Gratitude Monday: My excellent birthday adventure

Saturday was my birthday. I stopped making a big deal about that around the time I moved to Seattle and pretty much gave up the will to live. My family and friends always remember it, and I get the most wonderful cards and presents; I just don’t bother with it much myself, since the closest one of the family-and-friend crowd is more than 500 miles away.

But a couple of weeks ago, a friend who lives right here asked how I intended to celebrate my birthday. She takes this kind of stuff seriously, to the point of taking the day off from work to mark her own birthday. So I thought, well, why not?

Except for our foray in to Union Square for the SF Design Week events a couple of months ago, I’ve not been into San Francisco in a couple of years. And those trips were for job interviews. So that became our destination.

It was an incredible day.

We had to adjust out plans a bit when we realized that Outside Lands was going on in Golden Gate Park, but it still turned out great.

We started out with breakfast at Mel’s Diner, where the food was good and the service what you’d expect at a place that makes its money from tourists who won’t be returning.

The real star of the day was the park, where we spent about six hours, and barely cracked its possibilities. Dahlia Dell, the conservatory, the de Young Museum, the rose garden, the Japanese tea garden and the carousel were all we could manage.

Highlights:

The conservatory reminded me of its counterpart at Kew Gardens, though smaller and more intense. (Meaning it was basically a sweat lodge with a lot of greenery.) They have a temporary exhibit of a butterfly garden, which was fascinating (down to and including the signage):

They invited you to add the word for “butterfly” in other languages onto a chalkboard. Ann and I gave them the German (der Schmetterling); right after that, a Vietnamese woman wrote in bướm bướm, which is apparently pronounced somewhere between “bom-bom” and “boom-boom”. But I like the repeated “B” sound for the fluttery creature; seems appropriate.

I was stunned by the variety of dahlias, all concentrated into a small space, so they just cry out for your attention. Also, for the ministrations of bees, who were stocking up on all the good pollen:

The carousel was wonderful—totally mechanical (as opposed to electronic), with spectacularly beautiful animals. It dates from 1914. I rode the tiger (no limericks, please). Take a look at the stork:

To tell you the truth, by this time (nearly 1700) we were just the teensiest bit tired. So back to Japantown for some of the best sushi I’ve ever had, with boats floating past us to distribute the delicacies. Listen—I’ve eaten a lot of raw fish in my time; this was amazing. Also: first time I've ever seen éclairs at a sushi bar; much less floating past me on bamboo boats next to raw shrimp and salmon.

The sushi cutter’s name (according to his name tag) was Alberto.

America, gonif.

It was a great way to celebrate my birthday, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to do it and for a friend to share it with. Gratitude Monday hardly seems big enough to cover it. But it’s a start.