10 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 4 & 5

10 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 4 & 5

I will be foregoing my weekly Fitness Friday post today for a continuation of the 10 days of Thanksgiving. Today we have number 4 and number 5 of the 10 things I am thankful for this year.

4. Where my Parents Live

I have posted about this a million times before, but the place I grew up is so beautiful. It is pine trees and clean air and swimming in the cold river on a hot summer day. It is the sound of birds in the morning and the smell of pine and the wandering up and down through the mountains. It is a great place to go home to. I can't wait to go home for Christmas and play in the snow and bake cookies and play a few rounds of Rummikub and read my book near the fire. For some reason it's that much sweeter at Mom and Dad's house.


Hiking with Dad

Lovely snowy day

5. Public Transportation

One of the best things about living where I do is the fact that I don't need a car. I could probably write a whole post about this too. I have talked a little bit about the Casual Carpool, which is how I get to work, and it only takes about 20 minutes. Going home, I take the bus, which also only takes about 25 minutes. There is also the option of taking the train or a boat. I also walk a lot, and it is nice to have the option to do so. Other than that, there are options for bike shares, car shares, rent by the hour and more. One thing I recently found out about is Get Around, where you can rent out your own car if you don't need it, or you can rent a car by the hour if you do. I love that my monthly transportation cost is roughly 150 dollars and that's including all transportation and gas!

My favorite - the F train

Do you enjoy going back to the area you grew up in? How much do you spend a month on transportation?
Where I Live: San Francisco

Where I Live: San Francisco

While I don't actually live in the city right now (I am currently located just across the bay), I lived there for several years and I love being there, running there and eating there. Lately, I have seen many posts by friends, detailing why they love their particular home. I thought I would do the same.

First, a few suggestions for your reading pleasure:

- check out Lauren's post on Eugene, OR
- why Lisa loves Minneapolis
- the "I Love Boston Project" by Kelly
- Missris is learning to Give Pittsburgh a Chance

If you have a post about YOUR city, let me know and I will feature it on my next Where I Live post!

Obviously, everyone knows about things like the Fisherman's Wharf and Alcatraz, but San Francisco has so much more to offer than that. There is great food (see previous SnackaPalooza posts), great weather for running and many things to do that aren't on the "Top 10 Touristy Things to Do" list. You want an insider's view? Here you go. Today we are going to talk about... The Castro.

Your map, sir. Thanks to Google.

The Castro is a neighborhood that looks similar to Texas, if it were upside down. (Kind of. Okay, maybe not.)  It is well known as being one of the first and largest gay neighborhoods in the US. It's center is basically 18th St. and Castro St, but the neighborhood spreads out pretty far. Yes, if you go there, you will see large men walking tiny dogs. But the Castro is so much more than that.

To get to the Castro, you can take the Muni train (K or L), which goes underground from downtown, where your hotel probably is. OR...you can take the F-Market, which goes above ground on Market Street and is a collection of old trams from different cities around the world. It cost $2 and is well worth it for the ride alone! But it also gets you to where you need to be!

The F-Market (source)

First, you should have breakfast at The Cove (#1). It's not on the regular menu, but they sometimes have a corned beef hash eggs Benedict, which is SO good!

Next, go see a movie at the Castro Theater (#2) (which is conveniently located right across the street from the Cove). They play a lot of Indie and older films, and it is a great old theater with velour seats and gilded chairs. It's worth paying the entry fee just to see inside the theater.

Want some expensive cheese? Pop into AG Ferrari (#3) for cheese, olives, and a nice bottle of wine. 

Need a coffee? Check out Philz (#4) on 18th, just a block and a half down from Castro Street.

Now, the important part. Walk up Castro street, away from Market street (it should be going UP in numbers) to 20th St. When I say up, I don't mean North; you actually want to walk south, but you will be walking UPhill. Take a left (east) and head UP the hill (again). That house on the left (#5) is one of my many dream houses. Once you get almost to the top, you will have to climb up a few stairs, which will reward you with a pretty sweet view of the city. You will head back down the other side of the hill, which will lead you straight to...

Sweet dreams were made of these (thanks to Google street view).

...Dolores Park (#6). On a nice day, this is full of people sunbathing, playing soccer and tennis, reading and just hanging out with friends. Plus, there is an awesome view of the city. If you are there on the right day (last I checked, it was the 2nd Thursday of each month) you can catch Movie Night, where an old movie is shown on a screen at the park. It's free; all you have to do is bring yourself and some wine and maybe a friend or two (and a blanket! You know what Mark Twain said!)

Who said it was the "foggy city"?

Have you ever been to the Castro? What's your favorite breakfast place in your city? Do you have a "dream house" somewhere?
More Where I Live

More Where I Live

I started the Where I Live series back in January and have done it a couple of times before. Below are the links to previous episodes.


I love where I live and I love taking photos, so it's just a way to show some of my favorite places and interesting things in the area. Oh and OF COURSE, I love Spring! Even though it's been snowing lately. Enjoy!

What do YOU love about where you live? 

covered bridge

weeds

snow in May

snowy highway

road to nowhere

passing lane ahead

baby birds
Where I Live

Where I Live

I did a post a couple of months back showing photos of the place where I love live. As you may know, I am now on the road and of course miss my home. So here are a few more photos, for me to remember home by and for you to see where I live. I think it is a wonderful place! (by the way, some of these pictures also just remind me that I miss my Nikon! Man...the P&S just doesn't have the same quality, really it doesn't.) 


View from the summit of Mt. Shasta
Pulga Bridge & RR Bridge
Front yard on Christmas Day 2010
Sierra Buttes Lichen
State Flower: the Poppy
Feather River
Hwy 70 and Onionskin Rocks
Donner Pass


Strange Yellow goo (mushroom?) on a Log

Where do you live? Do you take time to look at the beauty all around you? I would love to see where you live! Leave a comment and tell me where to look!
Where I Live

Where I Live

The Muses are doing a Where I Live series and I liked the idea, so I thought I would do a post of my own (yup, I am taking their idea and running with it). I may even make this a reoccurring theme.

Where I live seems like an easy thing to explain. Most people live in one place for months, if not years. In the last 15 years, I have lived in no less than 13 places. Between most of these places have been stints of travel, where I “live” in a hostel or a guesthouse, usually only for about 1 day at a time, sometimes five at most. So I really don’t stay in one place for very long.

However, between all these moves, different job locations and travels, the place I always go back to remains the same. This is where the love is; this is my family; this is “where I live”. 

Graeagle

Rock Creek

Salamander

The Feather River

Grizzly Dome

Pacific Crest Trail

Lupines and Mountains

Snowy Bridge

 Sorry about the heavy picture post but I think in this case, a picture IS worth a thousand words!