San Francisco

We took the windy road up, up, up, up and up some more. The "two" lane road was  slightly misleading. We really hoped we wouldn't meet any other vehicles on one of the hairpin turns on the way up Broadway Terrace. We didn't. We made it. The views overlooking San Francisco were unreal!

Back in June at a joint birthday party, for Geoff's Grandfather Tom and myself, we were given a family connection living here in Oakland, CA. Geoff's mom contacted Rita and Kevin and let them know we'd be coming through the area. They graciously invited us to come stay with them and offered up a tour of the San Fran area.

The view of San Francisco from Treasure Island. Over on the righthand side you can see a foggy Golden Gate Bridge too!
July, 3rd 2016

We spent the evening of July 2nd chatting and swapping stories while noshing on some delicious cheeses and fresh blueberries. In the morning, Kevin got up for his traditional walk with Keily, golden retriever, around the Sunday Market. He brought back far too many amazing pastries and fresh strawberries. So good.

We got on the road and did a day long tour of San Fran, making stops at a few key photo opportunities. We first stopped at Treasure Island, which was a Naval Base and is now a park with a gorgeous view of the city skyline. We hopped across the Bay Bridge and started winding our way around the neighborhoods and hilly streets this city is famous for. Kevin took us down the crookedest street in the city. No, not Lombard Street! Vermont Street on Potrero Hill is actually steeper and has 8 turns instead of the 7 at Lombard Street. It's also void of tourists although not as "pretty" or picturesque as the famed Lombard Street. We walked down Balmy Alley, located in the Mission District, to view the intricate murals painted there. They were all gorgeous and many were very politically charged highlighting the difficulties of immigrants, the Hispanic community and the ever encroaching gentrification/hipster takeover. Next we headed through The Castro, adorned with dozens and dozens of Rainbow Flags supporting the LGBTQ Community. At the center of the community is a giant Rainbow Flag billowing in the chilly breeze from the bay. We then headed up to Twin Peaks for a panoramic view of the city, Alcatraz Island and a fog bank covering the Golden Gate Bridge.

San Fran from the top of Twin Peaks. If you look closely you can see Alcatraz just above that green forest on the left!
San Francisco, CA - July 3rd, 2016

From here we stopped by Lombard Street and it was so full of people we just jumped out snapped a quick pic and hopped back in the car. A bit much for us and we definitely didn't wait in the long lines to drive down the SECOND crookedest street in San Fran! From there we headed down to Golden Gate Park consisting of over 1,000 acres of public park! Originally it was mostly sand dunes but with much work and selecting the right trees and plants they were able to reclaim the land as usable park! There are lakes and forests and even a herd of bison in the park! It's actually larger than Central Park in New York City  and winds down a hill to the ocean where you'll find a beach for the very (VERY) brave. We stopped at the Beach Chalet for some lunch. Geoff enjoyed a flight of local beer along with his chowder in a sourdough bread bowl and I devoured my Mac and Cheese.

Pinkies out!! Geoff enjoying his flight of beer at the Beach Chalet in Golden Gate Park.
San Francisco, CA - July 3rd, 2016

We hopped back in the car and headed to Land's End for a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. The fog decided to be true to San Fran and stick around all day. We tried to get to Fort Point for the classic view beside and under the bridge but the traffic was horrendous and we gave up. I'm super disappointed but we'll just have to come back to explore this amazing city again! We stopped by the impressive Legion of Honor and will definitely need to come back here to check it out! From there we headed to Chinatown, the largest outside of Asia. We wandered up and down Grant Street, popping in and out of shops offering up kitschy items and knockoff products. I settled on a waxed paper parasol at the recommendation of Janice, a Team Member of mine from the Space Needle, who lived in Oakland before moving back to Seattle.

While the top of the bridge never made an appearance. We did finally get to see the Golden Gate Bridge. Maybe someday we'll get the sail underneath!  
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA - July 3rd, 2016

By then our tummies were starting to growl so we headed back across the Bay Bridge to Oakland and had dinner at Italian Colors. We had some good laughs over some cocktails and desserts to die for then headed back up the windy hill to collapse on the couch for the evening.

A huge thank you to Kevin and Rita for being amazing hosts and showing us around town. It was great to connect with family! Congratulations to Rita on retiring from teaching! You definitely earned it!

Today the plan is to head out to Yosemite National Park and find a spot to camp. We'll spend a few days exploring here as neither of us has ever been to this particular National Park!

We might be out of cell phone range for a bit so don't get scared. Don't worry we won't try to "rescue" any baby animals or get too close to wildlife.

Happy 4th of July! Enjoy all the food, fireworks and freedom the day has to offer! (Wooooo! 'Merica!)

When in San Fran... Geoff and I and the Golden Gate Bridge - San Francisco, CA - July 3rd, 2016

Till next time - Fair winds my friends!

Marsha and Geoff (still snoozing beside me)