Flat Jen in San Francisco and Mexico
/Oct 28, 2022
Hello Otters (I hope I got that right),
We wanted to let you know that Flat Jen arrived safely in San Francisco last night. She will be living on the third floor in this green building in a neighborhood called Russian hill. Our building is almost 100 years old so it can get quite chilly when Karl comes around. Did you know that San Francisco gets so much fog the fog has a name? Karl the Fog!
We were happy to learn Flat Jen loves cookies because we love them too! She enjoyed an oatmeal cookie upon arrival!
This morning Flat Jen visited a school in a city called Hayward. Many families in our school community are from Mexico and Central America. Flat Jen was able to check out the school's Dia de Los Muertos Altar. She also got to see many kids dressed in traditional Mexican dresses. It was a great day!
We will be in touch soon,
Elana and Daniel Louie
October 30, 2022
Hello from San Francisco!
Flat Jen visited Ocean Beach, the Sutro Baths, Golden Gate park & a Gordo’s Burrito shop. The waves were HUGE at the beach & Flat Jen got to see a surfer riding the waves. The little rocky Islands are called Seal Rocks. The rocky islands got their names because at one time California Sea Lions used to haul out there. I have not seen sea lions there recently but I do know a place where they hang out. Hopefully Flat Jen will get a chance to visit them.
Flat Jen also visited the Sutro baths. The ruins were impressive but not as impressive as the pools must have been! When it was opened in 1896 it was the largest indoor swimming pool in the entire world! The ocean water used to fill the pools & they were heated to different temperatures for families to enjoy. As far as the Sutro Baths go, the complex became too expensive to run and maintain. Eventually the owner sold the complex to a developer who was going to build condominiums. The developer destroyed the complex to get ready for the building project but then a fire broke out. The condos were never built after all. Now the ruins from the baths are a big San Francisco tourist attraction and are maintained by parks and rec. Locals also enjoy the beauty of the area and hiking down to the baths.
She also saw an old windmill on the edge of Golden Gate park. When it was operating many years ago, it was used to pump water to the park. After a day of sightseeing Flat Jen had one of SF’s famous burritos. Yes it was huge as burritos go in SF. In fact, it was bigger than her!We happened to pass a consignment store with
a pretty cool name too! :) Flat Jen is now resting with her new housemate - Mini (the cat).
Happy Halloween!
Nov 3, 2022
Hello Otters,
We had more Dia de Los Muertos festivities this week & enjoyed a special Baile Foklorico performance. We also did some fun cooking. We heard you like to cook too! This week Flat Jen got to help make & eat fresh pasta. We usually knead the dough by hand but this time we cheated & used the mixer. It’s really fun cranking the old pasta machine but even more fun eating the pasta! https://www.winemag.com/recipe/two-egg-pasta-dough/ Well it’s an exciting end to the week. Can you guess where we are & where we are going? We will be in touch soon! Happy Thursday Otters.
💗, Flat Jen
Nov 6th, 2022
Hola Otters,
Flat Jen had a fabulous time this weekend on vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! When she arrived at the airport she loved the Mexican lace decorations! Have you ever made Mexican lace before? Flat Jen loved the beautiful sunsets in PV. She spent most of her time relaxing on the beach. The sand was powdery & warm.
She had a close encounter with a sand bubbler crab. She didn’t even see it coming! Talk about camouflage… But don’t worry sand bubblers are harmless & actually pretty cute. She also got to witness baby turtles making their way to the ocean. They all made it safely despite a crane who looked hungry for dinner. We think the humans scared the bird away. Did you ever read Caps For Sale? Flat Jen met a hat peddler who carried his hats on his head just like in the story. Are you wondering if there were any monkeys in Puerto Vallarta? Well flat Jen had a fabulous vacation but she’s pretty tired after her flight back to San Francisco. We will be in touch soon!
Hasta Luego Amigos!
Greetings Otters,
Flat Jen couldn’t wait to hop on a cable car back in San Francisco. She could hear the squeaks and creaks of the cable moving under the street. She thought the $8 fare was a bit too steep - but not as steep as the 7 San Francisco hills!
She visited Lombard street, the twistiest road she had ever seen.
She loved the sea lions down at Fisherman’s Wharf and wanted to stay there all day- but we had a game to get to.
We figured Flat Jen might be a Blazers fan but we took her to a Warriors game anyway. She got to see Steph Curry shoot some 3 pointers. Did you know he has broken the record for most 3 pointers in the NBA. Can you guess how many he has made?
Anyway - we think she had a great weekend in 7X7 SF.
We will be in touch soon.
Have a greatTurkey Day Otters!
