Summer's last hurrah

My parents came to visit earlier this month and we went everywhere from the mountains of Mammoth Lakes to the skyscrapers of San Francisco. Speaking of Mammoth, here's a link to my new L.A. Times travel piece about our trip there last month — Weekend Escape: Off the trail and into a soft bed in Mammoth Lakes

During their visit, we also checked out the wineries of Murphys, the latest play at the Fallon House Theatre in Columbia and an outdoor movie at the Pinecrest Amphitheater. 

Here are some pics from San Francisco, where we stayed with Airbnb again:

A selfie in front of the "Painted Ladies."

A playground that rivaled those in New Zealand. 

Blondes on the beach. 

City by the Bay

So we traded in the big mountains for the big city and spent last weekend in San Francisco. I ran a marathon around the entire city and as a family we explored different parts in between. 

We were lucky enough to stay at our friends place next to Golden Gate Park. After some sightseeing on Saturday, I had to be at the starting line at 5:30 a.m. Sunday (this required getting up at 3:30 in order to catch two public buses).

With Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" blaring on the speakers, thousands of us took off into the dark city streets. The marathon route showed off classic San Francisco — running past the bakers making sourdough bread on Fisherman's Wharf, then across a foggy Golden Gate Bridge and onto other famous sites, including funky Haight Street.

Eventually the course looped its way back to the Embarcadero. At the finish line, there was a Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. beer garden and I was given two medals — one for the SF Marathon and another for completing the LA and SF marathons in the same year. 

We met up with longtime friend Sarabek Images for lunch, shopping and a trip to Dolores Park, where Ediza got an awesome view of the city perched above the playground's slide (in the photo above). Here she is on her way down...