We got to San Francisco at about 9:00 am Sunday, after circling for 30 minutes or so while waiting for the fog to clear from the runway.  We checked in to the hotel at 10:30 or so, all planning to tough out the day and get a good night’s sleep.  Theory is that doing so will lessen the effects of jetlag.  David and Matt headed to Santa Cruz.  I went to the wharf.

I left the cable for my camera in the room when I checked out, so I’m not yet able to post the pictures I took.  The wharf was quite a culture shock after a week in Japan.  People dress more casually (ladies, I know you’re proud, but a little restraint is a good thing), are more pushy, and idiots on crotch rocket motorcycles that have been modified to be as loud as possible come cruising down the street at 5 MPH, gunning the engine in neutral.  Still, I had a great time taking in the sights.  And you have no idea how good a slice of greasy American pizza tasted after a week of mostly unfamiliar food.

I got to sleep about midnight on Sunday, and slept straight through to 7:00 AM Monday.  I felt great for most of Monday’s meeting, except an hour or so after lunch.  I thought I had the jetlag licked.  But then I had trouble getting to sleep on Monday night.  It was 3:00 AM before I finally nodded off, and I missed my alarm in the morning.  Fortunately, Matt called and I was able to run through the shower and make it downstairs in time to get a ride to the airport.  From there, it was a 3.5 hour flight home.

There’s nothing quite like walking into the house to find some flowers, a balloon, and a card waiting to welcome you home.  Debra was surprised when I pulled out the card and present that I’d purchased a couple of weeks ago and had stashed under my desk.  (And now that I’ve mentioned the hiding place, I guess I’ll have to find a new one.)

Debra and I have had sushi for dinner on Valentine’s Day for several years, most recently with our good friends Mike and Kristy.  I was pretty well sushi’d out after my trip, but I couldn’t break the tradition.  Besides, we really do like shushi, so it’s not like I was being forced to eat natto (fermented soybeans).  It was funny, though.  Sunday we were talking about how much we were looking forward to a thick, juicy steak, and that we’d rebel if somebody suggested that we go out for Japanese food.

I’m home and tired now.  I don’t think I’ve completely shaken off the jetlag, but I’m feeling a whole lot better than I did the last time.