Heron's Head Park

Today, we went to a new park/trail with Evie called Heron's Head Park. The park is in the southern/waterfront of SF down near the Bayview/Hunter's Point neighborhoods. 

 When we got out of the car, there was an big patch of grass and Evie went buckwild running. Erik caught some great pictures of her running around.

 Here she comes.........

 We learned some interesting history about this area:
Heron's Head Park was born in the early 1970s, when the Port began filling the bay to construct what was to be the Pier 98 shipping terminal. The terminal construction never materialized, and the peninsula remained undeveloped. Over years of settlement and exposure to the tides, a salt marsh emerged, attracting shorebirds, waterfowl and aquatic wildlife. In the late 1990s, with funding from the City and County of San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the Port, the California Coastal Conservancy and the San Francisco Bay Trail Project, the Port undertook a major renovation of Pier 98. The project enhanced and expanded the marsh by removing over 5,000 tons of concrete, asphalt, metal and other debris, created a tidal channel to improve circulation, and constructed upland trails, picnic and bird-viewing areas and a fishing pier. In 1999, the former Pier 98 officially reopened to the public as Heron's Head Park, named for its resemblance – when viewed from the air – to one of its residents: the Great Blue Heron. Heron's Head Park is now used for education and recreation by thousands of walkers, bird-watchers, students, and visitors from around the City and the Greater Bay area, and more than 100 bird species each year.

 Evie was very well behaved on our walk. She was very interested in all of the grass and new smells over any of the people or dogs there. 

 There were some alternate paths to take so we took one to get back to the car. Here's Evie happily trotting along. She was so happy to be there!

 Hmmmm looks like they do some bee keeping here!

 We went back to that main area and Evie ran around like crazy again. She was breathing heavy and sounding like an old car motor, so we knew she was done. haha

Here's a picture of her truly capturing the joy of her romp:

 Family Shot!

It felt great to be out in the sun and fresh air! 

Superbowl Sunday

We woke up on Sunday to the sound of the Kaiser Half Marathon running past our building. We got up to watch the runners pass by before taking Evie out for her morning stroll. 

The Kaiser Half Marathon is an annual race. There is also a 5K race that runners can do. We've never done this race because a)it's expensive - think $40+ just for the 5K and b)you never know what the weather will be like in February. Right now, it's sunny and 60 but some years, it has been 40 and raining in February.

Later in the morning, we stopped by the Farmer's Market. It was busy on a sunny Sunday. Thanks to my new meal planning, I had a list of stuff to buy and picked up a few things at the market. 

We saw one guy selling these funny looking avocados. The skin was very smooth and thin. We got a couple to make guacamole later and even got a free one from the seller!

We took Evie on a new walk to Heron's Head Park but I'll put those pics in a separate post. It was a great walk!

Once again, I went food shopping right before the start of the Superbowl so it wasn't a mad house. We put the game on and I made nachos and guacamole (out of the avocados from the farmers market)

Shredded chicken, pinto beans, cheddar, red peppers, avocado, and tomatoes. Yuummmmm!

No beer drinking, partying over here. I'm STILL stuffed up. Ugh. It comes and goes throughout the day & totally sucks. I guess I just need to ride it out....Back to work tomorrow and will see how long I last. 

Walt Disney Museum

After our run on Saturday, I took Evie out for her run around. I took her right back to the Presidio because it was sunny and she loves going up there. 

 We stopped to see what was in this building and found out it was something cool. 

 Turns out there was a bunch of production companies housed inside

 Evie had fun rolling around and running around like usual

After the Presidio, Erik and I headed down to Hayes Valley for a late lunch. We hit up Patxi's pizza and shared a delicious deep dish pizza. 

After lunch, we finally visited the Walt Disney Family Museum. This museum opened a few years ago and we haven not visited yet. The tickets are pricey - about $20 per person PLUS you have to pay for special exhibits. We scored tickets on Travelzoo for just $10 each so we had to grab them & go. 

 Can you spot Erik, the mouse?

 Hey Walt!

There were NO pictures allowed in the museum and for once, I abided by that rule. The museum taught us all about Walt Disney's life and how he got his start. We learned about how he started as a local cartoonist and started his own illustration company. After a few failures, him and his wife thought up Mickey Mouse and he was off to success from there! 

