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Saint Frank Coffee, San Francisco

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This time last year, on a whirlwind trip to the states, I flew out to San Francisco to surprise one of my favorite people. For the previous three years or so he’d been conceptualizing a coffee company that would emphasize relationships from the growing of the beans to the presentation of the beverage. And just the week before, Saint Frank opened its doors for the first time.

I’d wanted to make it out to San Francisco since they’d moved there from Texas several years before, but our brief visits stateside never allowed it. But here was this split-second of a chance, so I took it. His wife, Lauren, and I conspired behind Kevin’s back, and I rolled in on a late-October Thursday to congratulate my friend.

The year since has been an amazing one for Saint Frank. They’ve been written up in everything from DWELL to Bon Appetit and repeatedly named in lists of the top coffee shops in the US. So in celebration of this amazing year, I’m going to share why else I love Saint Frank (besides my love for its founder) and (finally) post these photos that have been dying to claw their way out of my computer all year.

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The first day, I sat at a far table along the main bench and watched the steady stream of patrons file through. Some were there to work, some to meet a friend, but all were commenting to one another about the coffee, whether they were comparing it to intelligentsia or rightfully oozing commendations for the alfajores (a to-die-for dulce de leche shortbread sandwich cookie).

If I had to choose one coffee shop for the rest of my life it’d be Saint Frank. Because I could definitely live off their pastries and cappuccino for a while. Until I die of diabetes of course. But it’d be a lovely go until then.

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But Saint Frank’s excellence is not the only reason to love them. The best thing about Saint Frank is that they’re up to great good.

From bean to cup they emphasize relationships, connection, simplicity, and service. In short, they value humanity. They look at everything from the neighborhood to the coffee industry and say, “What could be more lovely here? How can we bring that about?” And not just for the sake of being awesome, but for the sake of the people and communities they serve.

Read more about their story and their farmers, if you’d like. And next time you’re in San Francisco, visit them at their Russian Hill location (on Polk street next to Crunch Fitness). The cappuccino will change your life. And tell Kevin hello for me, will you?

P.S. Isn’t their natural light just the best?

Discover: Meteor Showers

photo by evosia

In a few days, the dude and I will have been married twelve years. I can’t imagine someone more perfectly suited for exactly me, and am so thankful for all the grace and forgiveness he continually extends in my direction. It’s been twelve years, Dude. Thanks for still putting up with all my cuss.

Our anniversary (August 12) falls on the peak day of the annual Perseid meteor shower. For many years this coincided with the dude’s busiest time of year. Fourteen hour work days leave little time for anniversary celebrating. But he’d by out by 10pm, and even such a long work day didn’t prevent us from sneaking out in the middle of the night to see the streaking beauties. We’d drag ourselves out of bed at 3am or so and head out in the the quiet for our corner lot in the country. It wasn’t really ours, of course, but on the morning of August 12th every year, it belonged to us.

Some years, when the moon was nearly full, or the clouds were out, or there just wasn’t much activity, we had only conversation to show for our effort. But other years it was the sky that just wouldn’t shut up.

That’s how it is with meteor showers. Some nights tragic. Some nights magic.

On one particular occasion (not during the Perseids), the sky exploded. We decided to time it because the whole thing seemed too incredible. And in five minutes we saw over eighty shooting stars. Eighty. Can you imagine what the ancients would have thought? Then I read about the Great Leonid Meteor Storm of 1966 and I’m pretty sure that if I ever see such a thing – and I hope to – I’ll think it’s the end.

Tomorrow I’m going to post all kinds of specifics for getting out to see the Perseids this weekend. Until then, here are some Meteor Shower basics for anyone new to the theater. This is long, I know. So just skip to the parts that interest you. Or to the end. Or to the Olympics. Whatevs.

What is a meteor shower anyway?

Experientially, a meteor shower is a night-time event where, under the right conditions, you can see lots of shooting stars.

Technically, a meteor shower happens when earth’s atmosphere comes across a field of cosmic debris, usually stuff spun-off from comets. I’m no scientist, so I’ll leave it to others to do the ‘splaining. This page here explains it pretty well and speaks like an earthling. (You wouldn’t believe what kind of kooky language I encountered finding that for ya.)

So when do meteor showers happen? How do you find out about them?

[Read more…]

3 Ways to Stay: Travel Lodging Alternatives

Travel LodgingThis week I have travel on the mind again. The death of a loved one is coming soon, and so is my departure to the states.

This wasn’t a total surprise, but the timing of the matter resulted in the shuffling of other plans, and now I’m in that oh-my-gosh-there-is-so-much-to-be-done state that precedes traveling suddenly. So, it looks like more travel bits for you this week. Thanks for your patience with that; you have my word this won’t turn into a travel blog.

