oh-twelve wrap-up: fleet week, wine, music, florida and more

October and November are some of the best months in the Bay Area, with warm, sunny weather and lots of outdoor events (turns out it’s a great time to be in Florida, too). Even though it’s now a few months later (I got a little sidetracked), allow me to show off some highlights.


Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park; yoga for a cause in Union Square


The Fleet Week air show (with blue angels, a stealth bomber and more) in the bay


A visit to Ram’s Gate Winery in Sonoma with my aunt, in town from Missouri!


Thanksgiving week in Sarasota, Florida: Watching kitesurfers in St. Petersburg; waiting for the sunset at the Hurricane in St. Petersburg; sun setting over the Gulf of Mexico and creating a gorgeous sky; Siesta Key; Longboat Key; buddies at the Mote Aquarium; a manatee kiss on the aquarium window; a rather random group of animals at the Gulf Coast Sanctuary in Sarasota

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

hardly strictly bluegrass

This past weekend was one of San Francisco’s best – the annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, held the first weekend of October in Golden Gate Park. The three-day festival takes place over six stages, and of the 90-plus performances, I only saw a few on Saturday afternoon, but they were great. Like its name suggests, the festival is bluegrass at heart, but there is a nice variety of other genres like country and rock.

The highlight for me was Ryan Bingham, the Academy Award-winning singer/songwriter who won much acclaim for his work on the Crazy Heart soundtrack. I also saw The Flatlanders and Reckless Kelly.

The other highlight was the weather – another beautiful Indian summer day in the city.

brotherly love

Apologies for my lack of posting! So far, summer has kept me away from the computer... a nice change. After a lovely 11 days at home in Missouri in late May, my little brother came to visit me in San Francisco, and we had a great time both in the city and at Lake Tahoe. I am happy to report that Lake Tahoe is just as glorious in the summer as it is in winter (as I knew it would be). We enjoyed a beautiful hike along Emerald Bay and some lakeside music on Commons Beach in Tahoe City.

Back in the city, a bike ride through Golden Gate Park was a nice ending to Lucas’s trip.


In San Francisco: a turtle swimming at the Palace of Fine Arts, next to the Exploratorium (above left); Lucas at the Exploratorium – an interactive science museum (above right)

In Lake Tahoe: Lower Eagle Falls (above left, middle and right); continuing the hike to Upper Eagle Falls (below left); Lucas and I at Upper Eagle Falls (below right); Upper Eagle Falls (further below)


Emerald Bay from the highway (above left); Lake Tahoe from Commons Beach (above right); Seb and Lucas jumping in freezing water (below left); beautiful, beautiful Lake Tahoe (below right)

Music on Commons Beach, Tahoe City (above left); clear blue water (above right)
Biking through Golden Gate Park: the Chinese pagoda in Stow Lake (below left); the plaza between the de Young Museum and the Academy of Sciences (below right)