If you've ever been to Seattle in October, you know how easy it is to fall in love. When the sky is clear and the leaves are fifteen different colors and you are biking through the endless parks in awe with a new friend, a coffee waiting at every turn and enough restaurants, shops and attractions to keep you busy for days.

StephanieatPublicMarket You shop at Public Market, walk through the urban forests, grab a drink in Ballard with strangers, take the ferry across the Puget Sound, eat fresh oysters off the beach...you wonder why you don't already live in this super livable land.

Trees in Capitol Hill

And the then the fog rolls in and you hear the sun won't come back until March. The affair ends quickly and you pack your bags, going back to wherever you came from, with a light heart and a warmed soul.

After a year in Bilbao, Spain, I know how slight rain for long periods of time affects me, and I'm not quite ready to sign up for long periods sans sunlight. But I'll visit Seattle any day, rain or shine.

Take a trip on the water...

Ferry Tripping in the Seattle Wool Cap (get your own here)

Warm up a little at the Volunteer Park Conservatory...

Volunteer Park Conservatory

Bike through the Sculpture Park...

Eat... and enjoy the ride.

Stay: Ace Hotel 2423 First Avenue Seattle, WA 98121--206.448.4721 Hotel Five 2200 Fifth Avenue Seattle, WA 98121--206.441.9785

Shop: Totokaleo 1523 10th Avenue Seattle, WA 98122--206.623.3582 Mon — Thur 11-6, Fri — Sat 11-7, Sun 11-5 Cairo 507 E Mercer Street Seattle, WA 98102 Mon — Sun 12-7 Ebbets Field Flannels (they handcrafted our Seattle Wool Cap!) 119 South Jackson Street Seattle, WA 98104--Mon — F 9-5, Sat 10-5pm Nube Green 921 E Pine Street Seattle, WA 98122--206.402.4515 Mon — Sat 11-7, Sun 11-5 The Elliott Bay Book Company1521 Tenth Avenue Seattle, WA 98122--206.624.6600 Mon — Thur 10-10, Friday — Sat 10-11, Sun 10-9

See: Frye Art Museum 704 Terry Ave Seattle, WA 98104--206.622.9250 Ballard Locks 3015 NW 54th Street Seattle, WA 98107 Olympic Sculpture Park 2901 Western Avenue Seattle, WA 98121--206.654.3100 Volunteer Park Conservatory 1400 E Galer Street Seattle, WA 98112--206.684.4743

Eat/Drink: Victrola Coffee 310 E. Pike Street Seattle, WA 98122--866.228.0206 The Walrus and The Carpenter 4743 Ballard Ave NW Seattle, WA 98107--206.395.9227 Ocho 2325 NW Market Street Seattle, WA 98107--206.784.0699

Tomales Bay, California

The weather in San Francisco has been absolutely gorgeous this past week and lucky for me I've been able to enjoy it. In celebration of starting up my new business, meeting an amazing mentor/client/friend, and just generally having the best friends ever, I took a trip up to Tomales Bay Oyster Company.

The trip takes just over an hour from the city. Follow google's directions, not the iphone app as that takes you who knows where. Do pack snacks, beverages, and beach stuff. You can take dogs and you can buy everything you need for oysters (ice, fixings, knife) there -- they also provide bins for oyster trash. The picnic tables are first come, first serve, but if you have over 10 people you have to reserve one. We got there about 11:30 and magically found a nice picnic table with a view of the bay and a bit of shade. If we had gotten there any later, I doubt we would've found an open spot.

Things we forgot that we wished we had: oyster forks, paper towels, and flip flops (one of my friends forgot, I had them ;). The bathrooms were surprisingly spotless and the service was amazing. They even let us take a video showing us how to shuck so we would remember. Everyone was friendly, we even made friends with the table next to us.

I've been there before on a foggy weekend and it was nearly empty. So if you want to avoid crowds, check the weather and go on a less-than-desirable day. Because these oysters are totally worth the drive and are fantastic even when you are all bundled up.

photos here and on instagram #oysterouting

Tomales Bay Oyster Company 15479 Highway One P.O. Box 847 Marshall, CA 94940

415.663.1242

Have you been to a spa in Tomales Bay? What was your experience? Leave a comment below and share your travels!