Haunted House 2011

I always have a defining moment at the Coastside Young Actors Workshop Haunted House. This year was  no different. I had one little boy that checked in with me, it was his first year at Haunted House. I signed him up to act because that's what my list said he was trained to do. His mom came up to me a little while later and said he really didn't want to do any acting, he had signed up for this acting group because he was told he could always work behind the scenes.

I would describe getting the doors open for that first tour a little chaotic, so hunting down the director was impossible at that moment. I told the mom and student I would get back to them after I got the first crew in the house and see what I could do about his request. Behind the scenes at Haunted House are a little more complicated than acting the scenes and I didn't know if he had been trained or not. So I found an older student and hooked them up. I told him to take him in and show him the ropes and let me know how it goes. Since the younger student looked terrified of acting, I had to do something. As I suspected they came out of their shift and he learned control rooms and did just fine. He went through a second shift and as soon as he got out he came up to me with one of his friend and said he wanted to act! So I signed him up and he acted most of the day. Later in the day I was out of control room people, so recruited this kid and another one that had never done it before and had him show him the ropes. Lot's of good things there. I've seen so many students come through this program and have the same thing happen. Everyone has talent, everyone has it in them to get up in front of a crowd. You just have to have an encouraging, fun environment. That's what this program is all about. I think his mom was a little shocked. I know when my son went into the program umpteen years ago, I was shocked when he got on stage. It changed his life.

Arrrrgh...it's good to be a pirate!

Boston

Boston

Boston, who would have known it was such a fun place to visit? We spent our 29th wedding anniversary there and had a great time. A walking city full of history and food. Oh the food!

Standing with our forefathers

I've never visited that part of the east coast. Just walking into some of those buildings that our forefathers stood in as they created this great republic that we live in. Chills.






Marliave's/sunday gravy gnnocci/lamb/beef/pork with gravy!/Italian meatball sliders

Omni Parker House Hotel/drinks in the whiskey bar/champagne and choc covered strawberries


Mike's Pastries-canolies!

Coffee Shop- /ginger/vanilla latte The Thinking Cup

Irish Pub by hotel-Shepards pie

Little hole in the wall italian place/pizza/kianti/bread/salad


Bean Town Pub-Irish breakfast/corned beef hash/bloody mary's

Horse drawn Carriage

Horse drawn carriage through Boston

North side of Boston-italian

cigar bar

walking in the rain

paul revere's house was 90 years old when he moved into it and it became a museum in 1908

San Francisco

I’ve been keeping a list! Here are some of my favorite places in San Francisco:





Chinatown walking tour:
http://www.chinatownwalk.com/page1/page1.html but sign-up at www.goldstar.com and you can get the tickets half off. My friends just went on this and said it was fascinating.

Restaurants:
The Tipsy Pig-the mac and cheese is to die for! (North Beach)
http://www.thetipsypigsf.com/

The Irish House (Union Square)-Guiness Beef stew! Stay for the entertainment-never know what you’ll see! It’s in Union Square where there is lots of shopping, bars, restaurants.
http://www.johnnyfoleys.com/aboutus.html

Rose’s Café-Great food, eat outside. Breakfast/Lunch-go in off hours Lot’s of locals. On Union St-great shopping in smaller shops, other bars and restaurants nearby.
http://www.rosescafesf.com/

Hotel Griffon (Financial District)
http://www.hotelgriffon.com/hotel.php

The Ferry Building is across the street. The Cable Car museum is a block away. Waterfront is right there. It would be a nice central place to stay. Easy to take public transportation to the ballpark from here.

The Ferry Building-brunch at restaurant outside, Market Bar http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/marketbar.php

Perry’s (Financial District) -We had a great lunch here. It’s right on the Embarcadero near the Bay Bridge and next to the Hotel Griffon which looked like a great place to stay
http://www.perryssf.com/directions_embarcadero.htm

Mark Hopkins Hotel-Great views, grand old hotel, but expensive, probably $250 and up. But it’s near everything. Close to Chinatown. Had friends that stayed there and they loved it. The views are phenomenal.
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/intercontinental/en/gb/locations/overview/sfoha


Tommy’s Tequila Bar-Hole in the wall. Been there for years. Any kind of tequila you can imagine. Did you know there was sipping tequila? Best Mexican food I’ve ever had and I’ve had a lot! Or maybe it was the best tequila I’ve ever had. http://www.tommystequila.com/

Kuletos: Love this restaurant. Need reservations for dinner. We went there for lunch at an off hour and walked right in. Fantastic food and atmosphere.
http://www.kuletos.com/index.shtml

Villa Florence Hotel- Next to Kuletos Restaurant. Looked very elegant, very old and very San Francisco. Prices about $200+ a night.
http://larkspurhotels.com/collection/villa-florence

ATT Park-Giants Baseball- tacos, bring your lunch, garlic chicken sandwiches, hot fudge sundaes!, pastrami sandwiches

Lands End-hiking

Aquatic Park and Maritime Museum

SFMOMA- make sure to go all the way to the roof top café, the restaurant on the main floor is great for a snack or lunch too.

Teatro Zinzanni-expensive but worth it. Food ok, show is extraordinary, funny, and changes all the time

http://www.sfcablecar.com/Buy a pass for the day or weekend

http://lifeisagrainofsand.blogspot.com/2009/02/in-search-of-sea-glass-aquatic-park-san.html This is me!

Golden Gate Bridge-Fort Point underneath it. Very cool to walk through-free.
Great hot dogs at stand outside state park visitor center. Visitor center has a great collection of local tourist areas, walks, books, etc.

District-Wine bar with small plates. Excellent place to have dinner and a really good bottle of wine before yo go to the ballpark.