4th of July Fun

I just got back from an amazing weekend in the Bay Area.  I visited two of my friends from school, spending most of the weekend in the country side.  I went wine tasting for the first time, learning the difference between oaked and unoaked wine.  Afterwards, we took a walk in the countryside, feeding apples to the horses as we walked by.  I was so nervous that the horse was going to bite me!  You have to keep your fingers down, and the horse takes the whole apple in its mouth; it tickled.

Then, we went and saw fireworks at a Temple.  They were short, 15 minutes, and pretty good.  Keeping with the theme of Independence day, most of the firework were red, white, and blue.

After an exhausting day, the three of us decided to sleep in a full-sized bed.  What possessed us to do such a thing, I don't know, however it was the best I have slept in days!  We woke up and went to the beach for a few hours, where we fell asleep guarding our faces from the sun.

After such a tiresome experience at the beach, we stopped to refuel on the way back with some sugar: salt water taffy and Screamin mimi's amazing homemade ice cream.

For dinner, we made a squash lasagna, using vegetables straight from Hannah's Mother's garden.  Not only did we use fresh veggies, but we grated our own Swiss cheese and made two types of sauce from scratch.

The weather was beautiful, and we sat outside for the whole evening (~4 hours).  No bugs, no noise, just the light from the candles and some stars.

Sunday, Hannah and I spend the day in San Francisco.  We started at the Ferry building where we ate lunch.  We got a few different foods and shared them; this allowed for us to try a greater variety.  We tried an Italian doughnut (pictured), olive oils, a grilled cheese containing bread made there and cheese from the surrounding area (so good! pictured), and a famous soft-serve ice cream place.  

Of course, we couldn't stop there.  We went to China Town, where we got Boba (Milk Tea), a large pork bun, a sweet roll, egg tart, and egg roll for $4.75.  We were shocked at how inexpensive all of the food was.  We travelled pretty far down the main road, and then detoured a few shop fronts up to find this place.  It was well worth it!  Of course, ordering was a bit difficult as the people running the store-front did not speak english.

To end it all, we went to this huge Westfield mall.  There were five stories, winding stair cases and escalators, and lots of high-end food places.  Needless to say, it was VERY easy to get lost.  Hannah and I split a freshly-filled vanilla cream puff.  

Last, I went to Peet's Coffee for the first time this weekend.  I went to the original coffee house, and it was so good that I had to go back for seconds!  Before friday, I did not understand why everyone loved Peet's so much.  Now, I am a fan.

It was great to see my friends this weekend.  I have a lovely time with them, and cannot wait for the start of senior year!  

On a side note, I would like to update you on my thesis.  I have completed my first figure!  Six pictures neatly arranged, with arrows.  Also, I was running a gel today that contained proteins.  Unfortunately, the gel broke where I believe my protein was expected to appear.  I guess I will find out tomorrow what happened!

"Don't walk behind me; I may not lead.  Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow.  Just walk beside me and by my friend." -- Albert Camus