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  • Tag: bay area

    • mission peaks

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on December 28, 2016

      We’ve been in the Bay for the last couple of weeks after the semester ended, and we ended up celebrating Christmas on December 24th this year, just because it worked better for a lot of people’s schedules.

      mission peak

      mission peak

      mission peak

      So on the 25th, we woke up and had breakfast and opened up our stockings, but then we didn’t really have anywhere we needed to be. It turned out to be a gorgeous day, so we decided to go for a hike and try to burn off some of the treats we’ve been eating. I made two huge bags of puppy chow on the 20th and they were gone before Christmas Eve.

      mission peak

      mission peak

      mission peak

      Missions Peaks was about 7 miles total, and was only about 30 minutes away from where we were staying, so it was kind of perfect. It was kind of hard in some spots, it had rained a few days before so it was a bit slippery, and parts of it were pretty steep. Also, there are cows.

      mission peak

      mission peak

      mission peak

      It took us about 3 hours total, but the view from the top was gorgeous, and it was nice to get outside and actually do something, even though I like drinking mimosas in front of the fireplace as much as the next guy.

      mission peak

      mission peak

      mission peak

      It’s a great option if you are looking for a hike in the East Bay, especially on a clear day because you can see the entire Bay.

      mission peak

      mission peak

      mission peak

      mission peak

      Tomorrow we are off for a couple of days in Big Sur, and I am SO excited. We’re supposed to have good weather, and we are leaving super early to try to snag a cliff top spot. It might be really cold, but between by batman onesie and the 400 pairs of socks I got for Christmas, I may avoid freezing to death.

      mission peak

      mission peak

      mission peak

      Posted in California, holidays, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged bay area, California, Christmas, hiking, mission peak
    • angel island

      Posted at 7:00 am by jasminedesirees, on September 21, 2015

      It’s funny how you move to a new place, and for awhile every day is an exciting discovery, but then eventually, that new place becomes just the place where you live. When we first moved to California, we were exploring new places all the time, but after awhile we settled down to regular life, and most of our travels were to SoCal, or out of state.

      angel island

      angel island

      Angel Island has been on my list since I first found out we were moving and started creeping for fun things to do, but somehow it never happened. The nice thing is that we still have friends and family in the area and we go back to the Bay pretty often, so just because we haven’t done something yet (I’m looking at you Alcatraz) doesn’t mean we won’t.

      We ended up going to Angel Island this summer, finally, with Derek’s brother, his girlfriend, and their daughter. We left from Sausalito (one of my favourite places) and took the ferry across on a beautiful sunny Sunday in July.

      angel island

      angel island

      The ferry ride was $15/person, plus $1 per bike. If you are thinking of visiting and you have a bike, definitely bring it. Rentals are pretty expensive, so $1 to bring your own bike on the ferry is a steal.

      angel island

      angel island

      When you land at Angel Island there is a little pier area with a couple little restaurants (some of them look really good, and the prices weren’t terrible either) and a place to rent bikes. They also sell wine, which is a useful tip for after the bike ride is over.

      angel island

      angel island

      When you first start riding up you are on a narrow little dirt path that is very steep, and you last about 15 seconds before you get off and start pushing your bike, and wondering when the next ferry back leaves.

      angel island

      angel island

      But once you get to the top of that little area, the path widens out, and is paved, and is generally not very steep. There were lots of families doing the bike ride together, so it’s not super difficult but there were definitely a couple of times when I was exhausted but had to peddle really hard to beat a little girl up a hill. Not today, Pigtails.

      angel island

      angel island

      The only part of the ride that is really hard is when you are around the opposite side, with the best view of San Francisco. In order to get to the magnificent view of the Golden Gate Bridge, you have to ride up the side of a hill that recently made a cameo in Everest. It feels impossible, but the view once you make it to the top is worth it.

      angel island

      angel island

      After the hill, it’s mostly flat or downhill. It’s really the last place where you need to put in any effort, so keep telling yourself that as you struggle for breath and turn the colour of a cherry tomato.

      angel island

      angel island

      Angel Island used to be an old military base, so there are some really neat old buildings to look at as you pedal, and we had a rare hot day in San Francisco, so we stopped and hung out on one of the beaches while we ate lunch.

      angel island

      angel island

      If you are planning on checking out Angel Island, especially in the summer, make sure you bring sunscreen, there isn’t a lot of shade, and lots of water. Once you leave the pier area, there isn’t anywhere to get more water, although there are some picnic tables at the top of the aforementioned mammoth hill.

