Author: mrsem

Unfortunately, we had cold and rainy weather the day we visited Denali National Park. It’s the Alaskan interior…it happens. We needed a new plan for our day at the park. First stop, the visitor center where Rob, Amy, Seth and I loaded up on maps, advice from rangers and dioramas. Spotted a sleepy porcupine hiding…

After adorable Talkeetna, we drove up north to spend a day at Denali National Park. Just when we arrived in the evening, the weather turned from clear with a few clouds to ominous gray skies. A big storm was coming! We parked at McKinley RV Park in Healy, the “interior” town between Denali and Fairbanks where the local…

{Note: Alaska has a bounty of many things: trees, moose, smoked meats…but fast and reliable internet is not one of those things. The furthest outposts of Croatia had way better connectivity than the Yukon. Updates may be spotty for the next two weeks} Talkeetna is an adorable mix of mountaineers, hippies and cruise ship passengers…

My relationship with wildlife is 2% enchantment, 98% terror. The prospect of running across a moose, beaver or whale while in Alaska is not personally thrilling, not to even consider bears. We went for our first hike today along Montana Creek outside Willow, armed with bear mace and my low-grade panic. It helps to focus on…

Rob and I flew in to Anchorage on Saturday morning after taking a pre-dawn taxi to San Francisco airport. Seth and Amy landed a few hours later and we were all picked up in an ancient blue van by the RV company. While the others spent that unavoidably long paperwork-signing hour with the RV man,…

Our adventure in Alaska starts tomorrow. We’re meeting our friends in Anchorage to kick off the RV trip. The weather in Alaska in June looks similar to San Francisco, just a little bit colder, a lot rainier and with way more mosquitos. Sweater – A cardigan layer in a light colors. Jacket – A warm…

It’s official: our Hawaiian-themed picnic for South Pacific has been awarded the grand prize! After shamefully taking only second place with our picnic for Music Man in 2012, we regrouped and kept our eye on the prize. Now, let’s see if the streak can continue with next year’s Peter Pan performance. So far, I’ve decided we’ll…

Our 6th year at Mountain Play in Marin and our best picnic yet! The performance this year is one of my favorite musicals: South Pacific by Rodgers & Hammerstein. A perfect chance to produce a spread of polynesian recipes, exotic flowers and tropical fruits.  The Guests 16 people made the trek up 2,500 feet to the…

This was the second time Rob’s nephews have come to visit us in San Francisco! We’ve become experts at finding activities that entertain and don’t embarrass teenage boys. This summer, the boys were 14 and 16 years old. For all these activities, taking the subway, busses, trollies and taxis to get around was an added…

Last week was a whirlwind! Keeping two teenage boys entertained and fed in San Francisco is a full-time job. Isaac loves mini golf and I was surprised to find that a new indoor course opened up in the city when Rob and I were away traveling. First step at Urban Putt is picking your color…