We wouldn't routinely head over to Oakland, a 2 1/2-hour drive from here, for dinner. We have lots of nice places to go somewhat closer to home. But to see some good friends--no hesitation.
Our friends from North Carolina, Beth and Mark, accompanied by their daughter, Jessye, were in the Bay Area on a regular Yuletide visit to see Beth's sister, Jan, who lives in Oakland. Mark is also one of Tom's fellow partners in Forte, Inc.--The Little Software Company That Could.
We were invited for dinner Sunday evening to Jan's house, a gorgeous, contemporary multi-level in the hills with a roof deck that looks out over the Bay and cities to the west. Her daughter, Ellen and boyfriend Grant (both visiting from the Right Coast, as well), cooked a wonderful Mediterranean meal for all of us, which also included Mark's cool mom.
Now, if I had any photographic intelligence at all, I could show you photos of these lovely and accomplished folks. But, the mode selector on my camera had twisted to "something else other than what I wanted" when it was stashed in my purse, and I forgot to check it when I started snapping away. So, instead, we get this artsy action picture of Tom, Beth and Jessye as we're sitting down to eat.
Then, we have Mark, turning transparent as he pulls out his chair (so tricky, that Mark). Finally, there's Mark' mom, Joanne, Jessye and Ellen patiently waiting for me to stop snapping ridiculous photos of everyone.There was top-of-the-line entertainment, as well. Jessye had brought her violin and wowed us with a couple of pieces I don't remember the names of, but who cares, since we were really just so impressed with how she plays! Is Jessye about 15? I think so. Plus she's quite an advanced artist, as well. She's a crack manga sketcher, for one thing.
Of course, we very much enjoyed hanging with everyone--all amazing and amusing people! It went all too quickly. But definitely worth the journey! We were home by 1am with at least 10 minutes to spare before we caved in for the night...
