Cat Scratch Fever

Saturday, Debbi and I drove into San Francisco for the day. Neither of us had been in a while and we figured it would make for a nice excursion.

We drove up a BART station and took the train the rest of the way into downtown, where we did a little shopping and had lunch. I then suggested we walk over to Ghirardelli Square for dessert, which was a fine plan, but it turned out to be a much longer walk than I'd thought! And I've even walked that distance before! I guess I was just more tired from the week than I thought, or something.

However, the ice cream sundaes we bought were just fine, and we were able to catch MUNI light rail back to BART (we took the Embarcadero/Market Street line on which they run some old-style trolleys, not to be confused with the cable cars), from which we took a train to the Mission district to drop in on Borderlands Books.

One of the highlights of the day was driving up to Twin Peaks, a hill in the center of the city from which you can look down on almost the entire city (except for some of the western sections which are obscured by the hills in the Sunset district). It features two crests at its apex, hence its name. We drove to the parking area and then climbed to the top of each peak, which was a bit challenging since the wind really rips through the air at that point in the city! Wearing shorts, it was perhaps a little bit on the cold side for my tastes, but was still worth the trip.

We wrapped up the day by driving over to the ocean and up the Great Highway, stopping at a couple of points, and finally near the Cliff House to watch the sun set. Although I'd been out to the ocean at sunset a couple of times, this was my first trip where the sky was clear enough to see it actually go down! It was a great way to end the day.

Sunday I had to myself, and I kept plenty busy.

Late morning and early afternoon I shopped. I drove to half a dozen pet stores in the area in search of the perfect scratching post for the kitties, since they've just about shredded their current one. They've enjoyed having it lying on its side so they don't have to arch their backs to scratch (or so it seems to me), so I wondered if I could buy one that lay horizontally or at an angle, but I only found one post like that, and it didn't seem very sturdy. So I came away empty-handed.

I did, however, discover a store in Los Gatos which has a garage full of cat trees, ranging from two feet high to eight feet, and up to $1000 in price! Most impressive, artistically, was a seven-foot-high palm tree with sturdy "leaves" the cats could lie on. Even cooler was an eight-foot-high hollow tube with five different holes for entrance and little platforms at each level for the cats to climb up and sit on, and a large platform at the very top. It looks like a cat's dream. But even though I'd like to get a cat tree sometime, it's way more than I'd like to buy. A four-foot job seems more appropriate.

It's not like my cats don't already have lots of room to run around and jump...

I'm also on a quest to find some Mephisto brand sandals, since my Birkenstocks are past their shelf life and since John has raved about their comfort for years now. Unfortunately, the two stores I've found around here which sell them only have a meager three styles (if that) of men's sandals, none of which I'm enthusiastic about. I did find on-line listings of their other styles, and think I'd like the Baruch or Zeus models, if I can find some to try on. Any suggestions, anyone?

I was more successful in my quest for a new halogen lamp, which I finally found; not many places seem to carry them anymore. I wonder if the California power crisis has been forcing people to look for other options. Still, I didn't like the fluorescent torchiere lamps I saw, and the incandescent torchieres used just as much power. So, a new halogen to replace the one that just died it is.

(Have I mentioned that I'm a light fiend?)

I also bought a shredder. Yes, a shredder. I decided to just eliminate the risk that someone might steal my identity by rummaging through my trash. Sort of an impulse thing. Probably it won't make any difference, but what the heck. A little piece of mind. Plus, throwing papers through the shredder is fun! It really makes short work of them! We all need a little mindless fun sometimes.

After my shopping expedition, I had lunch and then hopped on my bike to go out for a ride, trying to get to the far southern end of the Los Gatos Creek Trail, at Lexington Reservoir. Unfortunately, it turns out that those last two miles are over unpaved trail, much like a dirt road with plenty of rocks, and two very steep hills at the end. I have a road bike, not a mountain bike, so this made for unpleasant riding even though I (thank goodness) didn't puncture a tire. It was a nice little accomplishment, but from now on I'll stick to the paved segments of trail.

My outing took me about two hours (!) and I was completely exhausted by the early evening. So I spent the evening reading, and writing Friday's journal entry, and then turned in.

A very full weekend! I'm really enjoying bicycling again. Now I just have to get the thing washed... it's covered in dust and dirt from lying unused for two years. Yuck!