Alan Gevins N. California Mini

Alan Gevins and his lovely wife Lita Sam-Vargas hosted our 3rd Northern California Mini on Saturday, October 19, 2013. Alan and Lita live in a wonderful area of San Francisco, high on a hill, with the typical windy streets. Their multi-level house is directly opposite free space and land, so not only do they have spectacular views, but also there is abundant parking, a true rarity in San Francisco.

They were wonderful hosts. Everyone felt totally at ease. The chatter never stopped from the moment the first group arrived. Alan took us immediately into the bar where we had wine choices from his amazing wine cellar. We schmoozed and nibbled on nuts until Lita started putting out the food on their enormous dining room table – smoked salmon and bagels, spanakopita, veggies and dips, large assortment of cheeses and pätés, thinly sliced meats, sushi that was delivered fresh while we were there, etc. The food was so delicious that no one wanted to leave the table, so Alan and Lita went and got us chairs and we stayed in the dining room for the rest of the evening. Dinner (because that’s what it really was for us, except for Ross who had to leave for a dinner engagement with another GN classmate) was capped off by scrumptious cookies and coffee.

You will notice there is no group photo. Nobody thought to take one. We have decided this is for two reasons: 1) group photos do not usually include spouses, whereas the spouses here were as much of the party as the classmates – it was hard to remember who was a spouse and who was a classmate, and 2) it did not feel like a school reunion – it was a gathering of friends.  And that is what all these minis are becoming – gatherings of friends.  We were happy to have Pat, Ross and Ritchie  join us since they had not been to one of our local minis before. We are hoping for every mini to have some first-timers.  We already know who is hosting the next one.

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