Obviously since I’ve been heavily advertising my husband’s birthday gift on my Facebook page, I felt it needed an explanation. It really wasn’t supposed to be a game, but he MADE me give him clues. Here’s the story:
As most of you know, my husband turned 40 today. 40 is an important number. I really wanted him to feel special, and I really struggled with finding him the perfect gift. I finally figured out what I wanted to get him, and it was being shipped to our house. I was really going to be cutting it close with delivery, so I went ahead and paid for expedited delivery. After I did that, I sort of stressed out that they would arrive and he’d be able to tell what they are by looking at the box. At dinner that night I told him if we come home from work and there are boxes at our doorstep, he needs to look the other way. Somehow he MANIPULATED (haha) me into giving him a clue in exchange for not snooping for his gifts. Well, it just so happened that I had written up a nice letter to him to go with his gifts, and it was written in a way that I could give him several pages without him ever having an idea of what he was getting. What I wrote about was everything I CONSIDERED getting him, but didn’t. Each page had a picture on it that was related to his gift. The key clue was ALL pictures were related, and my letter actually helped him eliminate options.
The pictures, in order, have been: the Pebble Beach golf course logo, the Sierra Club hiking club logo, an image of an orange with the words “Grown in California” under it, the Robert Mondavi wine label, the NPR logo, a picture of a skier, a picture of Lara Bars wrappers, an image from the 2000 US Open, and a picture of a boy reading under a tree with the words “Time for Yourself”. I told him there are multiple gifts, and they are all related. Jason has lined up the images on our kitchen counter, and just stares at them. Want to know what he thought he was getting? A round of golf at Pebble Beach, a hiking trip up in Tahoe, a lifetime supply of orange juice, membership to the Robert Mondavi wine club, NPR was going to announce his birthday on the radio, I was taking him skiing in Canada, a box of Lara bars, tickets to the 2012 US Open, and that I cleared time off with his boss to do all of this stuff. Nice guess, but that’s not what you’re getting dude.
So- what do all of the images have in common? The answer is SO simple. They were all done by the same graphic designer. They were all done by a man named Michael Schwab.
Over 8 years ago, before Jason and I were even married, we were in San Francisco on one of our many date days. We went into a store to browse, and he came across these prints that he loved. They were all different areas of the Golden Gate National Parks . Most of them were framed already- he checked out the price and said “Yikes”, Jason didn’t spend that kind of money on pictures to hang on the walls. We looked over to the side and they had posters available too- for only $12.95! That was more in his price range. He settled on a poster that had multiple different parks on it side by side, and said someday he’d have it framed. Well, he hasn’t. For over 8 years that poster has remained in its original plastic wrapping. After we got married, it found a home in our filing cabinet- and every time we actually work on filing together (which is only around tax season usually) he’ll see it and say “I need to get that framed so I can hang it up”.
So, for his birthday this year I thought I’d have that picture framed. I took it to a framing place, had to take off the plastic so they could measure it, and got the price to frame it- lets just say I said “Yikes”, and walked out the door. That poster is back in the file cabinet. I started looking at other options for birthday gifts but I was seriously coming up short. It was now a week before his birthday and I was really stressing. So, I went back to that poster. I started wondering if I could just buy that same poster already framed and save myself some money. I couldn’t remember for the life of me where we bought that poster. Thank goodness for the internet! I found a place online that sold the prints- already framed- for much cheaper than having his original poster framed. The problem: they didn’t have the same poster with the multiple parks on it; they only had the individual parks. Michael Schwab created 18 different designs for the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, which ones do I choose? Well, I ended up picking five of them (I had wanted six! But the last one I wanted they didn’t have in the size I wanted, oh well). They all arrived Tuesday, in plenty of time for his birthday. They all got wrapped, and each had a letter attached to it with an explanation of why I picked that one.
The first one I picked was Schwab’s Golden Gate Bridge. This picture reminded me of the gazillion times Jason and I have gone to San Francisco together. We usually take the Bay Bridge into the city, but we almost always take the Golden Gate Bridge home. It also reminds me of a picture I have of Jason and Alex together from a trip we took to the city for Father’s Day- where they’re walking together in Crissy Field (this is the other picture I want to get), with the bridge in the background. I had taken Jason to San Francisco that year because it was the first Father’s Day after his dad had passed away, and I wanted to lift his spirits. In the picture he and Alex were talking about her “Papa” and how much they missed him. I sort of hung back a little so they two of them could have some alone time together, and that’s when I took that picture.
