about San Diego that put him in some physical danger a few times that produced laughter instead of fisticuffs. To the right of CJ was Francis, the man of mystery. He's a real "cool" Frenchman, but when he says "cool it," everybody listens. I think he produces some sort of ice machine, so it fits him well. That's also the reason a2kers never see pictures of him even though many bring their cameras to take pictures of this mystery man. To the right of Francis was Mame, the Canajun lady from Vancouver. Now, there's a witty lady with globs of independence and no-nonsense demeanor. georgeob said some stuff about her pronunciation of the English language that bordered on WWIII, but it worked ute okay with much added laughter. That's right, heh? To the right of her sat Cyclo, the kind of guy anybody would recognize as someone who attended college, and how he speaks is how he wrote his papers. He's still a young whipper-snapper still wet behind the ears, but a gentleman no doubt. The only clue I have to this observation is his heart-throb, the "orange" of his eye. Madam o is a student at UC Berkeley pursuing her PhD in some psycho-babble profession. All I know is she's a sweet lady whom I've met last year when Cyclo, Madam o, and I met for dinner. It was very nice to see them again, and we promised each other to do that again soon.
The lady next to Madam o is what I call an enigma. Roxxxanne, I think fits her persona on a2k like a "t." She knows how to hold her own as she does on a2k. Nothing fake there! To the right of her was lady Sglass from Hawaii. She's in to theatrics, so she is very entertaining to an old fogy like me, and if I had met her before I married my wife, she would have had another man in pursuit. Sglass, Merry Andrew and I spent many hours together before this meet, so we've gotten to know each other like "old" friends - me being the oldest. Merry Andrew is a transplant from Latvia, and I was told his uncle Dracula was really a nice person. Some times reputations go awry - like mine. Merry Andrew is a language expert, and he knows how to translate Latvian into Latvian. Quite the witty and charming person like in "merry." Lastly, before the intro to georgeob, what can I say? My name isn't "imposter" for nothing! Georgeob was a sailor when Columbus sailed to the US, and if my memory serves, georgeob was the captain of the Pinto. He ran his ship onto a sandbar between the mouth of the bay and Faralon Islands, and that's how he was introduced to San Francisco - and eventually called home. Boy, was Columbus mad at him! We also heard rumors that his wife was the chief interior designer of Dracula's castle.
Now that the introductions are out of the way, this is how our day proceeded:
I arrived early (the first one) at the St Francis Yacht Club - a little after 10 AM, because finding the location was not as difficult as I had anticipated, and had planned to arrive about 10:30. Well, the GPS system did help. Even told me when I "arrived." I loaded my camera with a new memory card, and took some pictures from inside the St Francis. The venue couldn't have been any better - thanks to georgeob.
georgeob arrived a little after 10:30, so we sat and chatted for 10-15 minutes when Merry Andrew, Faith and Mame came through the entrance. georgeob, like the gentleman that he is, went to the front to greet the newcomers. Roxxxanne came in about 15 minutes later, and after chatting for a bit on the first floor seating area, we went upstairs to the dining room. We ordered drinks, and it was past 11:20 when we thought Francis was not going to show, because georgeob didn't hear from him after sending him a PM. We were wondering why CJ was late, because her flight was supposed to have arrived at 9 AM, and she told us she had reserved a rental car.
The drive from SFO to the yacht club should be no more than a 15 minute drive.
CJ and Francis walked in together about 11:45; her flight was late 1.5 hours out of San Diego, and Francis waited for her at SFO to ride in with her. We were still missing Cyclo, and since he lives in Berkeley, I thought he wasn't going to show. He and his girlfriend walked in a little after 12-noon, because they had caught the wrong bus.
We chatted and chatted while consuming our brunch with many smiles and rather loud laughing at regular intervals, and we finally decided to step outside on the deck on the second floor overlooking the fantastic scenery with some blue sky beginning to peak over the fog in the north. We spent a good hour more enjoying each other's company, taking pictures, with Francis and I reminiscing a little about the London Gathering two years ago. Also learned that after Ticonderoga, the French and Americans became fast friends that lasted to this day, but that was only after they sold Louisiana to us. So many of us have misconceptions of our relationship to the French.
