Archive for Outside The Bay
Visit with Sandy
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It has been one week since I returned from New York. We planned this trip months ago to visit our daughter in college and watch her play Volleyball.
What we did not plan was to experience a hurricane. Instead of a visit with our daughter it turned in to a visit with Sandy, also known as Frankenstorm.
My heart goes out to all of those who have suffered because of Hurricane Sandy. Please take time to donate to the RedCross for Hurricane Sandy relief. Text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Thanks!
I was fortunate, the only thing that happened to me was a mild inconvenience. I felt blessed to be there for our daughter (although she really didn’t need us). It’s still nice to be near family when things like this happen.
The last post I wrote here was about my commitment to not complain for 30 days. I picked a fine time to stop complaining but in the end I was grateful for my intention of not complaining.
Really, what possible good would have come out of me complaining about the hurricane? People were and are living through real tragedies. I could have gotten on Twitter and Facebook and done a whole lot of whining about my hotel losing power, my vacation being ruined, losing most of our clothing at the laundry mat, having to stock up on 7-11 survival food and just general inconvenience but what is the point? In reality, we were very blessed on this trip. The day of Hurricane Sandy we ran in to an old friend who let us camp out in her hotel room, a hotel which had power during the hurricane. The day after the hurricane, despite lack of power, internet, land and cell phone reception we were lucky enough to find our daughter walking down the street in NYC! Her friend’s family offered the girls a place to stay in Manhattan until their power was back.
One of the strangest things I have ever heard is a silent New York City. The silence was deafening.
The explosions of light I saw on the other side of the Hudson River were scary and the darkness was intense.
I did not sleep that night.
Video of Hurricane Sandy on bikes:
Video spotted on Twitter via my friend @Ctygrl99
The hurricane was a bit of a wake up call for me:
We are all very dependent on electricity, the internet and cell phone reception. Amazing how much our lives change without it.
I am not prepared for an emergency if one happens here.
I spend too much time on the internet.
Because of the realizations above I plan to take some action. I already got a tiny purple address book from the office supply store and I am in the process of handwriting everyone’s contact info. I plan to keep this tiny address book in my purse. Thanks to “smart” phones I no longer have any phone number memorized. Do you? The only phone numbers still floating around in my head are ones from before the invention of mobile phones.
Next, I will complete my emergency kit at home and work, you know the usual: water, flashlights, canned food, and everything else on the list my super organized wonderful neighbor wrote up.
The thing about spending too much time on the internet… the night of and the day after the hurricane when we were all sitting around the hotel lobby with nothing to do because pretty much the WHOLE city (Manhattan) was shut down, we started talking to people. Real life, face to face communication with strangers. I think nowadays it is more difficult to meet new people because most people, including myself are looking down at our phones and not looking out at the world. I enjoyed talking to strangers and meeting new people. It was a very in the moment kind of experience. I haven’t decided yet how I am going to change my internet use but ideas are peculating. More than completely cutting it out of my life, I am working on finding more balance. More to come on that topic later. Below are some photos from my trip. I didn’t take too many pictures because it felt sad to take pictures.
Watching out the window during the hurricane, looking down on 11th Ave in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. Completely empty street.
Around 9pm when the Hudson just started flooding in to the street.
The morning after the hurricane.
Walking through East Village on way back to original hotel to pick up our stuff in the dark. iPhone came in handy as flashlight going up and down the emergency stairs in the very dark hotel when we gathered our stuff. We couldn’t even check out because the front desk person couldn’t do anything but write our name and room number down on a piece of paper using a flashlight to see.
Here is the dangling crane you probably heard about in the news.
Thursday, November 1, 2012 after Hurricane Sandy. My last night in NYC when I was hoping to get some sleep this Taxi line to get gas due to the gas shortage in Manhattan wrapped all the away around the block. They honked ALL night!!!
Bogotá Colombia!
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I took a vacation away from the Bay. I just got back from Colombia!
Yes Colombia in South America! The one many of you associate with drugs and spell ColUmbia. Spelling ColUmbia with “U” instead of “O” annoys Colombians in the same way that calling San Francisco “Frisco” drives Bay Area people crazy.
Our trip was short and wonderful (except for the American Airlines return flight home that had an emergency landing, oxygen masks and all – details on this adventure coming soon).
This was a family vacation! Celia, the 3 kids (young adults) and I went together.
When I tell people I went to Colombia the usual response is “Why?!” or “Isn’t that dangerous?”
First let me tell you something, I felt safer walking around downtown Bogotá than I do in some parts of San Francisco.
The reason we chose Colombia was because much of Celia’s family has immigrated from Venezuela to Colombia over the last few years.
Bogotá looked a lot like any big city you see around the world with the difference that there are no lanes drawn on the highway. We complain about our freeways, try driving on one with no lines, pot holes and people passing on the left, right and every which way while honking and trying to avoid hitting motorcycles and bicyclists.
Celia’s cousin and her husband who live in Bogotá were the most gracious hosts! They welcomed us in to their beautiful home and took time to show us around Bogotá.
The first stop was the Catedral de Sal which is an underground Catholic Church that was built in the tunnels of the Salt Mine many years ago. We had free reign to explore the mine/cathedral. It felt like we were in a Disney adventure film wandering around underground discovering new rooms, hallways and treasures.
To be continued… Celia’s cousins introduced us to 2 amazing restaurants in Bogotá!
Sallywood
Posted by: | CommentsWe are in Los Angeles this weekend visiting our son at college.
I guess Hollywood heard I was coming and wanted to give me a warm welcome!
Photo from SFGate Day in Pictures February 12, 2010.
Thanks Amy for sending me this photo.
Downieville
Posted by: | CommentsDownieville is not exactly the Bay Area but you can drive to it from the Bay Area in about 3.5 – 4 hours. That counts, right?
A few weeks ago Celia and I and a group of mountain biking friends headed to Downieville for a mini vacation. Downieville is famous for it’s Downieville Classic Mountain Bike Race. Downieville is one of my favorite places. I LOVE Downieville. I go there at least once every year.
Downieville is a beautiful small town located on the Yuba river in Sierra County. It’s a total escape for me to get away from my fast paced Bay Area life style and just simply relax for a few days. The town of Downieville is also very dog friendly. Poncho had a great time swimming in the river. He literally spent hours in the river.