      angel island

      angel island

      angel island

      The BEST thing about our Angel Island trip is that my brother-in-law proposed to his girlfriend while we were there! So not only was it a beautiful fun day, but now I get a new sister, and I get to wear this dress to a wedding in the Spring. Wins all around.

      angel island

      angel island

      angel island

      And speaking of things I haven’t gotten to do in California yet, we are still deciding whether or not to spend Christmas there (I’m 28 and I’ve never not been with my family. Yes, I’m a baby.) but if we do, I am slightly cheered at the prospect of spending a few days camping in Big Sur between Christmas and New Years. We may die of exposure in our tents, but live dangerously or not at all.

      angel island

      angel island

      angel island

      Posted in California, exploring, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged angel island, bay area, California, San Francisco, travel
    • san francisco

      Posted at 8:55 am by jasminedesirees, on September 1, 2015

      I recently spent a couple of weeks back in the Bay area, working out of our San Francisco office, and I was reminded of how much I love that city, especially because the weather was amazing, and all I wanted to do was be outside.

      That got me thinking about other times I’ve been there, and things that have happened, so here, in no particular order, are the most memorable things that have happened to me in SF.

      -The time I walked around a corner to see a chubby, bearded man standing in front of me wearing nothing but a fuzzy purple vest (it was Bay to Breakers.)

      -The time I was walking down market and a random man tried to spit on my sister and I, and then a big group of large scary looking men standing nearby offered to kill him for us.

      -The time I was walking down a busy street and a man was standing off to the side, masturbating.

      -When I first started working in the city and I was lonely and friendless and would walk from 2nd street all the way to Haight because there was this little store that had the best Gingersnap cookies. I would get one and wander through the thrift stores looking at old jewellery.

      -The time I was walking down the street on a cold, rainy day, and a random man stopped and gave me his umbrella.

      -That time we did a Halloween bar crawl in North Beach dressed as a peacock, a parrot, a hippy, a pirate, a banana and Psy from Gangnam Style.

      -That time I was walking to AsiaSF and came around a corner to find the coolest building ever, covered in graffiti with furniture hanging out the windows.

      – The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer I did with my mom and sisters. The route took us all over the city and across the Golden Gate up into Marin county. Definitely the best way to see the Bay.

      Apparently I spend all my time walking around when I’m in the city, and I’m OK with that.

      Posted in California, San Francisco, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged bay area, San Francisco, travel
    • bay

      Posted at 5:59 pm by jasminedesirees, on August 29, 2014

      As much as I’m loving life in Australia, this video is making me a teeeensy bit homesick for the bay. I’ve been lucky enough to live in some pretty cool places.

      Posted in California, San Francisco, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged bay area, California, San Francisco, travel, video
    • street food

      Posted at 6:09 pm by jasminedesirees, on April 21, 2014

      One of the things that I’ve always wanted to do in the City since I’ve moved here is go to a Food Truck park. Food trucks are such a big part of the culture here, and I’ve eaten from them a lot, but they have events like Off the Grid, where you can try a bunch of different ones, and get drinks and hang out as well.

      While my sister was here we were driving to Half Moon Bay, and we were hungry. I looked up food trucks on the map to see if any good ones were around that day, and I found one, so we decided to go get some lunch.

      It was a really great surprise to discover that we weren’t just at one food truck, we had accidentally found our way to the SOMA StrEat Food Park, where a bunch of food trucks congregate every Thursday and Saturday nights.

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      It was a really cool environment, with lots of drinks, neat little areas like a barn and a school bus you could rent out for events, and a bunch of food trucks that switch every week.

      We scouted the place out and made our selections, I got beef sliders and crab stuffed wontons, the boy got an amazing pulled pork sandwich, and my sister was adventurous and got ox tail soup, and poutine.

      DSC_0562
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      It was a gorgeous sunny day, the food was delicious, although I was a little disappointed to discover a truck that was selling mac and cheese burgers after I was already too stuffed to eat another bite.

      Saturdays are Sangria Saturdays, where they have bottomless Sangria, and they also sell mimosas and lots of other drinks.

      DSC_0558
      DSC_0557

      I was absolutely in heaven, to the point where, after yet another poetic exclamation of undying love, the boy responded with “Do you? Do you love it here? But do you love it?”, and I realized that I would need to try to be a bit more discreet about the depth of my feelings in case he got jealous and refused to accompany me on subsequent visits.

      But just between you and me, yes, I LOVED it there.

      DSC_0556
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      DSC_0554

      Posted in California, exploring, family, food, San Francisco, USA | 1 Comment | Tagged bay area, exploring, family, food, food truck, food trucks, Half Moon Bay, San Francisco, travel
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