We finally arrived at our furthest destination, and what a wonderful one it was! San Francisco! Clint was really worried about driving around in San Francisco with a trailer attached to the van, so we got a hotel in Japantown that said they had a parking garage large enough to accommodate us. And parking was only $16 per day. Believe it or not, that’s a great price! Other hotels quoted us $50/day! They add on charges for EVERYTHING in San Francisco! So, our first night was just about arriving at Hotel Kabuki (and yes, we made plenty of fun about that name, Clint even made up a mystical “Great Kabuki” character and told the kids he was hiding somewhere in the hotel and you couldn’t see him. Jacob asked “Why? Is he ugly?” Clint answered “And Fat! And Stinky!”), getting cleaned up from camping, and going to BED! We all had an amazing night’s sleep in those comfortable beds and due to the black-out shades on the windows, we didn’t wake up until pretty late the next morning. Our hotel fees didn’t include breakfast, but luckily there was a Safeway grocery just one block away, so we were all set for food. Sunday the 3rd was our first full day and so we got started quickly trying to cram in all the sights we wanted to see. We walked a few blocks away to attempt to catch a bus to the Fisherman’s Wharf/Pier 39 area where all the vendors serve food and touristy things and the Sea Lions sunbathe, etc. Instead of us catching a bus, a Limousine caught us! An idle limo driver saw a gullible tourist family standing on the corner and talked us into a ride. But for just 20 greenbacks and door-to-door service to the Pier, it was definitely worth it! The kids felt like movie stars! And so began a slightly hectic morning fighting crowds at the Pier/Wharf. We saw a magic show, that Clint got dragged into momentarily, saw the sea lions, had ice cream and ate some fabulous clam chowder at the Boudin Sourdough Cafe...a 100+ year old family owned sourdough bread bakery right there on the wharf. Yum! We also found time to run through the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum and mirror maze. That was a blast! The kids and Clint went through the mirror maze about 4 times! After all that, it was time to head away from the crowds at the Wharf. We began walking uphill towards Chinatown attempting to find a cable car stop where the car was not jammed packed with passengers already. Within a few blocks we found ourselves at the world famous crooked street called Lombard Street. Just Google it and you’ll recognize it from a dozen movies, it’s a crazy little stretch of residential switchbacks made from cobblestone that are quite a wonder to see in person! It must be several hundred vertical feet of drop in just one city block! And people actually LIVE there...and have garages! It’s nuts.
Next stop, Chinatown. We finally caught our cable car and the kids loved hanging on to the open-air trolley as we rode to our next destination. Clint found out the sarcastic way from the brakeman why they are called “cable” cars. There is a huge steal cable running underground that the cars just grab onto and it pulls them around town. Very cool! Chinatown was everything we expected and more. Firecrackers popping off in the streets, all the buildings decorated with traditional Chinese architecture, street vendors, swords for sale, and lots of food to gaze upon. The kids each got souvenirs from Chinatown (Jacob and Nathan got samurai swords, Kendall a pocket knife, and Viktoria a beautiful Chinese hand fan) We had a wonderful meal at a great little restaurant and headed back to our hotel. We were BUSHED! Everyone’s feet were tired and we were just plain worn out, so we decided to take a different approach to Monday. Being the 4th of July Holiday, we knew 100’s of thousands of visitors would be heading into the city for fireworks and festivities. This did not sound fun to us at all, soooo.....
Monday morning we unhooked our trailer and drove west. On our way through all the quaint little Victorian style neighborhoods, we found the famous “Painted Ladies” (the picture on this blog) and enjoyed all the peaceful quite streets where the locals spend their time. We parked and headed into Golden Gate Park. This is a massive natural area larger then Central Park in New York. Many, many acres of woodlands, lakes, and gardens to explore and enjoy. It was a beautiful warm sunny morning, so we soaked in all the natural beauty of the Japanese Tea Garden and Stow Lake. We ran into a family having a 4th of July BBQ in the park and got some great tips about the Golden Gate Bridge and how to avoid the crowds but still see a fireworks display.
That afternoon we headed across the Golden Gate Bridge to attempt a picture from a mountain overlook where you can see the bridge in the foreground with San Francisco behind it. Unfortunately the road was blocked for construction, so we crash landed in Sausalito....and if that wasn’t an act of Providence, we don’t know what it was! Sausalito is the cutest, calmest, friendliest, and quietest little town we’ve ever seen on the San Francisco Bay! We easily found a parking space and set our blanket out right in front of a 4th of July stage by the waters edge! It was early in the afternoon so we got front row seats for the fireworks and live music that was planned for that night! We were in HEAVEN! With plenty of time to spare we also got to walk up and down the historic main street and look at all the shops, etc. If you are ever heading to San Francisco, you have GOT to make an excursion over to Sausalito! What a place! There are ferries that leave from San Francisco frequently, so it makes for a great day trip. We, on the other hand, got to lay on our blanket on the cool grass of their perfectly appointed downtown square and watch the fireworks. We were just feet from the waters edge and the fireworks were launched from a barge right out in front of us...it couldn’t have been more perfect! We had no crowds, no stress, and nothing but a great time! The kids chased crabs on the shoreline while we got to know some of the wonderful locals and listened to a Journey cover band that was actually really great! :-)
Our trip to San Francisco was complete, and we were so glad we came! We could easily spend months getting to know this inspiring and diverse bay area.
