A San Francisco Treat

We honeymooned in San Francisco five years ago (give or take four months). It was fun to return and see some of the things that we missed. Josh had to attend the Web 2.0 Expo for work, so we went a few days early to enjoy ourselves. We rented a Honda Hybrid (using only two gallons of gas for two days of travel) and made the winding round-about trip across the Golden Gate Bridge and over to Sausalito and Tiburon. If I lived in SF, I'd want to live in that neck of the woods. It had beautiful views, lovely landscaping and was really quiet.

That's the busy city, way off in the distance.
Can you imagine living on the water like that?

Everyone seemed to be biking while we were there, and it didn't have that shoulder-to-shoulder crowded feel of the city. We took a drive on North 101 for some pretty views of California. I almost had a heart attack when I saw Baja Fresh at a little outdoor mall, so we decided to have an early dinner. Lauren and Heather and I used to eat there after we got paid. They don't have them in UT. Yummy food, but even better memories. :)

Here's lookin' at you, L-train!

They had beautiful flowers on the sidewalks, and I wanted to try to duplicate them this summer in my planters. We walked off dinner around Sausalito and then headed back to our hotel. Our hotel was really fun - it was a spa room w/ a huge jetted tub. After a long day of travel and driving, it was fun to relax and enjoy a quiet evening with no kids. Oh! They set out freshly baked chocolate chip cookies in the middle of the day. I had three. That's hospitality, I say!

We walked past this car that was totally covered in toys! It was quite the sight.
I could have made some major toy donations had I known it was there.

Monday we packed up some lunches and got an early start to Muir Woods (the 10th national monument). Admission was free that day in honor John Muir's (the park's namesake) birthday.

It started out pretty cold, and I wondered how long I would last.

Josh had to give me his hat and his gloves, since I came so poorly prepared. But, once we got hiking, it warmed up pretty quickly. The woods were beautiful and it was my favorite part of the trip. It's hard to capture even on film how truly enormous these trees were. They were really something!

See? I can't...even...wrap my arms around it!

Josh said that they filmed the Ewok Village scenes here. I can totally see it!

We saw a couple of does and a Great Egret - Dad would have totally cherished.

Can you see them in this blurry picture?
One's in the water, the other is high-tailing it up the embankment.

Great Egret looking for breakfast


"If a tree falls in the woods, but no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

Ever read the book "Hatchet"? This would have made a pretty cool shelter.

Pic for the kids

After our hike and a little snack, we went to Stinson Beach. There were some teenagers there on their lunch break(?) who were wearing shorts, tank tops, flip flops, etc. and we were both bundled up head-to-toe to try to stay warm. Honestly, I don't think it was much over 50 degrees and WiNdY! We left pretty quickly so the teens could catch pneumonia. We took a fun drive up the curvy Rt. 1 and enjoyed the pretty scenery and the lovely clear day. We went up to look around Golden Gate Park, and then went searching for our city hotel, which Josh's work had booked for him. Josh ran what we thought was a yellow light and a camera flashed his picture (CHEESE!), so we're anxiously awaiting the possible $350 ticket for running a red light. Nothing can ruin a vacation like a ticket, eh? Let's hope he didn't get one.

Our hotel room was just down the street from the big department stores, so we spent the rest of the evening browsing around, ate at the massive food court and then headed back to our room to get settled. There's never a shortage of crazy people in SF. Last time we were there, there was this very chatty, friendly guy on the bus, who would tell everyone he met "I love you. I really do! God loves you. I love you, too!" He was darling, and we saw him several times. He sat next to this woman on one of our bus rides and said, "That's a very pretty dress. You're a very pretty lady. Did your boyfriend buy that for you? Well, he shoooould have." Awesome. This time Josh was in the sites of a very ANGRY woman with bright red lipstick and a million layers of clothes on. She glared and him and said, "Who's SHE?" then before he had time to answer, she said, "You're HER." The end. Okay!?

Tuesday I was on my own to do whatever I wanted, since Josh had to "work". How would YOU have spent your day?

Well, I stayed in bed until about 8:00, watched some TV, including What Not to Wear (fun show), got ready and went shopping to spend some old gift cards (Forever 21 and Gap). I spent hours...HOURS trying on clothes (because I could), I wandered around and changed my mind dozens of times before finally settling on my purchases. Then I headed over to the familiar mall food court for lunch, then to Walgreens for some snacks, and spent the rest of the afternoon in my room...reading. Ah, it was heavenly! I finished the book a few days ago. Highly recommended and a five-star read. Josh joined me later and we went up to Chinatown to get some inexpensive gifts for the kids, then back to our room to watch American Idol.

I caught a flight home the next afternoon and greeted the kids at the airport, who could have cared less to see me. First words out of their mouths, "Where's Daddy?" Well, so much for worrying! Special thanks to Nana for taking such great care of them.

This is a pretty little tune sung by Frank Sinatra called "I Left my Heart in San Francisco".

I left my heart in San Francisco,
high on a hill it calls to me
To be where little cable cars
climb halfway to the stars.
The morning fog may chill the air,
I don't care.
My love waits there in San Francisco,
above the blue and windy sea,
When I come home to you,
San Francisco, your golden sun will shine for me.

Thanks for a great trip, SF!