Tag Archives: golden gate bridge

A Celebration of Life.

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My dad passed away very recently after a 9 year long battle with liver cancer. I miss him every day but cherish the memories and laughter that I had with him for the past 32 years. This past weekend my family and I boarded a schooner and sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge to scatter his ashes alongside San Francisco, the city that he loved so much. It was a beautiful day filled with crisp air, an adventure that he would have loved, and a wonderful family. It was a day I will remember for the rest of my life and a trip that he wanted us to take to see the city and bridge as he saw it- magical and one of a kind. Here are some photos of the journey we took, I thought I would share them with you because it was such an amazing ride that I feel so honored to have taken.

IMG_0004_2(SF Bay Adventures was kind enough to let us use the magnificent Frida B for the afternoon)

IMG_0013_2(Alcatraz and the city in the distance)

IMG_0016_2(Approaching the bridge)

IMG_0024_2(The fog rolling over the trees)

IMG_0034_2(The fog came in as we were heading back to Sausalito)

IMG_0036_2(We toasted him under the bridge)

IMG_0053_2(A view I never tire of seeing, the fog over Sausalito. It doesn’t get much better than this)

Nick took a lapsed video of the fog hitting Sausalito. This was our day, it was everything that makes the Bay Area perfect and every day I feel so lucky to live here. I know my dad left this world but I feel him all around me, all I have to do is look at the bay and I know he is there.

Cycle Touring.

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I’ve always wanted to ride a bike across the Golden Gate Bridge, so when I realized a handful of my other friends had the same desire we pulled a group together and rented some bikes for a self guided tour of the North Bay.  We rented our bikes from Sports Basement in the Presidio since it’s the closest to the bridge.  You can also rent at Pier 39 if you’d like.

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Of course we stopped to take a few photos 🙂  This is the full biker gang.

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Girls of the biker gang.

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After riding over the bridge, we made our first stop in Sausalito at Bar Bocce for some snacks and an ice cold beer.

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Camping out on the water.

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Sheena at Bar Bocce!

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We made it to stop number 1!

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After some rest and snacks, we hopped back on the bikes to head to Tiburon.

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The bike paths are beautiful in the north bay!

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Just riding through.

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We cruised around Tiburon for a while before catching the very windy Ferry back to the city (Pier 39).

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The sun was starting to set as we took the ferry back to the city and it was gorgeous.

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Riding bikes through the pier was fun to check out the performances.  This guy and all of his sound inventions were awesome!

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Riding along the bike path back to Sports Basement was beautiful.  We rented the bikes for the day so we just needed to make sure we returned them before they closed.

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The total loop was about 17-20 miles.  There were some little hills and that not so little hill up to get on the bridge but every hill rewarded us with a spectacular view of some kind.

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We felt pretty accomplished after our ride so we stopped for a sunset jumping photo :).

This is a great, active and outdoorsy thing to do on a perfect weather day in San Francisco!

Marin Headlands.

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Rob and I spent one Friday evening in the Marin headlands just wandering through all the beauty it has to offer.  It was a gorgeous night as people were fleeing the bay area and we took full advantage of a desolate staycation.  In this situation, we claimed the mountains as ours and just soaked it all in.

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Follow me here.

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Ocean breeze.

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Rob snapping photos with my dad’s vintage film canon camera.

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Can you spy?

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Summer nights, le sigh.

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Tunnel back to the other side.

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It was a perfect night!

SF Secret Spot.

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I love to explore and when I moved to San Francisco, I had an entirely new map to discover.  Anytime I see a place that looks out of the norm for it’s area, like this mound in the middle of a neighborhood, I go check it out.  I couldn’t tell you what this place is called but it was a great place to take a moment and look around.

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Winding Up.

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Or you can take the stairs.

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The bench even has a “B” on it for Brittany.

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IMG_8341There she is, that beautiful Golden Gate Bridge.

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Many more “Secret Spot” editions to come from San Francisco!

Freaky Friday.

IMG_3901OK, it’s not actually freaky but thank god it’s Friday.  It was supposed to be a short week, how did it seem so long?  Anyway, Chels and I went up to Marin on Sunday to have dinner with her family.  We had such a good time!  I snapped a few photos on our way North because the weather was just too perfect.

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IMG_3906Happy Friday!

San Francisco Love

IMG_5141Since I am taking off in just a few short weeks for Europe, I’ve been thinking about how much I really do love San Francisco.  It’s such a beautiful city.  I constantly find myself photographing it and even spending time photographing one specific place.  One day, a while back, my friend Marc and I went photo adventuring near the Golden Gate Bridge.  He’s an extremely talented photographer and a lot of fun to practice shooting with.

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IMG_4530(Marc and I practicing portrait photography)

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IMG_4548(Marc shooting some up close and personals with this bird.  Not a bad setting.)

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IMG_4486(Marc)

I will never get tired of photographing San Francisco!  It’s an incredible city with some of the most breathtaking views.  I’ll keep the blog updated with my take on other countries as well of course but I wanted to take a minute and share my love for one of the greatest cities in the world.  Happy Thursday everyone!

Just A Few Angels On An Island

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Since the weather has been so beautiful in San Francisco, my friends and I decided to check out Angel Island.  I had never been and my friend, Shannon, had so she knew it was worth the adventure.  You have to take a Ferry there which was actually a lot of fun!  We took the Ferry from Tiburon which is such a beautiful area so we decided to have lunch there first.  After we got to the island, it was beautiful sights for miles.

