nor'easter

yesterday welcomed the biggest storm of the year so far on the east coast. snow, hail, wind. it was also the day i was scheduled to fly from NY to SF, for valentine's day through the long weekend.

my flight was supposed to leave at 4:50. a lot of flights from earlier in the day were delayed or canceled, so i felt pretty lucky when they told us to start boarding at 5:10. but then a comedy of weather-related errors ensued -- frozen cargo door, frozen engine on the plane behind us thatblocked us in at the gate, switching pilots, ice patch that kept the plane's wheels from getting traction to leave the gate, two-hour line for 30-minute de-icing process -- so we didn't get off the ground until almost 11.

that meant we spent about 11 hours in total aboard that plane - longer than my flight to japan last summer. although it wasn't quite as bad as what some people experienced. i'm just glad our plane left at all.

so much for our 10 pm valentine's day dinner reservations. but we went with a back-up plan of steaks cooked at home, at 2 in the morning, which were perfectly delicious. and tonight we had already planned a post-valentine's dinner at the chez panisse cafe, in berkeley, which is probably my favorite restaurant of all time.

so i'm feeling pretty content, all things considered. also, the weather in SF is gorgeous - 65 and sunny. the air just smells so good here, too, like the beach and trees and summer. has it always smelled like this? i think of northern california winters as soggy and depressing, but arriving during this rare sunny & warm spell is making me feel awfully nostalgic about living here.