Fun And Sun Water Sports Club - Orwood Resort

Friend's BF showing off his skills!

Fun & Sun Water Sports Club

Orwood Resort - The Delta

I cannot say enough good things about this weekend. A friend of mine invited me to join her and her boyfriend on a camping and boating weekend. They go practically every other weekend in the summer with Fun And Sun Water Sports Club, and now I see why! Members and guests arrive Friday night to Orwood Resort to set up their tents and get the party started. A board member from the club emails out fool proof details from directions to what to bring to the code to enter the campsite. 

 I unfortunately missed the Friday night festivities and arrived early Saturday morning to pitch my little green tent (thank you roomie for lending it to me! ). 

Castle Rock State Park, Independence Day

Castle Rock State Park

Solo Hike - July 4, 2015

I woke up Saturday morning, ready to take on the day. It had been some time since I'd been on a decent hike, so after a quick google search - I found this website. It is full of hikes around the entire bay area - divided by season and area. Heading South of the city is always a beautiful drive, so I picked one of their "Best Overall Hikes" in the southbay: Castle Rock. Their website can describe the hike much better than I ever could.... so click here to check it out. Read on for my personal experience & pictures... 

Funemployment!

Eleven days have passed since I quit my job. It is amazing how many hours actually exist in the day! I have been filling my new found "free time" with odd jobs, so teeeeechnically I've only been truly "unemployed" for two days. That being said, it is such a strange feeling to have energy and more importantly time to live my life outside of work.

Let me back up a bit....

Upcoming Travels!

Big News!

You'd think that quitting your job was news enough....

But everything happens for a reason!

On October 14, 2015, I am leaving the country to travel for 3-4  months!

On the agenda: Dubai, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Bali, Singapore, & India.... maybe New Zealand

My plans thus far are listed below - if you have any tips on where I should go, what I should see, or how to best travel solo - please share!

10 Year Visa to China - Check!

Click on "Read More" to view my plans, so far!

Ring Mountain Open Space

For Valentine's Day this year,  I took myself on a hike to watch the sunrise. Just a short drive from the city, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge,  you can find this quiet hike near Tiburon. Park along the side of the road near the trailhead, bring your furry friend if you have one, and make sure you have a flashlight with you or on your phone. Not going to lie - I was girlishly scared to do this alone in the dark, but the view was worth it. And to be honest, there's nothing to be afraid of other than tripping over a rock or tree stump in the dark - if you know anything about Marin County, you know it's a safe place to be.

I'm Back!

After more than a two year hiatus, I am returning to the blogging world. Over the next few weeks and
months, I will go back and finally record my little trips since my final blog post of 2013.

I found that I missed blogging - it is so convenient to help others with their travels if you can accurately recount yours for them. I am horrible at remembering the names of places, so no better way than to keep everything nice and tidy in one convenient spot.

Also, I have some exciting travels coming up in the future - wheels are just starting to turn - putting the ordeal into motion. I am terrified, but ecstatic. More on that to come...

If you're reading this - have a great weekend! Check back soon for updates.

Pizzeria Delfina

The other night, R and I had our final dinner together before she moves! She wanted to try out one of the better known pizza places before the big move, so we headed to Pizzeria Delfina. I'm the worst gluten-free person ever - always looking for an excuse or special occasion to splurge. Perfect choice to do so. Pizza, amazing. Crispy crust and fresh toppings. Went perfectly with the bottle of red wine the waitress picked for us. They only seat complete parties and don't take reservations - So be prepared for that! The table next to us ordered meatballs which looked big and juicy and like something I'd like to try. And its in the Mission. Can't get enough of that neighborhood! 

Burma Superstar

The Food Network featured a couple of recipes from Burma Superstar, once upon a time; therefore each night you'll find yourself on a wait list. They are so popular that they opened a sister restaurant just one block away called B Star, which is nearly as busy. F and I put our name in for a 30-45 minute wait and grabbed some hot tea and hot chocolate at a cozy cafe across the street.

One hour and 10 minutes later, the hostess finally sat us.  Immediately we ordered their Food Network featured tea leaf salad, which we'd actually enjoyed at their sister store a few weeks back, and some chicken samusas - filed with a curry ravioli, potatoes, and served with their special secret sauce, lightly fried. The salad lives up to expectation with its varied textures and fresh flavors. Although the samusas hit the spot, they aren't a must have and the best part about them definitely is the sauce.

We split a lamb curry, per the servers recommendation, and some string green beans, both solid choices. Perfect kick of spice (I'm a huge spicy food lover). Looking forward to the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Other cool tidbit about this place - it's reasonably priced and one of the first times we've spent less than $30/person in I don't know how long (given we didn't drink). One not so great tidbit - the bathroom is kind of gross. Hold it if you can!

In short: yummy, will return, won't wait more than 20 minutes in the future.

Waterbar, Chinatown Grocery Shopping

I visited Waterbar once during my first week after moving to San Francisco. Ever since, I've been meaning to return, but finally succeeded yesterday. They have happy hour oyster specials, only $1 before 5:30pm, along with a cute outdoor patio that overlooks the bay and the Bay Bridge. I arrived early and enjoyed a cocktail from their "America's Cup" inspired list called "White Squall" (Rum, pineapple and orange juices, pomegranate - aka delicious). I sat in the sun slurpping down oysters and reading my Kindle until my friend M arrived. We played catch up until F arrived and all had a late lunch. Perfect leisurely afternoon on a day off. 

As M departed to run some afternoon errands, F and I made our way to Chinatown to buy some ingredients to make dinner. Even though I had meandered through Chinatown numerous times, I'd never bought groceries there, and it's quite the experience. They don't have the clean cut organization you'd find in a conventional grocery store like Safeway or Trader Joe's. Cardboard boxes of produce line the aisles as people crowd all around. The fish - well see the pictures below. And I'm pretty sure it's always crowded in these stores. Anyways, F picked up what we needed, making an excellent dinner later that night.

Haight-Ashbury Shopping

Even after having lived in the city for more than a year, I had yet to experience shopping on Haight Street! Yes - it counts as a new experience, and if you have ever been near the Haight-Ashbury intersection, you know why! The stores are colorful and full of life. Definitely a lot of 70's thrift shops, tie dye T-shirts, tattoo parlors, and fetish costumes alongside really awesome food spots and boutique clothing stores. Actually did some fairly legitimate shopping and found a new favorite store: Ambiance San Francisco. Ladies, you could spend hours in this stores: colorful shirts, dresses, shoes, jewelry. R and I popped our heads into a few thrift shops to see the standard tutus and crazy dresses along side standard 70s style platform shoes. A must visit neighborhood, all around.