Last week’s Tips for Traveling on a Budget included some resources for lodging, transportation, food, and activities. Today I’m sharing three (more) resources for lodging. These may not fit your needs for one reason or another, but by knowing about them, you can consider them as options when the time is right. Or at least pass along the info to someone else. They’ll thank you for it.

1) Hostels

A classic choice for the student crowd, but many now offer single and double rooms as well. We have used Lonely Planet Guidebook recommendations and been consistently happy with the results. Nowadays you can also use Hostels.com, which has over 36,000 hostels listed from all around the world.

2) Rent Apartments or Homes by the Week

Renting by the week can offer serious discounts while providing you with a fully-furnished place all to yourself. There are many sites that offer rentals by the week (like airbnb that I mentioned last week), but this one comes recommended from a friend who has used them in the past: Vacation Home Rentals

3) Housesitting

Okay, there’s a little more to getting your foot in the door on this one, but if it ever meets your needs, it’s certainly worth exploring because it’s free. This is my go-to article about housesitting, in which a veteran house-sitting couple explains the things they get asked about most frequently. They recommend TrustedHouseSitters.com and have special offer for them at the bottom of the post.

Sooo…

Next time you need something besides your standard hotel, give one of this week’s ideas a try. And let me know how it goes!

Have you used any of the above for travel lodging? What was your experience? What are your go-to resources?

(I’ve been posting other travel articles and resources on Twitter and Facebook. Be sure to check them out if you’ve got travel on the brain.)

13 (Easily Overlooked) Tips for Traveling on a Budget

Getting away on the cheap, it turns out, is worthy of a series all its own. So I think I’m going to make that happen. Until then, here are 13 tips for traveling on a budget. There are three tips each in four categories: lodging, transportation, activities, and food. Plus one cherry on top at the end.

Because this blog’s readership is largely American, and because staying close to home tends to be less expensive, these are all tips for stateside travel. Let’s get to it, shall we?

Lodging

1) Search a space share site like airbnb. Sites like this put you in contact with people renting out personal space, everything from a couch-crash to entire homes. If you’ll be staying a week or more, be sure to check out the weekly rate as it is often discounted.

2) If you’re extremely flexible and looking for adventure, try couch surfing. It’s not for families or the faint of heart, but it is free. And locals are the best guides, after all.

3) If you’ve got a car, and especially if you’re looking to relax, consider staying somewhere outside of town. Prices tend to be cheaper in these areas. Not just on lodging, but often on food and activities as well.

Transportation

4) For rental cars, try a clearing house site like carrentals.com. If possible, pick up your car somewhere besides the airport as rates offsite are much less than at the airport. Depending on how many days you’ll have the car, it might be worth taking a taxi from the airport to pick it up. Price check around to see.

5) If you’re feeling adventurous, take a bus. It might take you a while to get there, and it’s an experience to be sure, but you can also save 50% or more off the price of an airline ticket. On Greyhound, book 21 days in advance for the best rate. Tip: Chose express options when possible to bypass the stop-in-every-prairie-town itinerary. You’ll reach your destination faster and happier.

6) The easiest way to cut your transportation expenses is to select a destination that’s closer to home. Taking your own vehicle saves you from spending additional cash on rental cars or public transit, and all travelers are covered in the price of gas.  To make it feel further from everyday life, try creating your own adventures. You could hunt for local statues and take ridiculous photos at each one. Or sit in a different cafe each day and sketch or write about the people around you. A friend of mine loves to bakery-hop in towns she visits. A little creativity can go a long way to make staying closer to home not feel like settling.

Food

7) Choose a location where you have easy access to a grocery store, fridge, and microwave. This will let you easily do less expensive meals and snacks from your room, which can save you big-time, especially with a larger family. It’s also just fun to pull your favorite drinks from your own fridge on vacation.

8) Take light-weight protein & carb snacks with you when you’ll be out for the day. The carbs will give you a boost of energy, while the protein will leave you feeling satisfied for longer. This will keep you from hitting that critical hunger point where you’re willing to drop serious change just to have something to eat. (Don’t forget to take along a water bottle.)

9) Learn to use Yelp. Yelp lets you search nearby for all sorts of criteria. Looking for something within a mile that’s reasonably priced but not McDonald’s? Yelp’s lively community likely has recommendations for you. You can also use it to find special things like afternoon tea or happy hour specials. Just plug what you’re looking for in the search box and off you go. (Yelp also has listings for lodging and activities/destinations.)

Activities

10) If you don’t have an itinerary of must-sees, just wander out and start exploring. Duck into galleries, stroll the market, buy a day pass for the metro and see where it takes you. Do this with your camera out to see things you might not otherwise notice.

11) Find out if your destination has cheap or free activities. Some cities have museums and zoos that are remarkably inexpensive. Others have free or reduced admission one day a month. If you’re flexible, plan your travel days around the freebies. (Hint: Search Yelp for “free day”)

12) See if your destination offers a discount card like City Pass. Admission to several attractions are bundled together at a discounted rate. (If you live near a city that offers such a pass, this could also be a great option for a staycation.)

