To Do San Francisco

Welcome to episode 7 of the To Do San Francisco podcast!

Go follow the To Do San Francisco page on Facebook or the @ToDoSFPodcast account on Twitter.

In this episode, Jamie talks about:

• Fleet Week 2021 - A fun waterfront weekend awaits! Keep your dogs leashed to avoid them running off scared from the noise of the Blue Angels practice flights throughout the week.  
• Mendocino Farms Market at 300 Mission Street - Quick casual and tasty food option for downtown residents, workers, and visitors that is open 11am -  7:30pm  every day of the week! Very convenient pick-up ordering with their smartphone app.
• Happy Lemon opens their Salesforce Transit Center location for boba and generally sweet drink fans!

Thank you for listening!
jamie

Welcome to episode 6 of the To Do San Francisco podcast!

Go follow the To Do San Francisco page on Facebook or the @ToDoSFPodcast account on Twitter.

In this episode, Jamie talks about:

• Dining outside in North Beach
  • Make your way to Broadway and Columbus Avenue to be at the center of the action in North Beach
    • Check out options for dining outside along Columbus Avenue, Grant Street, Green Street, and Vallejo.
    • While in the area, pick up some dessert before or after your dining experience from one of many bakeries. My personal favorite is Victoria Pastry at Powell and Filbert, on the NW corner of Washington Square Park.
    • Also, please stop by City Lights Booksellers while visiting North Beach!
• Streaming the night away
  • Check out Kanopy via the San Francisco Public Library for movies - heavy on the Documentary genre.
  • Watch commercial-free Classic Arts Showcase streamed via their website or via an Apple TV application. This is a real goldmine of classical music, opera, theatre performances, and more - and it operates using funding from an endowment gifted by a couple of philanthropists starting back in 1994!
  • Disney Plus isn't exactly an unknown, but many folks may not realize the great treasure of material they offer.  Highly recommended is the Mandalorian series and National Geographic productions along with classic Disney, Pixar, and Marvel fare.

Thank you for listening!
jamie

Welcome to episode 5 of the To Do San Francisco podcast!

Go follow the To Do San Francisco page on Facebook or the @ToDoSFPodcast account on Twitter.

In this episode, Jamie talks about:

• San Francisco Marin Food Bank needs about 1,000 more volunteer time slots filled for the dozens of pop up food bank operations during the COVID-19 recession and fire hazard season.  
  • Learn more about volunteering here!
• San Francisco Women's March - March for Our Rights on Saturday, October 17, 2020 from 11am - Noon at SF Civic Center
  • Please wear a facial covering/mask and socially distance while marching.
• Public transit options from San Francisco International Airport to downtown San Francisco during COVID-19 pandemic (reduced schedule for BART):
  • If you arrive prior to BART's 9pm shutdown time, you probably want to stick with BART. Check BART's schedules.
  • If you have more than a fairly light/small bag ensemble, you'll probably want to avoid the SamTrans bus because it is set up more for commuter workers than for travelers. I recommend using a Taxi Cab over any "gig driving" option. Taxi pick-up at the airport tends to be in the center island outside the arrivals/baggage doors for your arrival terminal.
  • For a 24-hour public transit option friendly for people with spare time and little baggage to carry, SamTrans offers bus service in a few locations. Please check the schedules and information for the following bus lines that operate between San Francisco International Airport and downtown San Francisco (check out the latest schedule/route maps as these are frequently changing during COVID-19 pandemic and reduced transit utilization):
    • SamTrans Route 292
    • SamTrans Route 398

Thank you for listening!
jamie

Welcome to episode 4 of the To Do San Francisco podcast!

Go follow the To Do San Francisco page on Facebook or the @ToDoSFPodcast account on Twitter.

In this episode, I share some of my favorite aspects of the San Francisco Public Library.

