Archive for Sausalito
Bike Around the Bay
Posted by: | CommentsInspired by the beautiful weather and my Twitter friends, I decided to go on a bike ride today. If you are not an avid roadie or a hard core Mountain Biker (like Celia) then this kind of ride is for you. A nice, mellow, beautiful ride around Sausalito.
The most challenging part of my ride today was getting my bike on top of my car. I live up a really, really steep hill and am too chicken to ride down that hill and way too out of shape to ride up it. So I needed my car to get my bike the 1/2 mile down the road. I’m short, the bike rack is tall, getting the bike in the rack is challenging, but I did it! Yes, I really am short. For some reason, my virtual friends always assume I am tall and are surprised when they meet me in person. My avatar must look tall or something. I’m 5’3″.
I started my ride on the new Tam Valley bike path located along Tennessee Valley Road.
I then found myself surrounded by flowers on the Mill Valley Bike path as I headed toward Sausalito.
Sausalito.
Did you know about this little secret beach in Sausalito? Why did I not discover this place when the kids were little?
I pedaled along the water front path that winds in and out of Sausalito and the boardwalk and happened upon this fun work of art. An art car!
Then I found the entrances to this cool neighborhood. The people who live here must be cool with mail boxes like this!
Found more beautiful flowers along the public boardwalk in Sausalito.
Glanced over and saw San Francisco being wrapped in fog. Glanced away before I spent too much time remembering tomorrow is Monday and I have to be on the other side of the Bay early tomorrow morning. Brought myself back in to the present moment of appreciating all the beauty surrounding me.
I turned around and started heading back home, noticed Mt. Tam in the distance and thought of my friend Maria who inspired this ride by all of her beautifully written blog posts about Mt. Tam and biking.
As I headed back on the path I stopped to take a few more shots of Mt. Tam.
One last shot before I headed home to my empty nest to make some kale chips to eat while blogging.
Thank you to all of my Twitter friends who inspire me everyday to get off of the computer, get up and move!
Homegrown Marin Market
Posted by: | CommentsThe Homegrown Marin Market is a fun place to meet new people and try new food.
I went earlier this year and had so much fun! I met Shae Irving who tweets at @Hitch2Heaven. Shae makes the most amazing jams. (Great holiday gift idea.) 
Check out her blog to read about her jams and see some mouth watering photos: Hitchhiking to Heaven. I’m now seriously craving some of Shae’s jam. I think I’m going to have to go to the Homegrown Marin Market just for her jam.
Photo borrowed from: www.HitchHikingToHeaven.com
The Homegrown Marin Market is a culinary club where you get to try delicious foods prepared by local Bay Area chefs. Admission is $5. Bring extra cash to try the goodies and/or buy gifts.
It’s held in the Studio 33 art gallery in located at 333 Caledonia Street in Sausalito.
December 4th, 2010 from 11am – 5pm.
http://www.homegrownmarinmarket.com/
The California Honeydrops at Sausalito Cruising Club
Posted by: | CommentsLast night I went to the Sausalito Cruising Club. This is one of Marin’s best kept secrets. It’s actually a yacht club but I have a feeling it is nothing like what you visualize when you hear the words yacht club.
The Cruising Club founded in 1949 is a funky old barge turned in to a bar/restaurant/dance club with live music. It’s actually a “refurbished WWII ammunition barge”. You have to be a member or know a member to get in. Fortunately my friend Jessica is a member and she invited me to come see The California Honeydrops. For a $15 entry fee I got an awesome concert and a buffet dinner. I invited my friend SFDoug to go because I thought it would be a fun experience for him. If you follow Doug’s blog you know his dining style is more the kind that goes with fine wine, not serve-yourself-all-you-can-eat buffet. Doug was a good sport. I think he actually enjoyed himself.
The buffet had fresh Caesar salad, a mixed veggie salad, chicken legs, cheese bread, pesto, pasta, rice with chicken and another pasta with red sauce. I tried a little bit of everything and enjoyed it all!
I almost forgot to mention the view! The barge is located on the Bay in Sausalito with an amazing view! (that my iPhone did not do justice to)
I loved The California Honeydrops! Their music is fun and happy! The kind that makes you want to dance.
Digging deep into the roots of American music, The California Honeydrops embrace the traditions of Blues, Gospel, Second Line New Orleans Jazz, and early R&B. -www.cahoneydrops.com
The Sausalito Cruising Club is located at the foot of Napa Street in Sausalito, docked at Dunphy Park.
