lazy boating

When my parents got married forty years ago, they moved into a houseboat on the Potamac after their honeymoon. So when they came to visit recently, they decided to reprise their first home, and they rented a houseboat for the week in Sausalito. Thank goodness for anniversaries that benefit all of us, hey? The whole clan was there for evening cocktails on the Lito deck, long al fresco meals, sunset boat rides. Even my five-year-old niece’s first attempt at roller-skating.

This was the lazy boating life people. No manning any mains or sails. Just manning the bar.

oh virginia

image from etsy's dearpumpernickelJust back from a long weekend at the barn with my two sisters to celebrate my parent’s 40^th wedding anniversary. When I walked out of the airport, it was 80 degrees and pouring that warm spring rain that smells so good. It almost felt like my cells recognized it.

I know that sounds woo-woo, but I think once that weather is in your bones, it’s there forever. Back soon with more details.

eat your heart out, gilligan

My parents were just in town, and one of the many great things we got up to was a mystery trip to Forbes Island, a restaurant floating just beyond the docks of Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s a wacky spot accessible only by ferry – usually captained by Forbes Thor Kiddoo himself.

This restaurant-island used to be Forbes' houseboat, across the bay in Sausalito. After some wild-sounding parties in the 1980's and an appearance in Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, Forbes drove it over to San Francisco and re-opened it as an underwater restaurant.

Behind the bar, with stained glass portholes at his back, Pierre makes a terrific pre-dinner drink. Then between courses, you can take your cocktail up to the top of the island’s lighthouse for chilly but wide-open views of the city, and back down to the island, complete with white sand beaches and palm trees.

Apparently, this is the only privately-built lighthouse in the country. Its lens was built in 1820 and is on loan from the US Lighthouse Society – who are also looking to give this other floating lighthouse away to a good home. What generous folks.

Back in the underwater dining room, the walls slope inward and are covered with all kinds of sea-faring oil paintings and artifacts. And there’s even a full bed in the ladies’ room if it turns out that your sea legs aren’t so sea-worthy.

treasure hunts

One quick addendum to the previous post, that I just got in the mail this weekend. When we were little, my family had treasure hunts all the time – like my seventh birthday, when my very last clue was the tool shed, where I found my brand new, little black puppy swaddled in an old green blanket in the corner.

In digging through some old stuff at the barn, my mom just uncovered a clue for a Mother’s Day treasure hunt that we created for her when I was eleven years old (I’m sure with lots of help from our dad). I had forgotten all about this until she sent us a copy of the clue, which was an ad in the Mother's Day classifieds.

Talk about tugging at my newspaper-and-treasure-hunt-loving heart. I want to make one right now. Who’s with me?

Update: Hello there, readers from The Happiness Project! It was such an honor for my blog to be featured there. My sisters still keep up the tradition, and I'm so glad to hear that many of you might revisit the cherished treasure hunt tradition! xoKelly

homemade hopscotch and more

When the rains breaks, there is nothing as good as hopping a train to the beach with both my sisters and niece and nephew to etch out a hopscotch court in the sand and marvel at my little niece’s pick for beach footwear.

After getting our shoes sandy and breathing in big lungfuls of salty air, we stepped out of the chill for bone-warming hot chocolate at the serene and lovely Trouble Coffee, followed by a slow wander through General Store – a new shop with great light and plain wood shelves artfully filled with a bang-on, perfect collection of everything from postcard sets to succulents to porcelain cans and vintage Irish sweaters. (click here for a great peek and review)

Thanks to Sunset magazine for the tip-off about the outer Sunset gems. So worth the train ride. Especially because my niece requested that we sing Christmas carols on the ride home, for no apparent reason other than to make us all smile, along with lots of our confused, but sweetly amused, fellow passengers.