A Taxing Day in San Francisco....

Well, sort of. MeLissa had a class there yesterday on how to use a program that her company will be using to e-file their tax return. All corporations are required to e-file this year and it's causing quite a stir...it doens't help that the IRS can't seem to make up it's mind on how it wants things in many cases.

Mark was also in the city yesterday (and Thursday and even today and tomorrow!) for a class. He's learning the Active Release Technique - a wonderfully effective tissue torture method that has been great for MeLissa. :)

After our classes were let out, we met up at the Gap on Powell and Market streets. MeLissa brought a new friend, Sara, along with her. Sara was in MeLissa's class and was visiting from Minnesota. She was going to be staying in the city that evening so MeLissa asked if she'd like to join in on the latest MeLissa and Mark adventure. She accepted and her presence was an added joy to the evening.

While waiting for Mark, MeLissa and Sara took a short walk down to Union Square. They located the large Williams-Sonoma store there and, against better judgement went inside! Naturally, MeLissa found something she couldn't live without - some adorable spring cookie cutters - there's a butterfly, a frog, a lady bug, a snail and a dragon fly in the set...all adorable!

Once Mark joined us, we ventured across the street to the San Francisco Shopping Center to show Sara the fun escalators. Yeah, this seems rather boring, but it's kind of a cool experience when you first see them (and after a seminar on taxation everything seems so much more amusing!). We rode the escalators up to the very top floor so Sara could enjoy looking down on the "ant people."

After this, we walked over to the Metreon where we introduced Sara to Virtual Bowling. We love virtual bowling! She did, too...and got the hang of it pretty quick. The only "bummer" about the experience was that Mark couldn't really see well enough to play (kind of sad because it shows his vision isn't what it once was), but we "made lemonade" and found a thrilling solution! He and MeLissa played his turns together. He'd use one hand and she used one hand and together they knocked down some pins - what a fun bonding experience! :)

After burning some calories, we were finally ready for dinner. We decided to try one of the restaurants in the Metreon - LJ's Martini Bar. We made an excellent choice! Besides having very tasty food (and lots of martinis which we decided to abstain from since they tend to make MeLissa ill), there was a live jazz band! What a treat to eat an excellent meal with good company, great ambiance and great music. We'll probably treat ourselves to that experience again!

After dinner, we walked Sara to her room and then headed home!