The second picture I chose was of the Cliff House. I chose this picture because Jason and I do an urban hike together that starts in Golden Gate Park, whips through the Presidio, takes us along the coast until we get to the Sutro Baths and Cliff House, and then back into Golden Gate Park. We’ve done this hike together several times in the last ten years that we’ve been together, and I’m always REALLY happy to see the Cliff House because it means we’re almost done with the hike (it’s long, and very tiring!). We used to stop here for a bit of a break and check out Musee Mecanique (before it moved to Fisherman’s Wharf), which has a bunch of antique arcade games and the infamous “Laffing Sal”, pictured above. After Musee Mecanique moved, we found a place called the Park Chalet that is nearby where we can stop for a break after our long hike before heading home. Did I mention Park Chalet is a brewery? Yeah, so now seeing Cliff House signifies it’s time for a BEER, which is much needed after hiking for several hours (just ask anyone that we’ve made go on this hike with us).
The third picture I chose is the one of Mount Tamalpais. This picture signifies my absolute favorite summer hike that we’ve done together, which is a trail called Bootjack Loop. Bootjack is at least 6.2 miles, with several other little trails that you can add on to extend it (which we have). It starts in Mount Tamalpais and the entire trail is surrounded by redwoods and ferns. It loops into Muir Woods, before sending you back up into Mount Tamalpais to finish. I have fond memories of a particular time we hiked here (again, not sure our friends that were with us would agree with us here) where we were only suppose to have a 20% chance of rain. 20% chance of rain turned into BUCKETS OF RAIN rather quickly, but once you’re in, you’re in for good- you’ve gotta finish the loop. There was an option at the halfway point to extend the trail to go to the Muir Woods visitor center where we thought we could duck into until the rain let up and enjoy some hot beverages and maybe some soup. This stop added an extra mile or so onto our hike. We waited, indoors, patiently. The rain never stopped. We finally decided we couldn’t wait any longer, and continued on with our hike. The problem with waiting- it sort of got dark, and we finished the hike in the pouring rain and in the dark. Always an adventure! After the hike Jason stripped down to his undies and draped his clothes across the dashboard of the car, with the car on high heat- trying to dry everything so we could stop and get dinner in Sausalito.
The fourth picture I chose was the one of Muir Woods. This is actually my favorite out of all of them, and the one I thought he’d like the most too. Not only does it remind me of hiking there with him, but it reminds me of our trips to Yosemite, Tahoe and Big Tree’s together too.
The fifth picture is one of Sweeney Ridge. We’ve never been here before. This picture signifies our future, and the many adventures that are waiting for us. We’ll be going here next week, taking Alex on her first hiking trip. Hopefully it will be the first of many that we do as a family.
As I looked through all of the pictures that Schwab designed for the Golden Gate National Parks, I realized how important the parks are to us. We’ve been to almost all of them, and I have many fond memories of our trips together. The last part of Jason’s birthday gift is a membership to the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, which supports preserving the many historic landmarks, hiking trails and redwood forests that we’ve enjoyed together, so that hopefully our daughter and any children she might have, can enjoy them too.
As most of you know, my husband turned 40 today. 40 is an important number. I really wanted him to feel special, and I really struggled with finding him the perfect gift. I finally figured out what I wanted to get him, and it was being shipped to our house. I was really going to be cutting it close with delivery, so I went ahead and paid for expedited delivery. After I did that, I sort of stressed out that they would arrive and he’d be able to tell what they are by looking at the box. At dinner that night I told him if we come home from work and there are boxes at our doorstep, he needs to look the other way. Somehow he MANIPULATED (haha) me into giving him a clue in exchange for not snooping for his gifts. Well, it just so happened that I had written up a nice letter to him to go with his gifts, and it was written in a way that I could give him several pages without him ever having an idea of what he was getting. What I wrote about was everything I CONSIDERED getting him, but didn’t. Each page had a picture on it that was related to his gift. The key clue was ALL pictures were related, and my letter actually helped him eliminate options.
