7.6.16
Welcome back from your weekend of independence! Whether you grilled out or sat atop your yachts, having the 4th on a Monday definitely made for a nice long weekend. I flew across the country to hear my sweet, sweet husband, Phil, play with his band at a few venues in the San Francisco area. This past weekend was magical in a new way. Of course LA and Mexico were wonderful because we went for great reasons and we were together, but on this trip there was a specific purpose. And that purpose was to watch my husband do what he loves most, play killer music. By killer I mean great folk, singer/songwriter tunes. Spending days in a row dedicated to your passion is THE dream, and seeing your significant other be able to do it makes your heart grow three times as big.
If you want to skip way down the post, there’s a recipe for Gin & Tonic Popsicles with some lychee berries inside, no hard feelings. But if you want to see some fun SF pictures. Continue on!
We stayed at Phil’s bassist’s family’s house (got it??). They lived in the same neighborhood as the front shot of the Full House house, AND the Mrs. Doubtfire house. It would be a crime not to see it, gotta check all the boxes.
I just think of Sally Field saying, “The whole time?!” about 50 times. There was also a fan-made memorial for Robin Williams in front of the house.
We made our way to Muir Woods & Beach and poked around the twisted roads and trees.
It felt more like the fall in Scotland than a beach in California. The eerie fog and chilly winds made a jacket necessary at all times. The hills and houses were like the backdrop to a movie.
We ran to the Golden Gate Bridge, ate dungeness crab at the Fisherman’s Warf, found the Walt Disney Family Museum, and had the best dim sum of your life at Yank Sin. We ate and explored our way through San Francisco the best we could for 48 hours.
But the whole reason we were there was to hear some music! Phil + the Astronauts and The Hollows, really made me proud. The Hollows asked Phil to open for them in SF a while ago and how could we refuse a trip to somewhere new?? The first venue was Neck of the Woods where there was a photo booth…….and as the technology gods were smiling on us, there was a glitch and it was FREE. So my friends and I took WAY too many pictures together.
Oh and my sister even came up from LA to spend the weekend with us!
The second venue was up in Petaluma, about 45 minutes north of San Francisco. With it being a holiday weekend, we were nervous about finding a place to stay last minute, but Google worked us out with finding a fabulous French boutique hotel. All of us were bummed we were only staying there one night.
As we prepared to make our way to the venue, I snapped a few pictures of my friends, because they’re very attractive.
And right outside the second venue, The Big Easy, was a pie shop. I helped myself to a mini lime pie which was just delightful.
And finally, it was time for music. And these guys know how to rock.
There was a lot of dancing, a lot of beer, and a lot of love in that room. While The Hollows would leave that evening continuing on their US tour, we sadly had to pack up and make our way back to the east coast. It all went by too soon.
It was a perfect summer weekend, filled with friends, music, and adventure. What could be more summer than that? Well, popsicles.
I’m still messing with making up popsicle combinations, and I kept it simple for the first go round: Gin and Tonic Popsicles to cool you down after you come home from work. I stuck some lychees in there for good measure. 
Thanks for sticking with me through this epic post!!!! Click on the links to both bands for more info!!
Gin & Tonic Popsicles
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups tonic
- 1/4 cup gin
- 3 oz mint simple syrup
- juice from 2 1/2 limes
- 3-4 lychees peels, pitted and roughly chopped
Instructions
- *To make lime simple syrup heat 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Place mint leaves into saucepan and allow to steep for about 2 hours. Pour into squeeze bottle to dispense easily*
- Whisk together all ingredients except lychees and pour into popsicle mold, snap in plastic sticks if using
- After 2 hours, push pieces of lychee into popsicle, if using wooden sticks, push those in now
- Allow to freeze overnight before enjoying
P.S.
*This can all be adjusted to taste, but don’t make it too boozy because then it won’t freeze
