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.
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.
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.
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.
After tanking up on tea and pastries at the Firehouse Coffee shop we headed over to 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.
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.
The following morning we just sat on a bluff and watched the waves crash for hours.
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!
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.
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 of 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?
Muir Woods is one of my favorite spots in CA! Peaceful and magnificent.
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!! It’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 😉 Canada has way fewer cases of COVD per capita compared to USA yet such draconian lock downs here: can’t leave the province or your zone. Thank you for sharing Muir Woods! We visited in 2017 and it’s such a magical special place!! Got to travel vicariously through you.
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. I’m so happy to hear there is new research being done.
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.
I’m so sorry to hear that, Linda
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.
Wow, Kim, your family has really been touched by cancer. I’m so sorry. Sending hugs.
Often attributed to Mark Twain: “the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.”
My husband had kidney cancer, removed in 2020 and now back and spreading, especially to the lungs. Treatment did no good so we have signed up for home hospice care though he has months to live. It’s free and we get a nurse visiting every week, a wonderful hospice doc to talk to, social worker and chaplain if we want them and a fridge full of pain and anxiety meds, including morphine which he has not yet needed. It is a big relief to have a team to navigate these months ahead, We are not alone. I wish people would not wait to the last minute to enroll in home hospice. What a help and what great people. And with meds at the ready if you need them.
I am so very sorry, Maryellen! Hospice was invaluable as we cared for my brother-in-law as he lost his fight with liver cancer. I will keep you both in my prayers.xx
Jennifer, please pass on my regards and a big “Thank you!” to your friend, Bonnie Addario. In 2019, a scan revealed a very small lesion on my lower left lung, and a biopsy confirmed that it was cancer. I had wedge resection to remove it and did not need chemo or radiation. I was never a smoker and never around smokers, but I have always lived in Southern California, so in 70 years I have had my share of bad air quality. Over the years I have always stayed on top of recommended cancer screenings, but lung cancer was not one of them. Had it not been for an aggravating and persistent bout of asthma, I would not have had a scan. After diagnosis, my lung cancer navigator at the Leonard Cancer Center gave me Bonnie’s book “Navigating Lung Cancer 360 Degrees of Hope.” The information was so helpful, encouraging and comforting, it definitely lowered my stress levels. Thank you for mentioning Bonnie’s latest book – I just ordered it!
Oh, PS, I love the style, beauty and health tips in your blog. I’m a long time follower!
I am so grateful your cancer was caught early enough!! I will pass your message on to Bonnie. She is amazing and I could not love her more! XX
It is fun to get away. We are in Breckenridge for all of June meeting up with granddaughter and daughters, their husbands and my brother and wife. it has been over year since we have seen them. Granddaughter and daughter live in UK, and took quite the planning and preparation to get here. The other daughter is in PA school in Denver. FaceTime is great but real time and hugs are the best. Nice weather here. Very hot in Plano , Tx (Dallas)
I know about the sadness and hurt from cancer. My mom died from ovarian at 57 and dad died of lung cancer at 80 from smoking 2 packs a day, He quit too late and loved it
unfortunately. During covid my husband had his prostate removed robotically in time before it had time to spread. We are so thankful. He has done well with this type of surgery. Great doctor in Dallas. We are both 71 vigilant with our tests and screenings.
Prayers for all of you who have cancer or have lost someone from it.
Thanks for showing nice clothes and styles Jennifer.
I’m sorry about your parents, Donna. Your husband is fortunate to have caught his cancer in time. I lost my Dad to prostate cancer which should never happen because it is usually slow-growing cancer.
To everyone who posted, I’m sharing in a separate post what I replied to Barb.
I find the podcast Happier (Gretchen Rubin) helpful and inspiring. It’s broadcast each Wednesday. I decided to go back and start at the beginning, sometimes bingeing 2 or 3 episodes per day.
If you have an iPhone, there’s already a podcast icon on your home screen, making it easy to search 🙂
Thank you for always sharing your adventures! I’ve made note of Muir Woods and Half Moon Bay for the next time we travel northward. The photograph (selfie?) of you and your husband is frame-worthy. And I love the scarf around your hair; dual purpose, protective and flattering 🙂
My mother died from lung cancer in 1987, about 4 months before her 56th birthday. She was a lifelong smoker, as was my dad. I was 25 when she was diagnosed with benign polyps in her throat, which were removed, one side then the other, over successive six-week sessions. She switched from regular Winstons to Winston Lights, which caused a lightening bolt moment for me. I quit smoking, have never smoked since, nor wanted to. Two years later, she was diagnosed with small oat cell cancer, which had metastasized in her chest, a large nodule showing through her skin. Over the next two years, she underwent chemotherapy and radiation. I took off work and went with her to every session I could. In the end, the cancer had moved to her brain, with nothing to be done. Two months before my 30th birthday, I moved into the hospital and stayed by her side, held her hand as she drew her last breath. I spent 10 years not being able to speak about it without my throat closing and crying hard. The next 10 years, I talked some while crying. During the next ten years I slowly came to terms emotionally. It’s been 34 years this year, I’ve lived most of my life without her, always missed having her in my life. She and her granddaughter, born in 1991, never met. We were close, we are close. She’s always and forever in my heart.
I am so very sorry, Christine. Thank you for sharing your very personal, and painful story with us. You were an amazing daughter and your mom was blessed to have you with her. Sending hugs XX
Jennifer, I had to smile at your choice of scarf for your getaway … mine was delivered last week and it’s lovely. Blue& White rocks! I see it is now half price… never mind…still a good purchase.
We have visited SF twice , for a week each time, however we ran out of time to explore Sausalito .
Got to try next time we travel down.
My brother-in -law is one of those unfortunates that present with stage 4 lung cancer at age 49.
Non smoker, not job related . It is showing up more and is very much a challenge, however here in 🇨🇦there is great progress being made with targeted therapy, and it’s working 👍
My thoughts are with those you dearly love having success with the miracles of science.
I’m so sorry to hear about your brother-in-law! We need to hold onto hope as more and more targeted therapies are discovered. We must also do all we can to remove the stigma that lung cancer is always caused by smoking because it’s not!
This is why we must always be kind. We never know what the other person is dealing with. This also says many folks survive or live with various cancers. Don’t count yourself out.
Sending positive thoughts to your family and friends for speedy enduring recoveries.💕 Might I ask the symptoms that prompted your husband to get checked for lung cancer? Thank you.
He had a mild case of pneumonia and when the doctor learned he had smoked for 10 years, she ordered a CT, just to check. Thank goodness we had a conscientious doctor. I need to get one myself also.
Sounds like a wonderful trip. You did great for a 10 minute pack job! My husband was diagnosed with lung cancer in Feb 2021 and had upper left lobe of lung removed. We are fortunate that one of the major hospitals here (Houston) offers lung cancer screening CT scans for $250 making it affordable for most. I made the appointment for us both and he went kicking and screaming. He is so thankful he did as it was caught very very early. He had robotic surgery so the recovery was relatively easy. Will have follow up visits every 6 months for the next few years but no further treatment required at this time. Still a scary situation. I hope your husband is doing well. He looks well!
Wow, that sounds so similar to my husband’s cancer. He is having a 6 month follow-up CT tomorrow and will do so for the foreseeable future. Early detection is so important but continued follow-up CTs are so critical. Sending prayers for your husband’s continued good health.