In June, Darren and I went on vacation to San Francisco. Darren had been there once when he was a child to visit family but I had never been. It just so happens that we went the weekend of my birthday, so it was an amazing gift!
Our first day there we walked to Chinatown and ate lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant called the House of Nan King. It was the best Chinese food ever! Darren ordered sweet-honey glazed beef with sweet bread (basically a tortilla) and what tasted like cooked limes. It was sooooo good! After lunch, we walked around Chinatown and looked through all the shops. Since our bedroom is done in oriental decor, we looked for an authentic-looking oriental tapestry that we could hang on the wall but had no luck. I did find a cute purse and scripture bag though.
After Chinatown, we walked through a portion of Little Italy on our way to Coit Tower/Telegraph Hill. We then headed down the sloped streets to Pier 39 where we saw sea lions on the dock, break dance street performers, a painting enthusiast and a shoe shiner. All this definitely adds to the San Franciscan personality.
After a long day of walking (about 7 hours up to this point), we ate dinner at a really good restaurant called the Pompeii Grotto. We sat outside and enjoyed the cool, ocean air while eating pasta and shrimp. I was sooooo hungry (as you can see from the bread picture above) but couldn't even finish half of my plate there was so much food. After this meal Darren and I decided to start sharing entrées since the portion sizes were way to big to finish in one sitting.
After dinner we went to Ghirardelli Square and sampled some fabulous chocolate but were too stuffed to buy anything more. We then walked down to the San Francisco bay to sit and watch the colors of the sunset sky on the calm, bay waters. We got a picture of a ship in the harbor. It looked so regal sitting there in the still waters. It felt as though we had stepped back in time for a small moment. It was a beautiful night to be in San Francisco with the man I love :)
After it got dark, we rode the trolley from the bay to our hotel in Union Square. We decided it was the best $10 we spent the entire trip. There is no way we could have made it 12 blocks up hill. And not just any hills… San Francisco hills! It would have take us 2 hours to get back to the hotel. Once we got back to the hotel we laid down on the bed and fell asleep. We woke up at about 2AM and decided we should get ready for bed. I guess that’s what happens when you walk for 9 hours in one day. Fun times though!
The next morning we picked up a rental car across the street and headed down the coast to Monterey. We checked into our bed and breakfast,
The Martine Inn and then went and walked around part of Cannery Row. We ate clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl at The Fish Hopper (best clam chowder ever) and then went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I had never been to an aquarium and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We saw lots of cool stuff: huge tuna fish (I had no idea they were that big), sharks, sting rays, etc. The coolest part was probably the seahorse exhibit. Take a look at some of the pictures below.
After the aquarium we went back to the inn and relaxed for a bit and then walked down the bay to watch the sunset.
The next morning we ate breakfast at the Martine Inn. They had this seating area with wall-to-wall windows that overlooked the ocean. It was an amazing view. Just as breakfast was being served, the hostess came to our table holding a small white cake with a red rose and candles on top. She began singing "Happy Birthday" and set the cake on the table in front of me. I looked at Darren with shocked disbelief to see a look of mischief and amusement in his eyes. He had set it up weeks before so that everything would be perfect for my birthday. It was the sweetest thing ever!! A perfect way to spend my 27th birthday.
After breakfast, we went to church in Seaside and afterwards drove a 17 mile stretch of highway along the coast from Monterey to Carmel, dubbed "The 17-mile drive." Clever! We were able to see some really pretty beaches. After "this drive", we drove through part of Carmel Valley and saw some of the working vineyards. We then decided to stop at Pt. Lobos State Park for a short walk down to the beach. We then drove back to Monterey and ate lunch at the Old Fisherman’s Grotto on Fisherman’s Wharf. We had Pesto Salmon with saffron rice. Once again…yummy!! After dinner, we reluctantly left Monterey to drive back to San Fran. (lots of driving but saw some amazing scenery) :)
Our final day in San Francisco was spent at Golden Gate State Park. We wanted to see the Botanical Garden and the Japanese Tea Garden. Once we actually found these gardens it was great but the process was exhausting. First, we didn’t have a detailed map, second, there was not one single sign in the whole park that pointed in the right direction. It was ridiculous! At one point we even ended up walking on the side of the freeway. Yeah…you read right. We were actually walking on the side of the freeway.Once again, ridiculous! Once we finally found it, it was nowhere in the same vicinity as where the map showed. Gotta love life's little adventures :)
In the Botanical Garden we saw some guy holding an acorn near his pant leg, about mid thigh, trying to get a squirrel to climb up his leg to get it. I couldn't believe it when the squirrel actually ran up his leg and grabbed the acorn from his hand. Poor thing though. While trying to steal the loot and make a get-a-away, his back legs got stuck in the man's pant leg and ended up hanging upside down with the acorn still clutched in its hands. It was hilarious! He was finally able to detach and run away with his dinner.
We flew out of San Francisco later that afternoon. With so many fun things to see and do, I would say it was another amazing trip by "The Browns Travelers"!
As it started to rain we had to dart under a bridge to keep from getting soaked
Darren sent these flowers to me at work wishing me a happy anniversary. He is the king of surprises. I never know what he's going to do. Funny story...the night after receiving the flowers, Darren and I had a conversation similar to the following:
