Ahhh....finally back to Pittsburgh life....

Okay, it's taken me most of this week to get back to Pittsburgh (EST) time, which is HARD to do after being on CA time for 2 weeks. My sleep routine was chaos, and I just didn't feel tired at 2 a.m. like I should. BLEAH. Anyway, now I think I'm getting back to normal though, so I can write more about the honeymoon.

But first....life in Pittsburgh has not been peachy since we returned. In fact, all that damned walking all over San Francisco did NOTHING for my weight loss plan. That bums me out! I had to go to my doctor yesterday. Now I have to go see a podiatrist about my feet that hurt all the time, (we bought me a pair of those Sketcher shoes that help your posture and help you lose weight, which is what I wore all over SF dammit), and my doctor says, "Since your feet hurt so much, you should probably take it easy and rest them awhile."

But then, in the same damned paragraph, she adds, "Well you have gained a little weight, and you KNOW you're supposed to LOSE weight to get rid of this Diabetes..." so she tells me that I have to do "150 minutes of Cardio exercise each week." So I left the office thinking, "How the hell am I supposed to REST MY FEET if I'm also supposed to EXERCISE?!" So it left me feeling very frustrated. I just cannot seem to get under 200 pounds no matter what I do. But, I will admit to a major food weakness: Ice cream, and Doritos. Those two things KILL ME, because I cannot just eat ONE bite, or ONE chip...oh nooo...it's a half a bag or nothing...or a huge bowl full....not just one scoop. So, those two things have really been sabotaging me, I can't buy them anymore. GRRR. Being Diabetic sucks the royal shit through the royal straw, lemme tell ya.

So I guess now I have to be a dieting idiot for the rest of my stupid life, and it pisses me off. It's just not fair. (I know that sounds childish, but DAMMIT, it's JUST NOT)!! *Stomping foot*

We've been having a tough time downloading my photos off my new 4G iphone, so right now I don't have much to offer in the way of honeymoon pictures. Every time we get to a specific photo, it just stops and will no longer continue uploading them for some insane reason. What a pain. We've been trying since the day we got home to get them, but it isn't working.

Anyway, we did a lot of fun things in San Fran, but the COOLEST thing was, we met with Lora and Cyndi---they have been friends of all the Journey members for many years, and worked on their fan club, so I've had some correspondence with them since I was 18 years old. It was sporadic, of course, here and there, nothing too notable, but one time I found a few people who were selling bootleg Journey merchandise, so I wrote to Lora and told her about it. They apparently were doing illegal stuff so I got them into trouble, and for helping Lora get those people to stop selling that illegal bootleg stuff, she was really nice and sent me a package of Journey postcards. I never forgot that! I didn't expect any kind of "reward" or anything at all. In actuality, I was going to BUY some of those bootleg items, but I wondered if the actual Fan Club had the same thing or not, and when she told me the items were illegal, I never bought 'em. So, it was quite by accident really, but she still sent me a present as a thank-you for it.

From that point on, I've been emailing with Lora over the years, just to say hello, just to check in and bug her about Steve Perry from time to time, (because she knows I love that man), and when I had the harassing emails from an employee of Journey years ago, she was there to listen to me and to read all 120+ emails that he had sent me. So, she is aware of some of my involvement in the fan-based web site, and meeting JT the former Road Manager, etc., and I figured we should finally meet in person, face-to-face, while I'm in San Francisco. Cyndi is someone I didn't know as well, but she's been working side by side with Lora forever, and I figured it would be nice to spend some time getting to know her also.

In the evening after they finished work, Lora and Cyndi met Pete and I at a pizza place. Cyndi is vegetarian, so we wanted to pick a place that we could all enjoy, and that just happened to be near the office where they work. It was GREAT to finally put faces to the names, and get to know each other in person. Pete talked with them about Apple computers, the new 4G iphone, the iPad, etc., and then we talked about Steve Perry and Journey for awhile. It was fun! Pete got an elbow in his side from me when he told them that I had done a Google search to find his address once...LOL...I am sure I blushed from embarrassment, but Lora didn't skip a beat, she just said, "Ahh well, EVERYBODY does that!!" I quickly added, "But I am NOT a stalker!! I just love that man, that's all..." Pete said that if Steve Perry had shown up at the wedding, I probably would have married HIM instead! LOL

Anyway, after we had our pizza and talked for about 2.5 hours, we decided to walk back to the hotel and say our goodbye's. I did tell them both that I appreciated that they took time off their busy schedules, and I gave them each a little present--a fancy ring box and ring inside. I didn't know what the heck to give them, I have no idea what they like or don't like, so I figured I'd get them a little something that was nice, but not "weird," though maybe a ring IS weird, I don't know, but I was freaking out that I didn't have anything to GIVE them, so that was what we ended up finding, and I figured it was nice. They were both surprised, but said they liked them, so I guess that was okay. (What do you GET for total strangers?! I mean if you go to someone's house for dinner, you bring a bottle of wine...right)?! I couldn't show up empty handed!!

