Bay Area Adventures | August, 2019
It’s already time for another monthly recap! And this one is going to be a long one, because I was actually in the Bay for almost the entire month, and I was lucky enough to have many little adventures filling all my weeks. We start with a beautiful panoramic view from Tomales Bay!
Fresh oysters from Hog Island Oyster Co.
Nice paving material.
Then, a farewell outing with Whitney, who has now moved across the country to New York! We decided to check out the Night Market event at Golden Gate Fields.
Chicken and waffles, egg waffle style. And Uji Time.
Next, a paint date with me and Pam at this super cute cafe in Berkeley. Except we didn’t actually paint… we just chatted and caught up and then went house scouting for Pam’s Berkeley house portrait series.
Delightful all around.
Next, we had a really wonderful Lean In meeting in which we practiced being vulnerable and shared various things we were each struggling with in our lives. And of course Saira made our traditional Lean In meal: chili and cornbread.
Love these ladies! It’s such a special thing to be able to share openly with these women.
We also had our Office of Accountability meeting, this month hosted by Stephanie in her garden. Love checking in with these ladies every month!
A very special brunch down in Sunnyvale where I got to meet Amanda’s daughter! They were in town for a wedding.
Rebecca and Amanda were twinning and I missed the memo. Duke girls reunion!
Next, breakfast at Daily Driver, the new bagel spot in Dogpatch. Beautiful space, overpriced bagels (this sandwich was almost $20). But I would still go again, haha.
Boba Guys meetup with Connie!
And taco night at Do-Hee’s! With her famous shrimp tacos. Yes. So yum.
Checking in on Alex’s garden and harvesting some of the neverending supply of basil and mint for dinner!
Cassie’s birthday celebration: we found another conveyor hotpot place (besides Seapot in San Mateo) closer to the city in Brisbane!
Happy birthday Cassie!
Sangria and more tacos! With Alex’s friends.
Yay for summer days that are actually warm in San Francisco!
Then we were back for a second round with the Lean In group as we continued sharing vulnerably with each other with some people who didn’t get to go the first time or had updates from last time.
Another garden visit! Baby yuzu look about ready. And there are some tomatoes hiding in there too.
Weekend activity: ceramics class. Not so centered on my pieces, but I suppose wonky pieces will do too.
Corn pasta with basil and mint from the garden.
And udon from Marugame Udon since we tried to go to Udon Time but discovered it’s closed for renovations.
Brought some of my pasta to paint club! And Pam brought a bunch of pears, which I then proceeded to paint.
Then a pluot fell from the tree next to the garden and we ate it. It was delicious. Then Lizzie went and got another one to paint!
Pam’s Berkeley houses!
Date night! Drinks at True Laurel.
And dinner down the street at Flour + Water.
Yum.
Then, I met up briefly with Vince who was in town for the TAF debrief meeting, and I also briefly met up with some Lean In girls who were doing work from home Fridays! I hope this is a tradition that continues.
Life Design Group! This group was formed to go over the exercises in the book Designing Your Life, and we are supposed to meet 9 times to do all of the chapters. But sadly this was the second and last meeting that I’m actually able to make. I guess that’s what happens when you’re on a totally different schedule from most people.
More home cooking. And Alex’s new dinnerware from Heath Ceramics! Now we just need to get an actual dining table to replace the camping table we use…
New plant babies.
And homemade ice cream! Strawberry basil.
Lily Spruce’s 10 Year Anniversary party.
Checking out the colorful little spaces at Colorbloq.
Congrats on ten years in the business Genevieve!
And right afterwards, I went down to San Mateo for dinner with TAFers! Some were visiting for the debrief meeting and some just live here in the Bay. Also yes, that was two different all you can eat conveyor belt hot pot sessions in one month.
Sunday hike in Marin! We did a loop around Muir Beach that led us through the lovely Green Gulch Farm.
So foggy, but still lovely.
And afterwards, some refreshments and snacks from Pelican Inn.
Two days later, back in Marin! This time to go visit Eileen for a work day from the houseboat she was staying in! She’s been staying in all sorts of places around the Bay as an effort to get out of her usually very foggy San Francisco apartment, and it sounds like it’s been amazing. She’s been in Petaluma, Sonoma, Point Richmond, and now this houseboat in Sausalito!
Living the life.
There are many pets living amongst these houseboats!
And then we got a personal tour from Claus of his houseboat. He’s lived on a houseboat in Sausalito since the 70s. This is his actual shower.
Touring around, noting the sale price of some of these ($1-1.5M. Not exactly affordable.)
Then I headed down the Golden Gate for a session in the Presidio. It only took 15 minutes to get there from sunny Sausalito. And so much fog rolled in on the way.
A couple days later, back in North Bay again! This time to Mt. Tam for a session. With the best sunset.
Yes.
Little San Francisco over yonder.
Love.
Then, a second work from home Friday with Lean In ladies, this time with Grace and Kait at Kait’s home in Bernal.
We walked over to a very cute lunch over at Progressive Grounds and then got some work done in the afternoon.
And that night, my third visit to Cerf Club! Favorite place in the city, because no one knows about it and it’s usually empty. It’s also only open for dinner one day a month.
So tasty.
Cerf Club Crew!
And that’s it for a very wonderful August! Thank you to everyone who made it so full and happy. And if I didn’t see you in August, I hope to see you in the next month!
Anna Wu is a wedding and portrait photographer based in San Francisco. She compulsively documents and blogs all of her daily adventures. Follow her on instagram and view more of her professional work at annawu.com.
