April 4 – 15
With an afternoon to kill that Saturday we made our way to the 4th Street shopping district in Berkeley so that Kris could pick up glasses he’d ordered at Warby Parker and while the girls went off to take care of some shopping, Kris and I repaired to the Sierra Nevada Torpedo Taproom for a round or two of this craft brewing pioneer’s fine products.
Sierra Nevada Tap Room
We sat at the bar and during the course of consuming a couple of beers apiece spoke with the bartender at length about beer, the bay area, and whatever else crossed our minds. Soon enough Jessica and Joanna joined us, and we moved to a table for four. While the girls had a beer, we split an order of pretzels and beer cheese, the doughy goodness so warm one had to be careful with the first few bites.
A Very Nice Pour
On the way back to the apartment we stopped in Emeryville at the Prizefighter, another new find for us and a good choice it was.
Bar at Prizefighter
We sat inside (they have a nice patio) and had an interesting cocktail apiece and finished, spent the afternoon and evening hanging out at the apartment, making the most of left-over lasagna from the night before.
Drinks at Prizefighter
Sunday dawned bright and clear and following one of our traditions, we made our way to Golden Gate Fields for dollar day, which means dollar parking, admission, beer and hot dogs. While there we got a call from Lee, our agent in Charlotte about the two offers we’d received. We were quite close to making a decision on one of them, just waiting on confirmation of the sale of their house in Ohio.
A Gorgeous Day at Golden Gate Fields
Elated and with a small amount of winnings in our pockets, we returned to the apartment and later adjourned to Dyafa for dinner, an Arabic concept located in Jack London Square. Although early in the evening, every table was full, indicating a place with a loyal following. Our experience would be mixed, with the service a bit disjointed as timing of drinks and dishes was inconsistent, detracting from our overall enjoyment of the meal.
Dyafa
One minor complaint is that for this type of cuisine, Pita Bread is an essential part of the dining experience; here you have to order it separately and unfortunately for us, we didn’t get enough, nor did it arrive on time for us to enjoy it with our appetizer. I’d like to return some day to see if a repeat meal would be as outstanding as their reputation merits.
Dyafa Menu
After the meal we stopped in at a nearby BevMo! to procure supplies for the next weekend’s celebration of Kris’ 30th birthday, which we will cover that in more detail in another post and then spent the rest of the night viewing the first episode of the final season of Game of Thrones. Needless to say much of the episode was lost on Joanna and I as we hadn’t followed the series, but we could tell by the reaction of others in the room how much these final shows had been anticipated (Editor’s note: We have subsequently subscribed to HBO and will now binge and all of the seasons).
What the Heck, It’s Legal
Later the next morning we took off for three nights in Sacramento, a city we’ve passed through a number of times but spent little time in. As is often case when you live in a town, you rarely hit its well-known tourist sites unless someone who visits wants to see them, the same can be said for California’s state capital.
We timed our departure so that we’d hit the In-N-Out in Vallejo where we enjoyed our favorite burger joint and at the end of the meal, while Joanna took a call from her Mom, I got a message from Lee indicating that all conditions of the offer had been met and asking if we were we ready to accept it formally. Here is where modern day technology proved its worth in that he sent us the documents to sign through DocuSign, an on-line service that enables electronic signatures.
Completed Offer
We completed the run into West Sacramento and found our stay for the visit, the Spacious apartment close to Downtown Sacramento Airbnb, a converted garage with nice bedroom, small living room and full kitchen including a washer and dryer, all for total of $255 or $85 a night.
The Kitchen
On the way in we stopped at the market to pick up some supplies, including a bottle of champagne with which we celebrated the almost now certain sale of our house.
Front Room of the Airbnb
After relaxing we headed out to nearby Yolo Brewing for a relaxing finish to a momentous day, enjoying a couple of beers apiece including a Vanilla Cream Stout and their Tower Bridge 3X IPA.
Yolo Brew
Still full after our lunch of burgers and fries, we munched on some bar snacks and let the evening take its course, returning to the apartment for a good night’s sleep, anticipating a full day of touring the state capital building and its grounds.
Yolo Brew Interior
We’d crossed a significant bridge that day, having listed and accepted an offer on the house in less than a week. There was still much to be done and plenty of uncertainty as any deal can fall through for any number of reasons. But the first most important part of the process was in the books, with a very good offer accepted and the future ahead of us. Time now to just be tourists as we’d have few chances in the coming couple of months if the deal went through.
Time to Celebrate
Links
Sierra Nevada Torpedo Taproom: https://sierranevada.com/visit/california/torpedo-room/
Prizefighter: https://www.prizefighterbar.com/
Dyafa: https://www.dyafaoakland.com/
Golden Gate Fields: https://www.goldengatefields.com/
DocuSign: https://www.docusign.com/
Spacious Apartment: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/31572504?location=West%20Sacramento%2C%20California%2C%20United%20States&source_impression_id=p3_1561130043_PB2k5bv4kBSEe%2Bbh
Yolo Brewing: https://www.yolobrew.com/home-1
3jmann 