The San Francisco Treat

Hotel View

Hyde St. Pier

Me and a Boudin Sourdough Mini Turtle

Ferry Building

Peanut Butter Gold Rush Gharadelli

Adam on the Balclutha

Painted Ladies

Salt Water Taffy

Palace of the Fine Arts

Golden Gate in Fog

I always have the hardest time getting back into the normal routine after I get back from a vacation. As soon as the return flight touches down, I'm all like homework? What homework? What is the purpose of this homework? Oh and you have to feed you pet so they can survive? And walk said pet? All those tasks just seem so unimportant when I know I could be enjoying hotels with stunning views, good food, and seeing new things. Which is exactly what happened this week when we spent three glorious, although not very sunny days, in San Francisco with my mother and Stepfather.

This trip we spent hours roaming fisherman's wharf, stepping aboard the old ships at Hyde St. Pier, eating Sourdough Bread Mini Turtles from Boudin, and watching the fat and lazy sea lions at Pier 39 (which really, really reminded me of Sarah. No joke). We also got to do some things that we didn't get to do last time like see the beautiful painted ladies, the palace of the fine arts, Golden Gate Park, and  even spent some time in the charming town of Sausalito.  And can we talk about all the fabulous food I ate? Clam chowder in bread bowls, dungeness crab pizza, pecan danishes, peanut butter gold rush sundaes from Gharadellis, Salt Water Taffy in Sausalito, and Sea Scallops good enough to sell your soul for. Also I tried Baklava for the first time. The verdict? Delicious.

But by far the very best moment of the trip was the night drive I took with Adam across the Golden Gate Bridge. We decided to drive across the bridge spontaneously once we got back to the hotel after dinner by ourselves. I really love doing things spontaneously, but my spontaneous streak is limited. So when we decided to go, I wanted to use our GPS. But apparently Adam was insulted by that idea because he just wanted to drive toward the bridge and see if we would just stumble upon it. Say what? That sounded dangerous to me. What if we ended up careening off a mountain into the Bay? Then we would be live testing (not to be confused with live tweeting) the hypothesis of whether or not the Alcatraz Escapees could have survived in those frigid waters. Or what if we got lost and were kidnapped by Columbian Drug Lords? Both were likely options in my not so humble opinion. But because it meant so much to him, I agreed to forgo the GPS, and we took off toward the Bridge. And we found it!

We were insanely giddy driving over that bridge. And it was more breathtaking and detailed than I thought it would be. And once we got across the bridge we sat at the vista point for 20 minutes, huddling together for warmth, and enjoying the lights from the bridge and the San Francisco skyline. And it was just one of those moments in life that you are aware during that moment that it is going to be one of your favorite memories.

I really do love San Francisco. It is such a unique and charming city, and I would always jump at the chance to get back there. But if I never make it back to San Fran, I truly feel that I got to do all I wanted. You can see all the photos we took in San Fran on this trip over here.

Song of the Day: Sushi by Kyle Andrews