We are home, recovering from an amazing week in California on the Great Family Vacation of 2010. I know I won't be able to recreate it all in words for you here, but I'll try to recap some of the highlights before much less exciting things take their place in my memory.
Day 1: Saturday, October 2, 2010
We flew with Adrian, Abby, and Linus to Houston where we met Mee Maw and Pop Pop for the second leg of the flight to San Francisco. Once we landed in San Fran, picked up our luggage, and started the trek to the car rental place, it was approaching bedtime back home. But thanks to the time change, we still had half a day to enjoy! I look pretty exhausted here though.
We had dinner at the Beach Chalet Brewery and Restaurant, where we watched a sand castle competition on the beach and enjoyed the history of the Golden Gate Park with maps and exhibits as we waited for our table. We also saw a ridiculous number of people hanging out in and around the park - only later did I realize that it was the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. (Click that one at your own risk, family members, because you might have to shed some tears about what we missed! I think we needed just a few more weeks in San Fran to take it all in!)
After that, it was on to the Golden Gate Hotel. This place is perfect. They had me at the clawfoot tub and big fluffy bed. Not to mention the croissants. The tea and cookies. Seriously. Perfect.
And a mouse painted in the antique elevator?! Seriously. Perfect.
Day 2: Sunday, October 3rd, 2010
We slept in a little and had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel before catching a cable car down to Fisherman's Wharf. Evelyn really liked to watch the cable car drivers as they pulled the breaks and rang the bell. That was her favorite part.
We poked around the piers a bit and spent some time at the Musee Mecanique, an old warehouse full of antique arcade machines. It was a really cool place and pretty fun to get a pocket full of quarters and play around for a while.
After that, it was time to grab lunch. We headed to Alioto's for amazing views of the wharf and delicious food.
Next up was some more wharf-wondering. We visited the stinky Sea Lions on Pier 39. We did spontaneous, whimsical things like picking out oysters and finding pearls and having them set into gorgeous earrings (thanks for that one, Jonathan!). And then we heard a street barker calling out, "Bay tours only $15" and we all stopped and looked at each other and said, "Why not?" So we took a tour of the San Francisco bay, sitting on the front of a little tiny boat. They even cut the engine when we went under the bridge so that we could enjoy the quiet and take pictures.
Richard and Terry had fun on the cruise, don't you think? I love this picture of them.
Sunday continued with a walk up to Ghirardelli Square and dinner at a little pub there. By the time we grabbed a cable car back to the hotel, we were all exhausted.
Day 3: Monday, October 4th, 2010
We had to wake up bright and early for our tour of Alcatraz on Monday morning. We grabbed the world's most expensive cafe breakfast at the Wharf and then headed over to the queue for the ferry to Alcatraz. Jonathan was on picture duty there so I don't have much until I get his phone pictures, but Alcatraz was really cool. The audio tour was incredibly well done and we enjoyed learning some new things.
That took up about half the day, so right when we got back we headed out to the Cliff House for some delicious popovers and crab cakes. And even more amazing views. On our way back to the hotel, we did a little drive-by sightseeing of Haight-Ashbury (that website makes me smile) and the Seven Sisters at Alamo Square (checking off my "Full House" tourist goals from the San Fran to-do list).
Once we returned from these adventures, we put the mouse down for the night and Terry babysat while Jonathan and I hopped on a cable car down to Union Square, where we had an early anniversary dinner at John's Grill. We followed up dinner with a pit stop at Walgreen's for some baby food and diapers; the juxtaposition of these two anniversary stops makes me smile. Then it was time for a long soak in the clawfoot tub and a good sleep in the fluffy bed.
Day 4: Tuesday, October 5th, 2010
Tuesday brought with it the adventure up North. First stop: Lombard Street for some photo ops. Second stop: The Golden Gate Bridge.
I have mixed feelings about the bridge ever since watching this documentary. I think I'd be 100% cool and happy with it if they'd erect some suicide barriers (these people agree). But apart from that, I did enjoy it and I was sufficiently impressed with the engineering required to even think of suspension bridges.
After the bridge, got on the 101 headed North. Our experienced travel guides pointed us towards the Sterling Vineyards, where we enjoyed a beautiful and delicious wine tasting tour.
From there, it was a long and winding road to Shelter Cove. But once we arrived and opened the car door... BLISS. Jonathan and I listened to the waves crashing on the rocks, smelled the salty air, and looked up to the clearest sky where we could see the Milky Way. It was perfect. We shared a couple of suites at a very nice and small hotel, Evelyn was content with her little mouse-pad (haha) on the floor, and we slept well.
