Picnic

I hate good-byes.

A new chapter is about to begin for me and my family so it seems like a good time to have a fresh start with Picnic, my beloved little blog I have had for the past 5 years.  We are moving on to bigger and better times and Picnic is deserving of more too.  

The new site is www.picnicblog.org

Please come along with me on our journey abroad.  I will be sharing photos and videos of everyday life... food, style, travel and crafts and tips for how to move abroad.

At the moment, I am super excited, anxious, nervous and terrified.  I am also very thankful for that vision Doug and I shared on the fire escape of our apartment in Nob Hill late one night in the summer of 2001.  It took 12 years to build our family, build financial stability and begin to prepare our children for this trip but we are FINALLY ready. 

Here is a little video I put together as a final post here before I move to the new blog.

 

Music: Buildings and Mountains by The Republic Tigers

Day Trip: Pescadero

A few weeks ago, we headed south to Pescadero to share a Mother's Day lunch at Duarte's Tavern with my mom and sister.  We headed out early so we had time to stop at Lemos Farm off of Highway 92 in Half Moon Bay.  The boys braved their first pony ride, fed the goats and enjoyed snack time on the train.  Bijou found the outing a bit babyish but went along with it like most big sisters do.

We continued driving south another 30 minutes to enjoy lunch at the 100+-year-old restaurant, Duarte's Tavern.  I had the crab sandwich and their famous olallieberry pie, which was delicious.  The kids all behaved themselves, which was a nice surprise in the restaurant setting, and kept themselves entertained by sticking sugar packets into my hair and pouring the creamer into their orange juice.  Fun times!

After lunch we headed around the corner to Harley Farms to see their goats and visit the Farm Store.  Doug and my Mom tried to capture a Mother's Day photo of me and my kids and it went something like this...

Bijou striking a pose, of course.  Eero a bit clueless about what is going on.  Wilder trying to run out of there.  And me, tightly gripping Wilder's hand.

Then we had a little talk where I tried to convince him to take just one more photo.

Then he pouted some more...

Eero overheard the conversation and thought it would be hilarious if he followed suit and parked himself on a bench further away...

And this is the Mother's Day photo I ended up with...

Classic!

Day Trip: Tomales Bay

Pack a picnic!  Here is a link to a few picnic menu ideas.

Even if the day involves cow pastures and muddy beaches, Bijou insists on wearing her "fancy" coat.

There are so many picturesque landscapes, churches, barns, and shops on the drive from Berkeley to Tomales Bay.  Wilder, my cow crazy kid, demanded we stop to see the "cowses."

The beach outing was nice BEFORE we decided to venture out over the mud flat to the water.  The mud was... well muddy, and we quickly sank to our knees and my little clean freak boys, FREAKED OUT!  Basically, we had about 30 minutes of hysterical crying x2.  I tried to convince them that "dirt don't hurt" but in the moment, they were having none of it.

Tomales Bay State Park is a great place to dig up oysters at low tide.  If you aren't in the mood to hunt for them yourself, I recommend The Marshall Store restaurant up the road.

We made it a day trip but if you can stay the night,  Nick's Cove cottages are a charming place to enjoy Tomales Bay.

Day Trip: Japanese Tea Garden

To be honest, I wasn't quite sure how this outing would go.  I knew Bijou would enjoy it just as much as she had when she was four.  However, I wasn't sure if the boys would obey the bamboo fencing around the ponds or God forbid, end up taking a dip in the koi pond.  Luckily, it was a success with minimal attempts by Eero (the rebel of the group) to duck under the fence and do exactly that, dip into the koi pond.

The biggest highlight was the tea party with REAL tea, almond cookies, Japanese cracker snack mix and chocolate-covered Pocky sticks.

On the walk from the car to the tea garden, Bijou and Stella stopped to collect some daisies to make a couple daisy chain necklaces, a childhood requisite.

Climbing the drum bridge was another highlight and was probably responsible for rewarding us with a car nap on the ride home ;)

Japanese Tea Garden

Day Trip: Sutro Baths

Doug told me about this place where he used to hang out in high school.  The San Francisco equivalent to drinking on the cliffs in Santa Cruz, I suppose.  It was a private swimming pool complex in the late 19th century but burned down in 1966 and was abandoned but you can still visit the ruins.

Our first stop was lunch at the Bistro at the Cliff House.  I hadn't been here since my sister's college graduation brunch which I happened to be way to hungover to appreciate but made for a memorable morning, nonetheless.  Bijou indulged in the late breakfast menu and had french toast.  I decided on fish and chips and entertained us by Googling the celebrities on the wall who had dined here back in the heyday.

The short hike from the restaurant to the baths was perfect for a 7-year-old.  

Sutro Baths

I highly recommend a day trip if you are even in the Bay.  The ocean in this area is fierce so it might not be a suitable outing for very young children.

Lands End Lookout

Day Trip: Alcatraz

I typically try to avoid touristy activities both on vacation and when I'm home.  I'd been successful in avoiding a trip to Alcatraz despite Bijou's pleas for about two years but the little island in the bay continued to call to her every time we passed over the Bay Bridge.

I finally made the commitment and took Bijou and her friend Nico on a weekday morning hoping to avoid the crowds.  No such luck...  When we arrived at the loading dock to purchase our tickets, we were told the ferry wes booked until 12:30pm (2 hours later).

We bought donuts, chased seagulls and soaked up some Vitamin D to kill the time.  The ferry ride was pleasant, beautiful picturesque views, an opportunity to check out the latest euro fashions and only 15 minutes which is perfect for my sensitivity to motion.

The girls didn't have the patience for the full 45-minute audio tour but we caught the 20-minute Discovery Channel video about the island's history and we all learned a thing or two.  My favorite part was all of the amazing photo opportunites. 

Alcatraz Island Tour

A Day in Dogpatch

The Museum of Craft and Design opened up in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco last month and I had the opportunity to take my eldest on a little lady date in the neighborhood.  The neighborhood has changed quite a bit since 2001 when I frequently made trips to "apparel district" to meet with sewers when I had my own handbag line.

Our first stop was the museum...  The current exhibit features knitted metal jelly fish sculptures, porcelain eucalyptus tree branches and other elements from nature and these insane wood sculptures including several guns, a bike and a bird man.

Museum of Craft and Design

Our next stop was for a fancy pizza at Piccino.  The pizza was delicious but Bijou was most delighted when the waitress brought her lemonade with her own bottle of simple syrup to add as needed.  She wanted to add more and more so I had to cut her off at one point.

Piccino

Last stop... ice cream at Mr and Mrs. Miscellaneous.  I decided to skip the ice cream when I saw that they sold homemade peanut butter malt balls.  I couldn't pass that up!

 

A Trip to Moss Landing

My parents live in a rural seaside community south of Santa Cruz nestled between an ocean bluff covered in heather plants (in the front) and begonia fields (in the back).  They have about an acre of land which makes a collection of old cars feasible.  The next door neighbors on the other hand, used their land to build a soccer field.  Their 4 kids loved soccer so they built them their own soccer field!  

The long country roads are perfect for lulling these two into their afternoon naps.  Crib naps are no longer existent on the weekends (they will nap at school), but despite their persistent attempts to get out of a nap altogether, I insist on "a little drive in the car."

A bit further down the road is my sister's house in Moss Landing.  Another beach community full of boats, ocean life, antique shops, and fresh fish restaurants.  Today, we had some visitors from our childhood.  Eero and Wilder are the two in hats.  The scenery in my sister's backyard is quite picturesque. 

Do: Elkhorn Slough safari, Moss Landing Marine Labortories, Moss Landing State Beach 

Eat: Phil's Fish Market  The cioppino is awesome!

Shop:  One afternoon, I did a little shopping during our car nap and found a little gem of a store called, Driftwood.  If you are ever in Moss Landing, you should try and stop in.

 

{Eero, Wilder, Rosie}

It's so fun to see these 2-year-old cousins all grow up together.

 

Twin antics.

 

Mimi introduced Eero and Wilder to Roy Rogers.  Turns out, Eero DOES like watching movies.  He likes B/W cowboy films, no modern day animation for him please.

A Trip To San Diego

Bijou and I had the opportunity to go to San Diego last weekend to support Olive in her race in the San Diego Crew Classic.  The trip was a bit last minute and I think we may have scored the last hotel room on Mission Bay.  We had a wonderful weekend and discovered a few awesome spots I wanted to share...

Hotel:  The Dana.  

Breakfast: Better Buzz Coffee in Mission Beach.  Bijou indulged in their assortment of baked goods and I fell in love with their Acai breakfast bowl so we ended up going back twice!

or the Mission in Mission Beach for the delicious chilaquiles

Do: Since I wouldn't agree to drive Bijou to LA so she could become an aspiring actress we decided on Seaworld. If you want to avoid a 2,000 calorie lunch, I recommend Pineapple Pete's cafe at Seaworld for salads, paninis and fresh fruit. 

Dinner: The Corvette Diner Huge menu, awesome authentic diner decor, waitresses in poodle skirts and sassy attitudes, dance performances and songs.  It kind of reminded me of my trip to Club Med many years ago.  Ohh, and first-timers get a crazy straw hairdo.

Fly: Southwest, if you book in advance, tickets from OAK to SAN can be cheap.

The Rebel

In true rooster fashion (Bijou's Chinese Zodiac sign), my eldest is turning out to be quite the brave little child.  She's usually game to try anything new which I hope will remain a strong quality of hers for life.  I too like to try new things but feel much more comfortable with someone there by my side, even if my comrade is only 7.

So with a week off of school, we planned out our Bay Area adventures...

Top on our list... iFly in Union City.  As a mother of three, I could never sign the release forms to jump out a real plane (something I wish I had tried before having so many dependants) so this indoor skydiving facility, open to all ages over three, seemed like a perfect alternative.  (After having tried this, I would NOT recommend it for a 3 year old.)

First you watch a short instructional video and suit up.

Next you enter the wind chamber and take a seat on the bench and wait your turn to be pulled in.  The experience was intense and extremely realistic and had our adrenalin pumping in a good way.

We had a blast!

Next on the list... The Rebel wanted to get her ears pierced.  

Our last adventure for her winter break was a trip to San Francisco to watch the Chinese New Year's parade with her cousins.  As always, the parade was colorful and lively and a nice reminder of all the wonderful multicultural events the Bay Area continues to offer.

 

I have fun hanging out with this kid :)