Rob is here in San Francisco for a conference. He has a few conference things to do and receptions to tend to the first few days, but we were able to spend some quality time with him before he was committed all day every day. So we decided to explore the city. We came to a conference here when he was in residency and did some of the other big touristy things, but we never went to Haight Ashbury Street. We decided to get some culture in our life and had a great shopping experience. We ate at a quaint restaurant that was good, but I have no idea how they ever passed a health inspection code. We had heard that a blue grass festival was going on and decided we should check it out. It was in the Golden Gate State Park, which is beautiful. We jumped on public transportation to get to the festival and had a fantastic time. They call it Hardly Strictly Blue Grass and I didn't realize some of these bands considered themselves bluegrass, but that is why they call it hardly strictly. I guess it has something to do with the number and type of instruments used? Who knows who really cares, but we got to see/listen to Jenny and Johnny with an Elvis Costello jump in along with The Dukes of September with an appearance from Ba Skaggs. It was amazing and tons of fun.
http://www.strictlybluegrass.com/
Rob posed with Hulk Hogan. Not really, but Rob was standing there and I said just smile and say cheese, he had no idea the Hulk was right behind him. I think it is hilarious. It really does look like the hulk!
Here is my funny story....
Rob was out exploring and getting closer in the crowds while I stayed back with Bryson in the stroller. I am listening to the music and having a good time when I realize the man beside seems to be having an even greater time. Rob snapped a picture for me when he came back, but my friend was leaving me. Check him out in his cowboy hat, maroon jacket, and "water" bottle. You can't buy alcohol in the park, but they let you bring it in. My friend brought it in and I am pretty sure he had a few before he came in. I think he was bolting because he was out of his "juice". Needless to say I was minding my own business when I get a nudge from him and he is asking or either stating "What is that about a hundred grand a pound?" He was referring to Bryson in the stroller. Before I could respond or come up with a witty response he then states "Throw your purse on that and dance with me." Again he is referring to my baby in the stroller. When I don't throw my purse on Bryson and just smile at him, he fills the need to fill the awkward silence. He then moves his comments onto the stroller. "This looks like a dirt model....Looks like you have some good suspension.....Does it require a racecar suite?...." Mind have you the man has a sweet smile, but he missing some teeth and a few screws are loose or possibly missing altogether? He then gives a few closing statements..."What don't they grow out of it in a week" I am not sure if we are back to talking about the baby or the stroller? He does leave with a memorable closing statement. "You sure do have a cuter model" It left me totally confused are we talking about the baby, the stroller, or me?
We hit the Omaha home show for the first time and we thought it would be fantastic home show like the Milwaukee one. We wouldn't call it fantastic, but we still had a good time. The kids really enjoyed getting their faced painted! They also had a spectacular dog show that kept everyone's attention that they really enjoyed watching! 
Rob had official conference meetings today so Bryson and I were left to explore the city on our own. I decided we would hit the Blue Grass Festival again. My line up consisted of Indigo Girls, Randy Newman, Elvis Costello, and Patti Smith. Rob was jealous that I was going to get experience all these artists in one day without him. Bryson and I hit the public transportation circuit and made a few friends along the way. I should have taken pictures, but I failed to take any except when I was skipping out a bit early. See the sea of people, it was outrageous and tons of fun. I did learn that over 750 thousand people attended the event last year on one day. Also, Warren Hellman is a financial guru and gives this festival to the city every year for free in celebration of his birthday. This was the 10th year. My first acquaintance I made was a man named, Tim, openly gay and in his 60's. We had a great conversation on the bus and found out we were both heading to the same stage to start our day. He felt compelled to walk with me and show me the way. I didn't have the heart to tell him I knew exactly where to go, but it was nice knowing he was so willing to help. It was a shocker to him that I was from Omaha, NE and venturing out into the city on my own with a small child. I didn't ask him why, but I assume he stereotypes the midwest and pictures me being barefoot and pregnant. I did run into him a few times and it was fun saying "why hello Tim". I next met up with some hippies. I think they might have been some of the original hippies from the 70's just living like it is still 1977. I found a picnic table tucked away in the corner and used it as a changing table and was sitting with Bryson enjoying the music when the hippies joined us. They openly took out their marijuana and placed it on the table and rolled themselves a fat one. They were well mannered and offered some to me, I declined and pointed to the baby. They also would go into the woods to smoke it so Bryson and I didn't get a contact high. Oh so very thoughtful of them. We were also joined by an old man named Bruce who was carrying his body weight in cans of alcohol he bought at the nearby quickie mart. I really should have taken a picture of the eclectic group we made. It was a great time listening to the music and enjoying conversations with my new acquaintances for the day.
Rob posed with Hulk Hogan. Not really, but Rob was standing there and I said just smile and say cheese, he had no idea the Hulk was right behind him. I think it is hilarious. It really does look like the hulk! 
Here is my funny story....
were amazingly surprised at how well the kids did. They did cry at first due to the loud jet engines, but settled in and loved watching the show. Ellery did her usual hushing with her finger to her mouth to tell us to listen because she hears an airplane. She did it more for the propeller planes rather than the jets. I think the internal humming you feel with the speed of the jets scared her more than the sound. Mason is a proud new owner of a miniature Blue Angel fighter jet and we think it was a good investment on our part.
While we were visiting with Roni and her family they also had a mini festival going on during the competitive bbq contest. Mason loved getting his face painted and when asked what super hero he wanted to be he picked spider man. I would like to ask the face painter some questions like, when did spider man ever have glitter on? If you look closely she put a splash of glitter on her design? hmmmmm. He also enjoyed playing on the inflatables and climbed them like a spider man.
We loaded up the clan and headed to downtown Omaha this afternoon for a Taste of Omaha. We keep saying we are going to explore downtown Omaha more, but never seem to get around to doing it. Well we got around to exploring it today with hundreds of others. We walked a nice path along the river and listened to live music and then paid a ridiculous amount of money to get tickets so we could go to different vendors and taste Omaha. We did happen upon an exotic pet show and that captivated Mason. We might as well tattooed sucker parents on our foreheads. We paid $5 to allow our child to get a picture with an exotic pet and touch it. They had the kangaroo out first so we choose that for him, he had no idea he could have chosen an alligator, boa constrictor, fox, and some other creature he called a monkey but wasn't a monkey. You can plainly see he was less than thrilled to take a picture, that required him to turn around and not look at the kangaroo or touch it. He was much more interested in looking and touching rather than posing. Can't say that I blame him.
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