Day 1 - We left the house before the boys were awake. Dad drove us to the airport. We had swift travels despite the rush hour except for a small glitch in Oakland as streets were already blocked off for the Batman movie filming that day (see link for some fun pics of Pittsburgh in the new movie, http://www.postgazette.com/pg/11217/1165413-60.stm). We had seamless flights out of Pittsburgh, through Phoenix to San Francisco.
We arrived at SFO around 4pm PT (7pm at home - bedtime for Tav!). We got our bags and our rental car and headed off to visit my cousin, Laura, and her 4 kids for dinner. It had been about 7 years since I had seen Laura, so it was so great to take advantage of the opportunity to stop-in and she was an amazing hostess. She cooked a delicious meal in her lovely meal while her super cute brood was so well-behaved and sweet. Although it was a brief visit, we really enjoyed our time together reconnecting and getting a little glimpse of her life.
We drove to San Francisco after that arriving around 8pm or so. Our, hotel at Fisherman's Wharf was blocks from a Trader Joe's, so we picked up some fresh fruit and granola bars for breakfast (and felt quite at home at a familiar grocer). Then we basically collapsed in bed (while watching the end of "Dark Passage" a Bogart/Bacall film from 1947 set in San Fran - fantastic by the way).
Day 2 - Doug and I both woke up relatively early with our bodies on Eastern Standard Time. We read a little and headed out on a jog to get our bearings of the neighborhood. We checked out the Wharf, the beach under Ghiradhelli Square and the edge of the park. Then after we freshened up (i.e. I got cute for date day with husband) and then we headed out to check out this edge of the city. It was chilly, misting and breezy, so we stopped at Starbucks for a cocoa/coffee and I had to take a picture of the electric buses for Koen.
Along our walk we enjoyed a great (although slightly foggy) view of Alcatraz. It's always amazing how close you feel to it despite it being stuck in the middle of the bay on an island. Doug brought a few movies about it ("The Rock" to name one) that thankfully I have not yet had to endure.
After our windy walk down the Wharf (now that's some good alliteration!), we headed inland to walk up to Coit Tower. On the random street we chose to climb up to the tower, we turned around and could see that famous turny street (I think Lombardi?) a few blocks behind us.
Here's another breathtaking shot from the street, through an alley on our way up to the tower. What a beautiful city!
Almost there, see it peeking above the trees?
I've traveled to the top before on my quick sight-seeing on business trips of years past, so we decided not to take the elevator to the top (not to mention the ticket price was up to $7). But we enjoyed the beautiful and historic murals covering the walls inside the base of the tower.
Here's a shot of the whole tower. It's really a neat landmark and we were impressed at how the city at several different stages in history has come together to build and preserve this beautiful place.
A view from the base of the tower, the woman looking out is Lillie Coit who originally gave the land for this special place.
The tower actually rests on a place called Telegraph Hill (another historic aspect of the tower stop).
This hill is not only a preserved historic space, but is also lined with residences reached by intricate walkways and stairways lined with lovely gardens and vegetation, not to mention the views.
After our walk/hike and a chat on the phone with Gramma regarding the boys at home in a lovely park, we headed to lunch at Pier 23. Doug found this place recommended by Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network.
See the Coit Tower in the background?
And here's the lovely view of the bay from our bayside seating.
At this restaurant, the waiter thought that Doug was my "friend" he said. When I mentioned he was my husband he said that. When I told him we were actually celebrating our 10th anniversary he couldn't believe it. He said he thought I was like 23! Doug got the crab, which was amazing. I've never had shellfish that tasted so good. Highly recommend it! This picture was taken for Koen to appreciate.
After lunch we walked back along the piers, up Bay Street, quickly picked up our car at the hotel and then headed off to Golden Gate Park (Doug was a little weirded out by how closely the cable cars passed loaded with people hanging off the sides).
We got out at the park on the city side of the bridge to see the Sutro Baths (baths built in the early 1900's believed to have had healing waters) and some other sites. This rock was covered in pelicans.
Next to the baths was a cave/tunnel that you could walk through while listening to the waves crashing outside and pouring in through crevices inside. A little freaky! We made a short film to share with Koen as well.
In this shot you can see a little glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge, but what's also notable is that these rocky cliffs were also the place of many shipwrecks - some of which you can still see parts of!
After about a mile walk in this side of the park, we headed onto the bridge.
We drove through the other side of Golden Gate Park on crazy curvy (sick ening actually) roads through thick woods and rocky cliffs to Stinson Beach and then on to Muir Beach on the way back.
We headed over to Sausalito to check out a potential dinner stop, but we were unimpresed, so we decided to drive to our next hotel in Novato. It was a good decision. On the ride over we decided we were done with the excursions for the day and we would just order in pizza. Ahhhh, this is seriously vacation. It was a relaxing night after a busy and adventurous day. Stay tuned for more updates!
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