It’s so crazy to think that we have already been back to reality for over a week now. Time really is a funny thing. Counting down to something can seem so slow but then it zips by when you don’t want it to. I know I say that often but it’s true!
I’m back to share some more about our time in San Francisco. And in case you missed it, here is part one.
Our hotel, if you remember, was pretty fancy. As a part of our package, we were given coupons for free breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant every morning. I had to laugh at the whole situation as we walked up to the hostess showing her our coupons while the waiter (in a suit) whisked us away to be seated. One look around the room and I noticed everyone else was dressed in business suits while we were dressed in….well, not business attire. You could tell we were out of our element but the staff was always so very kind to us and did not make us feel stupid.
While looking up things to do in San Francisco, I came across a place called Muir Woods. From a blog post that I read, it was suggested to arrive when they open at 8am to beat the crowds. We arrived around 9:30-9:45 and I really would suggest arriving no later than that. By the time we left a few hours later, the parking lots were full. Also note that there is a fee to enter the park. We didn’t know this when we arrived so we just walked right in haha. I didn’t realize until later that we were actually supposed to pay. But the way it is set up made it easy to slip by without even realizing.
Muir Woods was probably one of my favorite parts of our trip. The redwoods were gorgeous. I was at a really good point in my pregnancy for this trip (15 weeks) so we were able to do a hike that was around 3 miles.
The worst part about Muir Woods? The drive to and from it. The road was extremely curvy and on the side of a cliff. Don was having too much fun whipping around those curves and I about had an anxiety attack. And then I got extremely carsick on the way back. But the part of the drive that was really worth it? Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.
I have seen this bridge so many times in pictures, movies, and tv shows. But I never expected it to be that amazing to see in person. I mean, c’mon, a bridge? But seriously, it was so neat. We went to a few lookout points to take some pictures and we were going to walk across at least a part of it. But we were so worn out from walking at that point and weren’t sure where to park to get there. So we opted to just skip out.
We did go to the very windy, chilly beach by the bridge–Baker’s Beach–to take a few pictures as well!
After that we drove through Golden Gate Park. I wasn’t really sure where to go once we were there but I did see they had a Dutch windmill with a Tulip Garden so we headed there…only to realize there were no tulips in the tulip garden. At least not that I saw. It reminded me a bit of Forest Park in St. Louis but instead of a lot of free things to do, there were multiple things that you had to pay to do. So we just drove by the random field of bison (yes, for some reason they have bison at the park) and then we headed back to our hotel.
The rest of these pictures are just a few things that caught my eye as we walked through the city.
We were so kindly given a $100 voucher to spend on food and beverages at our hotel so we went down to the bar and grill and stuffed ourselves on the most filling burgers and fries. Actually, it was our second burger of the day and our third on the trip already. I love burgers, lay off me! I actually could eat them every day for the rest of my life and never get sick of them. But our lunch stop, Causwells, I would definitely not recommend. Their burgers looked amazing on instagram but as soon as we walked in, I realized that this was a hipster place. Which basically means that they overcharge you for a junky looking atmosphere because it’s trendy and serve you things like water WITH NO ICE (like, who does that?) and their homemade ketchup (give me heinz, please.) Their burgers were nothing special, they serve mixed greens instead of fries (again, who does that?) and the service wasn’t great. So if you’re ever in the area, I do not recommend going…unless you’re into that kind of stuff. (Although they had very high ratings on yelp)
But the most hilarious thing happened after dinner. As we walked back into our room, I noticed right away that our curtains had been closed. Then I heard the smooth jazz being played on the radio and the reading lights turned on. Our bed was fixed again (we had moved a couple of pillows before we left for dinner) and there were chocolates on the bed. I guess it was a kind gesture from the hotel, however, whatever mood they were aiming for, I don’t think that it was the one they got. I made Don check the shower, the closet, and behind the curtains. I was almost certain that someone was about to kill us. (Paranoid much?)
Anyway, this turned into a much wordier post that I had intended. So if you made it this far, you are amazing! Thanks for following along. Part three will be up as soon as I get the chance!