Boppin' round the town

So Mom arrived safely, and we've been showing her the local sights.

First stop this morning was City Hall, so that she could see some of the same-sex marriages being performed and admire the incredible architecture. She was really moved, watching this one male-male couple marry... she said she was nearly crying right along with the grooms. So was I...

Then we went to visit the San Francisco Wave Organ, a very nifty place. The tides were too low for the pipes to be playing, but we enjoyed the scenery - lots of sculpted marble and granite on a jetty that juts out into the 'Frisco Bay. The bay was dramatic today - pale green water, intense grey and blue clouds, and the bridge contrasted in muted brick red with the lush green Marin hills beyond it.

And whenever Mom comes to town, we love to visit The Stinking Rose, a veritable shrine to all things garlicky. For lunch we got a roasted garlic bulb, butternut squash garlic pasta, and garlic ice cream with caramel mole sauce for dessert.

After that Mom and emmett_the_sane dropped me off at my office so that I could work, and later tonight they picked me up and we tried the new Pacifica Beach Resort Restaurant. The appetizer and dessert were divine, the entree was skippable, the staff were friendly. I enjoyed a salad of arugula with feta, avocado and grapefruit; and for dessert I got a tangy lemon tart with apricot sauce.

And now we're back home resting. Tomorrow we take a day-trip to Napa for the Napa Valley Mustard Festival, and Sunday we'll go to the annual pilgrimage to Emperor Norton's grave in Colma, complete with drag performances.