Way back in the fall, we made arrangements to attend a teacher conference, Learning and the Brain, in San Francisco in February. With my neck surgery on Jan 31st and recovery, I wasn't sure I was still going to be able to go, but the week before the conference, I decided I'd be able to make it. Having just been cleared, I went back to work on the Tuesday after Presidents Day weekend, worked Tuesday and Wednesday, and then took off on a plane Wednesday night. I felt a little bad leaving my students after only being back for two days, but I did not want to miss out on anything else, after missing out on so much already the past two months.
We had such a great time. The conference was ok. While there were a few sessions that were good (one, in particular, was amazing), and we were able to glean some good ideas and tools to take back with us, it was the company that made it fun. Exploring San Francisco with Tiffany and Jana in between sessions was so great! Jana was based in San Francisco and lived there for a while when she was a flight attendant years ago, so she was our tour guide. She's a great travel companion, and Tiffany and I benefitted from her expertise and sense of adventure.
The conference was held at the Fairmont Hotel on the top of the hill, and it just so happened that President Biden was staying there at the same time on his campaign tour. His presence added some excitement to our time, and we spent hours watching the secret service and all the security people around the hotel. Because he was there, the entire area was blocked off, so we ended up getting dropped off at the bottom of the hill by our Uber driver when we arrived and had to hike up the hill with our luggage to our hotel.
Roof-top Biden watch (and getting kicked off the roof by the secret service), Chinatown, magical ice cream, walking up and down steep hills, North Beach and the hot tub of garlic at The Stinking Rose, happy hour at the Top of the Mark, sneaking into a concert at the cathedral--lots of fun memories and adventures. I felt really good on the trip and decided all that walking we did and the fun time with friends was just what I needed to finish up my recovery and get back to normal life again.
Meanwhile, Greg held the fort down at home for Joel’s basketball senior night, a birthday party for Aubs with 10 of her amazing, fun (and loud) friends, a water polo tournament for Grant, drivers Ed for Aubs, and a district band ensemble performance for Joel (they took first!).
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