My dad and half-brother, Keith, came to visit this past weekend. My first guests since I moved to the Bay Area (two years ago this month!). They flew up from Houston, Texas and stayed a couple of days, from Friday to Tuesday.

Friday we just hung out in San Mateo. I showed them how close we are to the bay (about three blocks) and how awesome the view is. That night we ate the best sushi ever at Yuzu (dad and Keith agreed).

On Saturday we attempted to go to the beach (south of Half Moon Bay), but it was foggy and freezing. The beaches here aren’t sunny and warm like most people imagine. Sometimes it’s nice, but that’s rare in my experience. That night we hung out in North Beach and ate some yummy Italian food at Caffe Sport. Keith said it was the best he’d ever had outside of his grandmother’s cooking. That neighborhood was packed with people celebrating St. Patrick’s day so we headed over to the Thirsty Bear for drinks after dinner.

Sunday we spent the day touring three wineries in Napa. We started off with an awesome small winery called Goosecross. The pourers were sassy and gave us lots of shit, which is just what we wanted. And the wine was wonderful – I think we took home 3 different bottles. We went up in scale from there, going to Miner and then Trinchero (which is located where Folie à Deux used to be). We finished up the trip with dinner at the Rutherford Grill where I had a delicious Hawaiian Rib Eye – it was so good, I wouldn’t mind eating that every night from now on!

Then on Monday we sent dad and Keith off for a tour of Alcatraz (Steve and I had already been twice, and that’s more than enough). While they were exploring prison life Steve and I hung out in North Beach with Joe and ate lunch at Caffe Delucchi (very good stuff). After that we all indulged in some cheese and wine at the Ferry Building, then headed home where Steve cooked yummy etouffe.

Tuesday they headed home on a flight that was late. Seems like every flight I’ve encountered recently is late. I think we all had a good time, at least they said so anyway. One of the nice things about having visitors is that it’s like a mini-vacation. I get to see friends or family and explore the goodies that San Francisco has to offer. Can’t beat that!