IMG_7240(Catching the Ferry)

IMG_7241(Lots of sail boats enjoying the sun)

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IMG_7250(I loved these little boats)

IMG_7256(The Golden Gate Bridge looked beautiful as always.  Such a different view of it from Angel Island!)

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IMG_7262(The Ferry leaving Tiburon)

IMG_7267(Hiking around beautiful Angel Island)

IMG_7273(There are a bunch of different camp sites you can stay at)

IMG_7278(Wish I knew who these people were to give them this photo! So cute)

IMG_7289(A bird and a bridge)

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IMG_7299(My other friend Chelsea and Shannon)

IMG_7306(The views are incredible)

IMG_7311(Birds eye view)

IMG_7314(the colors are un-beatable)

IMG_7318(They have these amazing little benches everywhere to have lunch or just enjoy the views)

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IMG_7323(I love this photo of them)

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IMG_7333(Picturesque)

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I definitely recommend this fun adventure to anyone.  There is a walking loop, a biking loop, and so much more.  They even have a little cafe and place to rent bikes right by where the ferry drops you off.  It was even a great place for families because right where you get off the ferry is a large lawn with picnic tables and plenty of space for kids to play.  We walked a lot of the loop that wraps around the island which was great for exercise, fun, and picture taking.

We hope you have a great weekend, Happy Friday!

Solo Yolo

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On my last solo lunch before Chelsea returned, I decided I’d hike up the hill to the magnificent Coit Tower – YOLO!  We often hike up there on our lunches because the views are ridiculously beautiful and it’s fun to check out all the amazing homes that are nestled in the hillside along the crooked walking paths.  We’ve been up to Coit Tower many times but had never gone inside the tower and up to the top.  It was a beautiful day when I walked up there, so I thought what the hell.  I’m going to buy the ticket and take the janky, old elevator to the top to see what’s up there.  You have to pay to go and we always thought, what’s the point?  We know of so many great free look outs.  But now I know the point.  And I recommend it to everyone, tourist or not.

photo 5 (2)(Down there is where we usually eat when we are “minion” status)

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photo 2 (4)(I love arch-ways and looking out over the city)

photo 2 (5)(The windows have clear covered window panes on them so that you can’t throw things out the window at innocent people BUT you can slide things through between the wall and window pane to leave a lucky coin or apparently business cards are hot)

photo 1 (5)(360 degree views if you go to each window)

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photo 5 (3)(It’s completely open at the top.  Best sunroof ever)

photo 4 (3)(A lovely view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the base of Coit Tower)

photo 3 (3)(And on the other side of the base of Coit Tower is a magnificent view of downtown, the Bay Bridge, and some fabulous rooftop hang outs)

photo 2 (3)You know this city is incredible.  The more I explore and act like I’m visiting, the more treasures I tend to find.

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I will have to say though, I’ve missed my Frover and I’m so happy she’s back.  We are already working on our next blideo and somehow we’ve suckered some key players into the mix.  I.F.F people!  Enjoy your weekend.

Why Do Guys Like Crazies?!

We started noticing an undeniable trend- men we knew had a long history of dating crazy people. Maybe we had a bit of that same past too and wanted to see if there was any reasoning behind it all. We decided to create our first Blideo* (Blog+Video) which is not to be confused with a Vlog (Video+Blog) because they’re totally different. Take a look because our evidence is just f@#%ing all over the place.

*Blideo naming rights, credit, and royalties belong to one Rabbit.

Oh the Treasures you can find on the Island by the City

Treasure Island really is a beautiful place with amazing views of the San Francisco skyline that we love so much.  I was offered the chance to shoot some photos and video at the annual Treasure Island Music Festival for B-Sides TV on Sunday (it’s a two day event).  There were so many bands that really surprised me with beautiful sounds and peaceful performances which made for a nice Sunday.  It’s always nice getting to shoot photos at a day festival because the lighting is great and everyone is in good spirits.

(Not only was there great music but also beautiful art displays)

(These larger than life mirrored eggs were awesome!)

(One of my personal favorites of the day)

(I loved her style.  This band is a brother/sister duo that had the entire crowd moving)

(With alternating stages, no act played at the same time as another and things transitioned really well back and forth)

(Ty Segall has an awesome hair flip)

(Joanna Newsom was definitely a crowd favorite.  She slowed things down with her harp and piano)

(The crowd really started to build up)

(This was a cute vendor)

(Los Campesinos! had a large following of fans and a large amount of band members!)

(The views never disappointed)

(You can see one of the two main the stages to the right and the infamous Ferris Wheel)

(This was my first festival Ferris Wheel and we couldn’t have picked a better time with the sun dropping behind the city.  It was beautiful)

(The Golden Gate Bridge was glowing)

(An overhead Ferris Wheel shot of the two main stages)

(That beautiful San Francisco skyline)

(M83 were amazing as always.  They are so wonderful live, I recommend them to everyone)

(They were so grateful to be playing the Treasure Island music festival and they gave us an amazing show)

(Gossip was the second to last act and this girl has got a voice.)

(Closing out the entire festival was the XX.  I didn’t know how I would like them but they sounded phenomenal.  Really, really great sounding)

This is an annual festival that happens on Treasure Island which I love because it’s smaller than Coachella and the stages are easily accessible.  Also, you can buy separate day passes so you don’t have to attend all weekend if you don’t want to.  It’s a great festival to bring your friends to and just enjoy the music while soaking in the beautiful city scape.