5 Things I'm Loving: Oct 2020 Edition
How is it already almost November? I’m shook.
Time seriously flew so fast, that when I was trying to think of things I loved this month…I couldn’t even remember what we did 😂There was a brief heat wave again, but things finally seem to be cooling down. And even though I can’t go home for the holidays, I’m still excited to decorate and do cutesy things to celebrate.
For now, here were the things that kept me going in October.
1 - Golden Gate Park Ferris Wheel
There’s a new attraction in the park these days: the SkyStar Wheel! It’s like a Ferris wheel, but, instead of open-air seats, they have closed-door gondolas. As extra safety precautions, they had marks on the ground for people to line up socially distanced, and they wiped down the gondolas between each group of riders.
We went opening week because there was a deal on tickets, so we purchased ours online beforehand. There was a ticket booth there, so maybe you can show up and buy tickets in person now that the opening week is over? The ride wasn’t super long, but you do get nice views of the city — the highest point of the wheel is taller than the DeYoung’s Hamon Tower.
If you want to copy us, we went around 6pm because I wanted a romantic sunset 😂 Even though we had tickets, it was a pretty long line and we waited about 45 minutes until it was our turn to ride. Luckily, we were able to catch the end of the sunset, and then it was nice to see all the city lights in the dark as we spun around!
2 - Meet Fresh USA
Back when there was that heatwave (seriously, it feels so long ago), I was super excited to go apple picking, but then the farm I wanted to go to ended their U-Pick season literally the weekend before we planned to go! I was super disappointed, but Alan and I ended up doing some errands instead to make it a productive weekend.
It was so, so hot though when we went to Target to return things so we obviously had to get some icy treats to reward ourselves! I hadn’t had Meet Fresh in years — probably the last time was 2018? If you don’t know what it is, it’s a pretty popular Taiwanese dessert chain. We headed over and ended up going with the Icy Grass Jelly special, and it was super satisfying.
Shaved/chopped ice is topped with grass jelly, taro balls, sweet potato balls, and some kind of herbal juice that comes with the jelly. Then you pour some cream on top and dig in! It was seriously so refreshing even though we had to eat it in the car because they didn’t have any outdoor seating. Would highly recommend going there even when it’s not hot out!
3 - Tacos El Patron
Alan and I haven’t eaten out aka done outdoor dining since shelter-in-place in SF started. We just didn’t want to put ourselves at risk, and we didn’t want to put any restaurant workers at risk. Because of that, we’ve mostly just done delivery or takeout, but something we’d both been missing was…fresh tacos! It’s just not the same getting them delivered.
We happened to be in the Mission district to pick up some pints from Garden Creamery, so we stopped by our favorite birria spot along the way: Tacos El Patron. Their tacos are definitely on the pricier side, but we have yet to be disappointed!
The birria is tender and delicious with a super rich consomme to dip those tacos in, and we always add cheese to our tacos for extra flavor and texture.
The other part of my order that is a must are the tripas (intestine) tacos. Sounds gross, but the tripas are so, so good! They cook them up so the meat is tender, but there are also crispy bits from the grill. Pair it with the cilantro, crisp onion, and a splash of lime and you are good to go ✌🏻
NOTE: If you’re in a pinch and craving some birria tacos, they’re actually not that hard to make at home! I’ve made this recipe from IAmaFoodBlog before and the end result was pretty tasty.
4 - Basa Seafood Express
Another classic that I haven’t had in FOREVER: the poke combo from Basa (also in the Mission district). It’s a pretty small, hole in the wall shop, but their food is affordable and delicious!
We grabbed a couple of other rolls with our order, but the poke bowl combo is my #1 recommendation. It comes with a drink and seaweed salad, and it actually is pretty filling unless you feel like you’re really, really hungry. Not much else to say here other than…try this place 😂
5 - Pumpkin Patches and Persimmon Picking
Alan picking some persimmons
I’ve been loving the farmers market as a trip out of the house ever since shelter-in-place started, but now literally anything involving being in nature is a dream for me. Remember when my apple picking dreams were dashed? You can probably imagine how happy I was when my friend Cheryl invited us to go persimmon picking with her!
This year, Gabriel Farm in Sebastopol was offering season passes for anyone interested in U-Picking as a COVID precaution. You buy a pass (which comes with a box of Asian pears), and then you make a reservation for whenever you want to go. Thanks to the fires, the persimmons were a bit ashy (but still in good condition), but it turns out the fires actually messed with their apple season which was kind of sad. Climate change is real, people!
Bonus, there was a super sweet and friendly dog on the farm named Scout that just loved the belly rubs. He really reminded me of Momo when he asked for the extra petting – it was so cute 😭 Peep the video I pulled together with clips from the trip (did I mention I have a YouTube channel now?).
After that, we grabbed some lunch (it was alright so I won’t tell you where), and then we stopped by the Petaluma Pumpkin Patch. It was WILD — there were so many people there but luckily it was a really large space so it didn’t actually feel very cramped.
They had green pumpkins here, which I’ve never seen sold before
They definitely had a huge variety of pumpkins, and there were a bunch of smaller, squash varieties too! Overall, there was also a cute fairground festival vibe to this pumpkin patch because you can visit their corn maze, get a balloon animal, or purchase some lemonade and caramel corn to enjoy while you’re there
If you’re in San Francisco, Alan and I went to Clancy’s Pumpkin Patch to pick up our pumpkins earlier in the month. There are two locations (we went to the one on Sloat), and there were way fewer people at those patches than this one. I think that’s also where we’ll go to get our Christmas tree this year!
Clancy Pumpkin Patch is smaller, but has Hay rides and plenty of pumpkins!
BONUS CONTENT
It feels weird to do any clothes shopping during a pandemic because…I have nowhere to go? But online shopping is my addiction so 🤷🏻♀️
I am a big fan of Old Navy even though their prices have definitely gone up over the years, and I wanted to share my latest purchase that I am truly obsessed with: these mid-rise straight jeans that look more like high waisted jeans because I’m short!
They’re loose, but not so loose that I felt frumpy wearing them. I got a size up from my normal size because I’ve got a lil extra in the lower stomach (more to love, amirite??) but needed a belt to keep these up anyway. It works though because I think the belt actually helps make it look…more fashionable?
Anyway, let me know if you try these and love them as much as I do!