Before we left, (and I reiterated this in a follow-up thank-you email), I told Lora I am willing to assist and VOLUNTEER to help with any projects they need help with, whether it's proofreading something, (like the book about Steve Perry by Lora Cucu that REALLY needs help with editing and grammar), or creating a flyer or brochure, etc., and/or event planning/coordinating. I would LOVE that...but who knows if that kind of thing will ever happen. I'm going to email her my resume, just so she has it on hand.

The next day, Pete took me on a sailboat evening cruise on the Bay, and the boat crew played Journey music the whole time---I told them it was my favorite, and they said, "That's cool, because this boat used to belong to the DRUMMER of Journey, Steve Smith!" WOO HOOO! That was an AWESOME surprise!! It's called the Privateer, and it's a very nice 42 foot sailboat. We had a BLAST on it, everybody sang along to the music, the weather was mild, the water was mild, everything was just magical, and I thought, "Life doesn't get any better than this!" (as I sipped my champagne). I blessed Steve Perry (as I always do), while I prayed to God and thanked him for letting me be there, on that boat, at that moment, with the man I just married, enjoying a very happy time!!

Luckily for me I had a Dramamine the 2nd time we rode this same boat, a few days later, because it was during the DAY time, and the water was choppy. There were different guys on the boat this time, and they didn't play ANY music. In the evening, it was smooth sailing and nice, not too cold. But the DAY time cruise was FREEZING, and choppy and scary, so I spent the majority of the time underneath in the cabin. The captain driving the boat also smoked, and it bugged me so I retreated below to stay warm, and get away from him. But did you know that a boat is WORSE in a cabin when the water is choppy? Yep, my Dramamine and champagne didn't really mix very well that day, so I felt nauseous that time. But, the boat itself is very cool and I enjoyed relaxing on it. All it needs is a little TLC fix-up, some new carpet, new upholstery, and a kitchen spruce-up. But, like every guy in Journey, Steve Smith is filthy rich, so he sold the darned thing and probably bought himself a MUCH bigger and fancier boat instead.

So, that was my fun Journey stuff in SF....oh, PLUS we found a store on Pier 39 called "Antiquities," that sells rock and roll collectibles in huge frames and shadow boxes, like guitars, drum sticks, autographed photos, etc., and they had the most awesome Journey thing, (I was just going to take a PICTURE of it, because of the $1500 price tag), but Pete bought it without even considering the price...I couldn't believe it...I nearly fell over when he said, "We'll TAKE IT!" The final price was actually MUCH LESS than that, with a 60% discount for autographs as a sale they had going on, PLUS it was free shipping and NO TAX!!

So I should be receiving this huge package soon with this awesome 5 x 5 foot shadow box in it, that has an autographed EVOLUTION album, with the very first poster photo of them that I ever owned, all framed and fancy---it's going to be so COOL!!!! It's the coolest Journey junk I've ever owned!! (And that says A LOT because I've been collecting this stuff since the age of 10). Now I just have to re-decorate our bedroom to add it to the wall!!

Pete also bought me ANOTHER autographed Journey album from the same place, but it's not in a frame---YET!! I plan to PUT it into another shadow box though, with some of the other autographed things I already own. COOL! That's a project I am really looking forward to doing!! YAY!! Yes indeed, ya gotta love Journey...it's the gift that keeps on giving!!

So....some other stuff we did while in SF....

We traveled on the BART train to Livermore, where Pete's friends Simon and Sharon live. They took us to 2 nearby wineries, and let us swim in their backyard swimming pool, and then we all went out for a nice Mexican food dinner together. Livermore is a nice place, kinda reminded me of an area in Fairfax VA actually, and the weather was MUCH warmer there too.

We walked from Washington Square all the way up to Coit Tower----NOT an easy thing to do, mind you, when the hills are HUGE and steep the whole way. But, we saw the Joe DiMaggio restaurant there, and then walked up the hill and saw the top of the tower from inside. The views were very cool, and all around the inside of the tower are painted murals of all sorts of things like men farming and various Depression-era scenes.

Then we had dinner at a Vietnamese "Fusion" restaurant called MORPH, and that was some AWESOME food, lemme tell ya. It's a very cool and funky modern styled restaurant that had the coolest pendant lights, and I took a photo of them even, but I can't upload it right now.

We discovered quite by accident that everything in SF CLOSES on Mondays, for some ungodly reason. Very annoying. We got to 3 different places, and they were all friggin' CLOSED. What the hell?! Talk about a bummer. I was NOT impressed with the freezing cold weather, and with the stuff that was closed, NOR did I care for the homeless annoying people in my face. I know, I know, that really makes me sound like a shit---with no compassion---but believe me, I have more compassion in my pinky finger than most people have in their whole entire bodies.

(Six years working at the Holocaust Museum in DC should tell you that).

However, I've been duped by homeless people in the past while living in DC, so I don't trust 'em. Pete even calls their bluff when they claim to be hungry--he offers to buy them a burger, but 3 out of 5 times he's done this while with me, those 3 have declined his offer. So, that really tells ya that most of those people are SCAMMERS. Some really do have needs and mental problems and I really DO feel badly for them. But, the other jerks who DON'T need any help are the ones that ruin it for the real homeless ones.