The pictures, in order, have been: the Pebble Beach golf course logo, the Sierra Club hiking club logo, an image of an orange with the words “Grown in California” under it, the Robert Mondavi wine label, the NPR logo, a picture of a skier, a picture of Lara Bars wrappers, an image from the 2000 US Open, and a picture of a boy reading under a tree with the words “Time for Yourself”. I told him there are multiple gifts, and they are all related. Jason has lined up the images on our kitchen counter, and just stares at them. Want to know what he thought he was getting? A round of golf at Pebble Beach, a hiking trip up in Tahoe, a lifetime supply of orange juice, membership to the Robert Mondavi wine club, NPR was going to announce his birthday on the radio, I was taking him skiing in Canada, a box of Lara bars, tickets to the 2012 US Open, and that I cleared time off with his boss to do all of this stuff. Nice guess, but that’s not what you’re getting dude. So- what do all of the images have in common? The answer is SO simple. They were all done by the same graphic designer. They were all done by a man named Michael Schwab. Over 8 years ago, before Jason and I were even married, we were in San Francisco on one of our many date days. We went into a store to browse, and he came across these prints that he loved. They were all different areas of the Golden Gate National Parks . Most of them were framed already- he checked out the price and said “Yikes”, Jason didn’t spend that kind of money on pictures to hang on the walls. We looked over to the side and they had posters available too- for only $12.95! That was more in his price range. He settled on a poster that had multiple different parks on it side by side, and said someday he’d have it framed. Well, he hasn’t. For over 8 years that poster has remained in its original plastic wrapping. After we got married, it found a home in our filing cabinet- and every time we actually work on filing together (which is only around tax season usually) he’ll see it and say “I need to get that framed so I can hang it up”.So, for his birthday this year I thought I’d have that picture framed. I took it to a framing place, had to take off the plastic so they could measure it, and got the price to frame it- lets just say I said “Yikes”, and walked out the door. That poster is back in the file cabinet. I started looking at other options for birthday gifts but I was seriously coming up short. It was now a week before his birthday and I was really stressing. So, I went back to that poster. I started wondering if I could just buy that same poster already framed and save myself some money. I couldn’t remember for the life of me where we bought that poster. Thank goodness for the internet! I found a place online that sold the prints- already framed- for much cheaper than having his original poster framed. The problem: they didn’t have the same poster with the multiple parks on it; they only had the individual parks. Michael Schwab created 18 different designs for the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, which ones do I choose? Well, I ended up picking five of them (I had wanted six! But the last one I wanted they didn’t have in the size I wanted, oh well). They all arrived Tuesday, in plenty of time for his birthday. They all got wrapped, and each had a letter attached to it with an explanation of why I picked that one.
The first one I picked was Schwab’s Golden Gate Bridge. This picture reminded me of the gazillion times Jason and I have gone to San Francisco together. We usually take the Bay Bridge into the city, but we almost always take the Golden Gate Bridge home. It also reminds me of a picture I have of Jason and Alex together from a trip we took to the city for Father’s Day- where they’re walking together in Crissy Field (this is the other picture I want to get), with the bridge in the background. I had taken Jason to San Francisco that year because it was the first Father’s Day after his dad had passed away, and I wanted to lift his spirits. In the picture he and Alex were talking about her “Papa” and how much they missed him. I sort of hung back a little so they two of them could have some alone time together, and that’s when I took that picture.
