We moved to Denver with pioneer hearts, ready to discover the West. We had traversed the hotspots of the American Southeast – Savannah, Charleston, Asheville, Greenville and more. Fast forward to the summer of 2019, we literally went from sea to shining sea. We had started out the summer with an extended trip to Florida to visit family, friends, and the beach. We finished the summer with a 5-day escape to California, by way of San Francisco, Sonoma, and Monterey.
You’ll notice, when we travel, we travel hard. Some of us love the thrill of conquering a whole city in three days. Some of us mooch a free trip, so we have to go along with it. One of us just really loves his wife enough to go along with an absurd itinerary. This California trip was no different – there was a lot of walking, excursion-ing, and picture posing. And way too many hills for my thighs to handle.
I should start this by saying, this was our first trip ever to California. I didn’t really know that San Francisco has some pretty chilly summers! Consider us under-prepared in the packing department.
So, hooray for corporate relocation packages that fast-track your Marriott status because we got to stay in the heart of Union Square at the Westin St Francis with some fancy room upgrades – always a perk when traveling with the kids! We checked in, dropped our bags, and were off to the first stop Yank Sing for lunch and a stroll through the markets of Chinatown. So delish – all that dim sum and so fun! Servers walk around with carts of all sorts of delicacies – accept or decline, the carts just keep coming.
We’ve been to Chinatown in Chicago and New York, but there was something different here in San Francisco. It was as if there has been an emphasis placed on preserving the culture and history more than we had seen before. After all, it is the oldest Chinatown in the United States. The sensory overload had us walking in circles of amazement.
If you know Chris, we always take time to enjoy the less traveled, but always more scenic route. I have always wanted to road trip the Pacific Coast Highway. Two birds, one stone. This trip we conquered about .1 percent of said highway to enjoy the ride up to Sonoma.
In true PCH California road-tripping’ fashion, we rented our sweet little sports car (sans convertible top) and took off. The scenery was so dramatic and beautiful. We pulled off on several random spots just to enjoy the views – cliffs and the crashing ocean, seals playing on the rocks, and miles and miles of coastline. I had my mind set on sipping some wine, but we could have done this ride all day!
Finally, we reached Sonoma – just the kind of place the parents love after driving in the car with their kids all day. Ahhh, Sonoma, Wine Country – be still my heart. First on the wine tour was the Benziger Family Winery tour and let the tastings begin! This place was magical, taking organic farming to a whole new level (look up Biodynamic farming). The careful attention to everything- Varietals planted based on the position of the sun, critters that work the soil, plants that woo the owls to eat the invasive bugs, and sheep who aerate the soil! It was definitely an experience worth taking! From there we headed to Kenwood Vineyards and we discovered our love of the Zinfandel! This is not the box kind that travels with everyone’s grandmother, but red blend, pure wine deliciousness! Ironically enough, we sent shipped a carton of wine to Grammie for her birthday.
The plan for the next day included more driving down the PCH, just the other direction, as we headed to Monterey. What I didn’t expect was the miles and miles of agriculture and farming. I also know what an artichoke plant really looks like now. It seemed so different from nature’s rawness the day prior but left us with just as many questions to postulate.
Monterey was such a quaint little town on the sea. A cute and eclectic downtown strip, filled with breweries and cafes and ending with the Monterey Bay Aquarium. By my kid’s standards, this was one of the best aquariums we have seen. A touch tank of sea critters, sharks, jellies, and so much more, I could just see the kid’s imaginations turning in excitement. Built right on the water made it a perfect place to relax and enjoy our lunch. Thanks, Uncle Teddy for the awesome tickets!
Then there was the day we took the bus ride to Muir Woods and Sausalito. This was the day I thought the kids would revolt. For now, just wait in suspense.
Muir Woods was the setting of every mythical book you’ve ever read. The Redwood forest is home to what is thought to be some of the tallest and oldest trees in the world. We were amazed at the height of these trees and the sereness of the forest. It was also an easy and pretty quick hike for children. I’ve already learned, they can only look at trees for so long before the fascination wears off.
The meditative state of mind didn’t last. Part two of the tour was an afternoon in Sausalito. What could go wrong, we had managed to find another picture-perfect town built on the bright blue waters of the Pacific? Well, I really needed to get that quintessential San Fran picture of our family with the bridge in the background. Thinking this would be easy enough, we called an Uber, got stuck in traffic that forced us to cross back over the bridge. Too foggy for a picture on our current side of the bridge, and having tickets to ride a ferry around the bay, we had to walk back across the whole two miles. Message received.
They did this without too much complaining. We took our pictures that didn’t turn out great, we couldn’t find anyone that would take one of the four of us together, so there’s no family picture either. The icing on top, our first world problems continued. Construction at the bridge wouldn’t let an Uber come pick us back up and thus started the 3-4 mile walk back to Sausalito… with kids who hadn’t gotten a bathroom break in awhile. At least there was a view and a husband that can make up stories to keep them entertained. His skills are magical.
Lunch that day never tasted so good. Feeling a little obliged to make up the last few hours of tired legs, we went to Salito’s Crab House to bribe them back to a happier place and it did the trick. Luke loves crab, Jake loves bread rolls. I love a margarita on the water. We miraculously made it on the last ferry back to San Francisco. Order and happiness had been restored in the universe.
We used our last full day to be real tourists of San Fran. We started off the morning with a stroll through the Fishermans Wharf. The fishermen were hard at work bringing in, cleaning and preparing the morning catch. We went through the fish markets, amazed at the sights and offerings – fish, crabs, chowders, and sandwiches. The sea lions were plentiful and basking in the sun on Pier 39. We finished with ice cream in Ghiradelli square. If it was a touristy hot spot, we were there.
That is how we ended up on the famous San Fransisco trolley cars. Full House made it look carefree and gloriously fun. However, that was not the case – it was jam-packed and filled to the gills and we had very cranky trolley conductors! The kids were ferociously adamant that this be the one thing they just had to do. So we did, all the way to Lombardi St, the world’s most crooked (and crowded) street. That’s all I have to say about that – their faces say enough.
This trip to San Francisco made such an impression on us. Filled with so many memories and laughs, I would recommend this trip to anyone! At times, Chris and I thought maybe we planned too much of a couples getaway type of trip. Surprisingly, Luke told us that was his favorite trip ever and wants to do it all over again (but we’d have to make it to Alcatraz). I’ll take that as a positive review from the kids!
