Random things I like in San Fran

So I had no idea San Francisco was so pretty! I've definitely done a poor job of actively seeking out all the things, or remembering to capture the scenes once we happen upon them, but I thought I'd share a selection of random things I DID capture. Like this park here... it spanned twice as far and wide behind me.

 I definitely enjoy random sidewalk art, like this beauty.

 Three vaccume cleaners, just kickn' it on the sidewalk, no big deal.

 Jeff Lefferts has a banana sticker on his car. The two times I have seen his car parked not at his house, there has been a banana peel next to it... not from Jeff! I parked Vince next to this little yeller without knowing, and when I saw it I just laughed out loud and thought fondly of Jeff.

Along with seeing random street art, I also adore finding scraps of lost or discarded paper with words on them. This one says... "Summer dancing in the winter sun, don't look now I've come undone". Sweet, right?

Another rediculous love I have, is for little dogs. I can't say I'm proud of it, or that I try or want to feel so squeely around them, but oh shazam... I can hardly contain myself, and typically my joy is so overwhelming, my eyes start to tear! Tears of joy! So much joy! Just look at these two! Mo and Lilah... uuuuuh!

 At one point they were both crawling/jumping/laying/licking/wriggling/rolling/snuffeling all over me! I was in heaven! Tiny dog heaven! I also took a video of them playing... you can find it here!

 Other things I've enjoyed while here are all of the parks, bike riding (trying and occasionally succeeding climbing outrageously steep San Fran hills!), taking yoga classes, being warm, practicing doing handstands (which I havn't been able to do for so long due to years of chronic shoulder pain/issues), singing with Marks choir class, and taking Dance Classes! Those classes have been my especially favorite thing that I really hope to continue when I get home. Hooray for interesting, beautiful, and inspiring things within an adventure!

Vince in San Francisco

In my most recent post, I mentioned craigslist riding a couple from Portland to San Fran. I made my way down here to meet up with friends and show collaborators Shannon Collier, Alex Allan, and Mark Growden. One interesting element is that Shan and Alex are sorta couch surfing and I'm living in my wonderful vehicle, home, and little blue buddy... Vince.

One might not think it, but 3 essentially "homeless" people putting a show together doesn't come without complications. All that aside, one hilarious moment came just after packing up ye ol' Invinceable Vinceinator with 3 bikes, three people, their food and personal belongings, including but not limited to aerial, climbing and surfing gear... yes, the board. I'm kicking myself for not snapping a photo, but to wrap this up, not 5 minutes into chugging down the San Fran hills, Vince, the convincingly hopeful, sputters, coughs, then dies. Thankfully I have towing insurance, and thankfully the house we just moved out of had a car so Shan could make it to the class she was teaching on time.

I didn't realize how much I've grown fond of this little blue van until I saw him get loaded up onto this tow truck... just thinking to him, "don't worry little buddy, you'll be ok!"

That night we (Vince and I) spent the night outside "The Garage" the place where he would receive a new $600 fuel pump. While waiting for the "procedure", I was in a cafe across the street and found this in the (seemingly ironic) comics...

 I'm going to take it like this... "I will spend a lifetime nurturing the things/ones I love". And though in this account I'm also spending a small fortune, I quite like that as a general notion.

SanFran Craigslist Rideshare!

For about a month, I will be in San Francisco working on a show for the Oregon Country Fair with the amazing Shannon and Alex. To save a bit of cash, and have some company to California, I searched Craigslist... and it turned out great. Heather and Noah put me up in their house the night before, complete with pre-bedtime sauna! They were great company and we made a safe, quick, fun adventure of it.

All in good time, good taste (that might be questionable), a good price, and in the good 'ol ConVINCEingly, InVINCEible, VINCEnt Van Go (that's my little blue van)! Hooray for craigslist rideshares!

Meals on Wheels Benefit

Wren, Justincredible, and I were invited to put on a short show for the Meals on Wheels Benefit and Community Trivia night at the Bellingham Senior Activities Center. "March for Meals" was the name, and fun was the game.

Justin did his delightful hat routine,

Wren did his explanatory three-club juggling act, Wren and I did our rope act,

and the three of us did our "Frank Wiley Trio" juggling act.

Part of the evenings event was a dessert dash! And how well you did in the trivia rounds placed you in the order in which you were released to run for the cake of your hearts desire! This is Wren, focused on the carrot cake with real cream cheese frosting...mmm!

What a great event put on by Activities Director, (shown here on stage) Emily Ruzzamenti!

Vancouver Children's Festival!

So lucky me got invited to be a coordinator for the ShadowPlay tent at the Vancouver Children's Festival! It was a blast! I got to hang out around kids, watch them make shows with puppets, be inspired by their beautiful, curious minds and hang out with some great Vancouverites (Noodle, Niana, and Candy).

This is an example of the fun in the ShadowPlay tent!

Here's Noodle and I with the local, children's, rare, wooden zebra!

One of Noodle's project was making a double-headed weaving snake. Kids would come to her tent and get strips of fabric and weave the "skin" onto the shell of the snake.

 This is the inside of the snake, where kids were encouraged and excited to run through the colorful, compact, weaving snake belly!

A bonus to the festival was all of the baby geese! Super cute, but you can't get too close or the moms will bite! Somehow I was in the right place at the right time, and they just paraded smack in front of me!

 As a coordinator, one of our jobs was to personally add to the festivities by dressing up for theme days. This was superhero day... the majority of kids decided I was a ladybug superhero... and golly did they nail it!

 One of the many perks of the job was the ability to see any of the "stage" shows for free. There was Cirque Zuma Zuma (complete with foot juggler!), Baobab (African fable using storytelling, puppetry, masks and live music), Morgan's Journey (sweet clown show), The Queen of Colors (animated picture book coming to life through shadow puppetry, live music, painting, and video projection), The Little Old Man (a story of loneliness and friendship using rod-puppets), Sparrow (interactive toddler show), and maybe my favorite (with the queen a close second) James Hill: Ukulele Magic (just outstanding... brings "ukulele into the classroom"). What an inspiring and delightful adventure! Yay for Children's Festivals!