Since our first visit 6 years ago, we had wanted to return to Helen’s Hideaway – a waterfront property just steps away from Hog Island Oyster that transports you back in time. This Memorial Day weekend gave us the opportunity to go back; this time with my friend Ala and his family. Despite planning months in advance, our plans were thwarted by my friend’s back injury, requiring us to pivot from adventure to relaxation. After Westley placed third with his team at the Davis Math Tournament at DHS, we drove to Hot Stone Korean Kitchen for kalbi tang and spicy ramen on the way to Marshall. Together, our two families bought 7 dozens of Kumamoto, Olympia, and medium oysters, along with a pound of mussels, which we brought back to our private dock to shuck our way to oyster heaven. Melody’s parsley-garlic compound butter was a hit, but her new kimchi butter was the unexpected winner. Feeling stuffed, we warmed up with our fireplace and learned to play Empires before bedtime. On Sunday, we went to Point Reyes Station to line up for Bovine Bakery treats, a Brickmaiden sourdough loaf, and cheese from West Marin Culture Shop. The restaurants were packed for the long weekend, so we instead picked up lunch from Palace Market, as we lamented the end of water buffalo gelato, which was replaced by a respectable Jersey soft-serve from Valley Ford Creamery. We relaxed to views of the Tomales Bay in the afternoon as Ala rested on a recliner and I joined the kids for Azul and Pandemic. We dined on more oysters, leftovers, and Naseem’s loobia polo, before snuggling on the couch for movie night. On Monday, we shared popovers and brunch at Station House Café, then headed to explore the Duxbury Reef tide pools at Bolinas Beach and learn to fly a kite at Stinson Beach before parting our ways. Back home, my parents shared Tasty Pot with us and ordered a Unicorn Banshee RG Gundam for Westley before they returned home. It also happened to be opening weekend for the Phantom of the Opera tour in SF, and we were able to nab last minute orchestra tickets from StubHub just as we were planning our Paris trip and a tour of Opera Garnier. So after Chinese school, we drove into the city to share takeout from Dumpling Home on a park bench at the UN Skate Plaza, then made our way to relive our favorite and first musical together. In spite of the $15 bottled water and sour patch kids for Westley, the Orpheum Theater’s opulent decur provided the perfect backdrop as we watched the chandelier come crashing down.

This year’s ARVO was my first time staying for the entire meeting, and my first time witnessing snow there. I arrived in Denver on Sunday for the first poster session and lunch with my ex-lab members Sook and Mini. I socialized at our department reception afterwards, and networked with RPB and Michigan folks thanks to our new chair. Day two kicked off with award lectures, lunch and meetings with Regeneron, and an unexpected run-in with my labmate Kevin who’s now in the rejuvenation industry. I felt underdressed, however, next to ophthalmology greats at the BrightFocus dinner at the Denver Art Museum. On Tuesday, I shared life advice at Breakfast with the Experts, then met with Cirrus, RegenXBio, Adverum, and Genentech teams before joining my trainees for lunch at James Beard awardee Rioja and ice-cream next door. My solo omakase experience at Sushi by Scratch was somewhat disappointing, unfortunately, due to aggressive flavoring that reminded me of its Californian roots. Despite multiple sleepless nights, I stayed up practicing my talk for Thursday, which went smoothly with minimal scrutiny. I could not finish the juicy but pricey ribeye steak over lunch at Guard & Grace with my classmate Brian, but at least stayed awake for a full afternoon of poster viewing and DFC’s lab dinner. I moderated one of last sessions on Thursday, chowed down on Jinya ramen, then booked it home to celebrate Mother’s Day with Korean BBQ and our 19th Anniversary with a surprise visit to Saison in SF. Despite losing its third Michelin star, Richard Lee’s “fire-forward” tasting menu provided well-executed flavors complete with teapot-served broths, chopper-hunted antelope, and custom steak knives, although the unnecessary uni toast and wagyu supplements, mandatory surcharges, and adding taxes atop these fees nearly doubled the final bill. My fine dining streak extended to Fort Lauderdale, where my abbreviated presence at the Retina World Congress was interspersed with lobster spaghetti from Del Mar, crab fried rice from Takato, and foie gras “nutter butter” at Maass that tasted like a Michelin-level PB&J. I got back in time to give my talk at our department’s Napa Eye meeting, savor escargot and onion soup from Bouchon Bistro, and catch up with Melody and Westley about their BTS concert in Stanford. With so many lofty expenditures this month, we’ll need to keep a closer eye on our wallet.