Lemon Drops for Date Night - part of our Weekly Feature series!

Last weekend, we packed up a picnic lunch and played tourist in our city by the bay. Driving over the Golden Gate towards Marin County, I always marvel  at the sights below in the bay;  sailboats racing, freighters coming in and out , cruise ships, fishing boats, seals, we even saw a school of dolphins once!


 These photos are taken from the Golden Gate  bridge deck looking back towards Sausalito and Fort Baker - I could stand here all day and simply drink in the views of the incredible blue-green water of San Francisco Bay.  (Can you tell that I love living here?)

First a stop at Point Bonita Lighthouse. Have got to remember that the bridge to the lighthouse closes at 3:30.. we made it down the trail and through the rock tunnel, but we were too late to cross over.  Dang it!  Oh well, it was still a spectacular view out to the Pacific Ocean.  Can you see the fog bank?  Lying in wait to roar back in as the sun sets into the sea...

Then we drove to the top of Mt. Tam - the highest point in the Bay Area for a wide-sweeping view of the city, the bridges and everything surrounding.  The picture is a little hazy, but I think you get the idea... windy, twisty, I close my eyes most of the time we drive on these crazy roads! Tom loves driving on them, I just hang on tight - trying very hard to let on that I am a little freaked out.  The views on the way up are incredible!  Found a park with walking trails on the top, and decided that we needed to come back another day when we had the whole day to explore.

Yay!!! Now back down the mountain to Sausalito for Lemon Drops at Scoma's. (my reward for not totally freaking out on the drive down!)  These are pretty special lemon drops as they are made with Limoncello liqueur. The best part is,  of course, we get to enjoy them at Scoma's overlooking the Bay. Hope you can see Angel Island, Alcatraz and the Bay Bridge off in the distance, with just a shadow of the moon showing...


Last Saturday we had the best time taking pictures and gossiping about the anchored super-yacht  that was visiting our fair city.  Scoma's fun bartender had all the details: Owned by a super secret Russian billionairre, it's 394 feet long and with a price tag of $300 million. Everything inside is custom and over the top design. We thought it looked  a little like something out of a James Bond Movie! Here's a fun article from the Wall Street Journal with more details, including how several of the companies that helped build it went bankrupt - "A" Superyacht.   

Cannot even fathom this kind of wealth and excess.  To be honest, I really don't want to. Fun to talk about, but in my humble opinion a little wasteful, There's a lot of ways to spend $300 million;  starting with the Feeding America program....   (sorry, I will get off my soapbox!)

On to the lemon drops - not sure if this is the recipe that Scoma's uses, but it does look good!  Recommend using your best martini glasses, for me that's part of the whole experience.  A delish cocktail just does not taste right in any old glass!
(picture taken at Scoma's with our Calamari appetizer) 


Limoncello Lemon Drops

• 1 1/2 oz. Absolute Citron Vodka
• 1 1/2 oz. limoncello lemon liqueur
• 2 oz. sweet and sour mix
• 1 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp sugar

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes; shake well.  Swirl half a lemon around the rim of a martini glass (the more elegant the better!) and dip in sugar.  Pour the contents of the cocktail shaker into the glass, and serve with a nice lemon slice.  Yum!

I confess, as I was packing a set of these sealife martini glasses for shipping, I broke 3 of them, and am left with one..so tonight my lemon drop is going into the non-broken martini glass!   Hmm... I do have the shakers in the warehouse too....

Have a fab weekend!

Marine Mammal Center - Sausalito, Marin Headlands

Fans of Coastal Living Magazine may recognize the Marine Mammal Center here in California, just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge in the Marin Headlands.  Coastal Living regularly "adopts" a sea lion, as part of the MMC's  Adopt-a-Seal program.

You might have noticed in the July/August issue of the magazine, Coastal Living has adopted "Arrow" - with a face just too cute for words!

The Adopt-a-Seal program is a wonderful way that you can help!  For only a minimum of  $30.00 you can adopt one of MMC's former patients, helping to feed and care for the current patients. With your donation, you will receive a ready-to-frame photo of your adoptee, a biography of "your" seal, (or sea lion), a personalized certificate of adoption and the center's e-newsletter.  Believe me, these seal patients eat a ton of food, and so many of them need a lot of rehabilitation care! Your donation goes to a very worthy cause.

I've been out the center twice since I've been here, as they are one of the causes' that our little company supports, (see our page - "Caron's Causes") currently staffed by 45 paid employees, but over 800 volunteers. When I was there last week, MMC had just released 24 animals back into the wild - awesome work!  The volunteer at the front desk has been with the center for 26 years, she has seen quite a few patients come and go over the years. Becky told me that this summer they were seeing more injured, ill and malnourished patients than the center  usually does. Not good news.... When I was here in January, there were very few patients in the hospital, this time, the pens were full of elephant seals, California Sea Lions, harbor seals, and a rare fur seal.

Volunteers are the backbone of the centers' work, helping with everything from rescue operations, education programs, feeding and caring the patients to working in the gift shop (raising much needed funds!)

The Marine Mammal Center even has a program for students, aged 14-18 to volunteer - what a great idea! The program gives kids an opportunity to help in the hospital and also as education docents.

I think I might try this, don't need to be an expert about marine mammals, they will teach me everything I need to know.  Not sure that I would be brave enough to get into the pens with the animals, but I could certainly try!  (these volunteers are trying to prevent a few escape artists from roaming the hospital!) Maybe I should volunteer to work in the gift shop?

Education is also an essential piece to what the Marine Mammal Center offers to visitors. Their program engages over 30,000 people a year!  The center has several programs for local schools, including the "Whale" Bus bringing outreach right to the schools, using hands-on techniques for students. (dang - why didn't I go to school here??)

"The Center's marine science instructors teach about the importance of marine mammals, the health of the marine environment, and how to become stewards of our oceans. "

This life-like Elephant Seal greets visitors as you wander through the courtyard back to the 

viewing areas for the hospital pens.  He's enormous!

Malnourished elephant seal - don't worry, I am sure that he/she will be just fine and released soon!

I think this California Sea Lion was feeling much better as he/she was doing a lot of barking that afternoon!

More elephants seals...

If you live anywhere close, I recommend that you take a drive out to the center - they are open every day for visitors.  If you can't visit - there is always their fabulous website  - http://www.marinemammalcenter.org. Make sure you stop in the gift shop, every little bit helps!