Marin Headlands

In the midst of daily Muni commuting and general fogginess, sometimes I forget what a beautiful area I get to live and work in.  Luckily when we have visitors I can take some time to appreciate what's here!

On two different weekends within the last month or so, we took Sak's parents and then my parents to the Marin Headlands, specifically to the Point Bonita lighthouse. If you want breathtaking, iconic shots of the Bay - this is where it's at.

Black sand beaches at the base of the cliff..

And an amazing treasure trove of historical bunkers, gun turrets, and forts from the Civil War to the Cold War.

WWII gun mount base

Cracked civil war era bunker

Penga-Sis acting like Slenderman in a creepy concrete tunnel

Amazing "hobbit house". You can go inside too, if you're brave enough! (I wasn't). Lots of creepy graffiti inside according to Penga-Sis

Not-so-creepy graffiti. Haha

Up the hill is the Marine Mammal Center, where they rehabilitate and heal sick and injured seals, sea lions, otters, etc.

Just in case anyone needs the recipe, lol

Getting better!

On a clear day you can see seals sun-bathing on rocks.

And flocks of seagulls swiping at the fishing boats as they clean their catch and come into harbor.

The path to the lighthouse is truly amazing, with a tunnel right in the rock and everything.

The bridge was a little scary!

But it was worth crossing!

This is definitely one "tourist" place I don't think I could tire of.  And we didn't even see everything! And it's all free aside from the bridge toll :)

Next time you're in the Bay Area on a sunny day (rare, I know), check out the Marin Headlands, it's breathtaking!

Clement Street

Maybe you're already familiar with San Francisco's "New Chinatown", a.k.a. Clement Street.  I know it better than the official Chinatown, but only because it is smaller and we spend more time there.

Situated above Golden Gate Park, Clement Street is 6 or 7 blocks of less touristy Chinatown.

(google map)

Parking is always the biggest obstacle in visiting Clement Street.  There's no direct MUNI metro line, though you can take the bus if you are brave.  We usually end up driving there though since I can take more stuff back home that way!

For the otaku, there's Super Tokio, a small Japanese candy/snack/toy shop.

I used to buy figurines here all the time when I lived in the City (just one summer during an internship).  Since then I think they figured out that their figurines were worth a lot more than the $2 they would charge, because it's a bit more pricey now.  I still like to see what they have in stock though!

Then there's my most favorite "stuff" store, which I call the Piyo Piyo store.  It's really called "JVD Global, Inc", but my pet name is cuter. They have a lot of Piyo Piyo ducks, Sanrio and cell phone accessories.

Under some renovations, but perhaps you can see the plushies in the window?

They have super cute things, and are always very cheap, so I never leave empty handed.  Here's what we picked up from this particular trip:

Compass (Sak's), Ash and Misty figurines ($3!), and a daikon (radish) coin purse..

Speaking of daikon, there are plenty of street markets for fresh fruits and veggies.

And places to get all the Chinese houseware you could need.

All the plastic containers outside fascinate me! But then, I love storage boxes, bags, etc.

And though not Chinese, Clement Street is also home to Green Apple Books, an awesome independent bookstore stuffed with books (though maybe not quite as big as Powells!)

Hungry? I get to show off my Cantonese while ordering from Good Luck Dim Sum.  (No, I cannot really speak Cantonese, but the words I do know are food related, and I am a fearless orderer!)

Wall of pink Chinese bakery boxes.  

I really like this place because it has a few of the "harder to find" dim sum items, like my favorite sticky rice bao (I don't know it's real name).

It's pretty much just fried sticky rice in a wonton wrapper, but I love it.  No one else really understands why, but hey, sometimes the simplest things are the best.

Sak making a dumb face while eating a baked char sui bao. We ate in the car because we were too hungry to wait til we got home!

Another favorite is the lap cheong (Chinese sausage) bao. Horribly, horribly fatty sausage, but bursting with amazing flavor. One of my go-to instant fatty-comfort-foods is actually just chopped up lap cheong, put into a pot of rice while it cooks. Try it!

Anyway, we paid less than $6 for two sticky rice bao, two baked char sui bao, three har gow (shrimp dumplings), and two lap cheong bao. Such a better price (and quality!) from buying last minute dim sum from Ranch 99.  I wish this place was closer to home! Or closer to work!

For dessert we head to Sak's favorite Clement Street locale, Eternal Springs.

