Mmmm... Pie!

Mission Pie is on 25th and Mission Street.  Ever since I saw the movie The Waitress, I've wondered what a pie shop is like - and this one definitely delivers.  They have different pies each day, and it's a much more interesting meal than the regular dinner/coffee meet up.

Bay to Breakers

"It feels like this city has a party every weekend"... "Each weekend is like being on vacation here" - just a few of the kinds of things my friends and I said as we walked, drank, and enjoyed the sights of Bay to Breakers. The annual May event is actually a 12k race across the city (it's called Bay to Breakers because it goes from the Bay side of the city to the Ocean side - which is 7 miles across). But, for most people, it's Halloween in the summer. The walking parade is filled with over 60,000 people dressed in themed costumes and floats with kegs/beer/etc (for example, the Ghostbuster theme below). Along the way, all the houses, bars, and tents offer cheap shots, beers, and good loud music to keep the crowd energized and pumped. I didn't make it all the way (at some point near the Golden Gate park, we bailed, got food, and went back and passed out at home) this year, but maybe I'll take it a bit easy next year and actually try to get to Ocean Beach.

Big Sur and PCH1

One of the first memories I have of the bay area is when I visited in 2001 and drove down Pacific Highway 1 to LA, and when we hit Big Sur, I remember being blown away by the layers of cliffs along the coast. So, when a friend was visiting, we made another trip - it takes a few hours, so leave before 3pm to get daylight through the whole trip. Bring your best camera, and pull over on the side of road often for some awesome photo opps. On the way back, you can stop by Carmel-By-The-Sea or Monterey for dinner (or make it a full day-trip and stop by Carmel for shopping/beach).

Mighty Yosemite

After going to 11 National Parks last summer, I'd saved a trip to Yosemite (wiki) until the spring. There was a perfect weekend when a heat wave (80's) hit the bay area, and I decided to drive off to Yosemite after work on Friday and spend the weekend by myself camping and getting an introduction to the park. For some reason, this is one of the places that people in the bay area think is very far away - it's less than 200 miles east of SF, and barely a 3-hour trip. The park has a massively grand scale, and reminds me of Zion in terms of options for trails, landscape, etc. Must make a pilgrimage to it at least once a year.

de Young Fine Arts Museum

On Friday evenings, the de Young Fine Arts Museum is open until 8:30 or so, and is a perfect way to wrap-up the day after work. I didn't even know it existed, and best of all, it's in the Golden Gate Park (easy parking garage at the museum). The park area around it is great to walk around in, and lounge around in. The museum is funky cool with interesting exhibits (including this neon light tower), and music and wine in the evenings. It's definitely worth joining as a member (it also has a sister museum called the Legion of Honor)

Not getting the Marina Stereotype

One of the interesting parts about moving to a new city is learning about the different neighborhoods and the stereotypes of the people/places in those hoods. One of the biggest stereotype I keep hearing is that the Marina is full of young frat-boy types, is a hook-up meat market, and everyone else has an "ugh" reaction whenever someone brings it up.

But, honestly, I think it's one of the coolest areas: it's right on the water and near the most scenic parts of the city (Palace of Fine Arts, Crissy Field, Golden Gate Bridge, Wharf); the lounges seem pretty cool (I think Circa is my favorite lounge in the city so far); and I'm sure there are plenty of things to do during the day.

Not only that, but some of the houses on Marina drive are insanely expensive - so, I can't imagine really rich people living in an area that is anything but high-class. So, at the risk of throwing out another stereotype, I have a feeling that the general people in SF that are pro-Mission are anti-Marina. Whereas, I can be comfortable being pro-both (if anything, I find the Mission to grungy).

So, in the end, if I meet someone from the Marina, or if someone suggests going out in the Marina, I'm not going to have the "ugh" reaction (not yet at least - maybe this is one of those things that changes as you become a native)

Bring Your Own Big Wheel Race

On Easter Sunday, there is an annual Bring Your Own Big Wheel race (BYOBW) where adults dress up (pre-party, I'm sure), and get on kids' tricycles and race down a curvy road. It has been on the famous Lombard curve before; this year, it was in Potrero Hill at 20th and Vermont at McKinley Square. You can find the event around Easter time on Upcoming.org or Laughing Squid (photos from 2008)

Muir Woods

Took a trip up to Muir Woods National Monument in the north bay (cross Golden Gate bridge and take Pacific Highway 1). It's great for a little hike, some fresh air within a forest, and amazing tall and thick trees. Can easily spend an afternoon there. Drop by Muir Beach Overlook on the way back for a great view of the western coast looking south towards SF and north.

Cruising around in Go Cars

In early March, on a 64-degree / sunny day, I rented a Go Car with a group of people (5 cars in total). This is a GPS-guided audio tour (website) on a small ATV-type car - its part scooter, part buggy. The audio tour knows where you are based on the GPS and points out interesting facts about what you're seeing as you drive. It's a great way to explore the city - I got to see more of the city than I had in the past 6 months here total. We went from Fisherman's Wharf down Marina, Crissy Field, Fort Point, the base of the Golden Gate Bridge, up through the Presidio, into Lincoln Park by the golf course, over to China Beach where huge mansions overlook cliffs, and on the way back, tried the curvy part of Lombard. Anytime I have a guest visiting the city, this will be tops on my to-do list.

Palace of Fine Arts

The Palace of Fine Arts part of Presidio Park is a beautiful area that reminds me of something out of ancient Babylon or Greece. It's a beautiful and quiet park area with a big dome structure (it was featured in the movie The Rock). It's right near the Marina / Crissy Field and the performing arts center and Exploratorium are also there. It's a great area to spend some nice daytime hours.

