In order to celebrate our Tin Anniversary, Josh & I were able to take a long weekend trip to San Francisco. Thanks in large part to my mother-in-law, Rose Mary and to Anne for watching the girls for us while we lived it up on the west coast. We flew out on Friday morning, arriving afternoon local time, so we were able to do quite a bit that day. We checked into our hotel, the Radisson on the Wharf, walked out their back door and were practically on Pier 39. Of course one of the first things we saw were the seals, lounging in the sun. Then we walked around all the shops and enjoyed a late sushi & delicious cocktail lunch. Following that, we hiked. That is the only word that best describes "walking" in San Francisco.
We took the Filbert Street stairs and started our climb up to Coit Tower, then down the hill and over to Lombard Street - the "crookedest" street, which of course, we climbed up. We ended this excursion at Ghiradelli for a yummy (although expensive) brownie sundae. After recouping in the hotel for a bit, we capped off the night at Fog City diner where we learned the difference between New England clam chowder and San Francisco clam chowder.
Saturday we rented bikes and embarked on a 15 mile tour of San Fran. Unlike my unwise hubby, I opted for the electric bike - considering I have not ridden a bike since before we were married, I thought this was a good choice. Now listen, you still have to peddle, like a normal bike, but when you come to a tough hill, you pull back on the throttle and it's just like you have someone giving you a push from the back. Our bike ride took us though San Francisco, down to the water along a path. We detoured over to the Palace of the Fine Arts, which was beyond gorgeous. If we'd gotten married in San Francisco, this would have been the place we'd have taken photos for sure. The best part of the bike tour was riding over the Golden Gate bridge - what a breath taking experience that was! Finally we were down hill to Saulsilito, where we had a quick lunch, then a ferry ride back to San Fran (can you see I am getting tired of writing San Francisco over and over?). Our next adventure was a Go-car ride. This is basically a scooter with a fiberglass body around it and seats 2. Built in is a GPS (we call her Rita) which guides you on a set path and shares information about where you are. What a fun way to explore and have some freedom of where you are going.
Sunday was a nice, romantic day which started with a champagne brunch on a ship, which takes you around the bay. We arrived at our assigned seat to find a card and a box of chocolates waiting for us - such a nice touch. The food was delicious, and the champagne was flowing. We had a piano player/singer to serenade us as well. We got a different view of the Golden Gate bridge than the day before as we went right underneath it. After our brunch we motored down to the pier for the boat to Alcatraz. Yes, I know there is something wrong with me, but going to Alcatraz was probably #1 on the sightseeing list for me. We did an audio-tour and took lots of photos. Let's just say I am glad that I never had to do any time on the Rock. Not a fun place to be, but man, did the prisoners has a fantastic view.
We changed hotels on Sunday from the Raddison at the Wharf to the Hilton in the Financial District. Evidently the Hilton is the largest/busiest hotel in San Fran, so it was a very different atmosphere. We got to see a different part of the city. Monday started with a walking tour of Chinatown, which was what I expected, but Josh was sadly disappointed. From there we did another Go-car tour, only this time going over to the ocean and through Golden Gate National Park. Granted it would have been a lot cheaper to rent a car, but it wouldn't have been as much of an experience riding around in the Go-car as if we were Speed Racers slightly slower cousin. For our last night in San Fran, we had dinner and drinks at the Top of the Mark. We enjoyed having the sun set behind us, looking over the city.
San Francisco was a fantastic place for us to visit together. I'm sure we could have done a lot more, but we had a great time in the amount of time that we had. Hopefully I'll get some photos posted next.
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