bike to hawk camp

Ryan and I get out of the city for adventures often.  Sometimes, however, I just can't quite keep up.  It's these times when he grabs a friend, and heads out on a boy adventure.  

His latest adventure was biking into Hawk Camp, a small campsite in the Marin Headlands.  Although, this site is easily accessible by hiking, biking is a bit beyond my abilities.  Since, there must be some interest in a bike to camp trip, I asked Ryan to share his experience.  

Here's what he had to say about his bike trip:

I love living in San Francisco.  I love it because across the street is my grocery store, one block over is the post office, two more blocks and you're at the historic Castro Theatre.  I can walk to dozens of incredible restaurants and great bars are just a stones throw away.  You get the idea… The one thing I’ve struggled with urban living is my insatiable appetite for trails and parks.  (Kate thinks I have a problem, but hey, there are worse things to be addicted to!)  So, I’m always on the look out for new outdoor adventures that I can access without a car.  In fact, I’m so into it, a good buddy and I turned this concept into an actual thing, we call it Transit & Trails.  (Thanks OSC for helping us make this a reality.)

Where I really get excited is when I can get out, not just for a trail run or ride, but to a local campground for an overnight adventure.  On a recent Friday, I pinged a buddy and asked him to join me on a little 18hr adventure.  Starting work a bit early on Friday, meant we were able to leave a bit early to start our adventure.  

First stop for any camping adventure is always, yeah, you got it, Papalote.  This is hands down, the best burrito place in the city.  USA today raves that “it may be the best salsa the world has ever known."  This is the truth.

Next stop, Golden Gate Park for a quick round of frisbee golf.  This is a super fun way to spend a few hours without spending a cent.  With some overnight gear packed, and burritos and beers in tow, we made our way north through the Presidio, over the Golden Gate bridge and into the Marin Headlands.  Within 30 minutes we were catching the sunset from the top of Hawk Hill.  

Frisbee in the park

At this point, we had to take a moment and just remind ourselves how lucky we are to call this place home!  Seriously, we are in the middle of a national park, looking over the GG bridge, watching the sun set, and still within a 45 minute bike ride from home. 

Down the back side of Hawk Hill, out to Rodeo beach, up the Miwok trail to the Bobcat trail and we were at my favorite little corner of the Bay Area, Hawk Camp!  Ok the road/mountain bike ride up Miwok with our camping gear was a bit of an adventure, as my buddy would attest to, but within an hour or so we were digging into our burritos, sipping a cold one, telling stories, and enjoying the spectacular views.  Before long stars were starting to sprinkle the sky, coyotes were yipping, and we felt a million miles from anywhere!

We woke to the sun filtering through the trees as it rose over the Bay.  After breaking down camp, we went on a hike around the headlands.  My buddy had to take off, but I did a short trail run, then biked back to the city, arriving home at noon!  So amazing to be able to pack so much into the morning, and then still have the entire day for city fun.

Not up for a big biking adventure?  Don’t fret, there is a super simple way to get to Hawk camp from SF without a car or a bike.   Just take the ferry or bus and a short 2-3 mile hike, see full details on this T&T adventure. 

Cost
Burritos: $8.00
PBRs: $5.00
Camping: Free!

Total: $13.00/person

How to get there

Reserve a campsite before you go

(Photo via Papalote)

going yellow

For the longest time my kitchen, and all my kitchen gadgetry, have been light blue with red accents.  I love the 1950s feel of this color combination, but I'm ready for a change.  

I've decided to go yellow and gray.  I know that this is a pretty trendy choice at the moment, but I just can't get enough of yellow.  Plus, gray is such a nice tribute to my favorite element of San Francisco: the fog.

The first step was trading in my black/brown Ikea kitchen table for a white and yellow vintage number. Ryan has been itching to get a new desk.  Converting his old desk to our new kitchen table was the perfect solution.  

New desk

Old desk

After scouring Craigslist, I finally found a desk that fit my requirements: white, small, and more storage.  Then, as an added bonus, the seller was willing to deliver.  

Post desk delivery, I was off to Cliff's for supplies.  I needed a paint brush, and yellow and white paint.  Then it was back home to get started.  

My current background noise, I'm embarrassed to say, is Dawson's Creek.  I never watched it in its original airing, so I thought I'd give it a try.  Plus, I'm running out of shows available for instant streaming.  It's not great, but it fills the silence.  

After I threw down the drop cloth and watched Dawson and Joey's first kiss, it was time to get started.  This project was pretty straight forward: paint over the peeling sage green paint.

With my sunny new kitchen table, my black/brown Ikea chairs looked out of place.  So, it was time to paint those as well.  In order to get a good coat on the chairs, they needed to be sanded.  Just for good measure, I added a small yellow detail.

Then, just because I couldn't stop, I painted my clock yellow too.  

Kind of loving all this yellow.  Next step: paint the walls gray.

Desk: $60.00

Paintbrush: $3.99

Yellow paint: $12.49

White paint: $12.49

Total: $88.97

groupie life

Last weekend I turned into a groupie.

It all started when I went to a small show, hosted by KC Turner, at an apartment in Glen Park.  Nat Keefe, usually rocking out with his band Hot Buttered Rum, was playing a mellow, acoustic set with the T Sisters.  