If I can bike, so can you!
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I’m writing this post as I am trying to catch my breath after riding/walking my bike up a VERY STEEP hill. The hill is only .5 miles but it feels like 50 miles to me when I’m pushing my bike up that long, hot, steep, windy road to my house.
The point is I did it! It was not easy and to be honest it was not fun.
One night a few Twitter friends and I were having a conversation about the oil crisis that is going on. One friend said she was going to commit to riding her bike at least once a week to work and she challenged me to ride my bike to all the places I check in on Foursquare. Of course, my first reaction was, “you have not seen my hill!”.
For the last 15 years I’ve lived up this VERY STEEP hill, I’ve always dreamed of biking but never thought it was possible for me (the wimp) to get up and down that hill. Besides the strength (lung and leg) needed to get up that hill I have a serious un-rational fear of riding downhill. But this oil mess really got to me. I felt helpless. I didn’t feel comfortable just blaming BP and boycotting or blaming the politicians. In my heart I know it’s not any one person or one company’s fault; it is all of our (oil consuming) faults. So here I am knowing I’m partially responsible and using my hill as the excuse I had to continue driving everywhere.
Then… I had a light bulb moment. I realized I go hiking every single day up and down steep hills on the trails behind where I live so why on earth could I not hike up and down that one short (steep) hill to my house.
It just so happened Mike’s Bikes in Sausalito was having a big sale that weekend! So… I went and got my bike. I got great service from Brian who asked me questions about what kind of biking I was going to do and showed me the different bikes he thought would work best for me. I found my dream bike! The color and everything was exactly what I had been visualizing. I picked out my bike, Brian took it to the back and had the mechanics check it out and then it was ready to go! I went for my first ride on my new bike right out of the store along the Sausalito bike path all the way to the water. It was such a beautiful day!
The first week I started out driving my bike up and down the hill but I soon got tired of putting the bike in and taking the bike out of the car so I decided to overcome my hill fear and just go for it! I figured I’m a great hiker I could walk this hill no problem if biking was too difficult.
Friday night I rolled/walked my bike down the (very steep) hill and headed to Mill Valley Beerworks to meet my Twitter-turned-real friends for a beer. Mill Valley Beerworks was happening! We squished 11 people around a 6 person table. (Blog post coming soon).
Fortunately on Friday night I got a ride back up the hill but today… I was meeting someone for coffee in downtown Mill Valley and just couldn’t justify driving my car there and back so I went for it. Today was my first day coming up the hill on my new bike. It was not easy but I did it! If I can ride a bike, so can you!
I’m not fully giving up my car. I will still drive places but I do plan to bike more and drive less.
I challenge you to ride your bike more and drive less. I would love to hear about your biking stories. Please leave a comment below.
*I always wear a helmet when I bike… I just took it off for the photo. 
Little Tweeps
Posted by: | CommentsYou may remember how one of our Marin Twitter Tribe members brought a few guests with her to our TweetUp a few weeks ago. We’ve been watching them grow ever since. Thanks @MelRovens for rescuing the baby birds and sharing the experience with all of us via Twitter! We’re so proud of your little Tweeps!
Happy (almost) Wordless Wednesday!
I took the top 3 photos myself and borrowed the bottom 2 from @MelRovens. To see more of her little Tweeps visit her yfrog stream. Amazing how fast they grow!
Meet Mary Cary
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Earlier this week I attended the Bay Area Bloggers Society meeting that was being hosted at the Video Blog Marketing studio in Sausalito. This is where I met the very interesting and dynamic Mary Cary. I asked Mary if she would share some of her favorite Bay Area places with us. She agreed!
What do you love most about the Bay Area? The weather and the outdoor spaces
Where is your favorite place to hike/bike in the Bay Area? West Marin – love road biking out there or on Mt. Tam
Favorite place to listen to live music? I like to play live music (I play guitar in Terry Lauderdale Band, TerryLauderdaleBand.com and my favorite place to play is Slims in San Francisco or The Cow Palace.
Favorite place to take your dog? Running around near Old Mill Park in Mill Valley
What is your favorite restaurant in the Bay Area? Sushi Ran Sausalito
What is your favorite place to get coffee or tea? Peets Mill Valley
Where do you shop for clothing? Shadows San Anselmo or Famous in Mill Valley for local folks – or Hot Topic for my Band Gear.