There were definitely ups and downs after different productions of movies. It took a long time to produce Bambi which caused other film delays. WWII took away a lot of his illustrators and producers as they were drafted into the war. 

Walt died at the young age of 65. 

He had two daughters and one of them, Diane, is still active in the Bay Area. Her and her husband own Silverado Winery up in Napa. She is 79. 

View from the museum window. Beautiful Day! So glad we got to visit the museum.

After our big day, it was time to crash and try to rest this cold off. Ugh the amount of tissues I have used over the past three days is astronomical. Fingers crossed I feel better by Monday. 

Team In Training Saturday

Saturday started off with our first Saturday team run for TEAM IN TRAINING Summer Season. Woohoo! Erik ran but unfortunately, I did not. I am STILL so stuffed up & can barely breathe. It really sucks. I still went though to meet some team members and be with the group. 

 We met in our favorite spot in the Presidio, Main Post. Evie and I come here quite often!

 The Team Manager and Coaches gave everyone some updates about the season and the run for the day...

 Everyone brought fun snacks to have post-run including these 49ers cupcakes...

Our most important speech of the morning was from one of our fellow Mentors who dedicated the run to her brother, who passed away from a blood cancer. Our Mission Captain Lois, prints out these little photos of the person we are dedicating our run to that day so we can all remember why we are out there running.

It was great meeting other team members and seeing everyone complete their first here. Hoping for a great season!!

Pho Friday

On Friday, I took a legit sick day from work. Felt horrible and so stuffed up all day. Glad this is just a cold though and not the flu. We obviously stayed in on Friday night. We both wanted a big bowl of Pho but didn't want to leave the house. 

We looked on Grub Hub for Pho and just found one place called Americana Vietnamese and Italian Restaurant. Haha. They had Pho, Vietnamese rolls, and then eggplant parm sandwiches. The reviews were decent so we went for it. 

Wasn't the best we've had, but it was good! I put a ton of Srrrrrrrriracha on it to help me breathe! 

What's your favorite hot sauce??

Mine is Frank's, hands down. But after trying Cholula (since it's on EVERY table here), I like that one too. Sriracha is also pretty awesome in soup and noodle dishes. 

Happy 7th Birthday, Evie!!!

It's a big day here because our little Evie is turning 7 years old!!!

 Seems like only yesterday I was meeting her at the shelter and bringing her home. Evie came into the shelter around 1 years old, a total mess. No hair, extreme anemia, completely underweight. The girls at the shelter called her "Scabby" and she had to wear a t-shirt because her skin and fur was such a mess from her mange.

Illinois, I think...

While volunteering at PAWS, they asked me to go see the new dog, Evie, because she could use some love. Pretty much from the second I saw Evie, I knew she was supposed to be with me. She was a hot mess, but she was a wiggle butt, squirming around, licking me like crazy.

When she was feeling better enough leave the shelter, I would bring her to my Parents house on the weekends. She was wild. She would run around like crazy. Bark at everything. The poor thing had no idea what a ceiling fan or hair dryer was.

Running in Long Beach, CA

I'm sure everyone thought I was nuts for wanting this wild dog but I knew she needed us. I knew we could give her the life she deserved. Evie has driven(drove? rode?) cross country, been to Tahoe, Long Beach, North Carolina, and of course, her beloved SF.

Nags Head, NC

Evie is a cuddling girl but only with the right people. Loves to play and run and eat dirt until she's exhausted.
We've been through so much with Evie from getting her fur back from mange, recovering from a dog bite, and of course, her recent knee surgery.

We've all heard that "...it takes a village to raise a child." well I think it takes a village to raise Evie ,too. We could not be more grateful for her Grandparents who housed her and took care of her and are always there to help us with Evie. We're grateful for Woofgangs, the best dog camp in the world, for taking Evie in despite her antics with new people and dogs around her. We're grateful for our her Auntie who buys her gifts and loves on her when she visits. We are grateful for all of the friends & family that Evie LOVES, love her back, and look past her tough exterior to see the true baby that she is.

And in closing, we all have learned....

Here's to 7 more great years Miss May!

P.S. I feel like my Grandma who tells me my birth story EVERY year. haha.