The sisters and Nat have performed together before at the Nat Keefe Concert Carnival, so I was thrilled for a reunion show.  This time they were joined by bass player Joe Kyle, of the Waybacks.  The band jokingly referred to themselves as The Co-eds.

The T Sisters write their own music.  They focus on a folksy, soulful, a capella sound.  I was amazed at how authentically vintage it sounded.  If you're into the "O Brother, Where Art Thou" soundtrack, you would be into this.

Mesmerized would be an understatement.  I could have listened to this group play all night.  Near the end of the performance, Erika sang a haunting rendition of Nat's song, "Sleeping with the Guru."  It's been stuck in my head ever since.  

After the Glen Park show, I was graciously invited to accompany the group to a show in Groveland, CA, right outside of Yosemite.  Rob and Regina, owners of the Mountain Sage outdoor music venue hosted the event.  The Mountain Sage offers a summer line-up, but in the off season, the couple generously open up their home to artists to keep the music going. 

Not only did I get a second night of awesome music, but I was also treated to great company, delicious food, and an afternoon in Yosemite's high country.

Groupie life's not so bad.

Side note: The T Sisters will be playing a variety show at the Chthonic Theatre, in Oakland, on May 31st.  If you like fun and good music, I highly recommend this event.  The show, which is a community event, accepts donations only.  

(Photo via T-Sisters Facebook page and video via Nat Keefe Youtube page)

bike to work

I work in Tiburon, but live in the Castro.  I take the ferry across the Bay daily.  Sometimes, I take muni to the ferry, which can be an infuriating torture chamber on rails.  Other times, I ride my bike.  It's about four miles to the ferry building and another mile once I'm in Tiburon.  It's a lovely way to start my morning.

Today was Bike to Work Day!  Now that the weather is nicer, and it's actually light at the ungodly time I leave my house in the morning, I've been doing a lot more biking.  Even so, it's nice to have an official biking day.

I love the spirit of Bike to Work Day.  Everyone is in such a good mood as they spread the word of alternate modes of transportation.

I view BTWD as a day where bikers can peacefully share the road with cars, and give cyclists a good name.  On this day especially, I follow all the traffic rules, make sure cars are able to turn right at stop lights, and use all appropriate hand signals, hoping that it will show drivers that having bikes on the road is easy rather than a nuisance.  The more bikes on the road, the safer it will be for cyclists, so get out there and bike.

Why yes, that is a coffee in my cup holder

The only bike on the ferry this morning

Arriving in Tiburon

A colorful addition to my classroom

Yup, I biked today

Did you bike to work today?

gray whale beach

One of my favorite beaches in the Bay Area is Gray Whale Cove State Beach.  I happened to stumble across this gem several years ago and have been a fan ever since.  

Ryan and I recently wanted to make a trip down to the beach.  But first, as always, we had to figure out transportation.  It's about a 30 minute drive south of San Francisco, in between Pacifica and Half Moon Bay, and there is no bus option.

After looking into Zipcar, which was going to be about $80 for the day, we landed on Getaround.  This car sharing program allows car owners, to rent out their own vehicles while not in use.  It means less new cars on the road, money for the car owner, and good deals for the car renter.  Our Getaround car was going to be $31 for the day, but we were able to find a coupon online, which brought our rental car cost down to an extraordinarily low $6.  When we tacked on gas, we ended up spending only $19 for transportation.

Whale Beach is right on Highway 1.  If you aren't paying attention, you could easily zoom past the too small parking lot.  

To access the beach you must dash across the highway, then descend a long and steep, wooden staircase.  Because the parking lot is small, and the staircase is long, there are seldom crowds at this beach.  It's always felt like just the right amount of people.  

Before you descend, make sure to hit up the port-o-potties.  There are  no bathroom options or private nooks on the beach.  Once at the bottom of the stairs, hang a left to find a spot on the family friendly side of the beach, or a right if you are interested in some nude sun bathing.  (Disclaimer: this is not beautiful-European-type-nude-sunbathing, this is more like creepy-old-naked-dude-sunbathing.)  It's a small beach, but there are places to explore, rocks to climb, creatures to find, surfers to watch, and of course toes to get wet.  I've even seen an actual whale at Gray Whale Beach.

Post beach time, Ryan and I did a short, coastal hike.  The trail head is in the parking lot, and is a mellow, mile long path to the neighboring Montara Beach.  This hike had sweeping ocean views, gorgeous spring wild flowers, and an abundance of bunnies.  

If you are planning on making a trip of this, check the fog situation ahead of time.  Even if it's sunny in the city, you just never know what it could be like in Pacifica/Half Moon Bay.  It's unreal how foggy, and therefore cold, it can get on the beach.  

earth day

I teach kindergarten, and in preparation for Earth Day, we have spent the last week talking about all the ways we can be friends to the Earth.  

Our list includes:

Bringing our own bags

Using cloth napkins

Avoiding single use plastic water bottles

Turing off the water while we brush our teeth 

Using reusable containers

Today, our Earth Day celebration culminated with a playground clean-up job.  We were able to make our campus a more enjoyable place, with the added bonus of enjoying the beautiful weather.  

Little things can make a big difference.  If we teach our children how to be stewards, they will grow up with green habits.  Now is the time to make big changes for long term rewards.

How will you celebrate Earth Day?

Our school's Green Team celebrated by
potting plants for the staff.  

(Photos via lunchbots and Solarone)