Baltic Day 2 - SF
Woke up today tired stiff from yesterday’s adventure and it was decided that we were going to stick closer to home, in a manner of speaking.
After breakfast, I decided to check out the pool/spa while Chris spoke with the desk clerk and then I headed back up to the room. He arrived in a dark mood. He’d ridden up in an elevator with someone whose flight had been cancelled for the second time. I tried to cheer him up with the usual ruses, but instead a little seed of doubt was growing.
We watched some TV, read, and dozed much of the morning away, and then at 11, Chris announced he was going for a walk - did I want to come? No, not really, but I knew it would be good for me to get out of the room.
We ended up walking two miles over to Burlingame (we were in Milpitas - the freeway separates them. Burlingame is a charming little town that is struggling as so many other charming little towns are. We walked around for a bit and then decided lunch was in order.
After walking past a dozen or so restaurants (way too many, it seemed), we picked Rocco’s, an Italian restaurant. I had a small salad and tortellini, peas, and mushrooms in an Alfredo sauce. Chris had a bowl of clam chowder and a pear gorgonzola salad (and about half of my entrée). He tried his first Arnold Palmer and decided he liked it.
We walked around a bit more, including stopping into a candy/toy store with a chatty clerk. He was already to tell us that his town’s demise was because of the Internet and Amazon, in particular. Honestly, I suspect it was the cost of his merchandise, limited selection, and the fact that he had no customers… Plenty of people were out and about by now, but none stopped here.
We also checked out an international market that was a lot of fun. Lots of brands we’d not seen before and some fuel for thought.
Then time for the long walk back to the hotel. Along the way, we met three charming pugs. Two were tan and one was black. He was the shy one of the bunch, but in the end we were befriended by all of them. Very sweet natured and funny, it was a joy to share our walk back with them.
Back in the room, we looked at some e mail and Chris printed off our boarding passes. No gate assignment, but one thing at a time. I decided I was going for a swim and a soak before I did the wash. We didn’t have a lot of dirty clothes, but it was something to do. The pool was, let’s say, brisk and I managed about fifteen minutes of swimming. During that time, it never warmed up, but the spa was great. I had my book and a bottle of water and it was just what the doctor ordered. Chris showed up then and after trying a couple of laps in the tiny pool came over and joined me in the spa. It is rare when a pool is too cool for him.
We fiddled about as we were waiting for the laundry to finish and then I made the mistake of watching the news. It was grim and it’s highly unlikely that we would be getting out on Tuesday as planned. I got a little depressed and Chris got angry, neither of which was very helpful. I was too sore and glum to want to take BART into the city, so we ate at the hotel restaurant and, believe it or not, had a very nice meal. I had a burger and a lovely bok choy soup. Chris had a club sandwich and a really well thought out shrimp cocktail. Everything was very fresh and very tasty.
On the way back to the room, Chris closed out our safety deposit box, talked to the desk clerk about what would happen if our flight was cancelled again while I went back to the room. Chris discovered that we had a gate assignment, which we took as a good sign. I was still sad. Delays are running high and if we are delayed getting out, then we will miss our connection to Manchester.
Turning to my on-line friends, I asked for good thoughts and any luck they could offer us. I have tried to make the best of the last two days, but I am ready to leave. I know we are lucky to have a comfortable room and the funds to afford this, but still… please? Portmeirion now?
After breakfast, I decided to check out the pool/spa while Chris spoke with the desk clerk and then I headed back up to the room. He arrived in a dark mood. He’d ridden up in an elevator with someone whose flight had been cancelled for the second time. I tried to cheer him up with the usual ruses, but instead a little seed of doubt was growing.
We watched some TV, read, and dozed much of the morning away, and then at 11, Chris announced he was going for a walk - did I want to come? No, not really, but I knew it would be good for me to get out of the room.
We ended up walking two miles over to Burlingame (we were in Milpitas - the freeway separates them. Burlingame is a charming little town that is struggling as so many other charming little towns are. We walked around for a bit and then decided lunch was in order.
After walking past a dozen or so restaurants (way too many, it seemed), we picked Rocco’s, an Italian restaurant. I had a small salad and tortellini, peas, and mushrooms in an Alfredo sauce. Chris had a bowl of clam chowder and a pear gorgonzola salad (and about half of my entrée). He tried his first Arnold Palmer and decided he liked it.
We walked around a bit more, including stopping into a candy/toy store with a chatty clerk. He was already to tell us that his town’s demise was because of the Internet and Amazon, in particular. Honestly, I suspect it was the cost of his merchandise, limited selection, and the fact that he had no customers… Plenty of people were out and about by now, but none stopped here.
We also checked out an international market that was a lot of fun. Lots of brands we’d not seen before and some fuel for thought.
Then time for the long walk back to the hotel. Along the way, we met three charming pugs. Two were tan and one was black. He was the shy one of the bunch, but in the end we were befriended by all of them. Very sweet natured and funny, it was a joy to share our walk back with them.
Back in the room, we looked at some e mail and Chris printed off our boarding passes. No gate assignment, but one thing at a time. I decided I was going for a swim and a soak before I did the wash. We didn’t have a lot of dirty clothes, but it was something to do. The pool was, let’s say, brisk and I managed about fifteen minutes of swimming. During that time, it never warmed up, but the spa was great. I had my book and a bottle of water and it was just what the doctor ordered. Chris showed up then and after trying a couple of laps in the tiny pool came over and joined me in the spa. It is rare when a pool is too cool for him.
We fiddled about as we were waiting for the laundry to finish and then I made the mistake of watching the news. It was grim and it’s highly unlikely that we would be getting out on Tuesday as planned. I got a little depressed and Chris got angry, neither of which was very helpful. I was too sore and glum to want to take BART into the city, so we ate at the hotel restaurant and, believe it or not, had a very nice meal. I had a burger and a lovely bok choy soup. Chris had a club sandwich and a really well thought out shrimp cocktail. Everything was very fresh and very tasty.
On the way back to the room, Chris closed out our safety deposit box, talked to the desk clerk about what would happen if our flight was cancelled again while I went back to the room. Chris discovered that we had a gate assignment, which we took as a good sign. I was still sad. Delays are running high and if we are delayed getting out, then we will miss our connection to Manchester.
Turning to my on-line friends, I asked for good thoughts and any luck they could offer us. I have tried to make the best of the last two days, but I am ready to leave. I know we are lucky to have a comfortable room and the funds to afford this, but still… please? Portmeirion now?