Hip-Hop Dance Festival

San Francisco hosts a national Hip-Hop Dance Fest each year about a week before Thanksgiving. It's only been around for 10 years, but it has a really good crowd, and great acts. Basically, it's a group of kids/adults (ages range from 5 to 35 it seems) that are in different groups (either based on high school, or community) that have choreographed an entire dance. Unique dances and concepts like Dorothy, the Lion, and the Scarecrow break-dancing. It's at the Palace of Fine Arts, so you can make a day trip out of it with a beautiful walk outside as well.

Concert Festivals at the Shoreline Amphitheater

The Shoreline Amphitheater is an outdoor stage in Mountain View with a big grassy hill (and some seats on the lower level) - they seem to constantly have day-long music festivals there. Went to see Arcade Fire & LCD Soundsystem, along with some other groups. If you have a friend that works at Google, you can park in the Google lots instead of the general parking. Also, add Live Nation to your bookmarks - it has a lot of concert and comedy listings that Ticketmaster may not have.

Berkeley Rose Garden

Having a few friends in Berkeley helped me explore the East Bay when I got here. A friend took us to the Berkeley Rose Garden right around sunset, and we had an amazing view of the bay and the islands/city across. A great place to spend some downtime - it has rows and steps and "hallways" of roses and greenery... almost like something out of Babylon or Roman times.

Chocolate Festival at Ghirardelli Square

You've heard of the famous Ghirardelli chocolates - well, they started in SF at Ghirardelli Square. And every year in September, there is a Chocolate Festival there. There are dozens of booths offering tastings of different chocolate concoctions. About $20 gets you enough tastings for the afternoon. Plus, the view from the square is amazing and you could spend an afternoon just hanging out there

Parties that are so San Francisco

The first weekend I spent here was in the end of July 2007. I had visited many times, but not with the feeling of belonging here. The first party I went to struck me as the kind of cool thing that only happens here: a Laughing Squid party in a botanical garden with a mini ferris wheel, spiked coffee, and photo booths. The Squid List one of the email newsletters you want to subscribe to when you move here to find out about cool/random events like this.

Tahoe in the Summer

Everyone knows about Lake Tahoe and the awesome skiing/snowboarding there. But, I wanted to spend a week there during the summer to see what it's like in the off-season. Well, I was surprised that it was so warm and almost beach-like in the summer. The water is cold of course, but the sun is strong and there are sandy beaches. Stay in the south shore (South Lake Tahoe or Stateline, NV) so that you can go to many of the beaches (Zephyr Cove, e.g.) and casinos. Also take the full round trip drive around the lake on 28/50 (~75 miles) for some awesome views, and take on of the boats that goes to Emerald Bay.

Becoming a Bay Area Resident

So, here's the story behind why I started this blog.

In the summer of 2007, I decided to move out of my apartment in Washington, DC, sell all my furniture and store my belongings at my parents' house in New Jersey. I had decided that the next place I would live would be a place where I would want to live forever. A place that, after years of living there, I could be considered a native of. As a kid I was always moving around (went to 5 different schools by 6th grade), and I never felt part of a community for too long. I always gave a 2-minute explanation when someone asked "where are you from". I wanted to have one firm answer from now on.

So, at first, I went on a cross-country road trip, not knowing if that place would be Chicago, San Diego, or San Francisco. I crossed off San Diego because I didn't think it had the type of diversity I wanted or the career options I needed. I had the opportunity to take a "taste test" of both SF and Chicago - my friend in SF had offered me her loft to crash in for a month. My sister in Chicago had offered me a sublet room in her apartment. I decided to wrap up my road trip by landing in SF, leaving my car there and flying to Chicago to stay there for a month, and then spend a month in SF afterwards to make up my mind.

I spent the month of August in Chicago, and loved the city. I spent years 8-10 there, and my favorite sports teams are Chicago teams (that's where I learned about basketball and baseball), and still have family there. The city is fantastic, especially in the summer. It has two of the main elements I wanted in my search for a home city: near a body of water; people loved living there. But, in the end, the two things it was missing were big ones: weather (the winters are terribly cold; and the summers can be hit with hot/humid days and rain), and geographic diversity (no snowboarding, no hills/mountains/hiking/forests).

When I returned to SF, I had made up my mind to live there and started the search for jobs. When people asked my why I made the move, there are 4 main reasons I give:

1) Weather. The perfect average temperature range all year: 55 to 75 (never goes above 90, or below 40). Absolutely 0% rain between May and November. And the same rainfall in the winter as the summers on the east coast. So, all in all, I assumed I'd end up with 300 good days, and about 200 GREAT days. On the other hand, my whole life, I'd felt as if I had 100 good days a year, and about 50 great days.

2) Water/Geography. It's next to an ocean and a bay! There are hills and forests and valleys and beaches and mountains within driving distance. And clouds and fog and other things that create beautiful scenery. Amazing snowboarding is available every weekend. Road trips, and hikes, and bike rides are all common weekend activities.

3) Diversity of People. Four different and unique and cool cultures come together in the bay area: SF city, Oakland, Berkeley, and Silicon Valley. Corporate to Hippie; Artsy to Entrepreneurial; Nerdy to Gangsta; Extremely Rich to Grungy and Ghetto;

4) Career options. It's got the fundamental industries I, or most people I know would be interested in: tech/internet, financial, consulting, social/eco.


So, then, I decided that I would get to know SF and the Bay Area the same way you would get to know someone in a new relationship. I wanted to read about the area, here about it from locals, explore new things by myself, invite people to visit me. I wanted to invest in it, understand it, know it, and be able to show it to others. And along the way, I wanted to document my journey of becoming a bay area native. So that it might convince others to make the move, or for those who have made the move, it might be a headstart of how to become a native themselves.