Sunday, October 17, 2010

Sitting by the Phone, Pining Away for Rusty...

Yesterday, while Rusty was in Missoula, Montana for work...no lie, he had a conference there (I'm assured it is nothing like Broke Back Mountain)...I decided to head out to the man made island of Alameda to tour the St. George's Distillery, makers of fine liquors.

The tasting is a scant $15.00 and includes their full range of liquors including Pear Aquavite, Hangar 1 Vodkas (Buddha's Hand, Mandarin Blossom, Straight, and Kaffir Lime), their whiskey (not a big whiskey fan, but not bad, more of a bourbon guy), three different liqueurs (Pear, Framboise, and Coffee - by the way the Framboise was over the top tasty good), and of course Absynthe...

I took the tour too...it's in an old airplane hangar, on the old decommissioned Navy Base in Alameda, and hosts an excellent view of San Francisco.

The tour guide explained more about distilling spirits than one person ought to know...

This tongue in cheek distillery is my new favorite small batch liquor provider, and I look forward to their odd concoctions and potions...irreverence breeds a high degree of creative, and as a consumer of fine liquors, for this I'm grateful.


This fine apparatus is the distillery for the Absynthe (notice the platform shaped similarly to a certain french landmark).




The shark?  From the movie Deep Blue Ocean starring Samuel Jackson - the Hangar next to this one housed the company that would create these type of animatronic thingees, and when they moved, the owner of the company traded booze for it. (They also created the snakes from the movie Anaconda - yeah, I know, class!) 


Pears, ready for the distilling process...

To all friends thinking of visiting the area, this is definitely a highly recommend spot on the Wally scale!  If bringing over five people reservations are recommended.  

http://www.stgeorgespirits.com/


Saturday, October 09, 2010

I have an App for that...

Alright Blog stalkers, I've processed many of the following photos through Apps on my phone...Tiresome I know...

Still, one can catch up on the happenings for the past couple of weeks and suffer through clever presentations for your visual enjoyment.

September - AT and T Park for Opera at the Ballpark.  Aida simulcast from the SF Opera.  The attending company?  Flawless. My teacher friends, Rusty, Toni and Steven enjoying a rare warm SF end of summer evening.   The story of Aida? Tired. The costumes?  Over the top.



Wha...What, actual excitement at the Opera?  My across the street neighbor had to get all Ghetto Vietnamese on some woman's ass!  I saw my neighbor at this classy event but didn't see the incident.  A latecomer tried to horn in on the blanket space my neighbor had already claimed, a definite faux pas in the social order of outdoor free concerts.  A few words were exchanged and my bad ass neighbor had to step up...Hanoi Hannah style!  Now you all know why I love our neighborhood - can you get this kind of drama over the hill in Walnut Creek (by the way for my NC friends, Walnut Creek is the Bay Area version of Cary).

The gauntlet had been thrown down via our SF restaurant Anniversary Cioppino.  I felt the need to step up to the challenge and spent a few hours in the kitchen making delicious seafood stew for a few friends.  Fine wine, and good times!



The end of September and another Folsom Street Fair. 


Oscar and Dominic, riding the "Fairy" to Folsom.  Bloody Mary's are the only way to avoid seasickness. Did everyone pick their safe word before hitting the leather fest?  Mine of course is "Persimmon!"  


A salute to America as we crossed under the Bay Bridge.  Folsom Street Fair, only in America...oh, and maybe Berlin.  


A sentiment echoed throughout the day. 


Espana representin'!


Tony waiting patiently for his do-gooder hubby to finish his shift as a volunteer for the Gay Men's Choir.  


Bears congregating in the wild...grazing and beginning the mating ritual.  


And my very own 70's porn star!  Chick-ah Bow Bow.  



As the sun set over the city, we caught the ferry back to our Easy Bay safety zone with visions of naked Mission soul patch wearing hipster flesh being beaten by angry, skinny lesbians in bustiers.  "Persimmon" people.  A million times "Persimmon" (shudder).

Other news, Debbie and Thiru came out for a wedding in Marin, and we had a few hours together for a dinner at Suppenkuche.


A light German meal of yard long beers, pork, saurkraut, mashed potatoes, and spaetzel...


Candle light is everyone's friend!

Always nice to have one of my top Fag-Hags and her cash cow breeze through our lives.  Next time, a weekend of debauchery before your return to that big respectable house on the golf course.

This is why I love our neighborhood.  Oaktoberfest in the Dimond.  A few blocks away we walked to our local fest, and enjoyed a brat and several local brews.  we also met quite a few friends.  We did miss the Oompa music but were treated to salsa music...nothing like seeing a woman in a dirndl dancing to latin beats.


Souvenir glass, always a crowd pleaser.

German for a day!



What do Principal Wally and Santa have in common?...we both see all!  This odd photo brought to you by my iphone apps!


A final App photo for fans...


Warhol-esque Wally

Fall is in full swing and life goes on...more adventures on the way.