I love long weekends... and California

We didn't have any meetings on Saturday, Sunday or Monday so we got to enjoy some free time exploring the city, having fun and relaxing.On Saturday we rented bikes from a local shop and biked across the Golden Gate Bridge to a lookout point and to Sausalito before heading back to the hotel. We were trying to make it to a lighthouse at the point of the bay, but mountain bikes were not the best choice for climbing hills so we stopped part of the way through. Too bad, because it ended up we had climbed all the inclines on our way there, and the path to get to the point and return to the bridge was either downhill or flat. While we were at the lookout we ran into a local that had just ridden RAGBRAI last summer and advised us to go see Sausalito. (We were torn between that and Golden Gate Park). It was a very cute little tourist town, with sailboats littering the bay setting up a beautiful scene with the fog that had begun to roll in. Kaitlin and I went window shopping- I found a boutique that had some great deals which I took advantage of before we raced back to the hotel for our meet up time with the group.

We took a night tour of Alcatraz at night. It was sort of eerie, but interesting at the same time. We watched the Shawshank redemption yesterday which was very much like some escape attempts described during the tour. It was slightly depressing being there, hearing about the punishment they gave to prisoners compared to the rehabilitation philosophy they conduct nowadays. There was an audio tour of it, which enhanced the total effect of the tour, since there were hundreds of people silently walking around this prison just listening to an audio recording of its history.

Made me think for a long time about human nature before I was able to fall asleep yesterday (although the movie also contributed to that affect). From the island there was a great view of the city and the bay bridge though, which was beautiful to look upon on a fairly clear night.

Sunday met us with rain in the afternoon. I got updated on my internet life on Sunday morning (emails, facebook, photo editing, blogging, tweeting, etc.) before we left the Holiday Inn Express @ Fisherman's Wharf and drove to the Menlo Park Inn, our second destination of this trip. Upon arrival we decided that some laundry needed to be done, so we read while we waited for our clothes to wash and dry. We ate at a Turkish and Medditeranean restuarant for dinner. Wow do I love Mideastern food. Another destination I would like to add to my list: Turkey.

Today we enjoyed waffles and Starbucks (yum!) at our new hotel before deciding to brave the pouring rain and head off to Monterey. My friend Pyz had a great idea to drive through a Redwood state park on our way to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and I am so glad. It was incredible. I was in total awe the entire time. I absolutely loved it. Quick story: I read an interview in my last issue of Runner's World Magazine about Alannis Morrisette and how she was going to run a marathon in that area and could completely understand why. It was so so so incredible to be there. Wow, I do love nature.

After the incredible Redwoods we continued on to Monterey. Before entering the Bay aquarium we had some delicious Thai food (Sorry Yellow Curry, I think Red Curry has become my new favorite.) My favorite creatures at the aquarium there were the brilliantly colored jellyfish, adorable otters and penguins, and curious wolf eel that seemed very interested in the diver at the kelp feeding. The group went to an excellent pizza place when we got back, and had some great conversation over pints of foreign beer.

Tomorrow should be a fun day to get back into the swing of question asking and business analyzing. We're off to Benetech and Sierra Ventures, then off to a dinner with a Google employee to before we go there on Wednesday. I CAN'T WAIT FOR GOOGLE!!!