Fall 2016: Visiting Season

As the year-end quickly approaches, we're looking back at the Fall and realizing what a whirlwind of a season we had with so many family visits!

First, in September, the Schafers came out for a tour of New York City and State. They had a jam-packed itinerary but we got to spend a day showing them around Brooklyn. Their feet may have been worn out but their spirits were high!

In October, we headed back to SF to see family and meet our nephew Preston!  We had been looking forward to this trip for quite some time and were so excited to finally meet the little guy! Gregg had the week off so he flew out on Sunday night and had a packed week before Meg came out on Wednesday night.

On Monday, Gregg, Kyle, Brad, and Sheralynn played a round in Santa Rosa and joined Grammy and Gale for lunch.  They had a lovely time visiting and Gregg enjoyed playing not only his first round of golf in 2+ years but also his first round ever with his Dad! :P

That afternoon, Gregg couldn't handle being in the same state as baby P and not meeting him so he headed to Sean and Gail's place to introduce himself.

Hanging outside the General's Residence where we got married!

Grant and Lindsay Messick we're in town so Preston got to hang with almost all his Aunts and Uncles (sorry Meg!)

Tuesday, Gregg headed up to Napa with Grandma and Kelly.  They enjoyed the warm weather, a tasting at Provenance, and lunch at Brix.

Wednesday, Gregg helped Kelly move some furniture around before their big remodel fully invaded their bedroom and Meg got in that night.

The following day, we did the rim trail with Dave then headed out to Walnut Creek to one of the best sandwich shops in the Bay, Morucci's. There, we picked up lunch and headed over to Grandma Carol's house to catch up and visit.

After lunch, Meg was itching to meet Preston too, so we went out to Sean and Gail's apartment in the City for an introduction. It was love at first sight!

On Friday, we got to spend all day with Sean, Gail, and Preston including a brunch at the Tipsy Pig for old time's sake.

That night we met up with friends at Northstar Cafe in North Beach, a Cal bar, to watch the Bears beat the Ducks in an OT thriller. It was great to see so many familiar faces and catch up with everyone.

Saturday saw us at the Irving's in Moraga for a long day of baby Preston, football, and food! Dave and Kathleen came by to meet the little man as well but Meg had trouble letting go of him ;)

The following weekend, back in NYC, Kelly and Brad landed Friday afternoon and headed over to Brooklyn.

And they brought the good weather!

That night we had dinner at Mariella, a place not too far from our apartment that is definitely a new fave.

All smiles after news of Sean and Gail closing on their new house!

Saturday morning, we had brunch in Tribeca at Distilled before checking out the newly opened Westfield and transit hub at World Trade Center. 

We also toured the adjacent Brookfield Place (which is connected).  They were having costume contests, face painting, and trick or treating for kids, so it was pretty happening.

We took the subway home and got off a couple of stops early to take a walk through Prospect Park.

After a pit stop at our apartment we walked to Gregg's new "favorite" bar for a drink.

That night we had reservations at The River Cafe, a restaurant that Kelly and Brad had been told for years and years that they had to go to by their good friend, Jim Galligan.  We had an amazing dinner with a breathtaking view right on the water.

Sunday morning we cruised the neighborhood and showed them around Park Slope.  

We got brunch at the Stone Park Cafe, a great little spot adjacent to an old farm house that was a command post during the Battle of Brooklyn in the Revolutionary War. After brunch we wanted to check out an "up and coming" area that is off the beaten path, Red Hook. 

The first stop was a tasting and tour at Red Hook Winery, which showcases Long Island and Finger Lakes wines. We then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the different shops, parks, and bars.

Trying to re-create Gail and Sean's engagement photos :)

Stopping for a refreshment at Botanica before the heavy thunderstorms came barreling through and turned our warm sunny Sunday into a wet one.

Then, the following weekend, Kyle came out for work!  He got in Friday night when Gregg was on call at the hospital, so Kyle and Meg headed to Calexico for a quick bite before heading to Court St Theater to watch The Accountant. Date night!  

Saturday morning we enjoyed a run in Prospect Park.  It was amazing to see how much the leaves had changed in just one week!

The area between our new neighborhood and our old one, Gowanus, is quickly becoming a hotspot for beermakers as they convert the old industrial buildings into breweries. So we did a little research and started our Gowanus Beer Crawl at Threes Brewery and finished at Lavendar Lake, which isn't actually a brewery but a perfect spot to end a warm fall day with a drink on their back patio.

The outdoor patio with hops vines at Threes

Strong Rope Brewery is another great place along the crawl and we randomly ran into our friends Lauren and Billy while we were there! So fun! 

On Sunday, Kyle had gotten a couple of tickets from his coworker for he and Gregg to go see the Giants play the Eagles. The game was an exciting matchup of rivals and went down to the last play! It was a great atmosphere and fun experience.

Primo seats!

The next day, we unfortunately had to go in to work while Kyle managed his from our apartment. But that night, we went out to one of the best reviewed restaurants in our new neighborhood we'd been waiting to try called Al Di La. Dinner was delicious and our gracious guest treated us for putting him up for the weekend. Thanks, Kyle! Anytime!

A few weeks later, in early December, Chelsea and Anthony Estrada came for their long awaited NYC visit. Chelsea had never been before and they made sure to put it on the calendar in early Spring. Such good planners! They caught the red-eye from SF and arrived early on Friday morning.  They powered through the day and saw quite a lot!  By the afternoon they had made it up to Rockefeller Center and Meg got to show them Midtown a little before it was time to meet up with Gregg for dinner down in Tribeca.

Drinks at The Bennett and a wonderful dinner at Tiny's and the Bar Upstairs.

The next morning we met for brunch at The Smith in the East Village followed by a couple of beers at the famed pub, McSorley's.

From there we headed crosstown to the West Village through Washington Square Park.

Had to pitstop at one of our favorite spots, Wilfie and Nell, to thaw out!

Channeling our inner Carrie Bradshaw (at her apartment)!

Walking along the High Line after grabbing some coffees in Chelsea Market.  It was a little chilly on the high line, so after the warmth of the coffee wore off, we grabbed an Uber downtown for an incredible and emotional visit to the 9/11 Memorial Museum.  After a few reflective hours, we headed back up to Tribeca for dinner at Takashi.

Yakiniku style food, so much fun!

A night cap and good conversation at another fave spot, Palma :)

On Sunday, Anthony and Chels came over after a morning stroll through Central Park to take on the streets of Brooklyn.  First stop, Dumbo! We showed them the iconic view from Washington Street that perfectly lines up the Empire State Building with the Manhattan Bridge tower, took them through Brooklyn Bridge Park, Brooklyn Heights, and our old 'hood, Cobble Hill. It was fun to be back in our old stomping grounds and show them our favorite spots.  That night, the Estradas treated us to dinner in Park Slope at Provini, we have such great friends!  Then we picked up a bottle of wine to share at home while watching Elf.  A great movie based in NY to get us in the holiday spirit!

It was such a fun and memorable weekend! 

And last but not least is our own visit....for dinner at Per Se!

Merry Christmas to us!

The famous blue doors.  Not the best pic of the doors, but none the less, the doors!

The wine glass for the second pairing was as big as Meg's head!  Tasting menu on the right :). Thomas Keller himself came to our table to ask what our favorite was so far and the general manager gave us a tour of the kitchen after! Such an amazing meal and even better experience!