Saturday, November 9, 2013
UberX to Pier 15 with Patrick and Tina: $35. We visited the Exploratorium and the Tactile Dome. It was my first visit to the Exploratorium since its move from the Palace of Fine Arts to Pier 15. It's huge now, and it feels like there is at least twice as much stuff to see and do. The Tactile Dome was again a great experience; I loved it so much I went twice. Patrick played a theramin! Although the space was large, it was a very crowded day, and after a while the crowds became too much for all of us and we needed food and drink. Tina made some purchases at TCHO. We walked to the Ferry Building Marketplace. Tried to get in to Slanted Door but it was full for the day and everything in the Ferry Building was too crowded for us. We ate at Osha Thai in Embarcadero Center: thai iced teas for Patrick and Frank, young coconut juice for Tina, we shared: frog legs, volcanic beef, coconut shrimp, lemongrass sea bass. My favorites: volcanic beef for the sauce and tenderness and onion rings then the coconut shrimp for the texture. Surprise drink ordered by Tina: white gummi bear shots for all. We returned briefly to the Ferry Building for some carrot and green onions. Tina also made a stop at Miette. Taxi home: $40 after a generous tip. Relaxed. Matt S and Holly stopped by for a visit. Tina prepared a pre-birthday dinner: soba noodle salad, seaweed, ginger, scallions, red onion, cucumber, roasted cashews, sesame, dried cherries, parsley, seared tofu croutons, almond butter vinaigrette.