Another Week of Travel and Food
Everyone is eating well.
I’m in San Francisco this week, a mere two weeks after my trip to New York. I love to travel, but this was A Lot in a short period of time. The New York trip had been planned for months when my spouse found out that he was being sent to San Francisco for a conference. He asked if I wanted to tag along, to which I replied, “Of course!”
I’ve never been to San Francisco before. And as a rare experience, I’m here without kids and with a spouse who’s in conference sessions all day. Just me, bumming around the city in a combination of Waymos and public transit.
The food here is amazing, as anyone from San Francisco will attest. But this isn’t about what I’ve been eating. It’s about what my kids have been doing back home as they’ve continued with their summer cooking adventures.
On my first full day here, my 16-year-old sent me a photo of a sandwich, with the description “very boring. grilled turkey, swiss, and avocado.”
However, later that day I got additional photos with the description “homemade Nutella” (the cover photo for this essay). Sounds like Grandma and Grandpa found a way to make the day’s food less boring!
My 14-year-old made homemade pizza, using ingredients from Trader Joe’s (including Toscano Pizza Cheese, yum).
The next day, my mom texted while I was on a boat to Alcatraz Island, asking where I keep my blender. They were going to make smoothies. I had to visualize my kitchen cabinets so I could accurately describe the blender’s location. I have a Ninja that doubles as a food processor, so I store it in a few pieces.
A few minutes later I got this photo, and had to direct my mom to the blade’s location. But once she found it, they were in business.
I didn’t get a photo of the finished product, but I’m told that my 8-year-old made up her own smoothie recipe of blueberries, strawberry yogurt, milk, and ice. The verdict was, “She loved it!”
I’m glad that they’re continuing to try making different foods while I’m not there. Meanwhile, this was my lunch today — a strawberry salad, grilled cheese “bites” and a black forest cupcake.
I’ve also learned how imperative it is to travel with my own food utensils. After long days of walking, I’ve been DoorDashing my dinner to the hotel every night. San Francisco is very environmentally conscious, so I have to request silverware (it’s not a given). And even then, sometimes I don’t get any with my order. Lesson learned: I’ll travel with some reusable silverware in the future.
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