Nov 2011 San Francisco

It’s so hard to travel back home to the east coast during the holidays.  Jenn came up with a great idea that we should travel somewhere within driving distance since we have the four day weekend with no other obligations.  I had to bypass the greatest meal of the year (mmm stuffing), but she promised Chinese food upon arrival so I was willing to make this sacrifice.

We left first thing T-day morning and drove up the CA-1 along the Cali coast line and through Big Sur.  This route offered such a dramatic landscape; nestled by giant trees on a mountain road one minute to edging a cliff hundreds of feet over the Pacific Ocean the next.  There was an eerie mist while we were in Big Sur and it was impossible to see the how high the mountains went.

We arrived in San Fran around 6PM.  After checking in to the Westin on Market Street we ordered a gluttonous amount of Chinese food and caught the end of the Thanksgiving Day football game.

After passing out fairly early from a good wine and MSG infused buzz, we headed out early to Alcatraz.  We loved this place.  I couldn’t stop saying “Welcome to the Rock” in a poor Sean Connery accent.  The views on the ferry ride over to the island are amazing.  Once you arrive, it feels like a movie set.  It’s crazy to imagine gangsters like Al Capone were locked up here once.  Not that I needed one, but this prison was a good reminder to not start a racket or buy a Tommy Gun.  The awesomely touristy audio tour was also great and we highly recommend a visit there.

The whole Alcatraz trip took around 4 hours.  We snagged some lunch at the Hard Rock to give us some energy for a bike ride that would prove to be an expert level ride!  We rode from the Fisherman’s Wharf over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito and then ferried it back to the Wharf in order to return our rental bikes.  Sausalito was a rad little town and apparently that’s where Otis Redding wrote “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay.”

Our friends from San Diego, Gina and Kelsey, were up in SF visiting their friend Russel and his boyfriend Jeremy.  They picked us up from our hotel and we went to a few bars in and around the Castro area.  This area sure knew how to party and all of our friends were excellent hosts.

Next morning we headed north out of the city, crossing over the GG bridge once again, to Muir Woods.  The legendary California Redwoods did not disappoint.  There was some kind of marathon going on there and parking was a bit of a catastrophe.  We lucked out big time with a spot close to the entrance because of someone leaving.  Walking through these woods dwarfed by these stupidly tall trees is other worldly.  The trees age from 500-800 years old and it was pretty cool to touch a living thing that old.

We capped off this trip with a nice meal at Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion a few blocks away from the hotel.  The scallops Jenn had were great and the steak I got was one of the best I’ve ever had.  We had a relaxing night in our room and then headed back to SD in the morning.  SF is a wonderful city and we can’t wait to return one day. 

Bonus picture:  We stopped at the famous surf spot Maverick’s.  Hard to imagine but waves crest at over 25 feet when the swell is pumping.