Sunny San Francisco!

Last weekend, I was able to take a couple days off work and spend some time with a friend for an extra long weekend in San Francisco and the surrounding area. I cannot even describe how wonderful this little getaway was!

CR and I arrived on Thursday around lunch time. We had a permanent grin on our faces from the time the plane touched down, I think! Thursday was quite windy--gusts of over 50mph (80km/h); coming off the ocean, that breeze was quite crisp! Nevertheless, we traipsed through a bit of downtown SF that afternoon and evening. After an 80-minute bus ride, and going up and down hills through a sketchier part of SF, we were rewarded with delicious burgers at Sliders. Here you could build your own burgers. We started with the Avocado Cheeseburger and went from there. And we had strawberry milkshakes.

After satisfying our stomachs, we satisfied our eyes by arriving at Alamo Square--home to 360 degrees of horizon city-scape bliss! Part of this city-scape included the Painted Ladies row of houses, which, after seeing on TV all the time growing up (Full House), was such a delight to see! We took in the sunset at this sweet little green space before heading back to the hotel for deep sleep.

Friday was a full day. We took the rapid transit into SF, and started by checking out the piers. We ensured a visit to Pier 39, and took in all the shops and sights. Alcatraz, the sea lions, and lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe were probably the highlights!

After lunch, we made our way over to Lombard Street; renowned for it's zig-zag road through part of it. Lombard Street was something else! These were the steep hills we thought we had mentally prepared for. We definitely stopped to rest more frequently than initially anticipated, I think. On the plus side, this afforded many great picture opportunities along the way, including wild parrots!

We continued down Lombard Street a ways and then caught the bus to the Golden Gate Bridge. You can't visit San Francisco and not see the Golden Gate Bridge! We also decided that visiting a beach near the bridge sounded good. 2km from the bridge, along a meadow-like path (with a constant view of the water), we arrived at Baker Beach. Oh, how wonderful the hot sand felt on tired, achy feet! ...We did make a point of stepping into the ocean (cold!), and taking more pictures. We also learned the hard way that the northern part of the beach is clothing-optional. This made for a brief awkward period as we deliberated as to if and how we wanted to keep going. We decided to head down to the more all-ages end of the beach instead.

After sitting on the shore for a bit and just taking in the sun and the warmth, it was time to head back onto a bus and visit a friend I hadn't seen in years. My friend BV just completed her Masters of Illustration at the Academy of Art, and took us to the California Pizza Kitchen for supper. Afterwards, we meandered through Chinatown back to her apartment, where we just chilled and chatted for a couple hours. It was so good to catch up with her!

There was not a dull moment as we traipsed through San Francisco. The city is geographically engaging, demographically dynamic, and aesthetically gorgeous. ...Throw in the sunshine and palm trees; how can you go wrong?