what a week... once again overbooked and crazy, but that's better than overworked and crazy, so sign me up for another week.
This past weekend Alex and I had the pleasure of spending the weekend with Max and Julianne. It included such items as a delicious dinner, a trip to Healdsburg, a concert of classical music and a very memorable "lost hour" between the hour of 2am and 2am on Sunday.

Max and I get to meet up with a high school friend of ours, John (or Johnny, as I like to call him) every once in a while. He is part of a string quartet and when he breezes through town we're always lucky to hear from him and get free tickets to his concerts. He met up with us in the East Bay, convenient and close to home .... we all had dinner at Nizza la Bella which will now be one of my favorites, and dangerous, because I can walk to it from my apartment. We then headed over to the Albatross for some drinks and to meet some other folks from high school. It was a more than a little wacky when Matt, a prom date from 1988, came in and said hello. That's just the kind of thing you don't think about everyday, especially when you're all the way across the country from where you grew up. I really don't remember the prom that well, but I do remember that I wore white pumps and a crazy lavender dress that didn't really fit me. I stuffed my bra in an attempt to even things out and while dancing a tissue worked it's way free. I wouldn't have noticed it, but luckily everyone on the dance floor was eager to point it out. Did I mention that I had a short hair and a rat tail that went down to the small of my back? I dressed it up with a little silver bow that night. A class act, all the way. Needless to say it was a little awkward to meet up with people I haven't seen for about 15 years in a loud bar on a Friday night, but I made it, with the awesome assistance of Julianne, who is the best at striking up conversations... I'm the worst at that.

The next day was a little bit of relaxing, a little bit of packing and a lot of sweating. I always forget how hot it gets out here in October. We (Alex and I along with Max and Julianne) headed up to Healdsburg around 2:30, had a smooth drive in the Grand Prix (maybe our last weekend with the WideTrack). Our first stop was in Santa Rosa to check into our hotel for the evening. Hey, don't be too harsh in judging the Motel 6, it was cheap. While we were putting our things in the room and taking turns in the bathroom I heard a little bell ringing outside, and apparently so did Alex. Because the next thing I know he's running downstairs while shouting "ice cream man!" Lo and behold there was a dude on a bike with a cart attached, brilliant! Lime popsicles and ice cream sandwiches as hard as a rock from being so cold. mmmmmm. See what I'm sayin' about the Motel 6, it's got some unexpected charm. After our ice cream break it was back on the road to Healdsburg.
We did a little window shopping when we got there, checked out how cheap some of the real estate is up there and then had some dinner. Not a lot of ambiance, but as Max said "when you come into a place like this you know you're in America" With the classic rock playing and the game on in the background I would have to agree. The beer was quite tasty, but the jalapeno poppers could be a lot spicier. As you can tell I'm not a food critic, just a lover of all things fried.
The concert was at a church not too far from where we ate. We got there in enough time to see the preshow discussion and learn a little about the pieces we would be hearing. Johnny, as always, was witty and knew how to get a chuckle out of the crowd. The concert itself was fabulous, and not being a music critic either, I'll just leave it at that. Watching people perform classical music takes it to a whole different level. I highly recommend it.
After the concert we attended a little reception at Seghesio, had some wine, cheese and crackers and got to hang out with Johnny a little bit more. Then it was back to the Motel 6.
We watched a little SNL and then all 4 of us dozed off. At around 2am, the beginning of the "lost hour" of daylight savings time, I heard a little ruckus coming from the room next door... the one closest to the headboard, of course. It was a woman, apparently having a fantastic time. And then it stopped. And then she was having a fantastic time again. And then it stopped. And again. I think I fell asleep between these joyous moments, but there were at least 5 distinct moments of pleasure. After the 5th one I had to wonder if she was alone, because all I could hear was her moaning, perhaps she was some sort of loner. She didn't even shout out a name... Then I was awake, wondering what would happen next. Finally a dude chimes in, I felt a little better knowing she wasn't alone. But it concerned me a little, because this was going on for at least an hour. An hour or more. Could it go on much longer, I hope not. Anyways, once he gets a little louder she shouts out "yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes....." until it finally stops. Now I'm thinking I can finally get to sleep with all this exciting business out of the way. But I can't, because the minute it's over she starts talking, and talking, and talking. In Spanish, so I couldn't understand her, which took all the fun right out for me. She talked for about 45 minutes, I can't imagine about what, and the guy was quiet once more. I see a recurring theme in their relationship, and I don't even know them. Alex turned over (he never woke up during this extravaganza) and put his arm around me and I finally got back to sleep.
The next morning Julianne and I asked each other if we heard the late night lovin'. I didn't realize that she was awake, too. We could have had a good laugh, but alas, the lost hour was indeed lost.
We had breakfast in Healdsburg and then headed to Preston Vineyards for the http://www.prestonvineyards.com/site/jug-wine.html of wine you can only get on Sundays. Tasted a little wine and then drove over to Cline. Max is a member so he picked up his wine while Julianne, Alex and I looked for turtles in their pond. Then it was home again.
A nice weekend, although hot and I could have used a little more sleep. So mystery couple of Motel 6... kudos to you for making the most of your lost hour, because turning those clocks back only happens once a year.