California – Part 3 – San Francisco

In case you missed it, Part 1 and Part 2.

We spent the last day of our trip in San Fran sight-seeing.  After breakfast we started our “hike” up (and I do mean up) to Lombard street.

The view from above:

The Golden Gate Bridge in the distance:

Lombard Street – going down (yes, we walked it)!

Looking up from the bottom:

From there we continued downhill back to the bay to walk around Pier 39 (my calves have never been so sore!).

Views from the pier:

Firefighters Museum on the top of the hill and the TransAmerica building to the right.

Alcatraz

Sealions!

We walked some more then stopped for lunch at an Irish pub and watched most of the US vs. England World Cup game – complete with pints of Anchor Steam Beer :)  We loaded into the car to make our way to the airport with a few “stops” along the way.

First, we drove down Lombard Street then made our way to Chinatown.

We got mildly lost after that, but eventually got to the airport in plenty of time.  We pulled into our driveway around 1:15am after a long, long day.  The kids were so happy to see us in the morning and we were just as excited!

The report from Papa and Yia Yia was that all went great and everyone had a fun time back at home.  We are so grateful for them coming down to stay with the kids so we could have this time together!

California – Part 2 – Roads and Redwoods

Sorry for the delay – I’ve been just exhausted since we got home.  In fact, I crashed on the couch around noon on Sunday.  Haven’t done that in a long, long time.  Anyway, click here if you missed Part 1.

The 2nd day of our trip wasn’t to eventful.  Keenan went to work and I lounged around the hotel by myself.  It’s very rare that I am truly alone and it was wonderful!  That evening we went back to Cleda’s house only to discover she and Marge had snacked too much to join us for dinner.  We grabbed some food and returned to watch the Lakers vs. Celtics (game 2 of the finals) with them.

The next morning Keenan dropped me off at Cleda’s house before returning to work for a half-day.  Cleda took me to San Jose’s premier shopping area – Santana Row.  We window shopped and ended up at another mall – Westfield Valley Fair.  After lunch we headed home to wait for Keenan.

That afternoon we drove back through a windy mountain road to Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

At an overlook along the road:

A sample of the road:

A Redwood slice:

The beginning:

and the end:

Ready to hike:

Where’s Waldo, er, Keenan? and looking up through the charred inside of the same tree.

We saw many “burned out” trees apparently struck by lightening, but still alive!  Crazy!

Keenan with “The Father of the Forest” (largest trunk diameter tree in the park).

Me with “The Mother of the Forest” (tallest tree in the park).

After our hike, it was back on the winding road to Highway 1 back to San Francisco.  We stopped a couple of times along the way to enjoy the view and for dinner.  We ate on the patio of La Costanera – a Peruvian restaurant just north of Half Moon Bay.  The view was amazing, but the Pacific breeze was a bit too chilly to say the least.  By the time we were done with our amazing dinner and dessert, we were huddled under one of their outdoor heaters with our backs to the wind.

View from the patio:

We arrived at our hotel – The Argonaut – on Fisherman’s Wharf around 8:30.  We had missed “wine hour” (same company as our previous hotel), but received coupons for free wine at the bar.  We walked a little bit of the Wharf then called it a night.  I’ll save San Francisco for Part 3 :)

California – Part 1

These posts will mainly serve my memory so I apologize in advance if they get a little lengthy.  The quick version is Keenan and I are having a fabulous time in CA and still have 2 days to go!!!

Our vacation started with a hiccup in our plans at 6:45am yesterday.  The airline called to ask us to switch from the over-booked 9:40 flight with a layover in LAX to a 9am direct flight to San Francisco.  This meant we'd get in 3 hours earlier than planned!  On top of that they offered us $500 in vouchers!  Since we were already up and we live close to the airport, we jumped at the chance.  It was a bit of a scramble, but we made it.

Getting in early allowed us to take our time getting to Silicon Valley from San Fran.  We made our way to Hwy 1 via Hwy 101 and started south down the coast.

The scenery was absolutely beautiful!  Everything is lush and green and the plant variety is amazing.  It was very overcast, cold and misty when we arrived, but still beautiful.  The drive to Hwy 1 took us through the mountains on a windy, hilly road.

We made our way to Half Moon Bay and stopped for lunch on Main St.  We found a quaint little restaurant called Chez Shea and enjoyed the daily special of Blue Fin Tuna Fajitas and a cup each of Clam Chowder and Corn Chowder – delicious!

Back on the road we found a road that lead us to a beach overlook.  The view was amazing!

(Excuse my squinty eyes – the glare was making them water.)

On our way again we took Hwy 84 into the valley.  Talk about a windy mountain road!  About halfway there, I almost lost my lunch!  I was very grateful when we broke free into the open overlooking the valley and the sun was shining!

Our next stop was Keenan’s Great Aunt Cleda’s house.  We enjoyed some beverages and chatted with Cleda and her roommate, Marge.  After a rest, Keenan got to work trimming their hedges and harvesting the last of their kumquat crop.

We stopped off at our hotel to check in and freshen up.  Upon arriving we found out it was wine-tasting hour!  Keenan did a great job picking our hotel – The Cypress.  Very modern and high class and complete with leopard print robes!

Back to Cleda’s house to pick her up for our Sushi dinner at her favorite place.  The bar area has little wooden boats that float by filled with plates of sushi creations.  You grab what you want and they add up your plates at the end.  What a fun way to sample a little bit of everything!  Our Texas friend, Ryan, happens to be in town on business too, so he joined us for dinner.

Thanks to our long day and the time change we were in bed early.  It also meant we were up early.  I was able to enjoy breakfast with Keenan before he left for work.  After that I lounged in the lobby with the free Starbucks coffee bar and WiFi.  Back to the room to charge my laptop battery and take a long, hot shower.  Plans for the rest of the day include lunch, a nap and another fun evening with Cleda and Marge :)

Stay tuned for Part 2! :)