by NYCGirl
on March 3, 2013
One of the greatest things about living in Marin is that it is perfectly situated so that within a few short hours you can be most anywhere worth going. This Saturday, we headed out early and about two hours later were in Monterey. Here’s what our 24 hours there looked like:
We checked into the Intercontinental, The Clement Monterey located on historic Cannery Row. After a quick lunch at the “C-Restaurant” we headed to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The aquarium alone is worth the trip to Monterey as it is one of the best in the country. It is located at the end of Cannery Row at the site of the former Hovden Cannery, the largest cannery and the last one to close after the sardine fishery collapsed. It has so many interesting exhibits and we spent most of the day exploring them. We especially loved “The Jellies Experience” exhibit (so graceful and ethereal) and the “Open Sea” exhibit (for the hammerhead sharks, obviously). After the aquarium, we headed out onto Cannery Row to check out the shops. Cannery Row, named after John Steinbeck’s novel of the same name, is the water front district on Monterey Bay and site of several now defunct sardine canning factories which have been remodeled and are currently home to art galleries, shops and restaurants. Although Cannery Row wasn’t my thing (it had the touristy-vibe of Times Square which in my opinion is to be avoided) we still had a good time walking around and taking in the beautiful ocean views. We ducked into the Nestle Toll House Cafe to get the kids ice cream cones as big as their faces, then went back to the hotel for pre-dinner cocktails on the patio. For dinner, we skipped the busier, more crowded restaurants in Cannery Row and headed several blocks away to Vivolo’s Chowder House. It was low-key and the seafood was fantastic. After a short walk back to the hotel, we had a nightcap beside the fire pits and listened to the waves while the kids ran around on the patio and had a great time. Although we planned on taking a leisurely drive up the coast to Carmel-by-the-Sea and Pebble Beach, Sid got sick so we hightailed it out of there first thing Sunday morning. Despite the vomit, all in all it was a fun and relaxing 24-hours in Monterey.
{ }
by NYCGirl
on December 2, 2013
I have what may be viewed by some as an irrational, exuberant, over the top love of stairs. It began when a friend introduced me to the stairs on Magnolia Street in Larkspur. I climbed them each morning for months then moved on to the six hundred plus stairs at the foot of the Dipsea [...]
by NYCGirl
on June 15, 2013
Women of Marin, put down that logo handbag! You buy your organic dairy from grass-fed cows lovingly raised on a nearby farm. You scour the farmer’s market for produce picked mere hours before being sold at the stand. When you do actually eat carbohydrates, you buy locally prepared artisanal bread and pasta. The fact is, [...]
by NYCGirl
on May 30, 2013
If you stop by the Off the Grid Picnic at the Presidio, be sure to come hungry. Every Sunday between March through October from 11-4 the Main Post Lawn is lined with vendors from some of San Francisco’s best restaurants, farmer’s markets and retail shops. They even have games for the kids and, my favorite, [...]
by NYCGirl
on May 26, 2013
From May 22, 2013 through May 26, 2014 visitors to Crissy Field can enjoy a public art installation by artist Mark di Suvero courtesy of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The installation is composed of eight impressive sculptures spanning up to fifty feet high and forty feet wide. Crissy Field, with its spectacular [...]
by NYCGirl
on April 30, 2013
When AmberLee Fawson, a self-proclaimed hot chocolate addict created a recipe for hot chocolate on a stick and posted it to her (insanely popular) blog four years ago it quickly became one of her most popular posts. She received so many requests to make it available for purchase that she soon realized she had hit [...]
by NYCGirl
on April 2, 2013
Shirley Tsung-Crowley did not start out designing jewelry. In fact, after getting her degree in biotech and microbiology she worked for ten years in the pharmaceutical industry. Though she always loved science, her passion remained with the arts and, inspired by a hand-made necklace given to her by a friend, Tsung-Crowley tried her hand at [...]
by NYCGirl
on February 7, 2013
Since becoming a mother I have given up many things: free time, sleep, my dignity. But I absolutely refuse to give up my sense of style. When my friend, Mike, learned that I was moving to Marin he warned me, “You won’t be able to wear any of your clothes there. They don’t dress in [...]
