san francisco day four: the day we sang the full house song
October 2 – Day Three at Hardly Strictly
Playlist for the day:
Dry Branch Fire Squad
Laurie Lewis
Bela Fleck
The Blind Boys of Alabama
Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys
Our last full day in San Francisco was spent eating in french bistros, enjoying some incredible performances at Hardly Strictly and heading to Alamo Square to re-enact our favourite Full House moments. It was amazing to finally see Bela Fleck perform – he was one of the leading experimental banjo players out there and he can play just about anything. The Blind Boys of Alabama were so cool to hear. I am still blown away by the level of talent that performed at the Banjo Stage over the past three days. After we left the festival we explored Chestnut St near our motel and enjoyed some fabulous sushi and more OYSTERS. We stumbled across this hi-tech frozen yogurt & gelato place that was just to die for. Sometimes late at night I still think about that pumpkin gelato….
san francisco day three: the day we got sunburnt
October 1 – Day Two of Hardly Strictly
Playlist for the day:
Allison Brown
Otis Clay & Chick Rodgers
The Legendary Earl Scruggs
Gillian Welch
An amazingly hot day greeted us on our third day in San Francisco. The locals told us it never gets this hot in Golden Gate Park. It’s actually known for its foggy days. We were incredibly lucky this day because we go to see the grandfather of banjo and bluegrass, Earl Scruggs. He is like 96 years old so we didn’t really know what to expect but he is still such a wonderful banjo player. His sons also play in his band (they are getting pretty old too) and they are all such talented musicians. It was a real treat to see someone who was really there right from the beginning.
san francisco day two: the day i squeezed chris isaak’s bicep
September 30 – Day One of Hardly Strictly
Playlist of the Day:
Seldom Scene
David Bromberg Quartet
Del McCoury & the Preservation Hall Jazz Band
*caught a bit of Southern Culture on the Skids
Chris Isaak
What an amazing first day at the festival. It was incredible to see thousands of people at each stage enjoying such fabulous music, sharing picnic blankets and wine, and just living that Friday to the fullest. We mainly hung out the Banjo Stage where some of the most exciting acts were playing. Definitely my highlight of the day was Del McCoury & The Preservation Hall Jazz Band. I actually met some of them this past week at work when they were playing in Calgary and I was taking photos of their tour of Cantos. Very cool.
Our last show of the day was Chris Isaak over at the Star Stage. Byron and I were goofing off, dancing to his songs when all of a sudden he was like RIGHT BESIDE US. He had a wireless mic and a ton of bodyguards and he stood up on someones cooler and sang a bit. Then he walked right past us and I totally squeezed his bicep. Like a creepy fan girl. It was so worth it. As you can see in the photos below, I was not the only woman swooning to the ground that day.
san francisco day one: the day we ate 48 oysters
***Finally getting around to blogging about our fabulous Hardly Strictly vacation in SF. Enjoy! xo
September 29 – Day One of San Fran Pre-Hardly Strictly
The time had come! We were finally going back to San Francisco. This time instead of exploring, eating, and drinking through SoMa and the Mission we would be stationed on Lombard, a bus ride away from Golden Gate Park, where we would be planted for three days straight of amazing music. Our flight was early, so we were at YYC just after 4:30am. I planned ahead and got my hair blown-out the night before so I didn’t have to worry about trying to look good that early in the morning. We had a stopover in Vancouver and witnessed a beautiful sunrise just as we pulled into the runway.
We arrived in SF just after 11am, perfect timing to start our day in the big city. We headed straight for the SFMOMA which was at the top of our list after not being able to visit it last year. It was amazing to see so many paintings that I had studied for years in art school, in person. Incredible. The industrial design exhibit on Braun, was amazing. It has inspired me to keep a look out for some of these everyday items that are so beautiful when you examine the design and the ergonomical uses.
After we had discovered every floor of the SFMOMA and depleted their gift shop of anything cool, we headed to Lombard to find our motel. Yes, our motel. In case you didn’t know, during the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, every hotel, motel, b & b, hostel, rental apts – anything IS SOLD OUT. We were so lucky to find this motel because of its close proximity to the festival but the price tag was nearly unbearable to look at for the type of room we ended up with. I will be booking our room now for next year, thank you very much!
Anyways, we quickly headed in to check in, drop off our stuff, and then took a trolley down to the Ferry Building for the dinner we had been planning for months. The Hog Island Oyster Company at the Ferry Building has a Thursday Happy Hour where oysters are $1.25 each and $5 wine. We had been there on our honeymoon but we totally didn’t stay long enough to take advantage of the deals (oysters make you happy drunk and you just float of the restaurant without knowing it!). So, we ordered 48 raw oysters to share and a couple of glasses of wine and beer. We got sufficiently tipsy and intoxicated for these delicious slimey friends and wandered out of Hog Island. Upon deciding we were STILL hungry we headed to GOTTS at the Marketplace and ordered Pulled Pork Tacos, more beer, and lemonade for me. Yes, we mixed mass amounts of seafood with pulled pork. It just seemed so right. Eventually, we also wandered out of there. Walking along the harbour, we somehow ended up at the San Francisco Hard Rock Cafe for cocktails and were persuaded into buying the souvenir glasses. Finally ending the perfect day ever, we took a cab back to the motel and settled in for some late-night sitcoms before dozing off.
Tomorrow, the first day of Hardly Strictly. Can hardly wait.
‘Like me, please, like me’ (i entered a contest!)
Hi Friends!
I recently entered a contest over at BLO, the sweetest blow-dry place ever. Its quite an amazing place if you haven’t been there before! You get your hair washed and blown-out to any style you want for only $35. More intricate styles cost a bit more but I always go for the Red Carpet look and it is perfect everytime. The best $35 you can spend. Anyways, I entered a contest to win a year of blo-outs and I was chosen as one of the finalists. I would love for you to click over and ‘like’ my picture on their facebook page! I know this is a super vain contest but what can i say? I love getting my hair done! Thanks so much! You can vote here:
time flies
I broke promises of blogging about the past couple of weeks and San Francisco – and well, it just didn’t happen. Its been a busy couple of weeks and any downtime I can get is spent catching up with friends, family, and Coronation Street.
I was recently interviewed by for Unlimited Magazine: Slow Networking: Why You Should Slow Down and Smell the Business Cards
Looking forward to Will You Be My Pal #2 this Friday with some of the coolest gals in Calgary. Let me know if you want to come!
A new DIY on the Swerve website: Have Your Cake Plate and Eat It Too!
happy thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving! This weekend was full of rest, relaxation and lovely traditions. More will be up on the blog this week including some delicious things I made and also our amazing trip to San Francisco!
What did you eat this weekend?