Yelp to the rescue!…read more It was stank-ass, 100° F, hot-as-dammit out for the California Beer Festival - Novato. Yeah, sure, it was all the beer you could drink. But in those conditions, you gotta have water or you're not making it through all 4 1/2 hours of beer tasting. & that would be a travesty. Fortunately, Kevin B., Yelp North Bay's intrepid CM, was manning the Hydration Station & passing out bottles of refreshing cold water. For free! That's right, free! Needless to say, he got bum-rushed by the hundreds of CBF-Novato attendees & eventually the free water bottles ran out. But hey, it was free, 1st come 1st served, while supplies last! & did I mention that it was free? Free cold water at a beer festival on a really hot day? Yeah, I'm a fan of that!

This beer festival was not quite the experience I would have loved to have. The food and beer…read morechoices were good. You definitely get a good amount of beer but not too much free food tasting . The lines for the food and beer were long even though the place was not that packed. I think I would attend again however I will do the following. BRING WATER!! You have to wait in line at food stand for water (30 to 45min). The hydration station was sold out of water two hours into event. Bring lawn chairs and umbrellas. there was very little seating around the music area. Even though I was critical of event I would say this is a great way to spend the afternoon if you are really into micro brews. Remember a good beer taste great even in the crappiest of settings so you cant really loose.

So excited every time I Czech my Northbay Elite page and see a new event added by Kevin "The…read moreMothership," CM, and this event was one I've been excited about for some time! I make it down to Petaluma often for shopping and a few select restaurants, but I don't visit as much as I'd like, so the Social Club has been on my list since I read about it's opening in the Press Democrat (thank you Heather Irwin!). First star is for free parking. FREE MOTHER FATHERING PARKING, YO! I can't tell you how excited I get about free parking. Srsly, it's the little things in life that makes the biggest difference. Ample parking everywhere, on the street, in the lot, in the garage, in the sky, it's everywhere. So great. Alix loves it. Second star is for my freaking amazing new yelp swag. I don't know about you, but when I get yelpy swag, I actually use it. The stunna shades go with me to many events, the wristbands have accompanied me to quite a few lunches, and the pins are versatile and compliment literally (figuratively) every outfit. My new yelp fingerless gloves will be a fabulous new addition to my yelp-obsession; you're warned. Third star is for my amazing peeps. Kevin, you're the coolest ever. I think that's the first time I've ever seen you without a hat, tres chic. John and Lilia, you guys are the epitome of elite status, and Lilia you always make me smile when I see you, with your incredible hair, looking all badass. Issy, my heart is breaking to hear you're attempting to leave us for Sacramento Yelp, we're going to formulate a kidnapping plot to keep you forever, just you see. New friend Tracey, with your impressive amount of reviews, hot damn girl, incredible, and your new haircut is fierce. And everyone else who I met/saw and can't mention... Fourth star is for the food, which I really enjoyed. My favorite was surprisingly not the bacon mac and cheese, but the eggplant with cherry tomato (and a hint of curry?). I was not really about the trout offering though, which was the only fail I saw, just personal preference. Last star was for Social Club for hosting us on their newly built beer garden. The day was a little chilly, but I can imagine in my way too creative mind a warm summer evening with a perfectly poured cocktail, and savoring the beauty and greatness that is Petaluma. Will be returning...also, $3 Fernet shots?!? Yissss

So I'm really diggin' Petaluma! It seems every time I find my way up here, I find 1 more reason to…read morecome back. & thanks to this YEE, I found out about Social Club & Restaurant. The 1st impression was fantastic. Actually, the impression before the 1st impression was a key factor. Location. Social Club & Restaurant is right next to a parking structure with free parking + EV charging stations. Score! Social Club & Restaurant is a great looking venue with clean lines & lots of weathered wood. It was the ideal setting on a cool Summer day to relax with Yelp friends, gratis bites & Redd's Apple Ale. All while my EV got some free juice. Thanks Kevin B. for, yet again, another fun YEE. Seriously, Yelp's Summer Break at Social Club & Restaurant was North Bay's 4th awesome YEE in 5 weeks. That has got to be some kind of record-setting pace. Thanks also to Social Club & Restaurant. You've got a great space in a great location with tasty bites that perfectly complement your full bar. &, naturally, thanks to North Bay Elite friends who came out & made it all a lot of fun.

