Hiking and Vegan eats in San Francisco

The highest point in New Orleans is often erroneously cited as a tiny mound called Monkey Hill. As far as 30-foot hills go, it's carved out an impressive lot of real estate in the local lore. In reality, the highest point is a different tiny mound—43 feet above sea level—in the Couturie Forest section of City Park. It's called Laborde Mountain.

So you can imagine my shock upon arriving in San Francisco. I was huffing and puffing up the hills! Lion Kinging above the bay and the bridges! Some of the hills even had steps built into them. The only thing keeping me climbing was the hope that once I got to the top, I could roll into a ball and somersault down the other side.

I climbed this whole thing.

STOP making me climb hills!

I followed directions in the park.

Muggles are welcome in SanFran.

I followed directions here too!

We went to so many wonderful vegan places!! Vegan Picnic, a casual yet glorious spot serving incredible comfort food, has TWO locations in the city! We went to both.

We also went to Love N Haight Deli in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood. Their mock-meat variety is astounding (vegan duck, vegan pepper steak, vegan fish, etc), and the sandwiches are SUPER affordable. That was a pleasant surprise, because SanFran is like everyone says: expensive. I barely had leftover money for grapes. The deli even has a selection of "grocery" items, including frozen packages of the mock-meats they use. The owner suggested the Vegan Beef Jerky (non-frozen), which was incredible, and at $3.50 a package, he said many customers stock up at his deli because it's cheaper than buying it online. Even with free shipping! What a revelation!

We also went to an all-vegan burger joint called VeganBurg. The first location opened in Singapore, and now their second location is here in San Francisco. Check out this menu. The fried "egg" tastes like a fried egg, and even has the crispy edges. With alternatives like the Beyond Burger and the Impossible Burger making in-house vegan burgers seem pedestrian, VeganBurg's own patties were decadent and almost too realistic.

all vegan!

I got a whole bunch of postcards and treats and had a great time exploring the city.

I have to also give a shoutout to Oakland and Berkley, and of course the most wonderful breakfast place of all time (with two locations)--Timeless Coffee! I also went to bookstores, toy stores, and basically every kind of store.