Hubby inside ordering while Wifu outside looks like a creeper taking pictures.

It's a tiny little shop - but it has great gelato, Vietnamese sandwiches (bahn mi), and smoothies/milk teas.  What's so amazing about this place - when we ordered a honeydew drink (because we love melon drinks), they made it with real honeydew! That's pretty much unheard of, usually it's just powder. So great.

Anyway, that's just a little tour of Clement Street through they eyes of us Saks! If you have your own Clement favorite, please chime in so I can try out some new stuff next time!

What's your favorite type of dim sum?

Chocolate Fish

There was a ton of things happening in San Francisco last weekend, in addition to it being close to Penga-Dad's birthday.  My family brought up some friends from home for a jaunt through the ever-traffic-heavy city by the bay, first stopping by the 10th annual Poke Festival.

Salmon poke

It was small, and I don't know if it really counts as a true festival since it seemed more like a promotion for the business in which lot the event sat.  But none the less, they served some pretty delicious poke.  They ran out of all the varieties other than tuna really, really quickly though. And then they started serving fried strips of spam.  Spam fries.  Covered in a mayo sauce.  And yes, I did eat some.

Anyway, after a quick eat, we packed up and headed to the 16th annual Chocolate Festival at Ghiradelli Square.

It was super duper crowded and there weren't as many sample-vendors as usual so lines were really long.  (And yes, I did a double-take of someone who looked familiar, I think it was you Ashley! Though without the cosplay I got confused. :P)

Applesauce in a tube.  Not sure how this counts as chocolate...

Chocolate coconut water. Very strange.

Anyway, I'm not sure if fish + chocolate was a great idea, because I was feeling kinda strange later in the day.   It was fun though!

Do you have a favorite local festival? What are you festive about?

San Mateo County Fair 2011

One thing I love about summer is the county fair. I don't play the games or ride the rides - but I do eat the food.

That's reason enough to go to the fair, right?

Though, I totally would have "rode" this. How awesome are floating hamster balls in water?!

After work, we headed over to the San Mateo fairgrounds for a few hours.  Penga-Sis tagged along as well, while her ride, Penga-Bro, stayed at the house to do some homework.

First we checked out the concert.  San Mateo is well known for booking good acts for the fair, and they are all free with fair admission. The hands-down best was getting to see Weird Al a few years ago.  The man is pure genius, and ending with the never-ending Albuquerque song is something I won't forget anytime soon.

Anyway, this particular day was Tower of Power.  We stayed for a few songs, but a slightly intoxicated guy next to us decided his dancing was a bit too hot for the room and was removing his clothing. Time to go!

We checked out the youth arts exhibits, where Penga-Sis, on more than one occasion, looked at the blue ribbon winners and said, "I can do that". Good. You probably can, now go do it! That's the start of the DIY fever, after all. Maybe next year she can enter her own county fair.

These "BBQ" cupcakes were awesome!

Then! Then we found the animals. My favorite part of the fair, after the food - of course.  The bunnies, every breed imaginable, were utterly adorable. Penga-Sis and I were cooing and gooing over each and every cage - from the monster-truck sized bunnies to the itty-bitty dwarfs.

This guy was my favorite! So squishy and cute!

Sak, on the other hand, was busy doing his Arrested Development dances over by the chicken cages.  Far removed from us, thank goodness.

Prize winner.

And next, the reason I came to the fair in the first place, we ate a funnel cake! Funnel cakes are just fried swirls of happy memories for me. You just can't eat one without smiling the whole time.

Strawberry!

Wandering over to the flower/plant submissions next, I never knew there was a category for Ikebana! So cool.

Purple garlic and artichokes! 

And there was a special contest for crafts made from recycled materials.  This one is amazing, and I want one, only with Pop-tart bags.

After flowers, Penga-Sis and I found our central coast soul-food: fried artichokes.

Needless to say, I got sick from all the fried food that night, but it was still worth it!

Lastly, we found the art hall, where there was a special exhibit for Alcatraz going on.  I've been to Alcatraz twice - it's awesome, even if it is for tourists. When Penga-Sis stops being a chicken, I'll take her to visit someday too.

Glum, because someone thought the toilet was real and left a surprise.

Though I would have liked a bit more time at the fair (we had work the next day), it was worth going on a weekday since it wasn't so crowded. 

Did you, or will you attend your county fair this year?  What's your favorite fair-staple?