Today is a day of visiting venues. Some of the place we went, The Hotel Nikko, and The Marines Memorial deserve a brief review. However when you have an experience like a visit to the Chenery Mansion, you can't help but try to capture even a small piece of the strange eclectic experience.
The hotel Nikko was nice, though not quite "us." It has sort of a modern, austere feel to it. One of the features claimed a 25th floor room for the ceremony with a sweeping view of the city. It turns out to be a low-ceilinged room with a light up Exit sign with emergency doors in the back, with a great view of the rooftops of the nearby buildings.
The reception area was nice, and very convenient: a sort of lobby to a huge ballroom. Guests would mingle in the lobby and head into the ballroom. But unfortunately, the volume of gold lame was just a little too much for me. I know the stuff is classy, but it just made the ballroom seem stuffy. The woman who helped us was very nice and they try to be pretty all-inclusive. But ultimately, the Nikko is probably on the out list. It just didn't match our character.
Next up was a visit into the lobby of the Marines Memorial Club and Hotel. Yikes. Turns out the "Marines" title is more than just a monkier. It defines the theme of this place, which has one wall panel after another dedicated to war and patriotism. There are old marines helmets, awards, and guns, articles about war, and flags everywhere. And that was december. I can't imagine what it will be like on July 4th weekend!
Finally came the coup-de-tat: The Chenery House. Wow. This place was amazing and wierd all at once. After an awkward conversation with "Bob" over an intercom, the two gates opened and we arrived at this strange secluded mansion tucked in the center of a block in noe valley. Immediately we were greeted by palm trees and large modern sculpture.
After a gruff greeting, Bob waved to the entrance and made a vague reference to the activation of some kind of sensor, and something about animals. We walked between two large columns and were greeted with bird sounds from the trees. And then music. And then growling lions and trumpeting elephants. Fortunately, the animals turned out to be made of copper and were probably only 1/2 life size. And yet, they still growled and trumpeted. The music was probably from the credits to some adventurous romanic comedy with Cary Grant. Almost circus music, almost classical, and all camp.
We followed the path to a small bridge over a flowing stream - appearently a moat to keep the animals from venturing elsewhere in the estate. As we crossed the bridge, the two story mansion came into view. Its white plaster and tasteful columns were betrayed by wierd old statues at every corner. Little did we know the statues were just a hint at the cluttered environment we were about to enter.
"We do the ceremony over here. That is a Native American Wedding tree" Bob said, motioning to a 20' tree made appearently out of copper piping. "The fire isn't working right now, but I'll show you the water" We watched in bewilderment as Bob used the remote control in his hand to activate almost a hundred little fountains of water that sprang forth from the tips of the branches. Within moments, 3 of the thicker branches started billowing red fire.
We have a full day ahead of us scouting locations: Hotel Nikko SF (swanky), Chenery House (mansion), California Culinary Academy (yum). If time and weather permit, we might also sneak around to some Presidio locations and the Marines Memorial ballroom.
After that, I"m meeting Olivia and Whitney for my first round of dress shopping at Marina Morisson (dead posh?).