Day 5: Wednesday, October 6th, 2010
Happy third anniversary to us!
We spent the morning lounging around and exploring Shelter Cove... The tide pools, the little market and deli, the lighthouse... We grabbed some pizza for dinner and just relaxed.
Day 6: Thursday, October 7th, 2010
After breakfast, we headed up to tour the Avenue of the Giants. Even if you think you know how big Redwoods can be, you have no idea until you see one. They are huge. Ginormous. As Linus used to say, Q-mongous!
We stopped at a couple of galleries and I promptly decided that a redwood salad bowl would be nice. Of course bowls are the most expensive thing ever, so we passed on them at the first gallery deciding to shop around. Wouldn't you know that we never did find another bowl that we liked enough to buy. Next time we'll just have to trust our guts and go with the impulse buy I guess!
Day 7: Friday, October 8th, 2010
Friday was the day to head back to San Francisco.
We said goodbye to the Tide's Inn.
But we did get to stop to admire the Redwoods a little bit more at Richardson Grove State Park and the drive-through Chandelier Tree.
By the time we went back over the bridge and through Golden Gate park and reached our hotel (in Friday evening traffic, no less), we were ready to grab some dinner (YUM) and hit the hay.
Day 8: Saturday, October 9th, 2010
We woke up at 5 AM to grab a quick breakfast, headed to the airport, and pretty much walked right on to our plane. The flight from San Francisco to Newark, New Jersey is long, but we survived with our sanity mostly intact.
There was enough time in Newark to scavenge for some decent food (or at least edible food...) before catching our last flight home on a little propjet. Evelyn and Linus entertained each other for a while and both maintained pretty cheerful dispositions despite the late hour and long day.
By 10 PM, we were home and ready for bed.
I shed some tears, as I always do to mourn the end of a vacation. And what a vacation it was.
Thank you to Richard and Terry for making this trip possible, being our guides, and putting up with us when we thought we knew more than you (it's these newfangled phones, I tell ya). ;) And to Adrian and Abby and Linus for being our traveling companions and helping us with Evelyn! We had such a good week, I really do hate to see it go.
Day 1: Saturday, October 2, 2010
We flew with Adrian, Abby, and Linus to Houston where we met Mee Maw and Pop Pop for the second leg of the flight to San Francisco. Once we landed in San Fran, picked up our luggage, and started the trek to the car rental place, it was approaching bedtime back home. But thanks to the time change, we still had half a day to enjoy! I look pretty exhausted here though.
We had dinner at the Beach Chalet Brewery and Restaurant, where we watched a sand castle competition on the beach and enjoyed the history of the Golden Gate Park with maps and exhibits as we waited for our table. We also saw a ridiculous number of people hanging out in and around the park - only later did I realize that it was the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. (Click that one at your own risk, family members, because you might have to shed some tears about what we missed! I think we needed just a few more weeks in San Fran to take it all in!)
After that, it was on to the Golden Gate Hotel. This place is perfect. They had me at the clawfoot tub and big fluffy bed. Not to mention the croissants. The tea and cookies. Seriously. Perfect.
And a mouse painted in the antique elevator?! Seriously. Perfect.
Day 2: Sunday, October 3rd, 2010
We slept in a little and had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel before catching a cable car down to Fisherman's Wharf. Evelyn really liked to watch the cable car drivers as they pulled the breaks and rang the bell. That was her favorite part.
We poked around the piers a bit and spent some time at the Musee Mecanique, an old warehouse full of antique arcade machines. It was a really cool place and pretty fun to get a pocket full of quarters and play around for a while.
After that, it was time to grab lunch. We headed to Alioto's for amazing views of the wharf and delicious food.
Next up was some more wharf-wondering. We visited the stinky Sea Lions on Pier 39. We did spontaneous, whimsical things like picking out oysters and finding pearls and having them set into gorgeous earrings (thanks for that one, Jonathan!). And then we heard a street barker calling out, "Bay tours only $15" and we all stopped and looked at each other and said, "Why not?" So we took a tour of the San Francisco bay, sitting on the front of a little tiny boat. They even cut the engine when we went under the bridge so that we could enjoy the quiet and take pictures.
Richard and Terry had fun on the cruise, don't you think? I love this picture of them.
