San Francisco Part 3

It’s Day 3 and we were up early again to pick Josh and Sarah up at the airport. We headed to Jamba Juice to pick-up a quick smoothie for breakfast on our way to the airport. Their flight got in a bit early so they were ready for us when we got there. We headed to the rental car plaza because our Mitsubishi Galant did not have a big enough trunk for 3 large bags. Persistence paid off (I learned how to handle these situations from my mom, ask a lot of questions and don’t take no for an answer! …thanks Mom!) and we successfully got an upgrade to a Dodge Charger for free.

And we were off…weather at the airport was beautiful and sunny south of the city…as we moved north not so much. This area is know for it’s microclimates, the inland areas are warmer, while the shore areas are cooler. We didn’t let the misting fog/rain stop us from checking out Muir Woods and Muir Beach by car. It reminded us a lot of Ireland on the shoreline and the weather.

After we saw the beach and the lookout we stopped by Whole Foods to grab some snacks and items for breakfast. Then we headed back to Larkspur Landing near our hotel for lunch. They had about seven or eight food trucks lined up. There was everything from  Vietnamese food to Texas BBQ. I settled on some curry lamb and Dustin ended up with a grassfed burger and fries (fried in beef tallow instead of rancid oils!). The food was super yummy.

We headed back to our hotel for a quick power nap and to drop Sarah and Josh’s bags before heading to Downtwon San Francisco. On our way back to the city we got off on the Marin County side and headed up towards the headlands to see if we could get a good shot of the Golden Gate bridge.  It was still fogged in on one half, but we still got some pictures.  The wind was crazy and cold all day today.

Downtown we were lucky to find a spot on the street to park the car for free and then we walked a half-mile to the Cable Car Museum.  The half-mile felt like forever because my legs are SO sore from the hike yesterday, and San Francisco is extremely hilly.  The museum was free, it housed the cables that actually run the cable cars in the city.  It was neat to see how they worked and how the city transportation had evolved over the course of history.

Outside we caught a cable car down to Fisherman’s Wharf and down the steepest hill in San Francisco.  Once at the bottom the girls waited there while the boys trekked back up the steep hill to get the car, aren’t they sweet!

Our last stop in the city before dinner was to drive by the “Painted Ladies” which is the nickname for the houses that are often depicted in movies and on the show Full House in the opening credits. They were not really as close to the Golden Gate Bridge as the show makes them seem.

We enjoyed dinner at a restaurant called the the Beach Chalet, it was recommended by Tina & Wilfred. It was right across the street from sunset beach and had a great view of the water. It was very cloudy so no amazing sunset photos this time around.

We headed back to our hotel to relax and swim for a bit. The pool is outdoors but heated to 80 degrees. So it was still warm enough to spend a few minutes in and then relax in the hot tub. Hopefully it will help my sore muscles, so I don’t feel 65+ tomorrow! Tomorrow we are off to Napa Valley and Sonoma. We are excited to see this area, we hear it’s beautiful.