Dahlia's at the Conservatory

We also walked up to the Conservatory and admired the gorgeous dahlias.

Academy of Science

View of the Academy of Science from the DeYoung Tower
We took Kevin's parents to the California Academy of Science. Unfortunately it was the 2nd weekend since the opening so it was super crowded. Below, the dead-looking albino alligator.

We only checked out the aquarium, the penguin exhibit and the rooftop. The planetarium and rain forest exhibit had unbearable lines.

Michigan beats the Badgers

A couple friends came over to watch the U of M vs Wisconsin game. Beating us 19-0 at the half, Wisconsin seemed likely to win. But the game shifted and Michigan pulled it off beating them 27-25. At least Kevin could drown his sorrows in the Essen Haus bier boot I got him for his birthday.

Chihuly Exhibit at the DeYoung

I tried to go last weekend and was stunned to see the sold-out sign. In front of me was a family with 2 kids and stroller who definitely exerted a lot more energy to get there only to find out it was sold out. Anyway, since 9pm was the only time I could get tickets for Friday, I made it a date night and Kevin and I went out to Pacific Catch and then the museum.

There was definitely a lot of variety of really cool and visually overwhelming glass work. Various pics:

Treasure Island Music Festival

What a completely different feel from Outsidelands! No crowds, no lines (for expensive beer and wine), sunshine and great music. I really, really liked this music festival. They also had a bunch of artsy booths, silk screening and even free haircuts. We saw Tokyo Police Club, Dr. Dog, Vampire Weekend, Spiritualized, Tegan and Sarah and the Raconteurs.

Champagne and Cheese in the Park

It was cheese week at the CHOW office and I got to bring home about 10 slices of different kinds of cheese. Mandy and I had planned to do something that weekend so we packed up cheese, bread, crackers and some champagne of course. It was overcast near my apartment so we headed East with Yari until we found a patch of sunshine near the 9th and Judah area.

Yari enjoying a champagne cork

We stopped at a pet store on the way home and Yari selected this one by himself. He even carried it all the way home!

Kevin's Birthday in Sonoma

September 5 was Kevin's 35th birthday. To celebrate we took Friday off and went camping in wine country. Since we were taking Yari I did some research and surprisingly found several dog-friendly wineries in the towns of Kenwood and Glen Ellen in Sonoma.


The Larson Family winery's labs welcomed Yari and us. We were able to take Yari into the tasting room where we tried some wine and watched Yari try to play with 3 big labs, each a different color.

Our activities definitely centered around Yari and we took him to a couple off-leash dog parks. As we suspected Yari is fearless and tried to get 175 and 130 pound great danes to play.

Our campsite at Sugarloaf. Finding a shady spot was key for the sunny, hot, hot weather.

On the return trip across the Golden Gate bridge it was so foggy we couldn't even see the bridge spans. Although it was a little depressing to see the city shrouded in fog, it was a welcome shock after the 90-100 degree weather in Sonoma.