Sunday continued with a walk up to Ghirardelli Square and dinner at a little pub there. By the time we grabbed a cable car back to the hotel, we were all exhausted.
Day 3: Monday, October 4th, 2010
We had to wake up bright and early for our tour of Alcatraz on Monday morning. We grabbed the world's most expensive cafe breakfast at the Wharf and then headed over to the queue for the ferry to Alcatraz. Jonathan was on picture duty there so I don't have much until I get his phone pictures, but Alcatraz was really cool. The audio tour was incredibly well done and we enjoyed learning some new things.
That took up about half the day, so right when we got back we headed out to the Cliff House for some delicious popovers and crab cakes. And even more amazing views. On our way back to the hotel, we did a little drive-by sightseeing of Haight-Ashbury (that website makes me smile) and the Seven Sisters at Alamo Square (checking off my "Full House" tourist goals from the San Fran to-do list).
Once we returned from these adventures, we put the mouse down for the night and Terry babysat while Jonathan and I hopped on a cable car down to Union Square, where we had an early anniversary dinner at John's Grill. We followed up dinner with a pit stop at Walgreen's for some baby food and diapers; the juxtaposition of these two anniversary stops makes me smile. Then it was time for a long soak in the clawfoot tub and a good sleep in the fluffy bed.
Day 4: Tuesday, October 5th, 2010
Tuesday brought with it the adventure up North. First stop: Lombard Street for some photo ops. Second stop: The Golden Gate Bridge.
I have mixed feelings about the bridge ever since watching this documentary. I think I'd be 100% cool and happy with it if they'd erect some suicide barriers (these people agree). But apart from that, I did enjoy it and I was sufficiently impressed with the engineering required to even think of suspension bridges.
After the bridge, got on the 101 headed North. Our experienced travel guides pointed us towards the Sterling Vineyards, where we enjoyed a beautiful and delicious wine tasting tour.
From there, it was a long and winding road to Shelter Cove. But once we arrived and opened the car door... BLISS. Jonathan and I listened to the waves crashing on the rocks, smelled the salty air, and looked up to the clearest sky where we could see the Milky Way. It was perfect. We shared a couple of suites at a very nice and small hotel, Evelyn was content with her little mouse-pad (haha) on the floor, and we slept well.
Day 5: Wednesday, October 6th, 2010
Happy third anniversary to us!
We spent the morning lounging around and exploring Shelter Cove... The tide pools, the little market and deli, the lighthouse... We grabbed some pizza for dinner and just relaxed.
Day 6: Thursday, October 7th, 2010
After breakfast, we headed up to tour the Avenue of the Giants. Even if you think you know how big Redwoods can be, you have no idea until you see one. They are huge. Ginormous. As Linus used to say, Q-mongous!
We stopped at a couple of galleries and I promptly decided that a redwood salad bowl would be nice. Of course bowls are the most expensive thing ever, so we passed on them at the first gallery deciding to shop around. Wouldn't you know that we never did find another bowl that we liked enough to buy. Next time we'll just have to trust our guts and go with the impulse buy I guess!
Day 7: Friday, October 8th, 2010
Friday was the day to head back to San Francisco.
We said goodbye to the Tide's Inn.
But we did get to stop to admire the Redwoods a little bit more at Richardson Grove State Park and the drive-through Chandelier Tree.
By the time we went back over the bridge and through Golden Gate park and reached our hotel (in Friday evening traffic, no less), we were ready to grab some dinner (YUM) and hit the hay.
Day 8: Saturday, October 9th, 2010
We woke up at 5 AM to grab a quick breakfast, headed to the airport, and pretty much walked right on to our plane. The flight from San Francisco to Newark, New Jersey is long, but we survived with our sanity mostly intact.
There was enough time in Newark to scavenge for some decent food (or at least edible food...) before catching our last flight home on a little propjet. Evelyn and Linus entertained each other for a while and both maintained pretty cheerful dispositions despite the late hour and long day.
By 10 PM, we were home and ready for bed.
I shed some tears, as I always do to mourn the end of a vacation. And what a vacation it was.
Thank you to Richard and Terry for making this trip possible, being our guides, and putting up with us when we thought we knew more than you (it's these newfangled phones, I tell ya). ;) And to Adrian and Abby and Linus for being our traveling companions and helping us with Evelyn! We had such a good week, I really do hate to see it go.
Comments
It sounds/looks like a fantastic trip!