by Emily Chow, Sunset editorial intern

The New Children's Museum in San Diego
Photo credit: Matthew Jaffe

Looking for something to do Labor Day weekend? If you are a Bank of America cardholder, check out their Museum on Us program, which offers free general admission into more than 100 participating museums nationwide on the first full weekend of every month.

• Portland:  Check out the Portland Art Musuem's "Virtual Worlds" exhibit highlighting M.C. Escher's spatial illusions.
• San Francisco: Stroll around Yerba Buena Gardens and stop by San Francisco's Contemporary Jewish Museum.
• San Diego: Visit The New Children's Museum in San Diego, where the entire family can engage and create art in three floors of interactive galleries.

Where will I be this weekend? If it's not too crowded, you'll find me at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, learning about innovative technology solutions in their permanent exhibit that is opening tomorrow, "Technology Benefiting Humanity."

Flash that piece of plastic at the ticket office for some free fun during the upcoming long weekend. It can't get any better than that.

Check out their Web site to locate participating museums near you.

By Rachel Levin, Sunset senior editor

We’ve been so busy putting out our recent print issues, we’ve been abandoning our poor little travel blog. But, fear not dear readers (we do still have readers, right? Hello… Anybody out there?) we are BACK!

And we aim to be better than ever with a new focus: We'll be reporting on places where we are literally just back from. And, of course, being the busy travel editors that we are, where we are headed next. We'll give you the honest scoop on everything from glamping in Montana to kayaking in Las Vegas of all places to our favorite apres-work restaurants in San Francisco.

Lets start with something simple. Like, where I’m going… tonight: To Nopa, one of my favorite neighborhood restaurants in SF, for the cocktail I’m craving now:

The Wash House. It’s a pretty, late-summer sip made with organic rye vodka from Square One, fresh basil, and squeezed-to-order lime and adorned with a delicate sprig of thyme. Sounds easy enough to mix up at home, doesn’t it? (Maybe I’ll try it this weekend). In the meantime, I’ll happily pony up $9 for one this eve. Maybe even two.

by Natalie Jabbar, Sunset editorial intern

I took a day trip to Santa Cruz last weekend, hoping to find a serene spot away from the the crowded beaches and infamous boardwalk, where I would inevitably be lured into eating far too much funnel cake.

I found just that spot at Natural Bridges State Beach. Nestled at the northern tip of the scenic West Cliff Drive, Natural Bridges is the perfect place to enjoy a quiet picnic, fly a kite, or simply take in a great view, which includes the beach's namesake, a "natural bridge" composed of rock (pictured above).

If you're lucky, you may even sight some otters, a migrating whale, or other sea creatures, depending on the season. This beach also houses the Monarch Butterfly Natural Preserve, where from Mid-October to February you can walk through an oasis of eucalyptus trees dotted with over 100,000 monarchs. I'll definitely be returning to Natural Bridges in the future--what are some of your favorite, tucked away spots in the West?

DON'T MISS:

If you venture to Santa Cruz during these waning weeks of summer, you can also attend a performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” just the way the Bard would have wanted you to--in the middle of a redwood forest. The repertory company Shakespeare Santa Cruz will be performing that whimsical play, along with  “Julius Caesar” and the Bay Area premiere of Donald Margulies' “Shipwrecked! An Entertainment” through August 30th.

EXPLORE SOME MORE:

If you have a few hours to spare, drive south about 25 miles from Santa Cruz to another quiet sea escape, Moss Landing. This idyllic beach town could be the perfect pit stop on the way to Monterey if you want to make a night of it and rest by the water for awhile.

by the Sunset editorial staff

Joey Altman, Traci Des Jardins,
and Michael Mina? They'll be there too.

I want to be with all the biggest chefs and most devout cooks in the West, who will be converging at Union Square Thursday through Sunday for SF Chefs. Food. Wine. The well-punctuated name pretty much says it all, but I might add this elaboration: Parties. Tastings. Classes.

The heirloom tomato cookoff between Joanne Weir and Gary Danko and hosted by Sunset’s food editor, Margo True, is sold out, alas. But you can still get into a head-spinning array of events, from a Friday morning shuck-and-sip pairing of wines and oysters to Saturday night’s urban barbecue on the square, where the band members are chefs you might recognize from around town. 

When: August 6–9, 2009
Where: Union Square and surrounding hotel and retail spaces as well as restaurants throughout the city.
Expected guests: 1,500 attendees per day
Tickets: One-day passes are $150, which includes the midday Grand Tasting, as well as a morning and afternoon class. Children free at Sunday family activities.