The second picture I chose was of the Cliff House. I chose this picture because Jason and I do an urban hike together that starts in Golden Gate Park, whips through the Presidio, takes us along the coast until we get to the Sutro Baths and Cliff House, and then back into Golden Gate Park. We’ve done this hike together several times in the last ten years that we’ve been together, and I’m always REALLY happy to see the Cliff House because it means we’re almost done with the hike (it’s long, and very tiring!). We used to stop here for a bit of a break and check out Musee Mecanique (before it moved to Fisherman’s Wharf), which has a bunch of antique arcade games and the infamous “Laffing Sal”, pictured above. After Musee Mecanique moved, we found a place called the Park Chalet that is nearby where we can stop for a break after our long hike before heading home. Did I mention Park Chalet is a brewery? Yeah, so now seeing Cliff House signifies it’s time for a BEER, which is much needed after hiking for several hours (just ask anyone that we’ve made go on this hike with us).The third picture I chose is the one of Mount Tamalpais. This picture signifies my absolute favorite summer hike that we’ve done together, which is a trail called Bootjack Loop. Bootjack is at least 6.2 miles, with several other little trails that you can add on to extend it (which we have). It starts in Mount Tamalpais and the entire trail is surrounded by redwoods and ferns. It loops into Muir Woods, before sending you back up into Mount Tamalpais to finish. I have fond memories of a particular time we hiked here (again, not sure our friends that were with us would agree with us here) where we were only suppose to have a 20% chance of rain. 20% chance of rain turned into BUCKETS OF RAIN rather quickly, but once you’re in, you’re in for good- you’ve gotta finish the loop. There was an option at the halfway point to extend the trail to go to the Muir Woods visitor center where we thought we could duck into until the rain let up and enjoy some hot beverages and maybe some soup. This stop added an extra mile or so onto our hike. We waited, indoors, patiently. The rain never stopped. We finally decided we couldn’t wait any longer, and continued on with our hike. The problem with waiting- it sort of got dark, and we finished the hike in the pouring rain and in the dark. Always an adventure! After the hike Jason stripped down to his undies and draped his clothes across the dashboard of the car, with the car on high heat- trying to dry everything so we could stop and get dinner in Sausalito.
The fourth picture I chose was the one of Muir Woods. This is actually my favorite out of all of them, and the one I thought he’d like the most too. Not only does it remind me of hiking there with him, but it reminds me of our trips to Yosemite, Tahoe and Big Tree’s together too.The fifth picture is one of Sweeney Ridge. We’ve never been here before. This picture signifies our future, and the many adventures that are waiting for us. We’ll be going here next week, taking Alex on her first hiking trip. Hopefully it will be the first of many that we do as a family.
As I looked through all of the pictures that Schwab designed for the Golden Gate National Parks, I realized how important the parks are to us. We’ve been to almost all of them, and I have many fond memories of our trips together. The last part of Jason’s birthday gift is a membership to the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, which supports preserving the many historic landmarks, hiking trails and redwood forests that we’ve enjoyed together, so that hopefully our daughter and any children she might have, can enjoy them too.
Happy 40th birthday Jason, hope it was a great one :)
Awesome! I've always loved those posters (my fave is the Crissy Field one w/the airplane that is in the gift shop @ Crissy Field) so I love the present(s) in general and especially loved the way you did it w/the clues & also the explanation as to why each was chosen. SUPER cool!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking us all on the adventures of Jason's gifts. This is absolutely awesome. I have enjoyed his birthday through your stories as well seeing the clues and significance behind each print. And I still hope to do Muir Woods again someday, without the BUCKETS OF RAIN. It was such a beautiful hike.
ReplyDeleteAngie- we'll take you on Bootjack Loop again- but this time we'll make sure there's absolutely no rain in the forecast!
ReplyDeleteJuliet- thanks, I really want to get the Crissy Field one!
Great gift! The smile on his face makes it clear that he loved it too:)
ReplyDeleteAwww.... how sweet is that. You are a good wife.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful thoughtful gift. My hubby's 40th is in January and I'm already thinking about what to do or get him. This was a great idea.
ReplyDeleteOMG! THANK YOU! I liked the graphic style of the artist and clicked through from your blog to his site and found he's done a poster series for Amtrak - my BF LOVES Amtrak and trains and I think this is somehow going to end up as a gift for him! Thanks you so much for pointing the way!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mary! I love some of his other work too! We've added it to our list of things to do to check out his gallery someday.
ReplyDeleteCliff House is indeed a special place -- as is the old Sutro Bathhouse. Clint Eastwood -- of course -- helped make the place legendary with his series of "Dirty Harry" movies. Venus and I aren't into hiking as much as you and Jason are -- although we'll both "hike" from the Cliff House parking lot to the Cliff House bar.
ReplyDeleteYou worked very hard to celebrate a special day with him. He's a lucky guy indeed.