Thursday, January 9, 2014

Trans-San Francisco Run

I'm not a huge fan of running in the city.  Between the numerous sidewalk obstacles (er...pedestrians) and stop lights, much of the fun gets drained right out.  For those reasons my go-to run is a route down California Street, along the Embarcadero to the I-280 ramp, and back.  It's just over four miles and I like to run it 2 or 3 times per week.  It can be a crowded route but it has a relatively few number of traffic lights.  I do like a bit of variety though.  So, I decided to run across San Francisco!


The distance isn't bad (7 miles), but the hills are real downers.  Nob Hill is the steepest hill along the route but certainly not the highest.


I really enjoyed the run.  I started at the Ferry Building on the east side of the peninsula and finished at the Sutro Baths on the west side of the peninsula.  The Sutro Baths are nothing but ruins today, however, in 1896 they were a group of one fresh water and six salt water pools all enclosed by an awesome glass and steel structure.


Here's a nice little tip: if you're ever in the area, go enjoy breakfast and the view from Louis'.  I recommend the ham and Monterrey Jack omelet.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

California Bucket List

Ali and I have moved around quite a bit.  It's a good thing we're adept at the process because there's another move on the horizon!  I received and accepted an offer from a DC based company that will bring us back to the East Coast and, more importantly, closer to our families.  I'm wildly excited about the opportunity and can't wait for my first day (next Monday).


With that in our minds, Ali and I have started to assemble our California Bucket List.  We've managed to see and do a lot of things in the last 1.5 years and there are still many big things to be done.  Truth be told, some of our bucket-list items are outside of CA but it's tough to pass-up the advantage of proximity.  Do you recognize any of these places?
Only time will tell whether we're able to visit all of these places but why not try!?  In the meantime, it's time to start planning the route (hello, Route 40)!

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Oliver's Travels

I got a message from my buddy Owen a couple of weeks ago.  Owen's working on a geography project for school.  As part of their studies, the class read the Journey of Oliver K. Woodman.  What's really cool is that Owen built his own Oliver Woodman and sent him on assignment to San Francisco.  My mission is to show Oliver the sites and teach him a couple of things about American culture and diversity.

Oliver and I did A LOT of sight seeing over the weekend.  We did so much touring that we decided to make a quick chocolate-stop at Ghirardelli Square.


There are just a few more must-see places to show Oliver this weekend.  After that, I'll bid Oliver adieu and send him back home to Owen.