Join the Adventure!
Happy 2026 from Fiji! After leaving Boston on Wednesday morning and a layover in Los Angeles (where we made the most of our adventure by renting a car, getting a yummy Mexican lunch, walking along Santa Monica & Venice Beach, and enjoying the Christmas lights …
Coffee here, coffee there, coffee coffee everywhere at the San Francisco Coffee Festival in Fort Mason Festival Pavilion on Saturday Nov 8. One of Raquel’s favorites was the “Shaggy” from Bad Baristas, which made her eyes open wide with all the caffeine and sugar combo …
We were just marveling at how fast a month can fly as we were watching from above as the San Francisco faded into the distance
Highlights of September and October include
What surprised us:
What are we looking forward to when we return
And the beauty of life is that when you leave a wonderful place, a new adventure and beauty awaits: check out the view from our arrival into Boston
What a fabulous anniversary day, which started with a gorgeous sunrise: Although Ben had a full day of meetings, as well as dealing with firefighters, Raquel took advantage of the gorgeous day and walked up & over Russian Hill, through the Marina, Presidio and Fort …
Monday Oct 6 was one of the most gorgeous days – sunny and the mid-70s – which was perfect for a ferry ride to Tiburon. After walking past the Carnival cruise ship and hopping on the ferry, we crossed the bay past Alcatraz and Angel …
Although we missed the Folsom Street Fair, we did make it to the Castro Street Fair for some good music, pride booths, coffee at the famous Castro Coffee house next to the old Castro theater, interesting sights, unique body piercings, and some good conversations with Castro locals.
We did notice a particular person who received a lot of attention and admiration from all the people in the community. The local guy in the kilt who was sitting next to us at the cafe mentioned that the person everyone was going up to is the “Grandmother in the Hierarchy of Perpetual Indulgence” (a title that Raquel loved!)
We wish we could have gotten a photo of the incredible shoes that another 6 foot 6 person was sporting which were basically 6 inch platforms only on the balls of the feet so that the heels were suspended in free air. I was amazed and so impressed that anyone could walk up and down Castro and 17th street in those fabulous heels!
After the Castro festival, we walked through the Mission, past fun signs in the neighborhood, which Ben liked (can you imagine how it must feel to be up for days because of your morning brew?!):
We topped off the evening with a dinner back in our North Beach neighborhood at Flour and Water and tasty gelato next door at Lush Gelato.
There is no better way to celebrate Friday than with good friends, family, and music in San Francisco! In the morning Raquel met up with her friend Sheela, who showed her The Painted Ladies (a row of Victorian houses painted in bright colors during …
Sometimes the best trips are spontaneous, like the trip to Napa which we planned the night before we rented a car and drove across the Golden Gate Bridge Our first stop was in downtown Napa for an Ahi burger and some garlic fries at Gott’s …
Love was all around
when we joined the San Francisco City Guide’s walking tour of Haight-Ashbury
to learn the history of 60’s Rock music (Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell, Big Brother & the Holding Company) as well as the architecture of the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Raquel loved the 4 Seasons houses: Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall:
Our guide played music from the 60s as she walked us around the neighborhood and the Panhandle park.
We learned the history of Haight Asbury from the 1920’s giant water slide where people would go to “shoot the chutes” on Haight Street, to why Haight-Ashbury was “the” place chosen as the heart of the 60’s movement, to learning about Janis Joplin who lived on Ashbury Street
Our guide also touched on the negative aspects of the psychedelic drug era in which many great talents died very young (Ron “Pigpen” Mckernan from the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix all died at 27 from drug overdoses). We also saw the house Charles Manson lived in where he took advantage of young people who had come from all over the country for the “Human Be In” event in 1967.
In addition to seeing beautiful houses on almost every corner, another unexpected highlight of the Haight-Ashbury occurred after the tour had finished and we were having lunch. While we were walking out of the restaurant, Raquel happened to spot someone from our tour, started talking with them and after only a few minutes realized that their mothers had been close friends from a youth group back in Australia. What a small love-filled world!
Saturday, September 27, was the 35th Anniversary of the Annual Autumn Moon Festival in San Francisco; so, it was a good time to head to Chinatown for some delicious hand-made dumplings, moon cakes (Raquel’s favorite was white lotus seed with chestnuts – no yolk – …