The Sunset collections...

I have been getting Sunset magazine for years. I used to love reading it at my grandma's house as a child. I have so many of them squirreled away in piles and I finally started going through them and ripping out things I want to save. One of my favorite recurring articles is "Northern California Weekend."  It's usually two or three pages highlighting a trip that could be a day drive or a weekend getaway. I've often longed to try many of them and have done a couple. I'd like to take a stab at sharing some of them with you on a semi-regular basis.

My first one is high on my list of places to go, mostly because I really want to try a particular restaurant. Sadly it's been on my list for a while now, I think I just need to go and enjoy it so I can come back here and tell you all about it!

Outer Sunset - San Francisco, Ca





The "Sunset" is an area of San Francisco that is mostly residential and is usually engulfed in fog. One of the things I like about this part of the city is that you still get the SF vibe but it's a bit more relaxed and you're out near the beach and the surfers. The city is a great place to visit in the fall because the fog recedes a bit and the sun comes out. 

The article recommends several places to get a bite to eat and one hip surf shop that begs a visit.  At the top of my list is Outerlands. I've been wanting to visit this restaurant since I read this article and it came out all the way back in January of this year.





Peter DaSilva for The New York Times

The menu looks delicious and homey. It changes with the seasons and all of their foods are sourced as locally and organically as possible. They make their own bread and beer is served in a mason jar! On the breakfast menu are a yummy sounding baked egg dish with rosemary and Parmesan, dutch pancakes, and eggs in jail. Dinner is a warm beet, mustard greens, farro and manchego salad with cauliflower soup or braised pork and grits. There is definitely more on the menu that sounds delish!

I was impressed to find that they have been reviewed by the New York Times. This is an excerpt from the NYT article...

This restaurant exists to refute San Francisco’s appealingly gloomy Outer Sunset district, or at least to offset it with fine food. Neglected by most travel books, the bleak western edge of the city attracts beach strollers, wave seekers and anyone else looking to infuse a San Francisco day with a little natural moodiness. But until Outerlands, there hasn’t been a culinary option equal to the stark seascape or the ghostly fog. Bone-chilling and ethereal parts of town need non-ethereal bean soup with fennel, tomato and croutons.

They do not need fancy tables. David Muller and Lana Porcello, both visual artists and farmers’ market veterans, converted the small space themselves, and the D.I.Y. aesthetic contributes to the larger vibe: homey and epicurean. Lovely driftwood arrangements cover parts of the wall, and the wall itself is salvaged fence wood. A local surfer fashioned the chairs from reclaimed barn wood. The result is a casual, cozy nook where your beer glass is a Mason jar and you pay before you eat.

In addition to Outerlands there are several other places mentioned in the article. One of them is a surf shop called Mollusk Surf Shop. One of my multiple personalities is that of a surfer girl so I do enjoy a good surf shop, even though I don't surf. I have tried it, but I didn't stick with it.  Mollusk carries boards, gear, clothes, and posters by local artists.

Other places to check out...

 Trouble Coffee Company... they have a fantastic looking cinnamon and sugar toast.

Java Beach Cafe

and

The Pizza Place on Noriega

One of my best friends lives in this neighborhood and I love visiting her there. I know Java Beach Cafe because I turn on that street to go to her house. If you decide to visit the neighborhood you could also go to the SF Zoo! It's right across the street from Java Beach!

I hope you found this inspiring and are planning a visit soon!

Harvard

The front gate and some beautiful brick buildings.

One of the things I really wanted to see while in Boston was Harvard. Or as some might say Hahvad. I can't say that it would look like much to those that just see what is in front of them, but I see the history and the architecture. Everything in New England is so old, so much older than anything we have here in California. I don't think I saw the whole campus, but I saw some pretty great old brick buildings. I went into a very old church, at least I think that is what it was. There were actually classes being held in a part of it. How awesome to have such a beautiful classroom.

I found the student store and bought myself a t-shirt, that says Harvard of course and I found the Starbucks that was right across from campus.

I love that it's in an old building, you can see the words across the top, I think it says it used to be a carriage house. Just down the street from the Starbucks is a graveyard with what are probably the oldest gravestones I have ever seen.

This building is their library and hang out spot.

This is the on campus chapel

This statue reads John Harvard underneath it.

Boston Common

The starting point of the Freedom Trail, Boston Common is the oldest park in the country. The park is almost 50 acres in size.
Today, Boston Common is the anchor for the Emerald Necklace, a system of connected parks that winds through many of Boston's neighborhoods.
The "Common" has been used for many different purposes throughout its long history. Until 1830, cattle grazed the Common, and until 1817, public hangings took place here. British troops camped on Boston Common prior to the Revolution and left from here to face colonial resistance at Lexington and Concord in April, 1775.
Celebrities, including Martin Luther King Jr., Pope John Paul II, and Gloria Steimen (advocate of the feminist revolution), have given speeches at the Common.

I really wanted to get a bit more sightseeing done in Boston before we left. I got up on Friday morning and walked to Boston Commons at 7am. It was super cold but it was worth it to see a little more of the city on foot. I walked around the public gardens and then around the Commons. Here are a couple pics.

This is the first time I have ever seen a naturally frozen over lake. There was a bit in the center that wasn't frozen and there were a couple of ducks swimming there. I walked over many frozen puddles too.

Just a couple observations about Boston...

1. I really want to go back!
2. Bostonians were really nice!
3. Bus/shuttle drivers were a great source of information
4. I loved hearing Bahston, and all of the other words that a Bostonian accent comes out in.
5. I loved how every couple of blocks or so there was an awesome old church on the corner. Juxtaposed against a lot of new buildings.
6. The subway system was much easier to navigate than in New York.
7. Great food! Many restaurants to try!
8. So much history to go back and see
9. I loved the old architecture. Such picturesque houses and brownstones.

I really do want to go back some day, preferably when the weather is nicer. It was abnormally cold for this time of year. I would love to go for fourth of July and go see the Boston Pops Goes the Fourth! I really enjoyed being there and away from my life here. It was sort of nice to go somewhere where I didn't know anyone, and no one knew what upheaval I have recently gone through. Yes, it was cold, too cold. But I would love to go back, maybe live there, but I would have trouble leaving my family and friends and going so far away.