The Cherry on Top

13) See if your destination has an Entertainment Book. Entertainment Book’s cost $30 each and are full of buy one get one free coupons for everything from meals to museums, and have other discount coupons for national retailers. You can buy one online (where you can also see samples of what is offered in the book), or you can pick one up locally at a CVS, Barnes & Noble, Kroger, or Albertsons (see their site for a full listing of retailers).

What about you? How do you keep costs down while traveling? What sites or resources are your favorites?

Over the next few days I’ll be posting some travel articles and resources at Project Grown-Up on Twitter and Facebook. Check them out, and follow/like for easy updates!

 

This week we’re talking about travel planning. Here are links to the whole series:

  1. Introduction
  2. 5 Things to Consider When Planning Your Next Vacation
  3. How to Select Travel Companions and How To Enjoy the Ones You’ve Got
  4. How to Guesstimate Travel Expenses (and find the money to travel)
  5. 13 (Easily Overlooked) Tips for Traveling on a Budget

How To Select Travel Companions and How To Enjoy the Ones You’ve Got

Have you ever traveled with someone, only to have the trip be a complete bust? Not exactly the thing you want to have happen when you’re parting with your well-earned cash to give the experience a go, is it? Here are some things you can consider and do to help make the next trip as good as possible.

Choosing Someone to Travel With

First, choose someone you enjoy. While it seems like this should go without saying, in practice it’s easy to get caught up in travel plans with someone that, if you stop to think about it, you don’t really have a lot of fun with. Or perhaps the person requires a lot of effort, even though they’re fun. But if that friend drains your emotional reserves, you might want to choose someone else. Same goes for friends who you might have to bail out of jail for picking a bar-fight. Or for someone who’ll likely freak out at the sight of a gutter-rat or go mental when your cabana has a few geckos and no hot water.

Secondly, assess what you want from your trip so you know a good match when you find it. At first just jot down whatever comes to mind regarding what you’re looking for in your vacation. Most often, the first things to come to mind are also some of the things that matter most to you. Once you’ve done that, consider the other four elements we talked about yesterday (the four besides who to travel with, that is). Together this will give you a pretty good framework for discussing your trip with a potential co-goer.

Also, consider your priorities. What is most important to you? One way to think about this is to complete the following sentence: “If I go home and I didn’t _______, I would be disappointed.”

Last, consider where you are open to going. Is your list short? Own it! Or are you just looking for some exploring or R&R and don’t really care where the path takes you?

Traveling With Others

Sometimes you have the luxury of choosing an ideal traveling partner. More often, though, you kind of end up traveling with who you’re traveling with, whether that’s your family or just the person who had extra time and money on their hands.

In preparation for this article, I talked to a few friends who had recently traveled with others and asked what they would say about the experience. I heard some good stories (and some bad ones), but every success and failure boiled down to one thing: communication.

You’ve already thought about your aims, your availability (time), and your budget. So share these with your travel partner. And don’t forget to listen to the other person’s hopes and limitations as well as expressing your own.

In addition to those three things, talk about how much time you’d like to spend together and how much time you’d like to spend alone. I like to spend a good bit of time alone inside my head each day. It’s helpful if my traveling companions are sensitive to this. I’ve found that communicating it up front helps me get the time alone I need, and helps my friends not misinterpret my time away from them.

Also Worth a Mention

Being a good travel partner probably deserves a dedicated post. As many of us have had stinky co-journers, we certainly don’t want to be one of them. So be the travel partner you want to have. Particularly, make it your aim that your companion would get to do what is important to them. Hopefully they’ll do the same for you.

Traveling with others can be an incredibly rewarding experience. You’re not alone. You’re not as vulnerable. You’re building into a relationship. But above all of that, you have someone to process your experiences with, and have the benefit of seeing things through someone else’s eyes. Which can make your travel all the more rewarding.

What About You?

Have you had any wonderful or awful experiences traveling with other people? What did you learn? What advice would you give?

This week we’re talking about travel planning. Here are links to the whole series:

  1. Introduction
  2. 5 Things to Consider When Planning Your Next Vacation
  3. How to Select Travel Companions and How To Enjoy the Ones You’ve Got
  4. Travel Budgeting
  5. Getting Away on the Cheap

Interested in more from Project Grown-Up? Check us out on Twitter or “Like” us on facebook to see what we’re up to.

5 Things to Consider When Planning Your Next Vacation

As I mentioned yesterday, this week we’re looking at things that can be considered now to help make your summer travels the best they can be. 

Have you ever taken a trip and come home feeling like you needed a vacation from your vacation?

