San francisco: part 2

July 25, 2013

My second day touring around San Francisco also happened to be the day I was flying out but I booked it later so I’d have a full day of running around the city. We started our day at one of the largest farmer’s markets I’ve ever been to near and in the ferry building. It was so fun, you all should know by now how much I LOVE farmer’s markets. I bought a few things but the whole time I was really wishing I get get some of everything. Especially the giant bunch of basil my friend got for $2! At least I got to smell it all day which was heavily.

We walked around inside where I bought dried mushrooms, also if you know me you know this is a weird purchase because I’m not the biggest fan of them but I’m trying. I also bought a large bag of Acme bread to take back and it was so good we ate it in a day of a half of my getting back to Seattle.

Then we walked a ways so I could get a view of Alcatraz and on the way we got these sweet dragon tattoos (there was some sort of event going on near the science museum). I also got to see the crooked part of Lombard street. It’s been a while since I’ve had a more touristy vacation and I was enjoying it.

I couldn’t leave San Francisco without first riding on a trolley car. It was a little scary since they stuck us on the very end standing on the outside. I was basically holding on with one arm as we went up some pretty big hills. We took a seat as soon as we could.

After even more walking I had another veggie burger with some really good fries (I’m a freak for good fries) and then I packed up and headed out. Thanks for a good time San Francisco!

San francisco: part 1

July 24, 2013

If you’re going to San Francisco…

Last week I traveled to San Francisco for the first time! I was there for ALT SF but as a bonus I got to spend time with a friend who moved out there around the same time Walker and I moved to Seattle. What’s even more exciting is that this friend might be moving here, to Seattle, for a job! So the timing couldn’t have been better.

On Friday she had a dentist appointment in the morning so I headed out in search of a really good vegan breakfast. I found a vegan restaurant that was about a mile away (no hills) so I had a nice walk. I ordered corn cakes and sipped by tea while I ate my tasty breakfast. We met back at her place and then headed out to see the Golden Gate bridge.

It was foggy, which I hear is the norm and based on my trip I can attest to that, but we could still see some of the bridge. We walked half way across and then headed back because we were kind of cold and it was pretty breezy up there. The views were pretty incredible though (of what we could see of course).
Then we had lunch at The Plant which I realized was a healthy and organic restaurant with a few locations around the city. I was excited to have found it. Also they had a lot of vegan desserts to choose from. After my veggie burger I got a coffee cake and a cookie to go.

In the afternoon my friend took me to a place called Bi-Rite Creamery that makes their own ice cream. I was even more excited because they had a vegan option and a peach sorbet that was soooo good. I got a scoop of each. Then we walked to the park that overlooks the row houses from the intro scene of Full House and enjoyed our ice cream.

We ended our evening with some appetizers at a pretty interesting restaurant and had a local beer to cap the night. We really packed in the activities and we were both pretty exhausted at the end of the day.

Alt summit san francisco recap

July 23, 2013

Alt is the third blogger type event that I’ve attended in a little over a year and dare I say it was my favorite? Everyone was so warm and open. I never felt intimidated to talk to anyone and I felt well received by everyone I had the pleasure to talk with even if it were just a minute in an elevator (it’s how I met Court of lovecourt and found out she is a Michigander moving to Seattle!). I do think my wooden California pins helped break the ice for me many times. I didn’t regret a single moment I spend hand crafting those.

The event kicked off on Wednesday evening with sponsor dinners. I signed up for the dinner with Vivint. I like that they were about fostering a sense of community and getting everyone involved. The gifts we received from them were also local which I loved (local chocolates, tea, and a pretty bag from Samantha of noteify.com. The dinner was such a wonderful way to get to know a few people in a calmer atmosphere. From there we had dessert at the Fairmont hotel where all of the dinners joined and everyone attending the event was present. It was a bit hectic compared to the dinner but I still managed to meet a few lovely people.

The next day I was up early and back at the Fairmont for breakfast, roundtables (including hand massages and letterpressing-fun!), keynote speakers and panals. It was a full day but it was informative, fun, and interesting. The sponsors also had some pretty fun things going on between talks so we kept busy all day. Lunch was a fun treat because it was held in the Tonga room at the Fairmont. It was really cool, especially when it started to “rain” in the middle of the room.

The day ended strong with a closing keynote by Mike McCue the founder and CEO of Flipboard. After a short break we all headed to the PINTEREST headquarters for our closing party. I was super excited about this. It did not disappoint. I managed to squeeze in a few more conversations with some amazing people before the night was out. It all seemed to fly by (well I really think it did) and it was a little sad when the night was over.

Now onto the task of messaging everyone I made a connection with, surprisingly I made more than I thought. Maybe I’ll have another post about all the people I met.

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