Labor Day Weekend

Today is Labor Day. Back home that's celebrated on May 1, as it is in many other countries. But, according to fellow Dutchy Blogger Christel, that date is associated too much with socialism, so the Americans picked their own date.

So, what do people to on Labor Day? It is considered to be the last day of summer. So, the tradition is to fire up the BBQ or go camping, or both. I had hoped to go camping this weekend, but didn't realize that this was perhaps the biggest camping weekend of the year (Memorial Day at the end of May being a good runner up), so all spots were taken when I tried to book.

That messed my plans up a bit and Christel and Cindy also had to make other plans. They opted to go to Calistoga and stay in a B&B instead. That's a nice way to spend the weekend, in the heart of the wine country with nice countryside and good restaurants and cute towns. Not too shabby at all, something that would be tough to match in Holland, or you'd have to drive to France. (Calistoga is about 1.5 hours north of San Francisco.)

I stayed home. Also nice, after having been on the road. Plus, I was able to do some work. (Yes, work on Labor Day weekend.) We have several deadlines coming up and those need to be met. Aside from that, I hiked up Montara Mountain with friend Michelle and joined her and several Stanford profs for a game of Settlers (Kolonisten) along with high-end pizza and beer.


On Sunday I took my new bike for a 40 kilometer ride along the San Francisco Bay. One problem: the tires are a little low on air and no U.S. bicycle pumps fit on the Dutch valves! Still, I was able to add some air using a small hand pump. The San Francisco Bay Trail is gorgeous. Along the way you see kite surfers and wind surfers as well as an abundance of birds. On the way, I stopped at Jamba Juice for an all-fruit smoothie.

And on Monday, I hit tennis balls with my friend Miki, had lunch in Palo Alto and looked at an apartment there. I will skip this one, even though the location is fantastic. It is a converted attic, which makes the ceilings very low. Also, the bathroom is tiny. The living room is on the small and skinny side, which (with the low ceilings) can give a feeling of claustrofobia. (Especially if you're tall, like me.) So I am still on the house hunt.

That's my holiday weekend. Now I have to do some more work.

Oh, and summer sure isn't over here. It has been very hot the last few days. Temperatures well into the 30s (celcius).