Memorial Day weekend: Muir Woods, Stinson Beach and Sausalito

For Memorial Day weekend we decided to drive up north of San Francisco on Saturday and stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Mill Valley, a couple miles from Sausalito.

On Friday night I had a girls' night out in SF with a couple friends since one of them was moving to St. Louis. We got a hotel room for the night, went to dinner at E&O Kitchen and Bar, got cocktails at Local Edition, and then out for dancing at Mr. Smith's, which was shockingly tiny and not crowded. We had our own space on the dance floor in front of a giant fan and managed to enjoy ourselves mostly unmolested by unwelcome dudes. It was a night of a LOT of walking and some of the girls made unfortunate shoe choices. I wore pretty comfortable boots, but even my feet were killing me by the time we made it back to the hotel. It was a fun night but as usual I was reminded that I am over 30 and getting a little old for the club scene, which takes place too late at night for my tired old ass. I need a dance floor that's hopping by 9 pm.

E&O Kitchen and Bar

brunch at MyMy!

The next morning we got brunch at MyMy and sat outside. It was a gorgeous sunny day in the city. Then Rich and Valerie came and picked me up on the way north. They were hungry so we stopped at a McDonald's in the city (yes, with all the dining options in San Francisco, Rich wanted McDonald's. Don't ask me.) and then crossed the Golden Gate up to Mill Valley. We had a chill (and chilly) afternoon at the hotel pool and then got dressed and went to dinner at Gira Polli nearby, where we had delicious pastas.

s'mores at the hotel

Sunday morning we first attempted to go to Muir Woods but it was so crowded we couldn't park anywhere and after much frustration we finally gave up and kept driving up toward Stinson Beach. Along the way we stopped near a random boulder overlooking the ocean and hiked around a bit, which turned out to be one of the highlights of the day. Then we continued on to Stinson Beach, where it was unfortunately uncomfortably cold and windy and again an epic struggle to find parking. We finally parked and walked around the beach, and found an unexpected delightful lunch and milkshakes at the Siren Canteen, a converted lifeguard tower right on the beach. They had an assortment of pickled vegetables and condiments to top their tasty tacos and an excellent meyer lemon milkshake.

boulder climbing

salmon shorts spotted at Stinson Beach

We decided to try to hit Muir Woods again on our way back, and by some miracle we were able to score a parking spot (after waiting for someone to pull out) and get in for a short walk through before they closed. I can't emphasize enough how ridiculous the parking situation is there. It's an extremely popular tourist attraction to see the Redwoods, and with good reason. Of all the redwood parks I've been to, it is the most beautiful. When you walk in there you really feel like you have entered a mystical fairy wonderland; everything is green and almost seems to glow. I'm so glad we got to see it, though I wish we could have had more time. I probably wouldn't attempt to go again, though, because it's that annoying to park. Is it worth it? Hard to say. If you get lucky, then absolutely. If you don't get lucky, you're going to need to overcome your frustration when you finally get inside. I really don't know.

Our Muir Woods experience kind of captures our California experience in general. It is so beautiful and amazing, but you have to overcome SO much frustration with logistics, overcrowding, traffic and parking problems, and exorbitant prices, that the drawbacks really beat down all the greatness. When it's all over, you look back with gladness that it happened, but you don't really want to go through it all again.

Anyway, we dropped the ball on planning dinner our last night up north, so we drove back to Mill Valley hoping to find something near the hotel, and the first place we tried was closed. We thankfully found a pizza and wine bar called Tamalpie that was still open and got food although not before Valerie had a mega tired-and-hungry meltdown and we had to take her out to the parking lot to calm down. I was actually thrilled with this place. The food and my cocktail were outstanding and it was quite pricey but I was happy and once we had food we were all in a better place. We even shared the sundae for dessert, with *all* of the optional toppings. A good end to a long, busy day.

Monday morning we packed up and went into Sausalito to enjoy that little town before we drove back home. It was another beautiful sunny morning, unseasonably warm, and we had a lovely crepe breakfast at a tiny cafe next to a cute park area overlooking the bay with a view of the San Francisco skyline. We hung out in the little park for a while afterwards just enjoying the view and ambience. I just love Sausalito and wish we got to spend more time there. It's unfortunate that to get there we have to battle SF traffic and cross the Golden Gate, which makes this probably our only visit this go-round. Oh California, how we love and hate thee.

San Francisco skyline from Sausalito

picking the flowers, per usual

It was overall a nice family weekend and we enjoyed our time together and the beautiful sights. A wonderful start to a great summer!

March: Dim Sum in Chinatown and Tina Eric and Carter visit

The beginning of March was rainy and uneventful after a jam packed February full of travel and visitors. On a rainy Sunday the 13th, we took Valerie to see Zootopia, her first movie in a theater. We got a hot dog, popcorn and an icee. She is definitely a movie lover like her daddy!

In mid March Alesandro and Christina, our biodesign friends who live near the Mission District of San Francisco (and who are expecting their first baby at the end of September!), invited us up to the city for an authentic Dim Sum brunch in Chinatown. This was especially exciting because Christina speaks fluent Mandarin and could be our resident expert, getting us all the best courses. We had a fun day in the city and a delicious brunch, and we all walked around Chinatown and visited the fortune cookie factory and the cable car museum and saw lots of pigeons at the park.

After we split from the rest of the group, Rich and Valerie and I rode the cable car and headed back home.

riding the cable car

At the end of March my sister, brother-in-law and my adorable 2-year-old nephew came to visit for three and a half super busy days and get a taste of the California lifestyle. We had some fun but they were definitely ready to go home by the end.

