Palo Alto, Part II

I got excited when I realized Palo Alto was close to the beach!  Christina thought we might like to have breakfast at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay.  What a gorgeous place!  We enjoyed a great breakfast with great views and opportunity to visit with Kalle before he left for his lecture.

Kalle is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in Sports Medicine.  He treats athletes from all sports, but I particularly enjoyed his stories about Big Mo and others who compete in MMA events in Las Vegas.  From Wikipedia:  Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of bothstriking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, includingboxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, taekwondo, karate, judoand other styles. These athletes get very physical and often have injuries that Kalle "fixes."  We watched some YouTube videos that recorded just how physical these events can be.   I've been known to complain about local doctors refusing to take new Medicare clients and my discussions with Kalle opened my mind to the challenges facing physicians.  He expressed a lot of frustration with MedAdvantage Plans, with Part D insurance formularies, and the bottom line!  "I'm a physician and I want what I believe is best for my patient, not what some insurance guy thinks is best." Now I have another view of the world of medicine, insurance, and Medicare!

The view from our breakfast table

Kati and I enjoying the ocean view

 Kati and Christina

After our lovely breakfast we took a walk and formulated dreams for a beach house overlooking the ocean.  From there we headed to San Francisco to enjoy the Farmer's Market on Pier 1.  

We sampled cake pops, local cheeses, infused olive oils, almonds, and local fruits and vegetables!  I bought dried apricots and almond brittle. 

 

This clever Entrepreneur entertained a long line of people by writing poems on an old typewriter.  Kati told him a short story and he quickly produced a poem that she intended to give to her friend, George!

Only in San Francisco would we happen to see people riding their bikes naked!!  

Kati and Christina enjoying a drink at Union Square

We spent some time window shopping at Nike, Victoria's Secret and Williams Sonoma before heading back to Palo Alto.  Looks like Kati's ready for even more adventures....