This is a place that isn't the most conspicuous landmark by any means. This is a stretch of…read morewalkway along the bay in the midst of the Fisherman's Wharf area. That this area has the air of historic preservation is a function of what makes SF what it is. This spot sits between a few Pier footings. Taking in the San Francisco Bay is an experience in and of itself. Great views here for Alcatraz and The Bridge.

Great news - the Francisco Reservoir is going to become a park!!! Watch this space in 2019.....read more

This derelict reservoir was the very first large reservoir built in San Francisco in 1859. It…read moreserved the exploding population that arrived here during the Gold Rush. It was declared unneeded in 1947. Recently several neighborhood associations in the area came together to get the property successfully transferred to the Recreation & Parks Dept. and it will be converted into a new public park for all San Franciscans in the next few years. It will be filled in, terraced and have amazing views of the Bridge, Marin Hills, Alcatraz, Angel Island, Maritime National Historic Park and the stunning San Francisco Bay. For more information or to donate go to www.FranciscoPark.org

This is an annual faire put on by the local nursery school. It has a lot more arts and crafts…read morebooths than children's activities. On the booth side they had jewelry, paintings, clothing, and craft booths. On the kids side they had to jumpy houses, and a few carnival games along with a pony ride. They had 2 food booths; one with Thai food and the other was corn and baked potatoes. But since it is downtown Sausalito there are little cafes and diners around every corner. It was a nice day and everyone was out so parking was difficult. I think we spent more time walking around Sausalito than we did the actual faire.

fun kid rides, train and bouncy. Plus lots of events. It rained but that didn't stop the great…read moremusic, tons of food and drinks. Not to be missed. Changed a bit of the format so it is much more kid geared.

This place is right next to the Musee Mecanique and the only reason I noticed it was I stopped to…read moretake pictures of their green, two liter plastic bottle drapes. I thought it was part of the Musee but my husband stuck his head in the door and shouted back, "Hey, Diane Arbus! It's something about a boat made out of used plastic crap!" How could I resist? I wish we had spent more time in here, it is large and informative and a really great idea. Partnered with Hewlett Packard, a group of people are building a catamaran made of recycled plastic and that is just the bare bones of what is going on. It's really interesting the way they are building this thing and what will be on it. I am not doing it justice. If you go to the Musee Mecanique (which you should, it's fun and they have a Pole Position game) don't miss this. It's door is to the right of where you go in for the Musee. They're there Wed-Sun 11am-4pm. I only took a postcard embedded with wildflower seeds but they had a lot more information about what they are doing and I hope someone will come along and write a review that does this place justice.

I was surprised I haven't seen NCKA in here already. If you like to go fishing or kayaking…read morefishing this website is for you. This is not a membership club and anyone can become a member. These folks fish all over Northern California, salt and fresh water. If you want to go some where search the hookup area and find out who is going out, or post something and try to link up with some one. They also have forums on kayak set ups, recipes, making things for fishing, techniques. All in all it is great place to learn about the Fishing in Northern California

A haiku about Mill Valley…read more There's a mill (I've seen it) and a valley (since it's lower than Mount Tam) I heart Old Mill Park and the old library in the middle of the redwoods.

The City of MiIl Valley is becoming known as a very challenging place to do anything. On the whole…read morethey are loathe to genuinely assist. Unfortunately, most do not live locally and tend to have a chip on their shoulder. Getting anything past the building front desk is a bureaucratic nightmare. All residents can do is wait until this set of public officials work through the system and move onto another unsuspecting municipality.