A Lady in London

One of my favorite things about traveling home to California is the abundance of outdoor activities on offer. From hikes in the Santa Cruz Mountains to walks in Northern California’s coastal regions, from big wave surfing at Mavericks to kite surfing in San Francisco Bay, there is no shortage of things to do.

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The best thing about being from San Francisco is that no matter where I travel, I always have an excuse to return to one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

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What do you get when you mix one part gorgeous weather, one part excellent fresh food, one part world-class wine, and one part home? You get October in San Francisco.

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Every six months or so I find an excuse to travel back to San Francisco. Sometimes the excuse is work, sometimes it’s family or friends, sometimes it’s holidays, and sometimes it’s something that brings together any number of those elements.

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I love ham. When I was a kid, the woman who ran my day care center nicknamed me The Ham Girl. While the other kids were on their best behavior for the prospect of a Sweet Tart or some Pop Rocks, I practiced the art of decorum in hopes of a few slices of Weight Watchers Deli Select.

My mother, who could easily eat her weight in chocolate (and has probably tried), has always been a bit disappointed in my lack of interest in the sugary things in life. However, she is indefatigably supportive of my love of ham. So much so that the other week she threw a big family birthday party for me, complete with a giant honey baked ham.

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It’s been nine months since I was last in San Francisco. That’s the longest I’ve ever been away from the City by the Bay.

While I’ve done my fair share of traveling in the interim, there’s nothing quite like landing at SFO. That’s not least because the runway goes right out into the water and I always feel like the 747 is going to magically grow pontoons and glide right into the bay. But more than that, I love landing at SFO because it’s home. The golden hills in the distance, the beautiful and highly underrated Bay Bridge to the east, and the city skyline all start to pull at my heart, reminding me that all this time I had left it in San Francisco.

As the plane descends, I realize that I even miss the ugly “South San Francisco the Industrial City” sign that’s so big it can be seen from ten thousand feet up. And the B of A building, where I spent two long years chained to a desk on the 44th floor. And the Port of Oakland, that ugly mass of buildings on the other side of the bay that makes driving across the Bay Bridge less inspiring than driving across its International Orange rival to the north. It’s good to be home.

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This week’s adventure took me home to California, and I couldn’t have picked a better time to visit. The weather was hitting record highs in San Francisco just as the London heat wave succumbed to the London rain. As if that weren’t reason enough to be excited, there were two special events in the city over the weekend: Oyster Fest and Bay to Breakers. The latter is my boyfriend’s favorite holiday (“it’s like Christmas and New Year’s combined,” he says), so I knew I was in for a good time.

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One of my favorite things about San Francisco was the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market. On sunny Saturday mornings the Ferry Building and its outskirts were packed with stalls selling everything from local artisan cheeses and fresh crusty bread to warm crimson strawberries and brilliant orange tangerines.

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I just got back from a week-long trip to San Francisco. It was strange and a bit surreal to be a visitor in my own city.

My flights to SFO were a disaster; the London to Chicago flight was delayed, causing me to miss my connection. The next flight out of Chicago was then delayed, so I had a five and a half hour layover at O’Hare. My mom picked me up from the airport around midnight and when we got home I said hello to my dog and collapsed into bed. Somehow I always forget how long it takes to fly from London to San Francisco.

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Today was a busy day. I started out in Visitacion Valley at a volunteer event with the Spinsters of San Francisco. We had a Halloween-themed event for the kids at Real Options for City Kids (ROCK), the organization we partner with.

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It’s starting to hit me that I’m really leaving San Francisco. As excited as I am to move to London, it’s sad to leave home. My boyfriend and I had a going away party the other night at Mauna Loa. It was great to see all of our friends, but sad to say good-bye.

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I’ve been sick for the past few days, so I figure it’s a good time to put up some pictures from all of my recent adventures in San Francisco.

A few weeks ago I was in hiking mode. I spent a day exploring the Marin Headlands, an afternoon finding some new hiking trails in the Presidio with my boyfriend, and another day walking the Coastal Trail from the old Sutro Baths to Land’s End.

At the end of the last hike I decided to head over to Baker Beach since the weather was warm and I hadn’t been there in over a year. It was pretty amazing; so much so that I returned the next day with my bathing suit and a good book.

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Last weekend I went on two great day trips from San Francisco. One trip focused on oysters, the other on beer. I have a pretty great life these days.

On Saturday I went to the Hog Island Oyster Company’s oyster farm on Tomales Bay. The place is pretty rustic; they provide picnic tables, grills, oysters, and shucking tools and you bring the rest.

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Last summer in the Singapore Airport:

Me: Would you call me bookish?

My Boyfriend: I believe I already have called you bookish.

Me: Laughter. Oh. Right.

My Boyfriend: Even though I believe that you would rather be in the company of books than in the company of people, I still think you have decent social skills.

Me: More laughter. Thanks. [I guess…]

Today I went to a huge book sale at Fort Mason in San Francisco. I went there expecting to be enraptured by all of the books. Instead I found that I was more interested in the people. A true lover of people watching, this place was a visual feast for me.

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I recently joined an organization called the Spinsters of San Francisco. As the name implies, the Spinsters is a social / charitable group (with an emphasis on the former) of young, single women in San Francisco.

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