Deer by the hammock

Here's a couple of shots of our neighborhood deer hanging out by the hammock at our new place - I thought I had company when I heard them rustling up beside the house. For the most part I think the Berkeley Hills wildlife are awesome and cool - but I am a bit put off by word of an ongoing Mountain Lion warning issued from Lawrence Hall of Sciences as a mother and cubs have been hunting in the neighborhood. Hope these two stay healthy and don't attract any predators.

Hanging out with Sarah P.

It's like we are having our own "mini" sibling summit over here. First we got to have a wonderful playdate with Loula in Tilden park and today we had a playdate with Sarah P. while mom Lisa had a grownups baby shower in the hood. We did some art, ate some snacks and took our new favorite mini-hike out to our view point cul-de-sac.


The boy showed her the lay of the land - and she enjoyed the snacks (as you can see) - her mom doesn't give out the same kind of junk that we like to provide which made our snacks pretty tempting.

We also managed to get her covered in both dirt and paint which I think are the signs of a pretty successful visit.

Above is another shot of our view - nice!!

Adventure Playground 9.26

Break Fast

Went to CSZ for final Yom Kippur services - my favorite part of the holidays is always ending the services with all the CSZ kids up on the stage at Herbst Theater (well all the kids except ours who was feeling shy or something) - followed by breaking of the fast with an amazing view of SF City Hall across the street.

Saul's pre - services

While mommy was still at work the boy and I prepared for the fast pre-services at Sauls Deli on Shattuck. Lovely shot of boy and brisket above as well some nice matza soup below.

Super Whale Rider

Another shot from Lawrence Hall of Sciences

LHS

Saturday in the City

This weekend we came into the city for our first recreational visit since we have been back in the Bay Area. And we promptly got lost. Hard to believe that in only four years we had both forgotten how to drive around the city. Even in the Castro we forgot what streets get us where and places that only the buses can turn - it was rather embarrassing, but finally we did make it to our destination - The Children's Playground at Golden Gate Park - and the Ginormous Cement Slide...

Then from the park we headed out to the Avenues where I discovered a great Coffee shop that I will probably never go to again since its on Judah and 46th and I can't imagine being that far out again but they did make a REALLY good cup of coffe & it was a nice break from the craziness in the park and on the streets from both the Power to the Peaceful concert in the park and some neighborhood street fair that we ran into on Judah.

Tashlich

L'Shanah Tovah Ya'all.

I can't believe that we are back in the Bay Area to start the New Year (5771). We attended erev services at Beth El - the reform congregation just down the hill from us in Berkeley. Yoel Kahn from CSZ is the Rabbi there now and Rueben is the Asst. Rabbi so it felt very at home for us - and there are a lot of kids at the early service so the boy could sit and play angry birds without causing too much of a stir. In the morning we came into the city for the CSZ services at the Herbst Theater which REALLY feels like coming home. We sat in one of the boxes and the boy played with magnets on the floor - I was surprised to have Jack's Grandma Inez come over and say hi - didn't realize that she attends CSZ. We went from services to grab a lunch to go from one of my favorite dives then headed out to Chrissy Field to do Taschlich.



The bridge was just visible through the fog but as we enjoyed our lunch the sun came out more and more.

For the boy it was a chance to play on the beach as we cast our crumbs into the sea.
Oh yeah - it was also a great chance for him to enjoy Jesse's company as well and to gather some more tips on strategy for taking on the helmet heads of Angry Birds.

Home Sweet Home

Well I am a bit behind schedule on getting some updates on here... but today will be worth the wait. To start here are some shots of the NEW house in the Berkeley Hills. We got to CA at about 1:30 am on the 23rd of August and crashed on Elizabeth and Angie (who found this place for us) then when we woke up in the morning we came out to explore our new digs.

The place is probably a bit fancy for us - its way, way way way way UP in the hills - almost in Tilden Park. And its pretty white and modern & minimal on the inside (well it was before all of our boxes got here!)

The first shot is a view of the house as seen from Angie & Elizabeths yard, and the second shot is the view that we see from the front room, the boys room and the deck - lots of Redwoods, Eucalyptus and a drop off down the hill to the bay, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate.

Lovely!!!

Tilden Park - Little Farm

Today we met Loula and her moms at the little farm in Tilden Park - the boy didn't love it quite as much as Drumlin but he was excited to meet Loula again and also to run into one of his classmates as we were feeding the animals at the park.

After feeding celery to the goats and cows we headed down to the nature center and then to the playground nearby. The boy really picked up then and he and Loula spent the next hour or so running around like little crazy nuts - climbing, jumping, running, climbing... it was a lot of fun to watch and Em and I really liked hanging with her moms. Then we all headed over to the carousel....

all this and chocolate ice cream too.

Hike

We headed up the street again to do a little hike this afternoon. We planned on going to the Science Museum but took the wrong path so we just watched the hillside trimming goats instead.

Neighbors Yard

Note the mature Buck eating the trees with the multi-pronged antlers....

Lazy Friday Afternoon

Well our extended family "vacation" is winding down. The boy is back in school and we have travelled across the country and started settling into our new house. Em starts work in less than 2 weeks now but we still are trying to find the time to hang out and play in the midst of the craziness of unpacking, shopping and settling in. We are super lucky to have landed in a spot with friends for neighbors - we can just amble down the hillside between our houses and camp out on their front yard while the boys just stomp rocket away....



So although we are missing our Cambridge friends & East Coast family we feel super lucky to have some new playmates & friends already

Livin La Vida North Berkeley

The view from my lounge spot - Strawberry Canyon Pool - UC Berkeley

Em has come here with the boy a couple of times since we landed in the middle of a heat wave today was my first day joining them - although parking is a pain, and there doesn't appear to be any good public transit options this is a Rockin Outdoor pool with a massive shallow end for the kids to enjoy and today it was also the location of some Butch Soup as I found myself swimming with some other EB butch daddy types.

Checking out the view

We went for a walk up the street with Elizabeth and her boys L - (3 1/2) and C (just turned 3). Our route was up our cul de sac then turn right head on up the hill till the street ends in another cul-de-sac and then out onto the dirt path.

Views above and Views below

UC Berkeley Campus right below us, city straight ahead and Marin etc ahead and to the right

ahhhh.....