Bodega Bay

A simple 90 minutes from Napa is beautiful Bodega Bay. What a breathtaking place. Seriously, the wind is fierce and chilly this time of year so bring your coat and a  kite!

Sassy Communes with Nature

Just like the Disney Princess she believes she is--Sophia chatted away with all sorts of animal friends today on our visit to Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park. 

In Our Backyard. . . More or Less

Strybring Arboretum & Japanese Tea Garden

De Young Museum of Fine Arts
This week we got to experience the real San Francisco, complete with fog horn. Today walking a few blocks from our home to Golden Gate Park we were startled by the beauty and the incredible views!  Personally, I think Inner Sunset District is the best neighborhood in the city. It's family friendly and close to so many great places!  

Academy of Sciences Museum

Explorers Cove, 0-5 play room with great bathrooms (important to know.) 

 A great little spot to play. It's quiet too since everything is soft and touchable. 




Friday, we found out that the Academy of Sciences Museum 

would be free to residents in our zip code. Since it's walking distance from our sweet little flat we wanted to check it out. Thankfully, a newly signed lease qualifies you as a resident!

Curious penguins. I think they got just as much of a kick out of Sassy as she did them!

Nate was trying to wear Sophia out--I think it worked for both of them!  

Fisherman's Warf

It pays to be three and very cute. Sophia got this sour dough turtle from the Boudin Sourdough Factory just for smiling at the baker!  It was delicious!

Pier 39

Celebrity Sighting San Francisco

Ohkay, so I don't watch soaps, or read romance novels but I do have a habit that I'm not always proud of--I love watching stand-up comedy.  Admittedly, it's not always the cleanest commentary on life but that's why Nate and I started watching on Friday night--far away from Sunday.  We love to laugh, what can I say?  So much so that we figured out if you find a fairly clean comedian, skip the last joke. It's always the dirtiest.   

Maybe it's because I speak for a living but I think in another life I would love to do stand-up or be a jazz singer (but thats another blog).  I think humor is a gift from God. Unfortunately, it's finding humor in things we rarely talk about that is so humanizing and powerful. This leads to a lot of jokes that aren't the most uplifting, even if they're honest.  I believe great humor lifts the burdens of life and brings people together, especially if its about every day life.

I digress, but as Cosby says: "I told you that story so I could tell you this one." I recently saw Aisha Tyler's one-hour comedy special all about growing-up in San Francisco, being a bi-racial couple, having no-butt and her Friends experience.  So when we stumbled into her and her husband at Fisherman's Wharf yesterday,  I immediately shot a look at her backside and told Nate there was the black girl from Friends!   What can I say, I'm a product of my  culture, but she made my day! 

I SURVIVED!

This morning I tried my very first Bikram Yoga class. The studio is the other baby of our gorgeous landlady Elizabeth (Sailor- little dog in the picture is the real baby).  Sophia's been enjoying Sailor and he cracks me up!  He jumps into her purse and onto the Vespa for the morning commute. Then he knows exactly when Yoga class is wrapping up.  Waiting patiently at the door to check on the class!  How cute is that?

But lest you think it was just a sweet stretching class. Did I mention Bikram is done in a hot room (105 degree's to be exact) for 90 minutes! (I simply started at 75) Whew!  I was finding muscles I didn't know I had, in my feet of all places. All that balance takes work! 

Thankfully my body is still on Central time and a 6am  wake-up still feels like 8--hoping to keep it that way because it's SOME workout!    Elizabeth said it best: " I teach people an ancient form of exercise."   Interested? If you're in Iowa check-out Hot House Yoga in Coralville. Turns-out the owner, Maureen, trained with Elizabeth and they have the same high-tech bio-clean flooring. Coincidence? I think not!

 

San Francisco Here We Come!

We discovered this little hole in the wall. The original Craigslist.org started right here blocks from our new home. We owe them a major thank you for our latest experience. Not only did we find a place for us to live, we found a great family to live in our home while we we're gone.  Nana got Sophia this little rain coat perfect for San Francisco fog. We got to walk three blocks from our home to Golden Gate Park today. We walked round Stowe Lake and saw turtles, ducks, museums, we heard the San Fran Fog horn and experienced the legendary fog. Think misty snow in 60 degree weather.   

I'll admit that the trip here was a bit killer (long story) but today's been a dream come true. We got to go for a walk, play on the back porch, walk to the market etc.  The best part, Daddy came home after work!  We shared a glass of wine in the kitchen and whipped up some salmon burgers and homemade potato salad.   So far it's heavenly, thank you all for your support and prayers!  We miss you all but we're reveling in our family time!