summer snippets

A random assortment of photos from this summer, the below represents what went on between our weekend excursions to Vancouver, Lake Shasta, Sonoma and more. From street festivals to baseball games to day trips to a birthday celebration in Vegas, it was a busy, and surprisingly sunny, summer in and around SF.



From top left: a high-flying seagull catching views at a Giants game; pre-gaming with 21st Amendment’s famous watermelon beer (only available in summer); the waterfront Bar Bocce in Sausalito; the annual North Beach Festival; horse races at Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley; a breakfast of beignets and café au lait at Brenda’s French Soul Food on Polk Street; Brenda’s wall of vintage mirrors; heading to Off the Grid, the weekly food truck event at Fort Mason; Off the Grid crowds; a windy day (perfect for kite flying) at Marina Green; another Giants game – this time with better seats; another day trip to Sausalito, this time to check out Salsalito, a colorful (and clever) Mexican joint where hot sauce is in high demand; a truly awesome sight – this brave man surveying the Sausalito waterfront on a jet pack!; my baby cousin celebrating her 21st birthday at the stroke of midnight; scenes of the Venetian, Palazzo pool and Bellagio conservatory + botanical garden (four shots); a third day trip to Sausalito (I love Sausalito, in case you couldn’t tell); an afternoon ‘field day’ picnic with friends in Golden Gate Park

the world's best bike ride?

Back in June, we had some exciting visitors from Australia -- Madeline and Rob -- and decided to use this chance for a touristy activity we had been wanting to do: biking across the Golden Gate Bridge from SF to Sausalito. Lucky for us, it just happened to be an unusually warm summer day, with high temps and a clear blue sky.

Our starting point was Bay City Bike near Fisherman's Wharf; from there we headed west along the bay, through Fort Mason, the Marina and Chrissy Field. After taking a quick break at the Warming Hut for some cold drinks and a re-lathering of sunscreen, we made it to the bridge. As many times as I've driven across the bridge, I absolutely never get sick of the feeling you get when you're on it and the amazing views you get from it. Biking across is even better, for obvious reasons: more time on the bridge and the ability to stop when you want to take photos.

After the nearly two-mile ride across the bridge, which separates San Francisco and Marin counties, we descended toward Sausalito, quite possibly one of the country's loveliest towns. Our goal was Bar Bocce, a new-ish restaurant on the water that serves up wood-fired pizza, excellent sangria and a bocce ball court. A couple of hours here replenished us for the short ride to the Sausalito ferry terminal, where we boarded a boat with our bikes and headed back to the city.

To see all the photos, click here.

yoga IN the bay

Last week I did one of the coolest things – truly – that I’ve ever done in San Francisco: yoga on a stand-up paddleboard in the middle of Richardson Bay, which is part of San Francisco Bay, between Sausalito and Tiburon. Practicing yoga on an approximately 2- to 3-foot wide paddleboard while floating on freezing cold water on a glorious, crisp, sunny morning was seriously wonderful. We paddled out from the Sea Trek beach, standing up on our boards, to an open area in the bay, where curious sea lions bobbed their heads up right next to our boards and migrating geese flew straight overheard. I highly recommend this experience.

one fine day

I love it when friends come to visit because it means we have an excuse to get out of our neighborhood and splurge on some of the best stuff in San Francisco. Our friends Alex and Erin came over from Perth on Friday morning, bringing beautiful, warm, sunny weather with them, so we headed straight across the bay to have lunch at Fish., the perpetually busy lunch hotspot in Sausalito. One meal of fish and chips, fried oysters, ceviche, and tuna salad sandwiches later, and we were on our way back to San Francisco, stopping off at Cavallo Point. Cavallo Point is a place I’ve heard a lot about lately, and it does not disappoint. The red-roofed buildings of Fort Baker are now part of a luxury resort that includes the Cavallo Point Lodge, the Michelin-starred restaurant Murray Circle and Farley Bar, all at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County. It felt like summertime as we sat in rocking chairs on the front porch, sipped our pints of Sierra Nevada and enjoyed the view of the bridge and the bay.

Disc golf in Golden Gate Park followed by coffee and cupcakes in Hayes Valley (at La Boulange and Miette, respectively) rounded out our leisurely day of San Fran fun. As an added bonus, while wandering down Hayes Street, we walked by the filming of a new Steven Soderbergh movie called Contagion, starring Jude Law, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard. We had no celeb sightings in Hayes Valley, sadly, but the downtown next morning I accidentally walked onto the movie set (it was a fake drug store—I thought it was real) and saw Jude Law getting his makeup done in his trailer. Saw him right through his open window.

Cavallo Point, photos courtesy cavallopoint.com (top and bottom left); the disc golf course in Golden Gate Park (bottom right).

escape to sausalito

One of my favorite things about living in San Francisco is the proximity to Sausalito. It's more than just a Pepperidge Farm cookie. It's also a beautiful, bay-side town just across the GG Bridge with a marina, amazing houses, a cute main street and gorgeous views in every direction. In the short time we've been here, I've already ventured there three times for lunch. On Jess and Ryan's last day in town, we joined the crowds and made the slow commute across the bridge for a walk in the sun and a delicious, albeit expensive (you have to pay for these views, you know), lunch.

Looking back toward the city