Some new places/things discovered this Summer:
- the best pie crust recipe ever (shared with us by our friends)
- the coolest mini golf place -- "The Perils of the Lost Jungle" complete with 1960s animantronics that would have been amazing if slightly inebriated
- JIMCHOS (they also have a pretty legit looking prime rib night)
- Asia after Dark nights at Freer Sackler Gallery
- we found XIAO LONG BAO (aka soup dumplings)!!
- my two new favorite pairs of shoes (1 / 2) , worn nonstop all Summer
- Claymore manga/graphic novels
- waffles on a stick (their hot dogs are really tasty too)
- REI garage sales (be prepared to wait in line)
- The Signature Theater (so so cute)
- molcajete guacamole -- ok, so it's not really new, but I just learned this summer that you have to properly season the molcajete
- tubing down the Shenandoah made even better/worse with a cooler full of cold chicken from Bon Chon and a jug of watermelon Mexican Martini (recipe to come in another post)
- Inspiring + tasty vegan food. If only there was a place like this here.
- new favorite hiking trails to Bearfence and Doyles Falls in Shenandoah NP. Both easy, both with a big reward at the end. And of course the ultimate hiking trail -- Panorama Trail in Yosemite.
- boutique camping at Basecamp in Tahoe -- we are going to rip off everything and apply it to our house
- cold pressed ice coffee
- cement block raised garden beds (still a work in progress...)
- we finally found and signed up for a CSA!
- free summer movies at Mosaic
- District Taco-- finally a Mexican restaurant that understands the meaning of the word "spicy"
- This Map -- how is it only $2? I could stare at it forever.
- REAL Late night eats (why is this so hard to find)
- Awesome bike shop (one day I'll get my Brompton)
- A new hippiemart opened in Reno complete with veggie garden growing in front of the store! We are totally sold on living there now (15 yr plan)
- Hand-poured Ritual Coffee for when we are missing SF. (I want to try all the gelato flavors! Everything there is so tiny and a bit $$, but delish).
- "Diane's Dad's Sandwich"-- We were totally addicted to these for a couple weeks. They are surprisingly very filling
- The Wool Series, by Hugh Howey. (You can download part 1 for free on Amazon!)
- The TripIt App -- why didn't we know about this sooner?
I love how most of our discoveries are centered around food, which makes sense. We are pigs.
Some old favorites:
- Camp Curry -- there will always be a special place in my heart for this place
- The Awful Awful Burger. Even better when eaten in the wee hours of the morning. Tip: enter through the alley entrance
- Silver Diner - they use local/organic ingredients and even have a healthy menu!
- Big Meadows Lodge -- totally like staying at Grandma's cabin. Charming, not very modern, and probably not for everyone.
- Sweetgreen - still my fave of the tart fro-yos, although why do they close so early on weekends?
I have a few real summer photos to post, which I'm sure I'll drag out for week after painful week. I still refuse to believe it's September. Even though I usually dread being hot and sticky during the Summer months it was a good Summer. And I'm gonna hold on to it as long as I can.