• Need a library account? San Francisco residents can sign up online during the COVID-19 stay at home time period. 
• Library branches are only providing service in the doorway, calling it SFPL To Go Limited Library Service where you first login to your account on SFPL.org to place a hold request on the materials you would like. Next, you await an email that let's you know the material(s) await you at a particular branch for pickup. It's quite easy - and meant to keep everyone safe by asking that you wear a mask and follow other protocols when you do visit.
• Doing your best to stay at home during the pandemic? The San Francisco Public Library has a wonderful array of electronic resources, such as:
  • E-books where you borrow the electronic versions of books for limited time periods. EPUB, Amazon Kindle, and PDF formats are common options.
  • Online video - Definitely check out Kanopy and Kanopy for Kids as good, free substitutes for NetFlix among other options.
  • Audiobooks - Maybe you'd prefer a book on tape, so-to-speak, though it is an audio file played back on your computer or other compatible device.
  • e-Learning - check out Lynda.com online training courses, Gale courses taught online by experts, or learn a new language via Rosetta Stone or Mango!
  • e-Music - provides music options in electronic format to get your groove on and move while we're getting through this pandemic one day at a time.

Looking for an interesting place to take a walk?  Check out Salesforce Park at the Salesforce (formerly Transbay) Transit Center!

On October 3rd, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass offered an online stream of 3 hours performances and history for their 20th year.  The video is available for viewing online through October 11th - so do not delay (and apologies if you're seeing this after October 11, 2020 - you will need to come to San Francisco when the next Hardly Strictly Bluegrass event happens - 2021 hopefully?). Please consider a contribution to Artist Relief - Hardly Strictly Bluegrass helped raise over $250,000 on Saturday for artists and their crews who can't work while performances are banned during the pandemic.

Do you have your plan for making your voice heard in the November 3, 2020 Presidential Election?  

• Be sure to verify you are registered to vote first! 
• Visit the Secretary of State's Voter Registration website if you need to register!
• If you are registered to vote in San Francisco, check the Voter Guide!

Welcome to episode 3 of the To Do San Francisco podcast!

In this episode:

Playing in San Francisco - Chinatown (with guest Ed)

• Mister Jiu's restaurant
• Hunan Home's for some steamed chicken
• San Sun for Hainan chicken
• Golden Gate Bakery for egg custard tarts (open hours can vary day-to-day)
• Eastern Bakery for moon cake, coffee crunch cake, or many other tasty options!

Living in San Francisco

• Jamie shares his usual walking path that goes through Chinatown along with North Beach, Fisherman's Wharf, and The Embarcadero Pedestrian Promenade back to Market Street.
  • Walk on Market Street to start of O'Farrell/Grant Street and stick with Grant Street (bends to the right)>
  • Walk up Grant Street to Broadway and turn right on Broadway >
  • Cross Columbus Avenue and turn left to go further north until you run into Washington Square Park>
  • On the northwest corner of Washington Square Park, find Powell Street at Filbert, and resume walking up Filbert to Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf>
  • After you finish exploring Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf, head east along Jefferson Street/The Embarcadero  until you reach the Ferry Building > 
  • Walk across the plaza in front of the Ferry Building's clock to get back on Market Street heading west towards Union Square.
• Victoria Pastry is a great spot for some biscotti, Italian cookies, and cakes (try the St. Honoré for a special occasion!)

Have a San Francisco based small business or performance group that you'd like considered for free promotion on the To Do San Francisco podcast?  Please leave a voicemail at 415-633-6683.

Have a great week!
jamie

Welcome to episode 2 of the To Do San Francisco podcast!

In this episode:

Playing in San Francisco

• San Francisco Zoo
• de Young Museum
• Asian Art Museum
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Living in San Francisco

• Learn about the plethora of San Francisco local ballot initiatives on the November 3rd ballot
• Register to vote with the California Secretary of State by October 17th (though later registration and same day registration may also be allowed, fyi)
• Complete your 2020 Census if you have not already done so!

Working in San Francisco

• When will folks feel safe to take BART into and out of San Francisco again?

Have a San Francisco based small business or performance group that you'd like considered for free promotion on the To Do San Francisco podcast?  Please leave a voicemail at 415-633-6683.

Have a great week!
jamie

Welcome to the To Do San Francisco podcast. Just setting up shop with Episode 1, but I hope you will subscribe/favorite and come along for this ride focused on San Francisco and things To Do in San Francisco.

Follow me on Twitter - @todosfpodcast

Ciao!
jamie