Viva Mexico 🇲🇽- Lucha Libre, Fashion Museum, Pyramids, and more!

Activity: Mexico City

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Description: The variety of things to do in one weekend in Mexico city is amazing. Just watch out for traffic!

• Pyramids of Teotihuacan here
• National Museum of Anthropology here
• Boat tour in Xochimilco here
• Luca Libre purchased tickets at the stadium and arrive early. Or buy online
• Museum of Palacio de Iturbide here
• Metropolitan Cathedral with tour of the top here. Highly recommend getting food in the restuarants wiht balconies overlooking the square wiht view of Cathedral
• Santa Fe area shopping here
• Soccer (Futbol) Game - stadium guide

Throwback adventure: roller disco

Church of 8 Wheels

http://www.churchof8wheels.com/

The picture does not do the church justice

Activity: Rollerskating or blading to disco music in a former church

Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Website: http://www.churchof8wheels.com/ 

Cost: $10 to skate + rental

Description:  This is a former church that is converted into a small roller skating arena. There is a DJ that plays oldies and new music upon request. 

Pros: It is conveniently located in SF. It is a relatively inexpensive activity. The decor was interesting and on theme. There were pews to put on your skates and old stained glass.

Cons: the building is small and not well maintained. During the day there are lots of children so you must feel comfortable as a novice or avoid the children

The last image is a picture of Dolores Park during Pride weekend. There was a lot of celebration after the federal decision to uphold gay marriage. This added to the fun atmosphere that weekend.

Recommended: Families with children 8-14 during the day. At night only adults are allowed which makes for an interesting dynamic

Zip-lining: Puerto Rico adventures continued

Zip-lining coming out of the rainforest

Zip-lining  to the next stop!

Activity: Zip-lining in Puerto Rico Rainforest & Butterfly/Bird Habitat

Rating: 4.3 of 5 stars

Website: http://canopytourpr.com/

Cost: $125/pp via website for three hours including pick up. Discounted tickets available through hotel booking

Details: The tour started in the animal habitat. We saw a variety of colorful parrots (white, green, red, etc.) that were friendly, but not enough to touch. There was also a butterfly room before entering the bird sanctuary which was larger than expected.

From the animal habitat we took a short trip in a cable car to the top of the jungle. We had already put on the equipment including harness and helmut so we were ready to go from as soon as we arrived at the top. 

There were a total of 10-12 zip lines with the last one being the fastest. Some were rather short and others were slower and longer. Based on your body weight and how well you listen to directions you could go faster or slower. 

There was no real trick except to know when to slow yourself down as you approached the platform. If you stopped too early you had to pull yourself to the platform (annoying, but not too challenging). If you did not slow down then the assistant on the other end would catch you or pull down the rope to slow you down (see video). 

This experience felt very safe, actually much safer than my first attempt in Costa Rica where they let customers fly upside down. I missed that part, but I guess not everyone is a thrill seeker. 

Recommended for: All ages that are not afraid of heights. 

Rock climbing: fun for all levels

Indoor rock climbing

Indoor rock climbing

Planet Granite has a fun introductory rock climbing class for new members. It is an hour long and you learn the proper rope technique to go up the rock wall and to spot a friend while they go up. After about 30 min of training you take turns going up the beginner wall. The class gives you a day pass to continue practicing  even after the hour long class. They have a variety of walls based on difficulty so you can work your way up to the hardest. They also have an area where you do not need a harness and you can free climb.

Before you leave they offer promotional deals for a membership. A membership includes the rock wall and access to their gym. I booked my first class through a Groupon offer and they still honored any additional discounts. 

I chose Planet Granite over Mission Cliffs because of the discounted class, location (right by the water in Presidio), and nice instructors. Although I have heard great things about both companies, from experience I can say Planet Granite  is worth a try.

Until next time. Stay tuned.

Unique work outs that are fun and affordable

SF Surfset at the beach

SF intro to aerial silk

LA anti-gravity aerial yoga

NYC Row house picture repost:@transformingmommy

I am constantly looking for new workouts that are both challenging and achievable. When I signed up for ClassPass I was excited to try new routines. Below is a short story of the most unique work outs I have tried in SF, LA, and NY!

San Francisco

1. Left Coast Sweat: Surfset at the beach: this workout includes a surfboard, two balls and some ropes to tie it together. The surfboard lays on the balls so that when you stand on the board it moves to simulate waves based on your body weight and positioning. I first tried a class in the Marina (Sweat Republic) and enjoyed it. I thought it would be much more fun to do it outdoors the second time. Luckily it was a gorgeous day which made the workout even better.

• Type of exercise: squats, push ups, lower body, plank

• Unique moves: mix of yoga moves and surfing techniques. Think downward dog meets duck dive.

