Northern California Field Trip

I took a short trip up to Northern California for work and was able to hook up with a SSA agent I had worked with before and we renewed our relationship at the conference I just attended.  Since she lives in Sacramento, it was super convenient for her to drive so I didn't have to rent a car.

I arrived at the end of the day and had dinner with my parents at the Elephant Bar where we perused their new menu.  The place has changed hands and the menu selection was not as good.  They did bring back the lamb shanks but they didn't taste the same.  We indulged in dessert of the moon pie.

The next day started early in the morning and entailed a drive to the Bay.  I visited the Marin county civic center for a death certificate and it was wild.  It is a Frank Lloyd Wright design that was built after his death and the movie Gattaca was also filmed there.

I also visited the Oakland Federal Building to do a surprise inspection and sat out in the entry admiring the architecture.

The weather was cool and ranged between cloudy and sunny.  There was a hint of fall in the air.

Lunch was at Max's diner close by and the soup and sandwich combo was great with salmon chowder with big chunks of salmon and a half pastrami on rye with havarti cheese.

Also stopped by the cupcake place for a sample to take home.

The next day we ended up going in the opposite direction and headed up the hills.  We passed areas that looked like the plains as well as the northwest with pines.  At a really nice rest stop, I saw some cool information about the history of the area and great scenery.

Lunch consisted of wings and pizza in what use to be a bank building with the vault still visible.

Very productive trip even as short as it was.  Hung out with my parents for a few days in cool weather.