1-18-09 Sunday (Beat Up at the Museum)

I had a pretty rough night. My stomach hurt, I didn't feel good, so I got up and went into another room. We have so many rooms here, you'll just have to guess which one. You're not very bright so I'll help you out. 1 of 2 answers would have been correct. I did indeed go into the toilet room (water closet, poop station, commode room, etc) and later I laid on the couch. I grabbed a blanket and my pillow and Dasher remained in the bed..... not for long. After about 15 minutes when his brain registered that I was not returning, he hopped onto the couch and laid with me. Sleeping with him on a couch wasn't easy. I woke up about every hour to change positions while I had to coax him to follow suit. Why am I such a door mat for my dog?

Oh, the point to that intro was that I knew I was in for a long day. With the lack of sleep and another walking tour on the horizon, I had thought about suggesting a Segway tour to Jim. Jim knew I wasn't feeling 100% and offered to skip todays activities. I declined.



Once again, we drove into SF. For our first tour today, we visited the SOMA area again. We arrived at the Contemporary Jewish Museum. Jim liked the of shape of the building. I think that was the draw. Anyway, we go in and Andy Warhol is the current exhibit. There were a few other smaller exhibits as well. The whole thing was boring for us and we walked through the exhibits like we were speed museuming. As we were leaving, I spotted the museum cafe. I was hoping for some chocolate covered matzo, but they didn't even offer it. Oy vey!







I think I get it now. I generally don't like museums and art galleries. I don't want to walk around and read little signs next to photos, art, sculptures or aunt Esther's dentures. I can take these in small doses, but need more than just pictures. I need animatronic devices to show the tale. I need lights to dazzle me with special effects. I need touchy-feely interactive crap. More importantly, I need to go to view something interesting to me, not just free.


Oh, back to what we did today. Next up, we once again went to the Haas-Lilienthal House to catch the tour. It was 6 of us and the tour guide. This was the "Pacific Heights Walking Tour" which was interesting. It was similar to the other walking tour. How? They were both about walking, both tours, both left from the same house. But seriously, it was a different part of the neighborhood and a different tourguide. We looked at the exterior of many homes, learned about its architecture and its history.






Lastly was a museum. Yes, another museum. This was The Beat Museum. All about the Beatniks from the 50's that later evolved into hippies. Beat art, Beat quotes, Beat poetry, Beat me upside the head and let me leave. The museum was dumpy. The exhibits were OK, but again, uninteresting. I speed walked it, found a chair, sat in it and waited for Jim. I said nothing to Jim because he had picked it. As we departed, he said, "I don't know what I was expecting." Oddly, I never even took a picture. I didn't want to waste my film. Yeah, it's digital, but that uses battery. Batteries take electric to charge it. Natural resources such as coal are used to make electricity. See?



That was our day in San Francisco. When we came home, I powered on Blog Headquarters Main Console. Bells, and lights frolicked in unisonic (I made that word up) motion with an alert that I, Garret, had been mentioned in someone else's blog! Not just casually mentioned but even mentioned in the entry title. I squealed like a.... don't go there, I'm having weight issues. Ummmm, so I went to the blog site. I'm not even sure who this chick is. I think she's stalking me. In case something happens to me, remember this entry for the police, they may need the evidence. OK, maybe not. The blog is Casa Hice, which is run by Alix. I'm not sure about the casa part, I don't think she speaks Mexican. For those of you who have asked me over the phone.... Alix is a she. Her parents were just as surprised. I've mentioned her blog before because of her duck story. Click here to see what the odd woman wrote about me. Don't let the auto playing music interfere with your visit, you can pause it. She can't figure out how to make it stop. If you know how, please email her, she could use a lot of help.


The photo below: Interesting artwork on the side of a parking garage.