• Length: 1 hour

 2. Aspen Aerials- this was a great class because it was small and the instructor paid a lot of attention to each student. We were all first timers in the class. We started with some warm up exercises on the floor including planks and then moved to the silks where we learned about 6 moves

• Type of exercise: upper and lower body. When done properly: lower body, as a novice: upper body

• Unique moves: mermaid

• Length: 1 hour, 15 min

Los Angeles

1. Coolhotyoga: Antigravity aerial yoa- yes, more circus moves. This one was slightly easier since everyone had their own station to practice with rather than using the silks. 

• Type of exercise: mostly yoga type moves with some opportunities to flip upside down

• Unique moves: chandelier (pictured above)

• Length: 1 hour, 15 minutes

New York

1. Row House- This was the first time I tried a rowing class. It felt very much like a spinning studio with loud music and an instructor yelling commands. I mean that in a good way actually, the instructor did come around to make adjustments. He also made it challenging for the veterans in the group by encouraging us to go faster than our previous time. There is a monitor on the machine that allows you to tell Rows per minute to benchmark your progress. Additional workout benefits of rowing here.

• Type of exercise: upper body mostly but your legs are tired from pushing your weight when done properly

• Unique moves: floor work off the machine was included such as side planks and push ups

• Length: 1 hour

And yes I  have a lot of black sport leggings and white workout shirts :)

Until next time. Stay tuned.

How to do Lake Tahoe skiing in a day from the bay

My biggest deterrent to learning to ski is the cold weather. I hate being horrible at something new while shivering. Luckily (for me) this year Tahoe was very warm. Most people were disappointed by the ski season this year in Tahoe, but not everyone is complaining. 

Another deterrent to go to Tahoe for a weekend is getting there and planning where to stay. I found the bay area ski bus that solved both of my problems. I didn't have to drive or find  a place to spend the night. I also did not have to get a group together to convince people to split the cost of a house. 

The bay area ski bus company allowed me to purchase: the bus ride round trip, ski lesson, and ski equipment. You can purchase each component separately if you do not need a lesson or have your own equipment. 

The entire trip was pretty seamless apart from the 5am departure. Once you get settled on the bus you can sleep until you are about to arrive. At that point the bus leaders offer you pastries, bagels, and juice. Once you arrive at the mountain you are welcome to take the free shuttle to any of the main ski lifts. For a beginner it was great because it was not crowded. I arrive to pick up my gear where they sized by boots then I leisurely walked to my lesson. There were plenty of adults who had not skied before which eased my fear that I would be in a class with children. 

At the end of the day we went for some snacks and a beverage at the ski lodge then headed to meet the bus where the staff was cooking hot dogs, hamburgers, and turkey burgers. They also had snacks, cookies, and wine. The latter encouraged the majority of people on the bus into a deep sleep on the way back while those who managed to stay awake watched a movie. 

Because the trip was hassle free and included snacks I would rate the experience two thumbs up!

Until Next Time. Stay Tuned.

5 Bay Area Hikes not to miss

Hiking is a past time in the bay area akin to Boozy Brunches in NY. Everybody's doing it. So I jumped on board. 

If I was on Family Feud and the question was "What are the top 5 words San Franciscans say during the weekend" I would guess YOGA, YOGA, HIKE, HIKE, YOGA. 

Thus far I have been to:

1. Land's End Trail. I wanted to see the Labyrinth created by Eduardo Aguilera in 2004 based on pictures I had seen. It was a gorgeous day so there was a nice view of the beach ad the GG bridge, but the labyrinth was not as large as I expected and it was slightly worse for wear. However, the hike to the point was beautiful and I had a chance to see the Sutro Baths
2. Billy Goat Hill- I had been dying to go here as a SF landmark and fly on the swing overlooking the city. However, when I went the swing had been cut down :( 
3. Marin Headlands- This hike required a drive, but it was worth the views. I tend to favor hikes that have different scenery and different difficulty levels depending on what you are in the mood for.  We stopped by the information center in Marin before starting and they recommended some particularly nice paths based on the time of year.

Next on the list

1. Mt Tam-I have heard the hike to the beer garden at the Tourist club is worth the trip. They are only open select weekends, so apparently you have to plan in advance. Details here for Mt Tam. Schedule of open weekends here.

2. Alamere Falls- This is a longer hike about 9 miles roundtrip and includes a gorgeous waterfall. I have seen pictures, but I am sure they do not do it justice (one above)

3.  Hot Springs Getaway in Big Sur- pictures here. Found on SOSH (app and website for activities in your area)

4. Hidden Black Sand beach in Marin- here also found on Sosh

5. Beach hike on sand dunes- here also on Sosh

Top Bay Area Hike lists include date hike desitinations by Thrillist. Any other recommendations? Let me know @ thesaturdazeblog@gmail.com

Until Next Time. Stay Tuned.