San Francisco

Kent and Noelene came into town over President's Day weekend for a brace re check and agreed to care for our kids for a couple of days while we enjoyed a trip to San Francisco. It has been on my list of places to go for a while and it didn't disappoint. We really appreciated grandma and grandpa being willing to trade their Arizona winter for a cold weekend in the Pacific Northwest with 4 kids. Luckily, the holiday weekend meant that there wasn't too much on the schedule so there wasn't too much running around for them.

We picked up the rental car and drove into the city and explored. We were so fortunate to enjoy some balmy 60 degree weather all weekend long. Friday night ended with dinner at In and Out by the Pier since I couldn't decide on anything else. You have to do In and Out when you visit California right? We ended off the night with an over sweet sundae at Ghirardelli Square and a fun ride on the street car.

On Saturday we decided to take a bike tour of the city. We thought that it would be a great way to see things and it was, but after the 20 mile ride I thought that my bottom would never be the same. I also found out very quickly that I wasn't very comfortable riding very fast, I didn't like going down hills, and I wasn't good with the gears.

We rode into Golden Gate Park and saw the Conservatory of Flowers

We found some sweet girls to take a picture of us. Please ignore the guts!

Cruising past the California Academy of Sciences

There were some bison grazing in a paddock at the end of the park

The Dutch Windmills in the west park of the park once pumped water

The ocean. 

It was a pretty day so we took a quick stroll. It was at this point that I was kind 

of upset because there were no tickets left to do a tour of Alcatraz tomorrow. 

It was a steep ride up the hill by Ocean Beach. I wasn't

too ashamed to get off and walk.

The thinker outside the Legion of Honor

Enjoying the beautiful views after the climb

We had to climb up yet another hill before we got to the bridge. Spenser was nice enough to get off and wait for me. As we made the climb a ton of emergency vehicles went by. We later found out when we watched the news that a tourist had fallen into the bay trying to get the perfect picture and was rescued by someone nearby.

I made it across! I wanted to stop so badly, but there was no where to stop and Spenser was right behind me. There was also an old guy in front of us who never stopped and I couldn't let him show me up.

We had to get a post bridge crossing selfie

We then enjoyed some downhill riding before more hills into Sausalito. Spenser was always kind enough to stop and wait for me, but started up again as soon as I arrived. That's a pretty good way to tire someone out.

Alcatraz

The kayaks made us feel at home

Downtown San Francisco

There were people with bikes all over the place in Sausalito. We knew that we had to eat quickly if we were going to make it onto the ferry. What we thought was going to be a couple of hours ride had already taken up most of the day. We found a tasty little cafe not too far from the ferry terminal. When we ate we realized just how hungry we were. We had only had a couple of granola bars since our Starbucks hot chocolate and pastry that morning.

After waiting in a long line we did manage to make it onto the ferry with about 1,000 other people with bikes. It felt nice to sit down and relax for a while.

After letting my bottom rest for a while we changed and went out to dinner at Zarzuela's a little Spanish restaurant that had been recommended to us. We had an hours wait outside for a table, but it didn't matter. There were no kids to worry about and it was nice to sit and chat and erase 100's of photos taken by Sam from my phone. The food was good, but the birthday song that the waiter sang to a girl at the table next to us was unforgettable.

On Sunday morning we headed over to Mama's to get some breakfast. From all of the reviews I had read Mama's was the place to be, but people often commented on the long line outside. The line down the building certainly didn't disappoint! An early start was obviously the way to go, but the bike ride, late night dinner, and just being on vacation had taken a toll.

We picked up a couple of pastries from a bakery down the street and then walked up to Coit Tower.It
 was a pleasant little morning hike in the sunshine, although I was regretting the boots a little.

After a little exercise we walked down to the Pier to find a little lunch.

I was still a little bitter about not being able to get on a trip to Alcatraz, but it probably worked out for the best since we wouldn't have been able to enjoy any of the sights today. It just gives us a reason to come back soon.

We spent some time at Pier 39 with it's resident sea lions. Those things smell pretty good and it just seems to linger.It was pretty fun to see that many sea lions in one place though.

We enjoyed some good sourdough at Boudin's. San Francisco were playing the Seahawks in the playoffs this afternoon so there was 49er's spirit everywhere. I told Spenser to stay on the down low so that no one would try and beat us up.

We walked by Ghirardelli Square on our way back to the street car.

We hopped off to see Lombard Street.

And then it was time to bid San Francisco goodbye. We headed back to the hotel to pick up our car. We snuck a quick peep at the game in the lobby.

There was a fun atmosphere in the airport. Everyone was glued to the exciting game. A bunch of girls travelling with their Crossfire soccer team were on our flight again. Cheers erupted as Russell threw a last minute touchdown for Seattle to win the game followed by chants of "Seattle Seahawks!" The 49er's fans walked sheepishly onto the plane for a long week or work in Seattle!

It was a great trip with time to relax and reconnect and worrying about ourselves, but we both felt ready to go back and enjoy some time with the kids.