Carter on his way to California

Frog's Leap

cheers!

We went to Stanford campus, Chipotle for dinner (of course!), the beach at Santa Cruz, the redwoods at Big Basin, Menlo Park for an Easter Egg hunt, across the golden gate bridge and up to Napa Valley for wine tasting. We especially loved the Frog's Leap Winery which was SO beautiful and relaxing and worth the horrific drive to Napa. Whew! We got lucky with the weather and enjoyed sunshine for most of their visit, but not so lucky with traffic and parking on their last day. We had to bail on our dinner plans in San Francisco due to a lack of parking and half of our Napa plans due to so much time spent in traffic.

happy donuts, happy kids

the Easter Bunny came a day early

Carter and Valerie had the absolute best time together and spent the whole visit laughing and playing and having a ball. Carter followed Valerie around copying her every move and she loved every minute. At one point before bed they were in the bathroom turning the lights on and off and laughing and laughing. It was awesome to see them grow so close and adore each other so much. I really hate living so far away from them! We are so glad they came all the way out to visit.

Grandpa's birthday, Redwoods at Big Basin, children's museum

We were very excited the first week of November to plan a last minute visit from my dad, whose birthday we got to celebrate on the 10th. It was his first time coming out to see us in the bay and we unfortunately disappointed him with unseasonably chilly weather.

After a scorching hot August and September and a gorgeous October, we saw highs in the low and mid 60s in early November and I finally caved and let Rich turn on the heat in the house.

We also saw some strange, foreign liquid fall from the sky several times, which we had hardly seen since we arrived. The first two Mondays in November were washed out and I drove Rich to Stanford and Valerie to school (normally he rides his bike and Valerie and I walk). The first two times it rained I had to dry off the convertible interior with a towel. Schwoopsies! I got so spoiled by the total lack of rain I wasn't prepared. I am now aware though that on occasion it does rain here and I check the forecast and make sure to put the top up ahead of time.

We keep hearing that a crazy El Nino is coming and we should expect lots of rain this winter but I am sticking my fingers in my ears, singing "La La La" and hoping it doesn't happen. I know, I know, this poor state is in dire need of water, but I just got here from Cincinnati, cut me a break!  I so enjoyed the bone dry late summer. I think I am secretly a lizard and I belong in the desert. That climate does so appeal to me.

On November first we turned the clocks back (for real this time) and Valerie amazingly slept in until 8 am (which felt like 9 am), instead of her usual daylight savings wakeup around 7-8 am. I woke up early as always but greatly enjoyed laying in bed undisturbed until 8 in what can best be described as mom nirvana. I know I have done nothing to deserve the greatest sleeping toddler in the world but I will joyfully bask in my good fortune as long as it lasts.

A few days later Dad booked his flights and he arrived Friday night the 6th. We always love having him stay. He plays with Valerie and is ever so helpful in every way, with cooking, dishes, trash, cleanup, vacuuming, shopping.... if only all parents were so lucky to have a Grandpa this awesome around! We could never thank him enough for all he does and know we really are as lucky as can be.

We drove down to Big Basin to see the redwoods and do some light hiking on Saturday. It was too chilly for me with all the shade from the trees, and walking at Valerie's pace did not allow us to warm up at all. When we found sunny spots I would stop and bask in them; it was SO much warmer in the sun!

The trees were pretty awesome though. I would love to do a longer hike there in the spring when it gets warm again, although the winding, twisty drive there had us all slightly nauseous. On the way home, Valerie complained that her tummy hurt, and that she had "ten babies in her belly." Whenever she gets a stomachache she tells us she has ten babies in there. I have no idea where she got that from but it cracks me up every time.

We went out to Fiesta Vallarta, our favorite Mexican spot in downtown Los Altos, for dinner that night and enjoyed a pitcher of margaritas and excellent food on the patio.

Sunday it rained and we took Valerie to the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose since I had bought some groupons for discounted admission. This was not the best idea because everyone else with a toddler in the bay area had the same idea. They were having a Diwali celebration that day, and I have never seen such a crowded children's museum. I don't typically get claustrophobic but this was a horrible experience, waiting for every exhibit and feeling scrunched by all the people in my personal space. Once or twice Rich and I made eye contact: "kill me now." This kind of place on this kind of day will deter anyone from ever having a child.

I would never go back there again if I could avoid it, but I will admit it didn't seem to bother Valerie; she had a great time. I am just glad we had the discounted tickets because I would have been pissed if we had paid full price for that experience. She enjoyed herself, which is what matters. Rich, my dad and I could not wait to get the heck out of there.

It rained again Monday and we eagerly awaited some sun on Tuesday, Dad's birthday. He said he would like salmon and salad for dinner - two things he and I can always agree on - and I found a recipe I thought he would like, for a salmon BLT salad. It came out really good. Salmon with a rub of brown sugar, salt, pepper and paprika, with avocado, bacon, tomato, ranch dressing and walnuts. DELISH. No bacon on mine, of course. We just gave Valerie some salmon and bacon and she was happy. No lettuce gets past her lips yet.

She "helped" me make the chocolate cake from scratch with ground oats for flour, and I also made chocolate buttercream frosting, with half coconut oil since I ran out of butter. I found a great recipe which I will definitely use again  - no boiling water, no coffee, no creaming butter and sugar - the easiest cake-from-scratch recipe I could find. And it came out so good!

We sang happy birthday, Valerie got to help Grandpa blow out his candles and the birthday was a success! We are so glad we got to celebrate with Grandpa.