California

Chris & I traveled to California in several weeks ago for a business/pleasure trip. Chris presented at a chemistry conference in the Napa Valley & we decided to make a little vacation out of it while he was there.

Owen had the privilege of staying with his grandparents (both sets!) while we were away. We had never left him for a night, so leaving him for almost 2 weeks was definitely not easy. However, I think it's possible that he and his Grammy & Grampy and his PaPa & Grandma had more fun that we did! Owen seemed completely comfortable being away from us & we got reports that he was on his best behavior.

To quickly summarize our trip, we arrived in San Francisco late afternoon on Tuesday and spent our evening exploring Chinatown, North Beach, & checking out the views from Coit Tower. We had a delicious dinner at an Italian bistro in North Beach on our walk back to the hotel.

Wednesday morning we found breakfast at a delicious bakery (Eppler's became our go-to spot for breakfast on our mornings in San Francisco) & headed to pick up our rental car. We drove to Napa & then had a lovely picnic lunch at Clos Du Val vineyards. It was lovely! We spent some time driving along the Silverado Trail to take in more of the scenery. We drove north to Calistoga & then headed back to check in at the Silverado Resort.

We spent Wednesday evening-Saturday morning enjoying the resort. I enjoyed having some time to read for pleasure, soak up some sun by the pool, and explore the beautiful valley. I explored out during the day while Chris was conferencing & checked out the town of Yountville and a local artist gallery. We also enjoyed an afternoon hike on the Skyline Trail & a couple of vineyard tours.

We left Napa on Saturday afternoon & drove to the Muir Woods to see the beautiful Redwood trees. It impossible to describe the grandeur of these amazing trees. No pictures do them justice or provide the scale needed to understand their immense size.

After our amazing experience in the Muir Woods, we drove south into Sausalito and had dinner at The Spinnaker. I fell in love with Sausalito & I probably could have eaten at The Spinnaker every night (amazing food!). We then drove across the Golden Gate Bridge in some heavy fog which was more scary than fun! We settled in at our hotel in Union Square & plotted out the rest of our adventures.

Sunday we drove south on Highway 1 along the coastline from San Francisco to Carmel. It was amazingly scenic & we stopped at many places to walk on the beach, spot seals, & take pictures. It amazed us how much farmland there is along the coast and made us wished we where you can stop along the roadside & buy avocados 10/$1 & artichokes for $1, & the loveliest strawberries I've ever seen! We also drove the 17 mile drive and saw Seal Rock & the infamous Lone Cypress. It was a full day of scenery.

Monday we explored Golden Gate Park, the Japanese Tea Garden, & the beach and then we walked across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a fun experience & I was able to cross that off of my bucket list!

 Tuesday we took a cable car ride & spent the day exploring Lombard Street, Gihardelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf, The Ferry Building, Hyde Street Pier, & Alcatraz. We enjoyed sampling chocolates, exploring historic boats, checking out the Pier 39 sea lions, and having fresh seafood for lunch. We had a delicious dinner at the historic Sears' Fine Food. 

Wednesday we spend our final few hours in the city in Union Square and checking out the Fortune Cookie Factory in Chinatown. Then we began our long trip home to see our little man!

We had a great trip...The weather was amazing, we dined on the most wonderful food, and made some wonderful memories together!