every summer the kids and i spend a month in northern california. they go to camp during the day (kee tov) where they each have a gang of dear friends because all the same kids return year after year. EVERY day they come home smiling and full of stories about their crazy camp adventures. they also come home VERY dirty, which is a bit challenging for me, but i try not to get too flapped and keep baby wipes in the car, except on “messy day” when they need to be seriously hosed down and baby wipes are moot. (on messy day they are squirted with paint and chocolate sauce and whip cream and slime and whatever else their counselors come up with… they get off the bus wearing garbage bags!)

post-camp afternoons and weekends we try to hit all of our favorite eats:

china village on solano for the dim sum, particularly the shrimp dumplings that lucy calls “jello shrimp” because of the translucent rice dough… we usually get a couple of orders of these guys and it is typically in the first week, as there isn’t great chinese in boulder and we really miss it.

cesar on shattuck for the little gems salad, the filet mignon and the fried potatoes that are as thin as chips and served with flash fried herbs and sea salt. you CAN get them with aioli, but we don’t do that because aioli is just a fancy word for mayonnaise, which is disgusting. plus they are perfect on their own. i think cesar is my most favorite restaurant in the world… the whole front is open so the sun streams in, there are people of all ages hanging out and the mood is warm and lively. plus they make GREAT cocktails.

picante for yummy, festive, mexican food. i WOULD take them to juan’s as well (where we used to go in high school because they served us wine margaritas, but i can never find it anymore.)

our new breakfast love, bartavelle. i’m not crazy about millennials, but i DO love their avocado toast and bartavelle’s is tip top! … served on super fresh ACME bread from the bakery right next door… the cheese sticks there are outrageous.

this year we also learned about piperade, a basque restaurant near levi’s plaza in the city. apparently, it’s been there for ages and we just didn’t know about it. i had these incredible lentils, which i don’t even like normally, and now i am a convert.

we also drive all over the bay area visiting our favorite people in marin and san francisco and the valley and down the peninsula. we LOVE crossing the different bridges and looking at the water, especially the beautiful “new” bay bridge that opened in 2013. i adore everything about this bridge… the tall all-white stanchion with narrow rails cascading down to create an asymmetrical tent-like shape, the big palm trees leading up to the entrance, the contrast of the bright white rails against the blue sky in day and the sparkling lights lining the bridge at night. when i was growing up, i resented that when we drove into the city from berkeley, we always crossed the less pretty bridge (the golden gate was, of course, the superstar.) now i am so grateful for every opportunity to spend time on the bay bridge… even when there’s traffic. i feel like it was built just for me (although i do acknowledge that damage from the 1989 earthquake to the original eastern span may have had something to do with the update.)

and we love spending time in the city popping into the museums (this year there was an awesome warhol exhibit at the moma!) and just wandering around some inspiring shopping streets (sacramento, hayes and fillmore…) with all the fun, it just goes too quickly. 

so now we are back and a bit discombobulated… i forgot how to drive my car exactly - i couldn’t find the phone button or the one i push so the car will brake on it’s own if i’m about to hit something. but it was time… most especially because my roots were horrendous. my last week in california i was in a baseball cap full time (which isn’t typically my look.) usually i cheat on my beloved colorist, liz, mid way through our stay, but this year i wasn’t organized about booking an appointment and i will NEVER make that mistake again. i spent my first morning in boulder safely back in liz’s chair getting all those unwanted sparkles painted away… PRAISE JESUS!

* BONUS DISCOVERY: while i was gone they put in a new carpet in the bar method studio. it is so SOFT and cushy and makes me pretty happy… i WOULD rather take a nap on it than do the stomachs or the planks, but i think i will have to settle for the “restore” class…

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