My favorite thing to do in Downieville is to go to the beach and just chill by the river. Sometimes, I even get in the river although it is a tad bit cold for my taste. However, I do enjoy floating on the river on my inner tube.
Other people like to mountain bike, fish or pan for gold.
We always stay at the Downieville Riverside Inn. We love it there, the inn keeper’s Mike and Nancy are super friendly and the place is very nice. The Inn is located right on the Yuba River so you can hear the river rushing by when you are falling asleep. The room we stay in has a balcony right over the river and also comes with a kitchen. Breakfast is included and is served in a living room. Every morning we sit around living room chatting with Mike, Nancy or some of the other guests while drinking delicious fresh brewed coffee and eating bagels with lox and cream cheese.
I usually go to Downieville the first week in July so I am there for the 4th of July celebrations. They have a small town parade on the 4th that is so much fun. Here are some pictures from past years.


The best part of the parade is at the very end when they roll out a big giant roll of plastic bubbles and everyone steps on them at the same time. It sounds exactly like a big firework show.

The locals of Downieville have always been super welcoming and fun to hang out with. They are even up for some friendly competition in the tug-o-war (locals against visitors) and the foot races.


There are only a few options of places to eat in Downieville: the Grubstake and the Pizza Place. There is also an Ice Cream shop and a a small local market for groceries that has a cafe in the back of the store. I noticed a new restaurant called the Wooden Trout Cafe just opened within the last year as well. I did not get a chance to try it but heard it was good. If you stay at the Riverside Inn and get a room with a kitchen you can cook there or use their BBQ.
If you are looking for a fun, relaxing and friendly place to escape to I highly recommend going to Downieville and staying at the Riverside Inn.
The Riverside Inn is located right on the river at:
206 Commercial Street
Downieville, CA
888.883.5100
downieville.us





















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