I’m ready to be done with epic posts about holidays, years in review and vacations, but I’m not willing to let these times pass without trying consolidate events in some form of sequence. In early December, we joined Barry on a work-related trip to San Francisco for a week. We stayed in a very fancy hotel in the heart of the city and spent majority of the week exploring the Bay Area. In look at the pictures, now a month later, it is very apparent to me that I only busted out my ‘big’ camera when Barry was around or we were in our hotel room, juggling two kids in the city was enough to deal with, let alone take any photos of the experience. So, these pictures are a slim glimpse into our week.
My brother had sent us a detailed e-mail about some of the places that he likes in the city it was very helpful and fun to find different nooks and crannies that he loved. Tartine, also recommended by Cora, was a super yummy bakery. Since I love baking, and Netflixed nearly all Cake Boss episodes after Audrey was born, it was fun to go to a bustling bakery. Barry also went to Blue Bottle Coffee and stood in line for a tasty drip.
During the days that Barry was at his conference, I took the girls to a few different neighborhoods in the city: Bernal Heights, Noe Valley, Russian Hill, Chinatown . As a family we went to Golden Gate Park, Saulsilito, Fort Baker, Rodeo Beach, Ocean Beach, Lands End, The Wharf, and a few other places that aren’t coming to mind. It was fun to have a reason to get out and about, and staying in our hotel, although fancy, just wasn’t ideal.
Our hotel was right next to Chinatown and parking on the street was very, very challenging. We went with the choice to park in the hotel garage, valet, and it felt so awkward, but there really wasn’t another option. I have no doubt in my mind that the valet guys got a kick out of our little crew. With the exception of the first morning, we’d come down into the garage (because it wasn’t until the last day that I realized that all the other valet people had their cars brought to the front of the hotel…) with everything we might need for our daily adventure. They really were friendly to us, but every day I felt like a country bumpkin out of place. By the end of our trip, they wanted to hear all about where we were going and what we had planned for the day, often suggesting things that we might like or areas that were similar to what we’d enjoyed.
Kara had suggested to me a trip to The Golden Gate Bridge Fortune Cookie Factory. After looking on the map, and determining that it was only half a mile away, I loaded up the stroller with our bag full of things for the day, along with Maggie. I also strapped Audrey in to the Ergo and hit the pavement to find it, deciding that we’d hop into the car, and skip a stop at the hotel room, on our way back. Here’s the thing about San Francisco that I failed to think about: THERE ARE HILLS EVERYWHERE IN THAT DAMN CITY. That said, a simple half mile walk, while pushing a loaded stroller and wearing a baby was enough to do me in. And then to discover that the “forturne cookie factory” was down a random alley way, left me in tears of laughter. Kara and I, or maybe Kara with anybody, tend to have really interesting/fun/random adventures and so seeing two little old ladies behind a glorfied waffle machine was simply endearing. I bought $5 worth of cookies that would have lasted a lifetime, had I hauled them home. To say that I was sweaty mess by the time we got back to the hotel and car, would be an understantment. For the remainder of the trip, when I had difficulty gauging how far something was, I chose to drive when I had both the girls.
It really was a fun time, lots of great parks and areas that if I never had to leave that little patch, I’d be happy. More than anything, I became appreciative of where we do live and how convenient it is to do things near our home. I’m starting to have a deep, deep yearning to have a space that allows us to be a bit more wild and free, but living in the heart of a huge city for a week, I realized that our set up is pretty great.
And now for the pictures:
