10 posts tagged “sf”
We went to see the colorful kites and fearless riders at the 2nd Annual US National Kiteboarding Racing Event being played out on Crissy Field in SF last night. With wind ranging from 18 to 34 knots, they sure had their hands full.
Today we joined the Presidio Trust team and worked on Lovers's Lane. We fought with more blackberries and then cleared out a drainage ditch (see it on the left hand side of the path in the picture below -- hand laid by German POWs). We cleared about 100 yards of the ditch and then called it a day. A long hard, back breaking day that deserves a glass of wine. ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

FYI, Saturday's volunteer site was along a section where the troops were learning trench warfare and how to clean Mustard Gas off of themselves if they got attacked with it. (Yes, they had to expose one another to it). Apparently, an 80yr old vial was discovered about 5 or 6 years ago by a park employee and special Army men had to come out and look for more and secure the area for 5 years. The Presidio is sooo full of interesting history. We LOVE living near it and getting to help restore it. By the way, the 3,000 Eucalyptis trees along Lover's Lane were planted by schoolchildren in 1884.
Most people ask if we like it here. What they may not realize is that we *chose* to live here because we love it so much. We are so lucky that we get to live in a place that is so beautiful and that is a favored destination of many others on their own vacations. And, we try to take in as much as we can. That is why we take many "daycations" around our town and our area. Here are a few pics of Point Reyes National Seashore - literally just over an hour away from our home. Our backyard.
On Tuesday while waiting at Sacto and Front bus stop, an "Out of Service" bus stopped and took on passengers, for free. I was the only one on the bus for a few stops, as no one was quite sure what to do with this act of kindness, so Joseph and I started chatting (been in SF since 1976, from Mississippi, now lives in Marin and the favorite part of his job is watching the sun rise between the Transamerica Pyramid and the Embarcadero). It is a great thing when you get off the bus with a smile on your face because people surprise you in a good way.
We stumbled upon the second weekend of the Japantown Cherry Blossom Festival. This visit will lead to one next year, if not to catch the parade, to taste the most popular treat, the Takoyaki .. you buy them in baskets of 4 balls and can get as many as 20. They are like tiny filled pancakes. The guys making them were working fast and furiously to feed the constant line of about 100+. We found out that traditionally they are made with octopus, but this stand uses ground beef instead. They smelled wonderful and we will be back!. We did not see any blossoms however.
I've been inspired to start a Point-and-Shoot Scavenger Hunt for things in San Francisco. It is a personal venture, but if you happen to find something during your lunch hour or weekend stroll, feel free to contribute. I will happily post more than one picture for each item on the list.
X biggest crowd waiting on a sidewalk for brunch 18!
- worst tofu-anything combination
x most expensive bowl of clam chowder: ($4.50 so far)
- most unusual looking fruit or vegetable for sale
X most newspaper/mag dispensers on one street, clumped together: 18!
- most out of town/foreign language newspapers at a newsstand
X cheesiest Golden Gate Bridge-related souvenir: (HARD to choose -- see 4 things)
- multiple Starbucks/coffee places in one picture (two is easy, three is a challenge)
- best (tightest) parallel parking job - front and back bumper photos
X most tourist buses in one picture: (3 thought it would have been easier to get more)
X best-dressed dog (by that, worst dressed dog): (wearing "running pants)
- most dogs with one human (minimum is 4)
- pedestrian triple-tasking (someone doing at least 3 things at once, one of which is walking)
- pedestrian stupid-tasking (like crackberry-writing as crossing intersection, etc.)
- a pay phone, bonus for someone using it, extra bonus if multiple people are using them in a row
- someone going in to/coming out of one of those pay-toilets
- anyone wearing/any car with any *pro* George Bush gear (hat, bumpersticker, etc)
X single public advertisement in multiple languages (at least 3, one of which is English) (Eng, Spanish, Mandarin)
- most amusing spelling or translation error
X most monsterous baby stroller: a 4 seater!!
- most unusual piece of refuse
X intellectual book being read in public (values driven business)
For those of you too glued to CBS to pull away from the opening touch down of the Bears/Colts Super Bowl, you missed the entrance of the Queen Mary 2 into the SF Bay and Harbor. By the looks of it, however, there weren't many die-hard Super Bowl fans in SF yesterday afternoon.
You cannot find enough words to describe the massive size of the QM2. She cleared the deck of the Golden Gate by 37 feet, yes, 37 feet. For you football fans, that is just about two yards greater than a first down.
It was something to see. http://www.flickr.com/photo.gne?id=380796490
You know what the best part about living in the City is? Getting up on a sunny Saturday morning and leaving your house at 9:30am for a "coffee walk" and not getting home until 5:30pm. THAT's what the best about living in the City.