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After a long day, I was looking for a simple, but yummy dish for dinner. I found this recipe for cilantro-grilled shrimp on the Martha Stewart website. The key to this dish is a very easy to make Asian cilantro sauce, which has a very rich flavor with only a few ingredients. Fresh cilantro and sesame oil are the prime flavors, plus a little adjustable heat from crushed red pepper. I heartily recommend this recipe. [Note: I served this over brown rice verses the ‘sesame cabbage’.]

This morning, Jeff, Matt, Chris, and I walked a 10K route through Golden Gate Park for the annual San Francisco AIDS Walk. The route was shrouded in a muggy coastal fog with nary a breeze for most of the walk. Quite unusal, really, since our fog is typically acompanied by pleasant offshose winds that keep our air fresh.

Still, in spite of the uncomfortable stuffiness, we did have a fun walk, broken up periodically by musical entertainment…and the famous, out-of-place buffalo paddock. The stand-out entertainer was a one-woman steel drum performance. When we passed this brave woman, she was enthusiastically banging out the song ‘Tequila’ (of Pee-Wee Herman fame). Each time the lyric tequila came around in the song, this tiny, stright-laced performer would belt it out with great enthusaism. (I think I caught the ‘eeee’ in te-queeeeeee-la in the photo below.)

I actually didn’t snap many shots today, but this odd stranger sitting on top of a tree certainly caught my eye!

After the AIDS Walk, we drove up to Sausalito for brunch. As we returned to the city, the fog was playing with the Golden Gate Bridge, so we drove up into the Marin Headlands for a perfect vista.

Before I get around to the details of THIS Sunday, I need to get around (finally) to LAST Sunday. In stark contrast with this morning’s heavy coastal fog, last Sunday morning’s skies were bright with sun. The warm sun drew a flirtations pair of hummingbirds to the lavender on our balcony. (Of course, they didn’t exactly cooperate with my camera…but this shot is fun.)

Sunday afternoon, we decided to take a hike along the north-western shores of the City. We hiked from the Cliff House to Lands End (and the Palace of the Legion of Honor museum) and back again. Along the way, we came upon the Mile Rock steps down to a rocky beach.

The hike was a healthy mix of flat paths and well-tended wooden stairs. Typical of the quality you expect within a National Park…and a pleasant place to disappear within San Francisco for a few hours.

I will fully admit that I have a hard time editing down my photos to post. Especially people photos…because every shot is so unique, and full of life and personal expression.

Sooooo, I’ve been sitting on a slew of photos from the San Francisco Pride Parade from a few weeks ago–June 24 to be precise. And like the Bay to Breakers event in May, I went nuts snapping images of all the antics.

Now, Pride certainly has a reputation for being a bit edgy, and there is certainly a tiny bit more leather and lace than in your average parade. Nevertheless, I can report that this parade had FAR less skin than Bay to Breakers!

Pride certainly embraces the diversity of the City. It starts with a roar with the traditional Dykes of Bikes mass motorcycle ride–nearly 100 women on motorcycles announcing their power to the world. This kicks off over two hours of corporate floats, politicians, and every niche fetish you can crack a whip at.

Its not for everyone, but its a party you can’t take your eyes off of. Enjoy the sights.

Life moves a fast some days, and what seems like just a couple of weeks ago, quickly turns into a month…or more.

At the beginning of June, my family held a special party in Maryland: our “aught party”. The occasion was the celebration of several decade birthdays and anniversaries. We had one 80th birthday, a 70th anniversary, a few 60th anniversaries and birthdays, and so forth, all the way to my brother and his fiancee celebrating their zero-th anniversary this year. (Let’s not forget MY upcoming 40th birthday!) In all, we had over 15 decade anniversaries and birthdays…with every decade covered from 1927 to 2007.

The location: St. Michaels…where my grandmother lived, and her two sisters still live today. Prior to the main event, the three families held pre-parties at their homes. My family and I settled into Whiskey Hill…my grandmother’s home. This is still one of my most relaxing places to visit.

The pre-party at Whiskey Hill ended with a fantastic lightening show across Edge Creek. This was always a fixture of our summers in St. Michaels. The dramatic approach of storms across the water until they crash upon you with wind and rain.

The day of the Aught Party was absolutely perfect. Sunny. Warm. Light breezes. The perfect setting for family to arrive from far-flung corners of the country: Georgia, North Carolina, California, Washington, and of course Virginia and Maryland. We descended on our hosts Deb and Doug and their inviting home on Solitude Creek.

Specially designed blue tee shirts abounded…one for every celebrant. As you can see…there were quite a few 🙂

One of the highlights for the younger generation was the ol’ mentos in cola trick. My uncle Jim, a proud NASA engineer (and a skillful teacher), helped the kids to craft multi-mentos drops to send the soda streams even higher into the air. On one occasion, there was even a cola battle!

The party was fueled by a seemingly endless supply of fresh corn on the cob and expertly-grilled steak. I was put in charge of assembling the party soundtrack…a carefully researched mix of hits from 1927, 37, 47, 57, 67, 87, 97, and 2007. Throw all that into an iPod playlist, and WOW…instant party. Its quite fun to hear Kay Kayser and Frank Sinatra next to the Beatles and Bon Jovi.