Heroes and Hearts

The other day I was walking around Macy's at Union Square in San Francisco and saw an exhibit in the window called Heroes and Hearts which I found is a benefit for the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation and the luncheon will be held at AT&T Park on Valentine's Day. The five hearts in the window that I saw at Macy's are 17 inches tall and weigh 25 lbs and were created by local artists. I saw the exhibit and thought it was cool and now knowing what they are for, it makes it even cooler. It was interesting trying to take decent pictures with my IPhone through glass while the sun was shining:

Kimeta Heart aka Saprkle Heart-Natalie Guy

Heart's Aflutter-Wendy Gold

Anguished Heart #2-Robert J. Knight

One Love-Maryann Koshi Yama

And my favorite:

Heart of a Giant-Brit Howard

Love these hearts and I know that they will go for a pretty penny to benefit the San Francisco General Hospital.

Men's College Basketball:St.Mary's vs. Portland-2-3-13

After showing off McKeon Pavilion, I might as well show some the game shots I took:

Glen Kuiper(front) and the great Dan Belluomini (back and my favorite college basketball analyst) -the broadcasters for the game.

Action around the rim (St.Mary's in white)

Portland's Derrick Rodgers bringing the ball up

Waiting for the rebound

St.Mary's great guard Matthew Dellavedova (center) before the game

And Dellavedova bringing the ball across halfcourt

St.Mary's won 77-42 and Dellavedova led all scorers with 23.

A Look at McKeon Pavilion-Home of the St.Mary's Gales

The front of McKeon Pavilion

I love college basketball and living here in the Bay Area we are so lucky to have six NCAA Division I teams. One of the most successful in recent are the St.Mary's Gales. Under coach Randy Bennett, the Gales have made the NCAA Tournament two out of the last three years and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2010.  McKeon Pavilion is small with a seating capacity of about 3,500 but it is a great place to watch a game:

McKeon Pavilion

Another view

St.Mary players getting in some pre-game work

From above the basket

From the corner courtside

Some of St.Mary's banners

The Australian National Flag

Got to love the Aussie flavor

Over the last decade or so, St.Mary's has had an Aussie flavor as great players such as Daniel Kickert (St.Mary's all-time leading scorer), Patty Mills and this year's star player Matthew Dellavedova have made St.Mary's a great team. This year there are four Aussies on the roster.

St.Mary Gales banner

McKeon Pavilion is one of those gems in the Bay Area that many people don't know much about. If you are a college basketball fan, you need to check it out.

ECHL Hockey-Stockton Thunder vs. San Francisco Bulls 1-30-13

Thor-The Stockton Thunder Mascot

I took some students out the Stockton Arena to watch the Stockton Thunder take on the San Francisco Bulls at the Stockton Arena. Both the Thunder and the Bulls play in the East Coast Hockey League which is about Double-A hockey. It may not be the NHL, but it is fun. Since I had my students I wasn't able to roam around like usual but here is what I got:

A view of the Stockton Arena

Another view of the ice

Some game action from my seat (Thunder in black)

A face-off in the zone

Action at the net

A view during play

The Zamboni making its rounds

In Honor of Our Heroes

The Crosses of Lafayette Hiilside

Something I have meaning to do for a long time is go out to the Crosses of Lafayette Hillside and see the memorial to our troops that have been lost in Iraq since the Iraqi War began. It started in 2006 when the residents of Lafayette and the neighboring towns decided to put up crosses to represent and memorialize American soldiers who have lost their lives in Iraq. It is across the street from the Lafayette BART station.

I went and took my two teen-agers and we all thought it was a very moving and powerful experience:

The number of deaths in Iraq

Another View of Hillside

A cross for one of our Muslim brothers who gave their life 

A Jewish brother

All faiths have given their lives

He is not just a solider, he is someone's love

He/she is not just a solider, he/she  is someone's son or daughter

He is not just a soldier, he is someone's father

He is not just a solider, he is someone's friend

In honor

Lee's Deli is the Best-Morning and Afternoon

One of my favorite places to eat is Lee's Deli, located on Market St. in San Francisco. They have good food  and good prices, so that draws me in. Besides sandwiches, they have a hot food buffet which you buy by the pound, but since I am usually there at 6:30am or so, they only are making sandwiches at that time:

Inside of Lee's Deli at 6:30 am

Fresh Fruit

My sandwich, a great deal for $5.00

So as I said I am usually there about 6:30am, but on a recent Saturday I got to have lunch at Lee's Deli in afternoon with my daughter and the hot food buffet is just as good as the sandwiches:

The buffet as an Asian flavor to it

Part of the salad bar

Another view of Lee's Deli

My daughter's lunch-A hodgepodge of stuff

My lunch-a good tasting hodgepodge of stuff

Lee's Deli is good in the morning and in the afternoon. You can't beat the great tasting food or the prices.