Tag / San Francisco

Another magical fog weekend. Last night, Jeff and I attended an end-of-summer BBQ in Bernal Heights. In addition to our warm hosts and interesting guests, the fog made an appearance as well–rolling over the western hills just in time for dusk. From Bernal Heights, you could watch the fog pile up against the hills and then–like a plugged sink–roll right on over into Noe Valley below. Made for a spectacular sunset. And a chilly evening afterwards.

Today, we walked through the Marina District, under the classic Palace of Fine Arts, through the Presidio, and out to Crissy Field. All along, the sun shined brightly, but the Golden Gate fog horn told us that the fog had returned. Sure enough, even though we walked in warm rays, boats and birds were engulfed in a thick fog on the Bay.

This morning is one of our famous cozy, foggy days. I’m sure the tourists at Fisherman’s Wharf are hating it, but for me…this is San Francisco. In fact, I caught a glimpse of the fog rolling in yesterday afternoon from my office. It never ceases to amaze me how it pours in through the Golden Gate and then envelops the City.

So, this morning, like many, we have the fireplace going. Just to take the chill out of the air and give us some ambiance. The cats spread out in front of the fire. We eat breakfast. This is the good life.

Even though I am now and forever a Virginian in my soul, I have always known that San Francisco has forever captured my heart. And this week, I read an article in the SF Examiner that gave me hard data. (I’m such an engineer 🙂

The Examiner reported that for the 13th year in a row, the readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine (fyi, my very favorite magazine to buy at the airport) had voted San Francisco the nations “favorite city”. And among the world’s cities, they voted us second after Sydney. Not bad at all.

Oh, and near and dear to my heart, our world-class food placed us first in the nation for foodies–right above New York and New Orleans.

This survey coincides with a resurgence of friends of ours who are visiting this fall, and an upcoming gathering of some close coworkers of mine here in my local office. These visits have led to the inevitable question: “What should be on our must-do list?”

(I will save for another day my INTENSE curiosity in how residents of “#10 largest city in the country” San Jose answer that question! The Tech Museum is one…so what do you do after those two hours? JUST KIDDING!!)

Anyhow, I can rattle off an easy dozen items to do withough breaking a sweat. But let me describe what I think is the absolute BEST itinerary for a Saturday: walk from the Ferry Building to the Golden Gate Bridge and back. Done. You can leave the city and say you’ve seen a little bit of everything. (And don’t argue with me…you can’t hit every quirky spot in one trip.)

So, you begin your day at the current pinnacle of the San Francisco food scene–the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market. The entire Ferry Building Plaza is hopping. Locals and tourists alike swarm around this place just to LOOK at the variety, and sample whatever is in season. Tons of articles have been written about the cheeses, and the breads, and the organic/sustainable/happy-go-lucky produce. Oh, kickstart your morning with a latte from the Blue Bottle Coffee Company espresso cart–yummy.

From the Ferry Building, you can walk along the Embarcadero to Fisherman’s Wharf. The Embarcadero is always alive with walkers and joggers. And while Fisherman’s Wharf may not typify TRUE San Francisco life (ok…it isn’t even close), it is an only-in-San Francisco spectacle to behold as you walk through. The normal cast of characters are always on hand to coax money from the tourists: the silver and gold robot men, the scary guy that leaps from behind a fake bush, the men playing Mayan flute music, and of course the “angry” punks who flip you off if you take their picture. They are all there, along with those people who give you “citations” for smiling too much…so please give generously…or stop smiling.

Past Fisherman’s Wharf, you walk through the Maritime Park, up and then down through Ft. Mason with its terrific views, and then along the Marina Green.

Then its on to Golden Gate National Recreation Area’s Crissy Field with its beaches, wetlands, dog walkers and windsurfers. You can take a quick stop at the Warming Hut for a perk-up latte, juice or snack, and then on to the Golden Gate Bridge and Ft. Point. Be sure to touch the hand or paw prints at the very end of the walk before you turn around!

The great thing about being under the Bridge, is that no matter what the weather…it is awe inspiring. Sure, anyone can wish for a sunny day, but give me some fog rolling in any day. Then you get to hear the famous fog horn [listen], which will surround you as you stand gazing up at the Bridge.

There and back again, you will have passed a dozen micro-sites, each with a mix of locals and visitors. This is the lifeblood of activity in San Francisco. And while it is just scratching the surface of all there is to see, this full-day walk will invigorate you, amuse you, and leave you wanting to return soon.

OK…the ant pondering is behind me, and I am focused on this beautiful full moon we just had. Jeff has been watching it rise over the horizon as we watch TV in the evening. And with our coastal fog out to sea the past few nights, I’ve been awoken in the middle of the night by the exceptionally bright moon through the window. I took a couple of shots on the balcony, just to show off the magical glow.

But more importantly, let’s talk about how this freakish kumquat plant looks on our balcony! (It really struck me in the moonlight…you can see it in the 2nd picture above and again during daylight below.) Let me explain.

We bought our kumquat this spring, and it had a normal ball-topiary look. It really makes a striking addition to the variety on the balcony: orange kumquats, green olives, purple potato bush flowers, whispy lavender. Back to the kumquat…sometime over summer, a mutant branch formed near the base of the plant, and before we even noticed it, this spike was poking through the top of the leaves. Now, the spike/branch is well over 7 feet tall, and showing no signs of stopping.

In the picture below, you can clearly see the top of the spike/branch, and if you look closely, you can make out the start of the branch down near the lowest green brace. Impressive.

Nature can sure do some amazing things. Especially under the light of a full moon.

Mother Nature timed this show nicely, I might add. Now that the full moon has passed, the coastal fog returned this evening. The fireplace makes us cozy though…and the cats are sprawled out in front of it.

I am a self-identified fall-aholic. October has a unique sense about it–even in San Francisco. I can’t explain just what I love about this month. But I love the smell of the air.

We had our first rain of the season last night, but the blue skies returned for a beautiful autumn Saturday. And believe it or not, although many of our plants have finished blooming for the year, we do have some lovely color.

One question though. So, I was sitting in the garden this morning. Water droplets everywhere. The succulent garden glistened. Squirrels screamed at each other high in the neighbor’s pine tree, fighting each other for the peanuts that our neighbor set out for them (to be burried in EVERY ONE of our potted plants…give me a break).

Anyway…my question. So, I dug into the mulch in the flower bed next to me and discovered a tiny ant colony. These little guys scattered everywhere–seemingly in no order at all. But I wondered. Do ants have a plan? When their colony is disrupted, do they all have a job and run to it? Maybe they just look random from above, but each one is headed somewhere. I mean, running randomly around doesn’t sound like something simple, programmed brains would do. Which means that there is order there. Something to contemplate over a latte in the garden tomorrow morning.