Our first morning in San Francisco we were up early and walked to Fisherman's Wharf. We had a 9am reservation on a ferry over to Alcatraz. Alcatraz was Darin's number one thing to do on our trip and it did not disappoint. We took the narrated tour (through headphones) and were just amazed by everything we saw. It is a beautiful island setting for such a notorious setting. It was amazing to see San Francisco from inside the prison and to realize how hard that must have been for the prisoners--as it should be!!
A cell from Alcatraz--on a higher level--they had three levels of cells, one on top of the other...
Miss Delainey behind bars!! :-)
The beautiful view of San Francisco from Alcatraz....
After Alcatraz we met up with some of our favorite friends from Southern California, the Draughons. We ate at Boudins and then wandered along Fisherman's wharf and the "discount" shops across the street for the rest of the afternoon. We especially enjoyed the sea lions at pier 39. We also walked down to Ghiradelli Square. We got our free chocolate, but much to Darin's disappointment, no ice cream. (We had just had lunch and we were all too full!!) Dinner that night was at the Rainforest Cafe--overpriced but fun. After a day filled with walking, we were happy to finally head back to the hotel after dinner.
Thursday morning, Devin, Sarah and Delainey headed back to Fisherman's Wharf while Donald, Darin, Jamie, Jenna, Erik and I headed to Chinatown. Jenna and I both regret not buying some china in Chinatown, but we did get some great t-shirts--and what is a vacation without some new t-shirts!!
Everyone got back together and then we headed to Lombard Street--the crookedest street in the world. We drove down and enjoyed both the crookedness and the beautiful homes and flowers. From there we went to see where Full House was filmed (Jamie's idea) and then the actual park that they showed in the credits along with the "painted ladies" that border the park.
Beautiful flowers--and homes!!
The Tanner house from Full House
The "Painted Ladies"
From there it was off to the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked across the bridge and back again. It was SO windy and so crowded. We had considered biking across and I was so glad we didn't! The views were spectacular and I'm glad we did it--but we were all wind-blown and cold by the time we were back to the cars. We then began our trip to Gilroy (south of San Francisco) to stay with some friends that used to live in Raleigh--the Rose family.
Friday morning we headed out to Monterey. What a beautiful little town!! We enjoyed some pizza, some window shopping and some actual shopping and then we decided to ride bikes along the bay. Jenna and Erik and Jamie and I were both on tandem bikes; Sarah and Darin opted for their own bikes. (Donald and Devin stayed with Delainey since she was not happy about having to wear a helmet.) Riding a tandem bike was so much fun!! Jamie and I laughed so much at each other and finally got it together and then had a great ride. I wish we had a picture of the two of us--but we were almost as cute as Jenna and Erik!! :-)
After saying goodbye to our friends, we headed out Saturday morning for Oakland. We decided that a stop at the Oakland temple was something we all wanted to do. The grounds are beautiful and the views of San Francisco were amazing. We walked all over the grounds and enjoyed some quality family time. From there we headed back to an In-N-Out for our "good-bye" burger. :-)
Erik, Jenna and Jamie were all flying out Saturday night so after checking into our hotel, we decided we needed one last California treat so we headed back to Ghiradelli for some ice cream--a great way to end an awesome vacation. I think Delainey should be the poster child for Ghiradelli Chocolate, don't you? :-)
Sunday was a long day with long flights and then finally we were home--and to my delight there was food in the house and a great meal thanks to special friends.
1 comment:
FUN - WONDERFUL Summer memories. Love all the pictures.
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