Post-Christmas City Outing with Ann

The Sheraton Palace Dining Room

Don’t you just love big cities during the holidays? I know they’re crowded and chaotic, but they are so sparkling and magical, it’s worth it. There is nothing like the enchanting window scenes at Macys and the giant tree at Union Square to keep me in the spirit of the season.

Gloria told me about some really fun things she and her husband, Jack, enjoyed in the city this year; including the Fairmount Hotel lobby and the gingerbread house (people were actually eating it!), riding up California Street toward Nob Hill amidst the festive city lights of San Francisco and the waterfall of lights in the lobby of the Hyatt Hotel at the Embarcadero. I just had to see that one!

Cascade of Lights Hyatt Emarcadero

It was an easy BART ride from Oakland’s Rockridge Station to the Embarcadero and I was so excited that my fellow flaneur, Ann Cromey, was up for it. As I entered the lobby of the Hyatt Hotel, I spotted those lights and I literally gasped with delight. There are literally thousands of tiny white lights cascading down from the tall ceiling; all of it surrounding an enchanting Santa’s Village, (see the Golden Gate bridge). I have tried to capture it in a photograph for you, but alas you have to be there! Go stand under those lights and I guarantee you that your heart will soar with the awe of light. Thank you, Thomas Edison!

Santa's Village Hyatt Embarcadero - Golden Gate Bridge

The next stop was the Sheraton Palace and we were greeted by the ??? Society, (I promise I will get the name for you after asking Ann!) men and women dressed up in turn of the century, old world attire, corsets and dresses with velvet ruffles and lace, big, fancy hats with feather plumes and the gentlemen attired in smart suits and top hats, all milling around the lobby entrance to the magnificent dining room. There is such a romance to that time that transports me to another era.

  Our last stop was the tree at Union Square and dodging mad shoppers at the after-Christmas sales at Macys. We went way up to the top floor to Christmas Alley and watched the ice skaters from up high; such a different world! Note the palm trees in the distance. Christmas in California - 70 degrees and bright sunshine.  Gotta love it!

Santa’s Water Sleigh!

Christ the Light Catholic Cathedral

We could hear the Christmas music piped in loud and pure as we walked toward the Boat House at Lake Merritt. We were going on Santa’s Water Sleigh to sing Christmas carols! The night was clear and bright (and cold!) and I was bundled in my ski parka and hat from last year.

Nineteen of us filed into the water taxi hovering on the dark water, greeted by Todd’s rendition of Gilligan’s Island  . . . a three-hour tour. I couldn’t stop laughing at that one.  Clever boy!

Our fearless skipper handed out flashlights and songbooks (and life jackets for anyone who wanted them - - on Lake Merritt?  Really?!?), and away we went, launching immediately into O Christmas Tree as we began our sojourn around the lake, motoring past the lights of Oakland.

I have been around that lake so many times in every season, but can you believe that I’ve never been on the water! It gives a completely different viewpoint of our wonderful city; the Scottish Rite Temple and Christ the Light shone brightly in all their magnificence under a full moon.

We belted out all the crowd pleasers; Joy to the World, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Jingle Bell Rock, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Here we Come a Wassailing, O Come All Ye Faithful, but the hushed Silent Night, nestled back into my good husband’s arms was the peak moment of the evening for me.

God bless you Rob – I raise my glass to many more Christmases with you my love!

And God bless the good Todd and Michael for arranging this fun and festive outing – we will go every year and make it a tradition!

The Messiah

Happy Birthday to Me!

We go every year. It is one of our Christmas/Birthday traditions. We have been to many different interpretations over the years; the sing it yourself (with Leslie this year), a soulful rendition at the Paramount Theater in Oakland (not recommended) and several times to the light, lilting American Bach Soloists version. But there is nothing like the extravagant Davies Symphony Hall, especially the last couple of years, springing for sound-perfect loge seating.

Davies is truly a majestic place; its glorious expanse of space makes me feel big inside. The Christmas trees in the lobby are so festive and the towering ceiling of the performance hall makes me feel elegant and graceful. Place inspires. And when place is combined with a highly precise orchestra and choir performing perhaps the most glorious ode to Jesus Christ ever written, it transports to another dimension; a dimension where my heart touches God.

The trumpeter was flawless.

And we shall be changed.

I am changed hearing it performed with that kind of mastery. I am inspired to be all I can be; to be the whole of what God created.

And we shall be changed.

The process of life changes me at my core and brings me closer to home; to the Kingdom of God inside of me.

I hear the Amen chorus and I almost think it would be ok to die right then and there; to be lifted out of this world on that magnificent high “A”. I hope God plays the Amen chorus of The Messiah for me when it really is my time.

Thank you, good husband for such an enchanting birthday. And thank you thank you to all of you for your birthday wishes on Facebook, E-mail, texts, phone calls - - - you have all made me feel very loved. And I love you back!

The Birthday Girl, December 20th at Davies Symphony Hall