By 3:30, most everybody had left except CJ, Francis, Sglass, Mame, and me. Merry Andrew left a bit early, because he was involved in an accident the previous evening when a lady on the cell phone banged up the rear of their rental car. He had to fill out some paperwork and exchange the car, so we called to let him know that we'll meet him at the Ferry Building. We said our goodbyes to CJ and Francis, and the three of us headed towards the Ferry Building.
After circling around a few blocks around the Ferry Building area with no parking space to be had, I dropped off the two ladies across the street from the Ferry Building so they wouldn't have to see the same scenery over and over. Sglass said they'll meet me under the clock of the Ferry Building, but they were nowhere to be found when I arrived. About ten minutes after I roamed inside the Ferry Building, I saw the three of them waiting outside. We decided to go to the SFMOMA, because Mame wanted to see some photography on display. Merry Andrew, Sglass and I went to the museum cafeteria and had a "snack," and told Mame we'll meet her there in about 45 minutes. She told us she can zip through when she's alone.
After Mame's museum and our snacks, the four of us walked to the Sheraton Palace, because I wanted them to see one of the oldest landmarks of San Francisco, and the beautiful main dining room where my wife and I saw "Bye Bye Birdie" with Van Johnson when I was courting her about ten lifetimes ago.
There were a couple of glass cases with some old memorabilia and old pictures of the hotel that was rebuilt in 1906 (after the great fire).
After dropping them off at a bus stop, we said our quick goodbyes, and I took off for home. I arrived home about 6:15 PM - a little exhausted, but with a feeling of great satisfaction for a successful, second San Francisco a2k gathering.
Thanks again, georgeob.
Pictures to follow.
I want all liberals to know that I gave georgeob1 a run for his money.
And I want all republicans to know that cicerone is a very gentle man
and probably has a reflex reaction only when talking to republicans.
To the ladies: Francis is just darling. We agreed upon to team up at the
airport and since I was delayed 1,5 hours, he patiently waited for me
to arrive. That was incredible thoughtful and sweet of him, just like his
overall personality is in the same manner. He's everything that you
expect a charming Frenchman to be.
Cyclo is restoring my hope in the younger generation, his head is straight
on and his ideas are very rational and agreeable. Very nice guy! His biggest asset is his girlfriend though, the two of them make such a lovely couple.
Merry Andrew is exactly the quiet reserved European gentleman he
has shown us to be here at a2k. One can tell that he enjoys life to its
fullest.
I was pleased to meet seaglass who I had very little interaction with
prior to meeting her. She's a effervescent lady and I could sense the
invisible Stetson, all Texan transplants seem to carry.
Mame is exactly as I had imagined her. She's this spunky bundle of
energy who can hold her own, especially in a crowd of Americans who
question her Canadian pronunciation. We're very much alike, except
in hight!
Last not least, Roxxxanne. You all will be surprised that she's gentle
and soft spoken, unlike her online persona, and she has her act together.
Good for you Roxxanne!
Inside the front entrance to the St Francis Yacht Club.
View of Alcatraz Island, the former home of Sglass and Merry Andrew's friend.
The view of Golden Gate Bridge.
Seated from left to right Sglass, Merry Andrew, Roxxxanne, and Madam o.
Seated from right to left - counter clockwise. georgeob, Calamity Jane, Mame, Francis (behind the pillar), Cyclo, Madam o, Roxxxanne, Sglass behind pillar, and Merry Andrew.
Mame taking a picture of Francis with his permission.
The two boat regatta.
Thanks for all the reports and the photos!
Just think that this would make a nice new avatar for Francis :wink:
On deck with CJ, georgeob, Cyclo, Madam O, Sglass, and Roxxxanne.
Poster at the muschroom booth at the Ferry Building.
The caviar and champagne booth (really) at the Ferry Building.
SFMOMA.
Main lobby at MOMA.
Main dining room at the Sheraton Palace.
This is the official end of the a2k gathering, but my wife and I will be spending some more time with Sglass and Merry Andrew next Friday.
Walter Hinteler wrote:Thanks for all the reports and the photos!
Just think that this would make a nice new avatar for Francis :wink:
Why is Mame sticking her finger in Fracis' ear?
Mame what are you doing with your little finger in Francis's ear??????
