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A Quick Get-Away to The Bay Area- What I Wore

We just got back from 3 glorious days in the Bay Area. It was not a spur-of-the-moment trip, but it was a spur-of-the-moment packing job which is very unlike me. I’m usually extremely organized to the point of being too organized. This time I tossed things in a small bag in ten minutes and jumped in the car. Here’s what I wore for 3 days in the Bay Area.

view of san francisco through the golden gate bridge

We left early Friday to get a jump on the weekend traffic. After checking in, we drove up to the lookout above the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s a magnificent spot to watch the city lights come on as the fog rolls through the gate.

man an woman smiling into camera with golden gate bridge behind them

It’s a magical site and always very windy so I knew enough to pack a silk scarf to cover my hair. The stronger the wind, the more my hair breaks so a scarf is always a good idea.

woman standing on bluff above the goldken gate bridge wearign denim jacket and jeans
WEARING –Ā  SILKĀ  SCARFĀ  –Ā  DENIM JACKETĀ  Ā –Ā  Ā STRIPED SHIRT similarĀ  Ā –Ā  JEANSĀ  Ā –Ā  Ā SUNGLASSESĀ  –Ā  similar BELTĀ  –Ā  similar TOTE BAG

I wore denim on denim and was so glad to have the jacket. The Bay Area has natural air conditioning that we don’t get inland and I knew it would get chilly. I’d briefly considered packing a cashmere wrap, but the wind can go right through those so the denim was perfect.

The following day was sunny and warm. We had lunch with my sister-in-law, played several rounds of cards, and wandered around Sausalito.

woman wearing whote jeans and strippped tee in front of flower store
WEARING – STRAW HATĀ  –Ā  HOOP EARRINGSĀ  –Ā  similar STRIPED TEEĀ  Ā –Ā  NO STAIN WHITE JEANSĀ  –Ā  similar BANGLEĀ  –Ā  BRIGHT WHITE WASHABLE SNEAKERS

tea and muffin on chair

After tanking up on tea and pastries at the Firehouse Coffee shop we headed over to Muir Woods.

path in muir woods

There aren’t many tourists this year so the forest is quieter than usual, which to my mind, makes it more breathtaking than ever.

woman standing under muir woods sign wearign straw hat

By the time we got to the forest parking lot, my feet were beginning to swell so I swapped into these metallic sneakers which are the widest ones I own and super comfy. My white jeans got dusty but they’re stain-resistant so I didn’t worry about them. I swapped my tote for this convertible crossbody bag to keep my hands free.

After a few hours, we drove down the coast to Half Moon Bay and had dinner at a small fish restaurant on the dock. The fog was getting very thick at that point so I hauled on my trusty denim jacket and wrapped the scarf at my throat. The Bay Area is made up of micro-climates so you need to pack with layers and be prepared for it to change quickly.

fishing boats at half moon bay

The following morning we just sat on a bluff and watched the waves crash for hours.

woman standing in jeans and blue sweater in front of lawn and hotel at half moon bay
WEARING –Ā  NAVY LINEN CARDIGANĀ  –Ā  HOOP EARRINGSĀ  –Ā  TANK TOPĀ  –Ā  similar BELTĀ  –Ā  BLUE JEANSĀ  –Ā  Ā similar BANGLEĀ  –Ā  METALLIC SNEAKERS

After several hours we drove down to the beach and walked the shoreline. I debated about wearing my metallic sneakers in the sand but they were fine!

woman standing on beach at half moon bay

After several hours we headed over to meet our friends…which was the purpose of this whole trip. Our dinner group has been getting together several times a year for over 30 years. We’ve been through it all together and I could not love them more. These are the kind of friends you can’t replace. Zoom calls are nice but they can’t replace a hug.

 

over fifty blogger jennifer connolly sitting on wall wearing blue cardrigan and blue jeans

This year has been hard on everyone, some more than others. You may remember that my husband was diagnosed with lung cancer last summer and had a lobe of his left lung removed. And he’s far from alone. Lung cancer has touched our group in a profound way.

Our friend Bonnie, whose home we met at, beat her own stage 3B lung cancer in 2004. In the years since she’s become one of the foremost advocates for lung cancer patients and co-founder of the largest lung cancer foundation in the world. Her foundation funds research into drugs to battle this awful disease but her main efforts are to educate patients and give them hope.

She’s written this amazing book, The Living Room, which shares powerful stories ofĀ  22 people who have beaten cancer and are not only surviving, they’re thriving thanks to the array of new treatments and therapies that have changed the face of lung cancer.

The Living Room is also the name of a virtual support group that is live-streamed internationally on the third Tuesday of every month where lung cancer patients find hope and learn that a diagnosis of lung cancer is no longer an automatic death sentence.

Of the 5 families in our dinner group, 4 have been touched by lung cancer. Younger and younger people are being diagnosed every day who never smoked a day in their life so we need to educate ourselves and this book is a perfect place to start. All proceeds from “The Living Room” will go directly to research and patient services.

Has lung cancer touched your life?

 

68 Comments

  1. Muir Woods is one of my favorite spots in CA! Peaceful and magnificent.

  2. God bless your husband and friend with surviving lung cancer. You are so right: we need to reserve judgement that lung cancer is only caused by smoking. Cancer robs so many of their loved ones. I hope your hubby is on the road to a full recovery. Can your husband substitute CT scans for MRIs? One CT scan = radiation of 300+ X-rays!! Itā€™s something to ask his oncologist. Living in Alberta, we too are finally re opening and allowed to dine in, dine on patios, have some more freedoms after 15 months of lock downs. I watch the sports events and people travelling in the USA with jealousy šŸ˜‰ Canada has way fewer cases of COVD per capita compared to USA yet such draconian lock downs here: canā€™t leave the province or your zone. Thank you for sharing Muir Woods! We visited in 2017 and itā€™s such a magical special place!! Got to travel vicariously through you.

  3. Pat Cowan says:

    My husband died of lung cancer at the young age of 62. Unfortunately, he never got to retire, never got to enjoy the success of the life we had made. Never got to meet his youngest granddaughter. He was a great man & we all miss him everyday. Iā€™m so happy to hear there is new research being done.

  4. Linda Henderson says:

    I lost my Father to lung cancer in 1993. I am so glad there are new and better treatments. Really enjoyed your photos of San Fran. Such a special city.

    1. I’m so sorry to hear that, Linda

  5. Kim Vardas says:

    You look fabulous in all of your outfits. Cancer seems to be everywhere! My mom is a 20 year survivor of acute mylogenous leukemia, my husband lost a large chunk of his tongue in 2016 from tongue cancer, my sister in law is a breast cancer survivor and my mother in law had a double mastectomy years ago because of cancer in each breast.

    1. Wow, Kim, your family has really been touched by cancer. I’m so sorry. Sending hugs.

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