Hobbies Archives - The Six Fifty

Trail run the Peninsula like a pro

Dos and don’ts of Silicon Valley trail running from the experts at ZombieRunner and Fleet Feet (including where to park for free) Scenic trails abound in the Edgewood Preserve. Lace up and go! (Photo by Veronica Weber) If you run, jog or shlog (shuffle-jog) on the Peninsula, you’re probably used to charting routes through neighborhoods that do creepy things like plant enormous hedges in front of mansions and refuse to install sidewalks and streetlights. ...

A Procrastinator’s Guide to Camping in Silicon Valley

A Procrastinator’s Guide to Camping in the Bay Area Looking for a last-minute campsite within an hour of the Peninsula? Try one of these places. Matt Dolkas, content marketing manager for the Peninsula Open Space Trust, has a sermon to deliver to all you hiding in your cubicles right now: Get outside. Better yet, go camping. “Not to get too preachy, but that’s exactly what people need to do,” says Dolkas. “They need to feel the ...

Dragon boating with RWC’s Lightwave team kicked my butt, and it was great.

The unofficial team motto? Paddle fast so we can eat. The Lightwave dragon boat sets out from Bair Island into San Francisco Bay for practice. Peter Cockerell photo. A refreshing sea breeze blows inland, a welcome respite from the glaring summer sun. As we warm up stiff joints and aching muscles with an increasingly difficult routine of stretches, a chorus of groans and mumbled complaints rises from my fellow dragon boaters for the ...

Grill Like A Butcher

Don’t panic, but this month we’ll lose about 2 minutes of daylight each day. So make your grill time count! These Peninsula butchers shared their favorite new cuts of meat, and some old stand-bys, for a summer wind-down like no other. Brad Bain breaks down a lamb at Gambrel & Co. Photo by Veronica Weber. Gambrel & Co. This friendly new-school butcher shop in Redwood City has a cult following, and it’s easy to see why. ...

Geek out and improve your cooking today with Bold Food’s owner, Muffie Fulton

Bold Food founder Muffie Fulton sears her steak with a blowtorch (Photo by Michelle Le) Muffie Fulton isn’t your average chef. A neuroscience student who went on to work at Deloitte, Genentech and 23andMe, she founded Bold Food in Los Altos in 2015 with a mission to give home cooks who are on the adventurous side a fundamental education in the kind of molecular gastronomy techniques typically reserved for A-list chefs operating ...

Realizing your Renaissance: six skills to learn today in the 650

Sous-vide steak seared with a blow torch. Techniques via Bold Food. Photo courtesy of Michelle Le. Being a Renaissance woman/man ain’t easy. One must always be acquiring new skills. Lucky for you, we did a bit of asking around. From cooking to golfing to shooting a gun, we found the top instructors and programs in the 650 for you to pick up a new skill or two. 1. Break 100 Feeling left out of those corporate ...

Improv your life: getting on stage at Silicon Valley’s top improv schools

Photo courtesy of Clara Morgan. “Don’t worry about my pet martian,” I said. “It’s potty-trained.” “From the looks of it, you certainly aren’t,” my scene partner responded. If standing on stage to deliver jokes like this off the cuff sounds like a horrifying experience, then consider improv. Get outside your comfort zone, say whatever comes to mind and meet new friends in the process. You’re guaranteed to make a fool of yourself and remember ...

Need a new hobby in 2017? Disc Golf might be your jam.

Feeling good about that throw via IG: discgolfgivesmedopamine Looking for a new hobby in 2017? Dust off that old frisbee and join the Silicon Valley Disc Golf Club. The club’s founder and disc golf Hall of Famer, Jim Challas, says that the club has around 200 members who are mostly between 20–30 years old. Every Tuesday night from April through September there’s league play that anyone can attend and monthly tournaments every 2nd ...