The Steussy Ranch

We spent Saturday night walking through La Jolla. We went to the beach as the sun went down and had a passerby take this photo. We ate at Barbarella’s (link). Oysters on the half shell, salmon pizza (!!) and a very good burger.

Then we went to the main downtown area. I hadn’t been there for fifteen years. We managed to locate The Spot (link), which was originally a dive restaurant a block away from the house I shared with Barry Marshall, Rachel Guthridge and others while I was at Northwestern. About 20 years ago, they decided to flee the Chicago weather (and an eminent domain event that destroyed their building) and moved to Southern California. We also made a quick stop to the famous La Valencia (link).

Big thanks to Leila for looking after the kids while we went to have fun.

After the proposal, we partied for a week with friends. Here with Jack.

To those who don’t know, this is the anniversary of the first wedding with Gabi. The big wedding everyone remembers was on a beach in Malibu on the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2001. Here’s the story. I proposed on Christmas morning of the year 2000. After partying for a week at our new house in Silverlake, we went to see an immigration lawyer almost immediately. When he told us how long the process was to get Gabi her American citizenship, we opted to get married as soon as possible in order to start the application.

On Wednesday February 7, 2001, we went to Norwalk in Los Angeles. Our immigration attorney recommended it as filing the fastest paperwork in the area (“Whatever you do, don’t get married in Vegas. They take forever with the paperwork.”). Most of the people getting married there that day were visibly pregnant, poorly dressed and otherwise not happy to be there. Not us. We got the Justice of the Peace, who must handle dozens of weddings a day, to cry at our ceremony. The only photo of the day that I have is the one below. Denny’s was the convenient restaurant across from the courthouse. A very happy day, and much worth celebrating.

Lunch on our wedding day. No guests. No catering.

The Packers won the Super Bowl, and they were my team in the family football pool. Now we suffer with at least seven months of no football. Dang.

And major progress was made on my super-secret project today. Very happy about this.

It’s a good day.