This week in San Francisco, it’s all about treating yourself, whether it’s your musical side, literary self or nature fans. Check out these highlights from the week:

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1. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival

The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival is this weekend in Golden Gate Park. It’s the 10th anniversary! The Subdudes and Trombone Shorty are on my list. Who’s on yours? Get the schedule and make your plans!

2. Litquake!

Go out on the town and celebrate Litquake’s 11th festival by stopping by the opening night cocktail party tonight at 111 Minna Gallery. It’s free! I know you’re going for the books and not just the cocktails, right?

3. Big Sur Camping

Now that the summer crowds are gone, head to the wild coast of Big Sur and lose all that work stress by camping and hanging out with Mother Nature. Check out this recent San Francisco Chronicle article on the best spots.

Looking for more ideas? Like the UpTake San Francisco Getaway Crew page. Or just check it out…

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We drove out of the Los Angeles area late on a Friday afternoon, leaving behind 93-degree heat and blacktop that warmed your feet through your flip-flops.  Only an hour later, when we pulled into the campground at McGrath State Beach, on the Pacific coast in Ventura, the temperature was a balmy 65.

Ah, beach camping.

We chose McGrath because it was the only nearby beach campground in the state park system that had reservations available during the summer months when we logged on to ReserveAmerica.com, which handles all of the system’s campsites.  I wondered if that was a bad sign, but we decided to forge ahead.  Camping is an adventurous pursuit, after all, and what’s more adventurous than trying a spot we’d never even seen before?  Plus, the pictures online are pretty.  How bad can it be?

Those are famous last words for many people.  In this case, it was only a little bit bad.

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UpTake on Big Basin, California

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend complete with wonderful weather, outdoor fun and perhaps some BBQ-ing. The sun was shining upon us in Northern California and it was time to hike some trails at Big Basin State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

This is California’s oldest State Park and consists of over 18,000 acres of land covered in ancient old growth and recovering redwood forest. Under the canopy of these gigantic conifers there are 80 miles of trail to hike, mountain bike or ride a horse. Big Basin is open all year round and is located only 65 miles south of San Francisco and 25 miles northeast from Santa Cruz. This beautiful park is just a hop, skip and jump from the hustle and bustle to peace, quiet and a break with nature. Grab a map and explore the trails or there are also year round guided walks and scheduled activities.

For those who like to camp, pack up the family and your dog (yes! the park is dog friendly!) and sleep under the redwoods. There is a nominal fee to set up your tent making this a inexpensive weekend getaway. Just imagine sitting around a campfire, roasting marshmallows and staring up at a star filled sky after a day of hiking through lush canyons and splashing in waterfalls. Remember that if you do want to camp that it is best to make a reservation in advance, especially during the summer months.

All of a sudden I have a craving for a s’more!

Happy June everybody! It’s camping time.

Photo courtesy of: ex.libris

North, to Alaska...

I’ve always wanted to visit Alaska. It’s on my list of places I want to drive to. I think the journey would be extraordinary. There are so many sights and sounds to explore on the way to the majestic no man’s land. One place on my list to visit is Totem Bight State Historical park. The park is located on the pan-handle of Alaska in Ketchikan. That’s only about 770 miles from my house. Funny thing is 662 miles of that trip is on a ferry.  I don’t know if i can stay on a ferry that long. Read More »