If you had an out of town guest coming to visit that had never been to the Bay Area where would you take them? Marin Headlands, Tiburon or West Marin
Anything else you would like to share with our readers? Thank you for reading! Reading is good for the brain!
Tell us a little bit more about you:
Having my own record label for the past 10 years and developing websites, identity branding, social networking, search engine optimization, editing and producing great music, sound and video blogs was the perfect next logical step to putting together my new company, Video Blog Marketing – marketing for local businesses.
Mary’s specialties are: New Media Marketing, Website Development, WordPress Blog Development, Professional Branding, Video Production, Music/Sound Production, Motion Graphics Production, Local and Worldwide Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Networking, Shredding Guitarist/Producer/Songwriter.
Follow Mary Cary on Twitter @videoblogmarket
Location, Location, Location
Posted by: | CommentsI’m always on the lookout for a great place to have a happy hour drink. My ideal happy hour would be outside, at a warm, sunny place, overlooking the water. This past weekend I rediscovered Paradise Bay in Sausalito. Isn’t it funny how when you have out of town visitors you start seeing your own neighborhood in a whole new light and discover new places?
Paradise Bay is a restaurant located in Sausalito. They have a waterfront patio bar and dining area. This is the Bay Area so I can’t guarantee you will always find the waterfront patio to be warm and sunny but I can guarantee you will always find an amazing view. They have heat lamps for the chillier evenings.
It seems the outside bar is only open on the weekends but they will still serve you on the patio during the week. When I was there on Saturday night the bar was happening. I ordered a Madras but the bar tender suggested to add something more to it and turn it in to Sex on the Beach drink. Whatever it was, it was delicious.
Last night I went and the waiter convinced me to try a pink Mojito… I’m wishing I would have stuck with my gut and ordered my usual drink because the pink Mojito kind of tasted like cough syrup.
We also ordered a sampler plate of coconut prawns, crab cakes & spicy tuna rolls. Those were yummy.
As the saying goes, “location, location, location” this place is all about that. Wonderful views and a relaxing atmosphere.
Paradise Bay
1200 Bridgeway
Sausalito, CA
415-331-3226
www.paradisebaysausalito.com
Around The Bay with Kids
Posted by: | CommentsLooking for some fun and a little eduction for our young ones? If you are visiting the Bay Area or live here and have little ones you might want to try out the Bay Area Discovery Museum. They are having a special exhibit through September 13th. The exhibit, The Children of Hangzhou will give you and your children an experience of what China is like today. Some of the activities are planting rice, writing in Chinese, cooking with grandmother, performing traditional Chinese opera. This exhibit presents China from the point of view of four young people.
Admission is free on the 1st Wednesday of each month. You can find other discounts here.
The Bay Area Discovery Museum is located at:
Fort Baker
557 McReynolds Road
Sausalito, CA 94965-2614
415. 339.3900
www.baykidsmuseum.org
Sausalito Art Festival
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The 2009 Sausalito Art Festival is happening on Labor Day Weekend. Sausalito is located just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. There will be over 20,000 original works of art from local, International and American Artists.
The festival will have 3 stages with constant entertainment. To name a few: The Edge, The English Beat, Night Ranger, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jefferson Starship and many more.
You can check out the virtual gallery to get a preview of some of the amazing art.
The art festival has been going since 1952.
The festival grounds are handicap accessible.
No pets allowed. 
If you are staying in San Francisco you could take the ferry to Sausalito.
Independence Day Around the Bay
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What are you doing for the 4th of July? I’m going to a BBQ at a friend’s house on Stinson Beach and still deciding if I’m going to a firework show this year or not. I just did a little research on Bay Area firework shows. Here’s my list so far… if I missed any please let me know.
Gabrielson Park firework show in Sausalito starts at 9:00PM on July 4th
Marin County Fair in San Rafael
Firework show every night July 1 –July 5 Starting at 9:30PM
The City of San Francisco Firework Show at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.
Starts approximately at 9:30
Jack London Square – Oakland
Time: 9:15 – 9:35
Berkeley Marina (end of the Berkeley Pie)
Starts at 9:30pm
Wine Country Fireworks
Napa River
Peninsula
Starts at 9:30pm can be seen above the Port of Redwood City
Here is an more extensive list of firework shows around the Bay Area from Marin Mommies.
