Hi blogging friends! How was your long weekend? Joe and I originally had plans to drive up to Clear Lake last weekend, but the air quality from the wildfires looked pretty bad up there, so we last minute decided to stay put in SF. At this point, we’ve canceled so many plans last-minute this year that we’re use to being at the edge of our seat when it comes to travel.
Staying in SF was a blessing in disguise since we were also pretty tired after our trip to Yosemite the weekend before. Also there was a massive heat wave that hit SF, bringing temps to the 90s and feeling like “real” summer.
Most of the weekend was spent indoors trying to stay cool and avoiding the wildfires. I had some bonding time with the cats and watched Homeland for the second time. I forgot how great that show is!
On Saturday, Joe and I decided to venture out to the Mission and we set up a picnic blanket at Dolores Park. Picnics have been the go-to activity in SF during COVID, and I couldn’t believe we hadn’t been to Dolores at all during the q-tine. Dolores Park instantly had a different energy compared to all the other parks we’ve been to. There was so much diversity and young people, all partying in our socially-distant circles drawn on the grass. Just being there made my spirits rise.
After a few hours of hanging in the park, we continued our evening in the Mission and walked down Valencia Street to find some food. There are several streets in SF closed to cars during COVID, and Valencia is one of them. It was so full of life, with restaurants expanding the seats into the streets and musicians playing freely. It felt like Europe! We loved walking around and soaking it all up. It was the most life we’ve seen in SF in 6 months.
We settled at West of Pecos, one of my favorite spots in the Mission known for their “puffy tacos.” We were also celebrating some exciting news…I GOT PROMOTED!!! I found out 2 weeks ago and it was a huge highlight. I’ve been head-down in work for months now and I was so grateful to get this validation.
Fast forward to Monday. After months of working on Joe’s garden, we finally debuted it by hosting a small backyard bbq. We invited Jeff and Kayla to come by for an afternoon or eating and drinking. Joe is a grill-master and he cooked us burgers, hot dogs, veggies, and more. I made my famous watermelon cocktail that’s becoming a real brand among our friends 😛 The bbq was surprisingly easy to plan and it was nice to get some bonding time with Jeff and Kayla. It definitely makes me want to host more in the backyard 🙂
It’s bittersweet seeing the end of summer pass. On one hand I feel like this summer flew by and we hardly got to do half the activities/trips we planned due to COVID, and at the same time I feel like things are starting to feel more normal in SF and the back-half of the year could be the best yet. Overall, things are looking up 🙂
I Run Like A Girl 