Maybe you spent the week running all over the place to “get the most of your trip”. Or perhaps you spent a disproportionate amount of time doing things you really didn’t care about doing because someone made you feel obligated. Or perhaps you just didn’t seek out the experiences that would have helped balance it all out.

Whatever the reason, many of us have come home from vacation feeling less euphoric than we imagined. Here are five things to consider as you plan your next holiday to make sure it hits the spot.

1) Are you looking for an adventure or a holiday?

Several years ago the dude and I realized that while we love seeing the world and experiencing cultural things, sometimes what we need most is a break. Whenever we visit a new place, especially if it’s one we’ve been pining to see for a long time, we can’t keep ourselves from packing in as much as possible. I mean, if you’re already in Paris, how can you not see St. Chappelle’s, the Pere Lachaise, and the Musee D’orsay, regardless of how exhausted you are?

So we started asking this question in the initial stages of travel planning: “Are we looking to travel or are we wanting a holiday?” We think of traveling as adventuring and learning and  and getting sick off street food and living out of what we can carry on our backs. A holiday, on the the other hand, means taking it easy, packing whatever our muses require, filling our Kindles with fresh non-trees, and stashing a lot of extra food in our room.

Certainly we relax some when traveling and explore some when on holiday, but the two have different aims and distinct feels. Actively deciding up front what you want from your time away goes a long way to helping you get it.

2) What are your goals?

Okay, so you’ve considered whether you’re looking for rock-n-roll or the recliner, but what else?

Are you going to stay with a friend? Then perhaps spending quality time with them is your primary goal. You’re adventuring, but is there anything you specifically want to see or experience in this location? What do you not want to miss? Its food? Its history? The arts? You’re relaxing, but does that mean enjoying the spa, going hiking, kicking back on the beach, or reading books by the fire? What do you most want and/or need right now?

Hone in on what you really hope to get from your vacation, and keep it in mind throughout your planning process.

3) Who will else be there?

Last fall when your mother-in-law invited the extended family on both sides to join them in Colorado (“all bills paid!”) it sounded great. But then you realized it was going to eat up all your remaining vacation days and leave you dreaming of the beach. You’re on your way to big vacation disappoint, my friend.

This is a sensitive topic to be sure, but face it head-on as you plan. If you need to refresh, spend your break with people who refresh you. If you want time by yourself, encourage fewer people or start strategizing how to get time alone. If you want to spend your days chasing endangered animals, just be sure your companion wasn’t primarily wanting to lounge by the pool.

Later this week we’ll talk about choosing good travelmates. For now, just remember to not leave this decision to someone else. You’re an adult; you have a say.

4) What do you want to spend?

You’ve been setting money aside for traveling, right? Riiiiight? Well, if not, you might consider the staycation in lieu of plunging into debt. But if so, carefully consider how much of your savings you want to spend on this particular outing. Are you hoping to take a big trip some time in the future? If so, don’t spend your whole roll on this one.

The dude and I want to see the northern lights when they peak in a few years. This means that the interim travel budget is a little tighter than it would otherwise be. But when the time comes to watch aurora paint the sky, I’m going to be soooo thankful I set some money aside for the privilege.

Don’t want to spend much this time around? Later this week we’ll discuss options for heading out on the cheap.

5) How long should you go for?

Finding the optimal length of a trip is more obscure than it seems at first glance. When I’m desperate for a break, it takes me a good two to three days to decompress before I’m really relaxing. Ending such a trip in four days would be like walking out on a 60 minute massage 50 minutes early.

On the other hand, if you’re doing some serious traveling, each day might be a significant expenditure, and three or four days might be all you can afford. But then you have to consider if it’s worth going all that way and then spending only a few days. If not, consider taking a smaller-budget vacation now and take that big trip when you really have the dollars to feel like you’re getting your money’s worth.

Here are some things to consider regarding the length of your trip:

  • How many vacation days do you have left? Do you want to save some for later?
  • How many days do you need to accomplish your goals for the trip?
  • How much money do you have to spend?
  • How many days will it take for you to feel like you’re getting “enough” out of the money you’re spending?

Overall…

Aim for finding the intersecting point between your goals, your budget, and your available time. If one is out of whack, keep tweaking your plan until you’re happy with it. There’s nothing worse than shelling out a lot of money and then being disappointed.

What about you? What leaves your frustrated or disappointed after a trip? What things do you to make sure you get the most from your vacation?

(Oh, and if you’d like to follow along, click one of the subscribe options in the header for updates.)

 

This week we’re talking about travel planning. Here are links to the whole series:

  1. Introduction
  2. 5 Things to Consider When Planning Your Next Vacation
  3. How to Select Travel Companions and How To Enjoy the Ones You’ve Got
  4. How to Guesstimate Travel Expenses (and find the money to travel)
  5. 13 (Easily Overlooked) Tips for Traveling on a Budget