We're going to Pittsburgh next week, so I thought it would be nice to take pictures of the World's Cutest Baby and the World's Cutest Toddler to their Babcha. So, today I planned to go to Novato to see Roni. I have some things for Monica, too, to leave with her sister. Also, the Palace of the Legion of Honor is having an exhibit on the Mysteries of Egypt which I have wanted to see, so we could do that today as well.

We managed a parking lot close to the museum. I was planning to locate Roni's mother-in-law, who is a docent there. It was easier than I thought it would be, since the woman in front of us was looking for her by name. I heard the guard say she was in room 4, so Rich and I found the room and said "hi." She never wavered from her description of an alabaster head. Later, she asked if we'd join her at lunch. Of course.

The exhibit is on two floors, and we finished the first one just in time for lunch. I was struck by two things, a granite head. The granite, pink, was the same type as near Laramie, but the grains were a lot bigger. Oh, sorry, is the geologist coming out? The other exhibit I especially liked was the Book of the Dead, papyri describing Ani's life and death.

The woman who was looking for Kathy joined us for lunch, along with her husband. He's a cardiologist, and he was also struck by the Book of the Dead. Ani's heart is being weighed against the Feather of Truth, and tiny as the heart is, it had all the valves and connections as a real heart. 3500 years ago! R.J.'s brother and his woman friend were there, and SHE noted the architecture, especially in the papyrus about Ani in life. It's interesting how each of us brought a different outlook to the exhibits!

I hope the British Museum doesn't ever have to give these artifacts back to Egypt. Kathy went to Egypt for a couple of weeks with a British Museum tour. Envy! Egypt has long been one of the places I would love to go, finances and politics willing.

After lunch we looked at the lower level of the exhibit and then the rest of the museum. I do remember a lot of the paintings from previous visits. I was disappointed in the Cezanne, though. I always thought he was my favorite Impressionist, but Van Gogh is much more to my taste. They have a Monet Water Lilies, too, which is beautiful.

I took some pictures outside, because the weather was gorgeous and the views are fantastic. We could see Pt. Reyes! As we drove to the Golden Gate Bridge, we noted the guys down at the clothing-optional beach. And so over to Novato.

We arrived only a few minutes before Roni and Alex. The baby is such a doll. I broke her heart at one point, though, by saying "no" to her. R.J. didn't know WHAT was wrong with her. She was easily distracted, though.

They gave Alex a bath and put her to bed, and fed us, and Roni gave me the pictures, and some cards, and a couple of Time magazines, and I managed to leave the pictures and magazines there! ARGH! I have one of them in digital and we can print it up, but the other we don't have. Argh.

Uh-oh.

Volokh, "If New Jersey had better beaches it would almost be Florida." Lordie. Who'd be a Donk these days?