Old Haunts

I spent the last week in the Bay Area, seeing old friends, visiting with my family, and celebrating my sweet niece's 5th grade promotion. What a time! 

As is typical on my visits home, my Dad and I went for a couple of long drives. Here are some highlights of our time hitting the old spots in and around the Bay Area:

+ Pulgas Water Temple- this is very cool Beaux-Arts monument off the 280 highway which celebrates the enormous depression era feat of bringing water from the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the Bay Area. If you wanna geek out, check it out! It's gorgeous, and kind of random and definitely worth a visit. If you have the time, cruise south for another 3 minutes to spend a couple of hours at Filoli Gardens.

+ Olivet Gardens at Cypress Lawn- this is an old cemetery in Colma, just south of San Francisco. We like to visit old cemeteries, and my grandmas are buried here so we went to pay them a visit. There are some pretty interesting monuments for old San Francisco guilds, including this one for the Showfolks of America, and another for the Painters and Decorators of San Francisco.

+ Garden House Cafe- we split a hot turkey sub at this super old school SF spot and it was the best sandwich I've had in a long time. The soft bread was toasted to perfection! My dad did a lot of work in this neighborhood (he is a retired house painter) and this was his old haunt. Amidst so much change in San Francisco, he was very delighted that it, and the decades-long owner Janette, had not changed at all. 

+ We drove across the foggy Golden Gate to visit my uncle on his old boat in Sausalito. After a delightful coffee chat, we hit one of my favorite places, the original Heath location, where they sell "seconds". I picked up a couple of these mugs to add to my ever-expanding collection of new and vintage Heath. If you are ever in the area on a weekend, I highly recommend signing up for a factory tour! It's very cool!

+ We were able to visit one museum with my mom on this trip. I love going to the de Young in Golden Gate Park. We took in this fun fashion exhibit, and a fabulous exhibition of Irving Penn. If you're visiting, don't skip going up to the tower for incredible views of the city! It's also free to access, no museum ticket necessary.

+ And, if you ever find yourself in Japantown on a Saturday night and want to feel the warm embrace of San Francisco, I recommend descending the stairs to Dimples, where there is excellent karaoke and fun times to be had (I did not go here with my parents). Then, spend the next morning a block away getting scrubbed to oblivion at the Korean spa, and hit Tartine Manufactory to order one of everything on your way back to your parent's house.