A Tale of 2 California Cities

Spent a couple of days both in Los Angeles and San Francisco this past week. Both for conferences. I go to both cities at least one a year so I have my favorites every time I visit. Of course, I also have to find time to fit in a fitness activity while I'm there. It's not hard in LA where sunshine and warm weather is plentiful.

Pro Beach Volleyball Tourney at Manhattan Beach

August in LA is not as hot as August in the east coast. It was pretty windy (chilly at night) and cloudy from the marine cover during out time there. Hubs and I rented bikes in Santa Monica and did a 10 mile leisurely bike ride to Venice beach and back. Although it was cloudy, I still got super dark from not wearing sunblock (duh!) The next day was a 4.5 mile run day along Manhattan Beach to Hermosa Beach and back. The sun was out and while running, hubs watched the Jose Cuervo Pro Beach Volleyball competiton. Alas, no Olympians to be found on day 1 of the competition. Lots of tanned, lean and tall volleyball players though.

What a difference a few hours north though. San Francisco in August is chilly and windy. Spent the day walking around the city (Union Square, Market, Embarcadero, etc.) and I finally understood the whole micro-climate thing. Each part of the city feels different temperature-wise. I am taking off and putting on my jacket (Lululemon in stride jacket) constantly. Eating in San Francisco though is top notch. I've been dying to try Senor Sisig food truck for awhile so I glad that I was able to go to where they were located for the day. Senor Sisig is a Filipino fusion food truck that was voted Best Food Truck in SF Weekly. Line was crazy long but nothing I haven't seen yet here in WDC. Dinner was at one of my favorite places, Slanted Door, a Vietnamese- fusion restaurant that uses organic produce and ecologically produced meats. The menu is not long but everything I have tried so far have been crazy good. Their drinks are top-notch too. Other places I ate at was Fog Harbor Fish House on Pier 39. Picked it because I was really jonesing for garlic roasted dungeness crab. It was good and our server was very good too. But I still prefer the crab at Crustacean from my last trip. Also had a drink with friends at Clock Bar at the Westin St. Francis, one of the many Michael Mina establishments in the city. Alas I had to return home while the hubs stayed longer for the rest of his conference.

Last review - SFO Terminal 2 is rocking awesome by the way. United was always in an older, crummy terminal with one 1 food choice. But since I flew Virgin at this trip, I got the chance to be at Terminal 2. Lots of organic and sustainable food vendors. Obviously not cheap but I was pleased to buy an organic strawberry cream cupcake from Kara's Cupcake which was available from Napa Farms Market there. Nothing cheers me up like a lovely pink box of cupcake deliciousness!

Organic Strawberry Cream from Kara's Cupcake website