Going away

I am back after spending the past week lost in a world of greenery and grapes, with row after row of perfectly manicured vines tucked into every parcel of free space. For one long day we were tucked into our own tiny parcels of space in airports and airplanes, enjoying the freedom of thought that comes with no responsibility. The flight out was uneventful, which still counts as a good thing in air travel, and we passed it watching the inflight movie and gossiping about the week ahead. Google maps safely guided us out of San Francisco International and into the mountains and vines and wonderful views of Napa, in spite of my lack of recent driving experience.

Napa itself seemed a completely different world. I wasn’t expecting the stretching skyline of Manhattan or the jostling crowds of any major city but the striking contrast of picturesque green vines against the bare tile floors of the airport we just left was simply beautiful. The house my parents rented was just as stunning, with pool and sprawling deck obviously plucked from one of my dreams. My wife can tell you that I often indulge her with fantasies of a freeloader lifestyle with little of the worries and responsibilities that come with real life. In that house I was picturing days spent toiling amongst the vines and evenings of good food and drink. Like any good dream I put all the realities of backbreaking labor and expensive mortgage payments out of my mind. For this week I would indulge my fantasies and appetites.

The first night was a mix of exploring the grounds (just a tad bigger than our studio apartment J ) and trying to fit as much of my mom’s lasagna as humanly possible into my belly. It set a perfect example for the week to come where we sampled fancy wines and toured aging vineyards and set about to enjoy ourselves in all aspects. At home we dip into the wine cellars every couple weeks but I can’t make any great claim to wine knowledge. I often find myself lost in the aisles of Beacon Wines, trying desperately to pick out the best wine possible to go with hotdogs. The rows of Napa wines have always seemed a tad intimidating as I frequently reached for the familiar fruity taste of German Rieslings.

For this trip our wine touring came complete with chauffeured limo to allow for maximum enjoyment of each vineyards’ sampling. Once arrived we would stomp through another ocean of greenery to the bar and let the host show off their expansive knowledge of the region, and while the speeches and lectures were certainly entertaining the main course of wine was quite naturally the best part of each tasting.

Without boring you with the details I’ll just say that the rest of stay in Napa was a blur of food, wine and quality time with the family. My wife and I made good use of the pool and I even managed to find time one morning for a long run nearby the closest rows of vines. I was a little sad to leave the house after several days of enjoying the ability to walk from my bedroom straight onto the poolside patio.

For the second part of our week on the left coast my wife and I separated from the rest of my family and took in a few days in San Francisco. We were both a tad too eager to compare the city by the bay to the city back home and arrived early in the morning to get in two full days of touring before the submitting to the pain of travel from west coast to east.

We walked through streets and hills, took in tourist areas despite my aversion to Times Square back home, and tried to get a good picture of the city in the few days we had. I even subjected us to In and Out Burger after my statement the previous week that it was ‘just another burger joint’ caused a mild panic at the office. All things considered I enjoyed the city but couldn’t help but feel it lacked that energy and spark that people love about New York. Maybe we are rushing to judgment, or more than likely we were both just tired and ready to get back home, but we left San Francisco eager to get back to the normalcy that filled the Upper West Side.

The Park

Last year we enjoyed one the summer's first long walks around The Great Lawn in Central Park. Between trees and picnics lies one of the park's lonely wide open spaces: 6 or 7 softball fields stretching over perfectly manicured grass. The teams vary in shape and size from 10 year old girls to beer guzzling men well past their prime but a spectator can always find entertainment. On weekends the grass is abuzz with families dining on homemade sandwhiches while their kids play chase and tag and all of childhood's best games. The scene looks like it was pulled straight out of a J Crew catalog and it quickly became one of very favorite places to walk and talk and take in the sunlight.

On that first walk around the space we strolled right into a queue of families lining halfway around the grass from a large wooden stadium that somehow fits in amongst all the trees. They were waiting for one of Central Park's summer wonders, Shakespeare in the Park. My first thought was that each of them were bloody crazy, standing in the often unbearable heat of the summer sweating away the day in wait of a play.

This year when my wife persistently suggested we do the same I am sure a look of terror filled my face. While I often mouth off about the silly Yankees complaining about their 90 degree summer heat I am less than eager to join their ranks waiting underneath the sun. But luck was on our side as this year, just rounding out our first full year in the city, is the first in which a selection of tickets are offered online. For the few us unwilling to queue up with the rest of the city's Shakespeare patrons an option now exists. Not that I have ever been a fan of London's finest export. Cliff Notes are the closest I ever came to reading one of the plays but only a loon passes up a chance for free entertainment.

After leaving work we met my sister for some of Gray's Papaya's finest cuisine and headed over to the park just in time to smile at the quickly forming line and collect our online tickets. A short stroll around the softball players and they let us in to the wooden theater. I spent my normal pre play minutes sifting through the Playbill articles and trying to figure out just how long Hamlet is (the answer is quite long, we left well into the night).

For a free play the atmosphere is quite a bit of fun, as a large stadium enveloping a well lit stage is the last thing you would expect to find in the ocean of trees that make up Central Park. I went expecting to find burned out college actors who missed their chance at the Broadway plays and was deeply surprised by the quality of Actors. Sam Waterstone of Law and Order fame filled out the cast along with a host of other recognizable faces. Every aspect was first class and I still cannot puzzle out how they do it without charging. Despite my previous assurances that I could not enjoy 3 hours of theeing and thowing I left my seats grinning stupidly at the end. It was quite a bit of fun.