Motorists rev up your engines as the California Mille heads to the open road.  A spirited 4-day 1,000 mile journey down some of the best scenic back roads Northern California has to offer is about to begin at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, April 29th.

Co-Director David Swig set the pace by showing off dozens of classic vintage sports cars included in the event in front of the Fairmont Hotel Sunday.  Started by his father Martin Swig in 1991, the California Mille pays homage to the famous Mille Miglia road race in Italy.

Mauro Battocchi – Consul General of Italy in San Francisco, made a special appearance and reminded the crowd that 2013 is also the year of Italian Culture in the United States.  He’ll be waving the Italian flag bright and early as the event gets underway.

From men racing trikes in Potrero Hill to dancing in the rain in Dolores Park — San Francisco delivered a brilliant Easter set to the tunes of the TrashKan Marchink Band.

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The Sunday Drive is always in vogue in San Francisco and one favorite path is also sure to feed the ego.  The famous crooked road of Lombard Street is elegantly paved in brick, set against pristine real estate, only has a speed limit of 5 mph to show off your Ferrari gloves and Porsche shades, and delivers plenty of eyeballs on either side of the steps.

In high season, you can find over 300 cars an hour making those eight hairpin turns and motorists grinning every step of the way.  And then there’s all the fanfare waiting for you at the finish line.

It’s a colorful scene with cherry red sports cars set against blue and purple hydrangeas.  And enough positive energy to surely inspire a second run down the scenic trail.

As Actor and Activist Peter Coyote enters his seventh decade, he looks back on the movements of the 60′s and the impact made by groups like “The Diggers” of which he was a integral part.  During the Summer of Love, they stood for social, cultural and political change — only some of that was truly realized.  Coyote admits he won’t live long enough to see the world he once imagined, but he’s proud of the footprint he made and the brothers and sisters he partnered with along the way.

Coyote spoke at the opening of — Black Power Flower Power – Photographs by Pirkle Jones and Ruth-Marion Baruch — at the Harvey Milk Photo Center.  The images, on display until March 23rd, are a definitive documentary of two movements that changed the fabric of this country.  Coyote’s words are poignant, moving and inspirational, and as he says, “The legacy is still alive because young people from today want to know how we dealt with the problems of yesterday.”

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No one knows where Sutro Sam came from, but he’s living up to the legacy of his adopted space. The River Otter who somehow landed in the ruins of Sutro Baths late last year, is as much of a marvel as the baths itself.  This one-time spectacle of 19th century swimming pools named after former SF Mayor Adolph Sutro, is today mere remnants of a historic complex — but Sammy swims to the same tune of bringing people of all ages together.

Sutro’s turn of the century dream was that “Anyone could enjoy a Sunday afternoon with the family,” and Sammy reinforces that mantra, bringing out families in droves; especially on weekends.

Sutro Sam has his own Twitter handle and the blogs are going bonkers with Sammy sitings.  In this video I shot last Sunday, he plays hide and seek as freely with a blue heron as he does with the children and adults.  Sammy’s allure is ageless and he brings out the best in visitors to this San Francisco landmark that is timeless.

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The Connecticut school tragedy truly impacts the nation.  The theater community is just one sector wanting to express their support to the families of the victims.  I was so touched Tuesday night when I came upon the cast and crew of the hit musical, “The Book of Mormon” standing outside the Curran Theater holding candles to illuminate the names of so many lives lost.  Moments before the start of another sold out performance, actors said they just want the families to know that they are standing with them.

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San Francisco custom made gifts are the buzz this holiday season, as independent marketplaces sprout up across the city.  This weekend SFMade‘s Holiday Gift Fair, the Lower Haight Holiday Art walk, Remodelista Holiday Market, the Crucible’s Holiday Gifty Fair and Hayes Valley Holiday Block Party are just a few venues where shoppers can grab original designs.

One destination that drew quite a gathering last weekend was the Bold Italic’s Holiday Gift Shop.  Given the size of the crowd that turned out for the 2-day event, it’s proof that properly leveraging social media sells.  The blog that celebrates neighborhoods, micro-hoods, intriguing entrepreneurs and the “free wheeling spirit of the city” opened its doors and leveraged its social streams to reach local audiences around the event.  Many of the artists are already virtual SF celebs. Thanks to @snapyourself, @velvetowldesign, @StolenSunday , @CasaMurriguez and @TheKengarden for showing me your distinctive creations.

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Rick Laubscher is a 4th generation San Franciscan (and Silver Spur award winner) with a passion for trolleys, cable cars, street cars and all things transit. He is a powerful presence in our transportation community and his slogan — “Keeping the Past Present in the Future” – is well received. Laubscher is also well known for his 2010 “60 Minutes” ride with Morley Safer down Market Street to discuss the timing, preservation and impact of the Historic Miles Brothers Film: “A Trip Down Market Street.”

Laubscher gave us the inside scoop on an original O’Farrell, Jones & Hyde cable car this past Sunday as Muni celebrates 100 years of wheels turning in …”the city that knows how.”

The O’Farrell, Jones & Hyde Street line ran from 1906 – 1954. The special double-end cable car isn’t something you see often in San Francisco, but one does remain. Thanks to a rancher in Santa Barbara county who bought and preserved one of the original cars to use for prospective cattle buyer tours — history comes alive down California Street.

More than two decades after that original cable car was donated to Muni, it has undergone extensive restoration and now makes rare public appearances as it did last Sunday.

Our appreciation go out to the mavericks like Laubscher who “see the bigger picture” in our carriage renaissance and continue to share their passion with those thrilled to rediscover the classics that truly define our city and never go out of style.

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