Let's see....what else did we do....well, there was Fisherman's Wharf and Cioppino's restaurant, which we feel is very good food, but the locals that we met at the Citadel told us they weren't so great, and to go to Scopia's instead. (I don't remember if that's the name of the place, but it's something like that). We attended the Folsom Street Fair on Sunday, that was COOL AS HELL!! It was BDSM scene-friendly people, mostly a huge crowd of gay men in leather---and BUTTLESS CHAPS!! MY FAVORITE!! WOO HOOOO!!! I just love lookin' at naked man buns!!

The Citadel is the local SF Dungeon, and we met with the owners who live there, we had a fun time chatting with them for a few hours. Pete attended a whip class and (as always), it was fun for ME to be the whip-ee!! So, he's learning the single-tail now, and we bought a nice new flogger at the Folsom Fair too. He got me a very cool silver buckle belt that has BAD GIRL written all around it, (Because I DO have my Bad Girl moments don'tchaknow), and for himself he got a pair of HANDCUFF Suspenders!! They are the COOLEST lookin' suspenders EVER!! I told him he should wear them to work!! hehehehe He wouldn't do that, though. CHICKEN!!

Ah well, most people I know who read this blog have no clue and no interest about this kinda stuff, so I'll change the subject...

Let's see....we went to see the Shanghai exhibit at the Asian Art Museum, and we went to the Jewish Contemporary Museum (but only to the gift shop). I figured out from there that the place was mostly filled with art, not much history, and certainly not much Holocaust stuff, so we skipped the exhibit. I like art and all, and learning more about Israel, but my heart just wasn't in it that day. (Long story short: I get depressed because I miss working at the Museum in DC so much). I didn't want to feel blue the whole time going through that place.

We had a nice cruise on another boat, this time it was a brunch cruise on a luxury liner type of boat, you couldn't even feel the boat shifting in the water or anything. The food was great, but I felt nauseous again, DAMN THIS MOTION SICKNESS OF MINE!! So I didn't eat much, but the views of the Golden Gate bridge were very nice, we traveled underneath it, into the Pacific Ocean and then turned around to go back to Pier 33 again. We WANTED to go to Alcatraz but the damned tickets were sold out 2-3 weeks in advance so we couldn't get in.

We rode a Go-Car around the city also...picture a mini-coop that gets chopped in HALF, with 3 wheels, on a motorcycle engine. That is a Go-Car. I said to the guy, "How much weight do these things hold?" and he said, "500 pounds." I looked slyly at Pete...knowing we are OVER that amount combined, and I thought, "Oh boy..." so of course, when we tried going uphill, all it did was "BBRRRBBRRBRRRRBBRRRBRRRRR...." and shake uncontrollably as we sat there completely still, looking at each other----I yelled, "If this bitch goes up in flames because of our fat asses, I'm gonna kill you!" LOL I expected the engine to blow!! We had to get out and PUSH the dang thing up each hill we tried to travel!! But, we laughed our heads off and I took video while we rode around. We tried getting to the Golden Gate Park, but there was just no way we could make it up all those damned hills. We did see Bay Bridge Park though, and we were just ONE block away from Haight Ashbury, but we couldn't get up THAT hill either.

DAMMIT!! I HATE BEING FAT!! Oh well. I am thinking about joining Weight Watchers, since they have a special deal right now for $1 joining fee. I don't know if I will like it or not, odds are probably not, so I'm skeptical about it. I just gotta do something.

Well, those are some highlights of our SF trip, sorry the pictures aren't cooperating though. I hope they will be uploaded in a few days. We're leaving on Monday to travel up to Michigan so that my mom can return to live with my sister Tammy for awhile. She has to get her odds and loose ends all tied up, and her Social Security starts when she turns 62 in September, so she wants to get that taken care of before she comes back to live with us permanently.

I'm taking Florence with us. I know she will have a very tough time saying goodbye and readjusting to life without my mom around, (she's 88 and has bipolar AND Alzheimers), so adjusting to "change" is not easy for her...so it's going to be a bumpy month or three coming up. I'm planning to bring Laurie's son Noah back with us...for him to have a nice break, for Laurie to have a nice break, and for Florence to have something/someone to focus on as a distraction from missing my mom too much, AND he's going to help me around the house for a couple weeks. I will have to drive him back up to Michigan before Labor Day weekend though, before school starts, so Florence will probably come along to visit with my mom again then.

I'm also working on going through our garage full of wedding crap and having a YARD SALE. I don't know when it will be just yet, but it depends on how long it takes me to sort through everything. I feel like just hiring a bulldozer, digging a big hole in the backyard and burying it all, just to start over again. But alas, a yard sale is all I can do.

Well, that's the scoop for now. Pete keeps calling me "Mrs. Hoch." I keep telling him his momma sleeps downstairs, and to stop calling me that!! I'm still Rebecca Louise Gray dang it. Married or not, that's who I'll always be. I might be Gray-Hoch, or GR-OCH, or HO-RAY, even. But the THIRD Mrs. Hoch, PLUS his mom?! I don't know...seems rather redundant to me!!

Love, Becky